“Your Story Matters, tell it” are words on one of many inspirational writing-related plaques, which decorate my office. It’s so easy to forget this in the face of all the reasons we give ourselves NOT to share our story...    

In the last few blogs, I’ve been focusing on the personal branding side of our firm – adding clarity, continuity, consistency, creativity and impact to your written message.  Our other passion is helping you tell your story through our professional ghostwriting services.

This might mean consulting with you along the path of your manuscript-writing journey or at the next level, editing your work as you write, or the whole shebang – sharing the incredible creative experience of writing a book with you, side by side, as your own personal ghostwriter. We love to help people share their stories!

“Your Story Matters, tell it” are words on one of many inspirational writing-related plaques, which decorate my office. It’s so easy to forget this in the face of all the reasons we give ourselves NOT to share our story. The questions that plague us, like – How will I get published? Should it be a movie or a book? Are my words good enough? Who will read my story? What IS my story?

As someone who started writing stories at the age of seven and then began my professional writing career 12 years ago, I can assure you that once you discover your story (or stories – why stop with one!) and decide to write it, all the questions and doubts have a way of dissolving. When a story presents itself to me, it’s like a thin, cool mist of creativity envelops me, obscuring everything else except the words – all the beautiful words begging to be seen. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction works. All words are beautiful, even if they’re not the next ‘great American novel’.  

It all starts with finding the story you are meant to tell. I find that the Socratic method, asking an incessant stream of questions until you reach the “ah-ha” moment is extremely effective. (And I don’t mean any of the questions from earlier in this blog – the self-doubt ones!)

What kinds of stories inspire you the most? Emotional memoirs, uplifting tales of triumph over adversity, quirky tales about life’s lessons, something else? Why?

What do you like to talk about the most? Personal stories from your life, a hobby or passion (are you a history buff for example?), or your specific area of professional expertise that always fires you up? Make a list and see what stands out!

Who are you writing for and why MUST you share your words with them? Is it to inspire a certain group of people, entertain, educate or another personal reason?

I hope these three questions are just the beginning of the journey to tell your story. What inspires you to tell your story? Please add a comment below and share this blog with your friends! Thank you.

My muscles are flexed and on fire when suddenly (and quite cruelly), a guy named Gilad on one of my workout DVDs cheerfully announces, “let’s take inventory!” The weight stays in the air, muscles remain flexed and on fire and Gilad goes through a checklist of all the things I should be aware of that are happening with my body. “Are our arms still at 90 degrees?” “Are our abdominals still pulled in?” “Are you ready to slap me through your TV set yet?”

When is the last time you took inventory of the words you use to communicate your message to your audience? Is your message consistent, clear, creative, continuous and impactful across all your means of written and verbal communication?

Let’s find out:

1.     First, gather together the “scripts” from all the ways you communicate your message verbally – the words your audience hears. For example, your elevator pitch, TV and radio ads, and videos. If you don’t already have these items typed up, take a moment to do so now.

2.     Now gather together your written communications – the words your audience sees. For example your website content, social media posts, brochures, and postcards.

3.     Clear a large flat space and spread out all your words, both written and verbal, so you can seem them all at the same time. Feel free to use your computer or tablet to view your “virtual” words like the ones on your website or social media posts. The objective is to SEE all your words, as if placed together in a collage.

4.     Take a few minutes to look at your words, ideas and messages and what they are communicating to you, without judging or editing. If your words did indeed make up a collage, what would the title be?

5.     There’s an old children’s program song that goes, “Which of these things is not like the other?” Make a note of any words, ideas or messages that stand out as completely different than the rest of the collage (again – without judging or editing).

6.     Grab a highlighter and highlight what you like. Use a marker to cross out anything that isn’t speaking to you.

7.     Document the results of this exercise and any “ah-ha” moments you experienced.

Our goal here on the “Christine’s Ink” blog for 2012, is to add clarity, consistency, continuity, creativity and impact to your words inventory. If it sounds like a daunting task, take a deep breath and realize that this exercise was just step one. We have 12 whole months to accomplish the whole goal!

Some blogs will look like this one, with actionable, step-by-step exercises designed to work toward our big 2012 goal (“adding clarity to your website,” for example). Others blogs are intended to serve as creative inspiration and reminders that sharing your words is meant to be a joyful experience. After all, we have Gilad for the other stuff. Happy Impact 2012, thanks for subscribing by clicking "RSS Feed" on the right, and see you again soon!

