WOULD YOU PASS “THE TMI TEST”?
Think about your Facebook News Feed for a minute. Do any of these look familiar?
- “Check out this rash. Think it’s poison ivy?” (Please, please just check WebMD.)
- “I’m so borrrrrred.” (Translation: “I need some purpose in my life. Or maybe Netflix.”)
- “Spaghetti with meatballs tonight!” (Unless you own a restaurant….)
- “Look who went #2 in the potty!” (I know I’ll be a proud mama when that happens, but please e-smack me if I alert the media.)
It’s called sharing T.M.I. Too. much. information. It happens, and we’re all keenly aware of it. That’s precisely why I get this question all. of. the time:
“How do I let my audience/clients/fans know who I am without sharing TOO much?”
There’s no simple answer, but I’ve come up with a short list of TWO common sense questions to help you make smart choices on a case-by-case basis.
I call it “The TMI Test.”
Here’s a little backstory for you: This whole topic was inspired by a conversation I had with one of my dream clients (and friends!), Grishma Dille. We were talking about babies (our kiddos are the same age), and I sent her a link to a post from my personal blog, Stories from a Screensaver. Her first response?
“Nikki, I didn’t know you had a blog before this!”
That sentence literally jumped off of the screen and smacked me in the face. I’ve known Grish since MARCH, and I didn’t tell her about my blog? (It’s all about my family and my pregnancy, for Pete’s, and that’s her specialty!)
The thing is: I haven’t been intentionally HIDING my personal blog from you (it’s actually been linked over on my Giving Back page since the dawn of time, June 6th), but I haven’t drawn your attention to it either.
Two reasons why:
1. I haven’t had time to make a good plan. Figuring out how to merge these two “worlds” was a big concern of mine before I actually launched my business. But then, things got a little busy.
2. I didn’t write that content to be helpful. It was just for fun, family, and friends. I wasn’t sure if my biz crowd (YOU) would care to know about it. (Sidenote: Totally take a look and tell me if you would, BTW. You can even watch my biz idea develop before your eyes!)
Why am I telling you all this? To prove to you that I’ve struggled with this question too. Yet another reason for me to create…
THE TMI TEST
Click the video to check it out:
So that’s it! Pretty simple, right? And in case you’re feeling geeky…
- You don’t need to tell them everything; you just need to tell them enough. (Tweet that!)
- If you wouldn’t want to see it on Google page 1, DON’T SHARE IT. (Tweet that!)
IT’S SHARE TIME!
We can talk about all KINDS of fun stuff this week. I even thought of a bonus Q after shooting the video.
To start, if you’ve got more Qs related to writing about YOU and your business (without sounding like a robot), click right here to be sure they’re answered in my upcoming course.
Then, in the comments below THIS post, tell me (us):
- What’s one personal story that has really resonated with your audience?
- What’s one thing you’d never need to tell them, but would be fun to tell us anyway?
As always, if you like this post (and don’t think it’s TMI), please SHARE it using the icons to the left. Maybe together we can stop people from posting rashes on Facebook. (Oh why not…tweet that too.)
To just enough information,
P.S. If you think you need professional help (when it comes to words + people), work with me. That’s what I do, dude.
P.P.S. If you’re keeping track, this post undoubtedly holds my personal record for number of links. It’s a miracle you made it this far!
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