If you had access to a free ad spot, what would you even write?

So often, we’re caught up in the money or the logistics or our own insecurities. But lots of us don’t even know our message well enough to be able to seize an opportunity when it comes our way.

For example, after the LA fires, the Words of Mouth job listserve ran a “Hire an Angeleno!” series where LA locals could post a classified for free. (Such a generous and values-aligned way to make an impact. More thoughts on unconventional ways to live out your values here.)

And at the risk of sounding a bit harsh, most of these listings weren’t that compelling, even from the self-proclaimed marketers and copywriters. Lots of them were me-focused (rather than about what’s in it for the reader), or fell into the “tell rather than show” trap that makes us sound jargon-y and/or generic.

But of course, Cate’s was understatedly brilliant, especially given that this is a listserve for job seekers—she appealed directly to what readers would need and exactly how she’d give them what they want.

“Shifting into a new expression of your work? ✷ Seasoned editorial director, brand voice architect, and positioning strategist offering one-on-one sessions, material reviews, and custom support for crafting your next direction. Special LA rates through February.”

(I rave about Cate all the time, as a human and as a true expert of her craft. Listen to our episode here if you haven’t already—it’s one of my most popular!)

My judgement of these listings aside, reading through them brought me back to the central question of my business: How do you want to be known?

It’s so simple, but something SO many of us (myself included sometimes!) struggle with.

A client of mine (a self-identifying multi-passionate deep thinker who verges far too often into the overthinking spiral) recently emailed me saying:

“I do what I do out of ‘intuition’ that’s an almost subconscious fusion of knowledge + experience, and I’m a very conceptual thinker. Turning all that internal mush into concrete terms is obviously very difficult for me.”

This feeling is SO common.

You are absolutely not alone in being so close to it all, yet so far from the words to describe it.

But that strong sense of intuition is important and has gotten you this far. Keep trusting it.

And maybe but the blinders on “best practices” a bit more so that you can just follow where your gut and interests take you.

Wherever your vision and values are leading you, there are surely people on the other side of that path too. And they’ll think and feel just like you do because you both got there, separately, but coming together where your paths are meant to cross.

Yes, you want to make all your big ideas relatable, but not watered down in any way. You simply want to be equipped to talk around your big ideas in a bunch of different directions so that different people can soak it in. They can latch onto the points and perspectives that match up with their brains and lived experiences. The point is to open that door to connection and a trusted relationship.

I have 2 free tools to guide you along this introduce-yourself-with-others-in-mind process.

1️⃣ My tried-and-true Visionary’s Guide To Elevator Pitches gives you some useful frameworks and resources to talk to real people about what you do and why it matters. (But not necessarily “sell” them anything on that proverbial elevator.)

Nearly 300 people have downloaded this tool and lots have written back saying how relieved or excited they were with their latest intro. (Even if you’re one of these people, your intro could likely use a refresh! Think about all the contexts you’ve been showing up in lately and all the conversations you’ve been having—do you have a way to talk about your work that covers all your bases?)

Listen to this podcast episode as you work through it.

2️⃣ My latest interactive tool is the About Page Architect. It’s packed full of prompts to reflect, space to start drafting, and exercises to start editing and evolving. (Can’t ever prevent myself from pouring in a lot of juicy ideas to explore…)

You’re the expert of your own story, but it’s not always easy to talk about yourself and your vision. This guided workbook will change that. (Hopefully.) By the end, you’ll have the words to introduce who you are, what you do, and why it matters.

Listen to this podcast episode as you work through it.

But you may be ready to go beyond where freebies can take you. (Which is, honestly, pretty far in this case!).

We can co-create something special that captures who you are, what you do, why you do it, and all the other bits and bobs that matter most to the humans you want to connect with.

Book a free Alignment Call to chat about how we can collaborate on your intros and beyond.

This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more values-aligned reflections and resources.