The first rule of branding is – we do not talk about branding. 

The second rule of branding is – we do NOT talk about branding.

There seems to be an unofficial tug of war amongst business thought leaders, to introduce and then, a few virtual minutes later, kill off the new big “thing” – whether marketing, technology, sales, or otherwise. Apple products may be the only known exception, with its business model that introduces a new version of the thing just before the critics and cynics cook up the old thing for dinner.

As one of personal branding’s biggest fans I’ve already observed an emerging game of tug of war. On one side, there are the fast moving information hounds who have already declared “branding” (which they usually utter with a virtual sneer) dead on arrival. They have labeled it an empty marketing gimmick with no real teeth.

And then, at the other end of the rope there are those like me, who see personal branding as an extremely innovative and valuable tool in promoting who you are, what you do and why people should care. It’s also a brilliant replacement for the old way of answering these questions.

Remember how the Internet was once cluttered with gigantic, confusing, nearly identical company websites? It began with a rambling, scrolling home page with every last detail about every company service. Then, if, you hadn’t already returned to your desktop game of solitaire, you could visit the “About Us” page, where every single thing the company ever accomplished was described chronologically and in great detail. A typical “Key Person” Bio then attempted to explain why the CFO’s first accounting job out of college was key to the awesomeness of the business today.

Fifteen minutes later, you could conceivably know every single thing about the business (including the CEO’s favorite flavor of ice cream; strawberry by the way) except the most important thing – why should I care enough to buy from them? We could always look to the mission statement – the company’s grand opportunity to truly differentiate itself from the competition.

99% of mission statements (yes, I’m exaggerating) from back in the day, were a variation of, “To provide excellent customer service.”

Today, more and more companies are getting the message and communicating their message clearly, consistently, creatively and succinctly. No more CFO resumes or CEO ice cream picks.

The old way of explaining why you’re special is the equivalent of sugarless, fat free, store brand vanilla ice cream. Branding is Ben & Jerry’s. It sticks with you longer and offers much more to sink your teeth into – it’s just better. So please, cynics at the other end of the rope, don’t take away my Chunky Monkey. I’m not done yet. But if it will satisfy your cynicism, we can call it iBranding 4S. 

_ “At Christine, Ink. we tell the story of your brand – with clarity, continuity, creativity and impact!”

When introducing my business, I like to deliver those words rapid fire and cap it off with jazz hands at the end for added IMPACT! Because when you have the chutzpah to name your company after yourself and create a brand message intended to excite and inspire, it’s important to embody it completely in every moment.

In recent years I’ve taken this mission, to completely craft my business around my brand, quite literally. 2010 was the year of clarity. I realized (through some expert business coaching) that my service offerings were far more reflective of personal branding than of the “full service writing firm” I had been touting in the years since founding my firm in 2003. After some market experimentation involving a stuffed cow named Mooroy to communicate this “branding” message (mooo!) I finally understood that the power of delivering clear, consistent, creative written communications to one’s audience requires no confusing gimmicks. And on top of that, our new puppy Gracie ate Mooroy so his company mascot status became a moot point.

In 2011, my brand message grew even clearer as I established continuity throughout all my communications and connections. I invested in a selection of creative, spot-on promotional materials from the incredibly innovative Kim Novotny. I joined the eWomen Network where the continuity of my business relationships strengthened. And finally, you’re looking at my most recent investment in making sure people get the message about who I am and what I do – this multifaceted, interactive, beautifully designed web experience, brought to you by one of my new favorite people, Gertie at Waking Girl Web Design!

Take a tour of the new virtual Christine, Ink:

• It takes only one little click on the home page to “like” Christine, Ink. on Facebook.
• Contact me by clicking “Email me” on any given page or visiting our convenient Contact page form.
• Visit “Who we Serve” to experience a fun, inspiring interactive interview where you can share with me a more specific creative vision for your written branding efforts in 2012.

_With clarity and continuity firmly at the controls, creativity is the fiery jet engine and IMPACT is the flight plan for 2012!

What kind of impact will you make in 2012?

Thank you for trusting me with your words,
Christine of Christine, Ink.