What the Food Network Can Teach You About Marketing Your Business

First, a confession. Yes, I’m into food porn.

No, I can’t cook (I’m not very good at it, nor do I enjoy it at all), but for some reason, I really enjoy watching other people cook. I especially love the cooking competition shows (probably my love of sports kicking in here).

One of the shows I watch from time to time is Chopped. If you haven’t seen it, four chefs compete to cook the best dish using four mystery ingredients. There are three rounds, and a chef is “chopped” after each round.

During the show, we get to meet and listen to the judges, and for the most part, I haven’t liked any of them. To me, their personalities have ranged from flat and uninteresting to downright grumpy.

Now, that didn’t stop me from watching the show. But I certainly wasn’t going to go out of my way to watch those judges anywhere else.

But that all changed when I saw several of those judges compete against each other on a different cooking show. Instead of being flat and grumpy, they were having fun and cracking jokes.

In other words, I saw their personality.

Now, when I see them on Chopped, I no longer see the dour judges I used to. My view of them now is more well-rounded, and I actually enjoying them.

I suspect you can all see where I’m going with all of this.

The more you share your personality in your marketing, the more people will feel they know you. And once they get to know you, they’re in position to like you—and we’d all rather do business with people we know, like, and trust.

In a nutshell:

So, what are the best ways to share your personality in your marketing?

In no particular order, here’s 5 ways to get started:

• Share stories from your life.

From what’s going on with your kids and your pets to your latest vacations.

• Share your hopes and dreams.

What do you really want in life? What are you currently working toward? What are you passionate about? There’s a good chance your ideal clients want to join you on your journey, but they can only join you if they know where you’re going.

• Share your rants.

Is there something that really makes you angry? Or do you have a contradictory view on what’s considered standard in your industry? Share it. However, I would caution you to try and avoid sounding preachy or judgmental. It’s one thing to get all fired up about an issue, it’s quite another to turn it into a condescending sermon.

• Share your vulnerabilities.

Talk about when you made a mistake or fell flat on your face. (But, important note—if you’re in the middle of a massive “black night of the soul,” it may be prudent to wait until you’re through it before you share it.)

• Develop your unique voice in your writing.

The more people can feel you in your copy, the more compelling they’ll find your copy. (My second love-based business book “Love-Based Copywriting System” contains resources to help you cultivate your personality and your voice in your writing.)

If you’re uncomfortable sharing your personality in your marketing, my advice is to go slowly. Share something small, and see what happens. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

Want more copy tips? You may like my Love-Based Copywriting books (Volume 1 and Volume 2).