Our values should also be baked into the way we show up in the world everyday, and online, that means in our marketing content. And, whether it’s sales-focused content or not, is still part of how we make money.
(That's a conversation for another day. For now, let's focus on the values part, because otherwise I'd be typing all day lol)
In this post, let's go into 3 reasons you need to make your ethics and values clear in your content (including your money-making content (which is also all of it)).
(There's a million reasons, but let's just start with these for now)
1) The way you show up for your values and the way you show up to make money shouldn’t be different
If you’re living in your values, they’re showing up in your everyday actions, life, and conversations already. You might just need a little strategy to help you meld those conversations and actions into the conversations you’re also having about your expertise and business.
If you’ve got ethical values, and they aren’t coming through in your everyday actions, life, and conversations, you’ve got a different problem. It’s not strategy you need; it’s more time examining, unlearning, listening, integrating, and action-taking.
(If that's you, and you're ready to keep doing that work, here's a great place to start)
2) Just because you’re doing good, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make money from it
I think this is a super common struggle for those of us who are treated as or express as women (though it's certainly not limited to that group).
We’re trained to feel that if we’re “doing good”, we should be doing it for free. We’re conditioned to think it’s unethical to make money from doing the right thing.
But we as ambitious, impact-driven badasses are also driven by our desire to have a positive impact with our businesses.
Catch-22 much?
But here’s the thing:
Your success makes the world better.
Take a second and let that sink in.
Your success makes the world better.
Not just because your work is impactful, but also because the world needs more successful people who are good.
So if you think about it, it’s a double win!
Your work is doing good, and your success is doing good. You literally can’t lose!
3) When you're living out your values in your content, you're also making the world more hospitable
When you show up and live out your values in your everyday content, that means you're being inclusive, being mindful of your impact (both positive and negative), and rejecting the whole “staying in your lane” thing,
This has two side effects that make the world more hospitable for those that it's normally not very nice to:
- You're setting the bar and putting pressure on other businesses to consider their values and show up better.
- You're providing support and service to underserved and underrepresented identities who are often unconsciously (or consciously) excluded by most businesses.
The first one is kind of obvious. Just look at all the larger businesses who scrambled to put out a values statement after the murder of George Floyd. And then the pressure they received to demonstrate how they were backing up those values statements with action.
The second one, I can speak to from personal experience.
I identify as genderfluid. If you're not familiar, it's a gender-identity that places me outside the gender binary of man/woman.
So when I see a business that consciously chooses to avoid gendered language in their copy, it's clear to me that with this business, my lived experiences will be welcome, considered, and included in their community and offerings.
For another example, when you create spicy content where you reject harmful business practices that are common in your industry but are rooted in systemic racism, you’re making it clear that your business is actively anti-racist, and that you do everything you can in your work to be support Black and POC clients and customers in their lived experiences.
So yes, we should absolutely all have values statements and places on our sites solely dedicated to expressing what we value and how we’re backing that up with action in our businesses.
And yes, when tragedy and crisis strike, we need to be ready to respond actively, ethically, and authentically, with our whole hearts and no marketing messages or ulterior motives.
But that’s not enough.
Our values should also be baked into the way we show up in the world everyday, and as online entrepreneurs, that means in our marketing content.
If you'd like support to figure out how to fold your values into your strategic marketing content, that's one of the many things I do with my Conquer Your Content Calendar clients.
In your Content Calendar Intensive, I'll look into your business and brain and then hand you a strategic content calendar telling you exactly what to write and when for the next three months, all designed around your specific business goals, message, and values.
Spots are open to plan your Q1 2021 content calendar! Book yours before they fill up!
