Why Writing About Yourself Can Be Difficult and How a Copywriter Can Help

You hear it in business all the time…

“Be yourself! People want to know the real you.”

Ahhh yes, thank you for that advice that is so much more easily said than done. 🙃

As a business owner, you’ve likely experienced this tension of showing up as yourself while also showing up as a professional that people are eager to hire. 

You know that you need to be real and authentic, yet when it comes time to put your personality into words that get attention, build relationships, and remain professional enough so that people take you seriously, it can be extremely hard to do. 

Even as a copywriter myself, I know how difficult it can be to share your story, let people in on the behind the scenes of your life, and quite frankly just show up as YOU.

After working in this industry for 3+ years, I’ve finally boiled it down to 3 main reasons that writing about yourself (aka showing up as your real, authentic self in all that you do) can be so hard. 

These are the most common reasons I see people lacking personality in their copy. And as someone who deeply believes that every single business owner and creative (including YOU) has special word-magic inside of them that allows you to unapologetically show up as yourself online, it’s time you learn what these are so you can stop letting them hold you back!

3 Reasons That Writing About Yourself Is So Hard

1) It requires self-reflection.

There’s two types of people in the world: those who love to reflect, and those who strive to stay as far away from their past as possible. 

If you’re among the latter group of people, I have to tell you: your past is the very thing that got you here. 

Whether you’re proud of your past or not, there are certain actions you’ve taken that make up your story and have gotten you to where you are today, which is why introspection and self-awareness is so important when it comes to writing about yourself.

Many times, when you start to reflect and recount your story, it becomes very difficult to accurately translate your thoughts, experiences, and emotions on paper.

And this is when it gets tricky. 

When this happens, it can be incredibly frustrating and cause you to lean into more generic words and copy because you can’t quite figure out how to make it unique to you while also connecting with your audience. 

This is where hiring a copywriter can be so beneficial, but I’ll get to that in just a minute!

2) You’re afraid of what your audience will think. 

News flash! We’re all human, which means we naturally care about what other people think.

Even though we know we shouldn’t, we do. We also naturally want to be approved and accepted.

This is one of the most common reasons that people struggle to write about themselves and to show up authentically.

When you let the fear of what your audience will think about the true you keep you from showing up as yourself, you start to shrink into what you think they’ll approve of. 

You might change the way you write so that it doesn’t let your bold personality shine, or you may shy away from sharing any opinions that you think people might not agree with. 

And while this strategy might work to gain you a few new followers, there’s a good chance it will backfire when followers convert into leads and they realize you’re different from who you portray yourself to be online. 

The truth is that you aren’t for everyone, and it’s time you STOP trying to be.

There will always be something that someone doesn’t like or agree with, so you’re much better off showing up as who you really are and trusting the right people will love you for it.

3) You’re too hard on yourself. 

It’s no secret that society has become one big comparison trap, thanks to social media. 

You see what one business owner is doing or what they’ve accomplished, and you suddenly think that your accomplishments aren’t good enough. 

Or, you see what vacation someone took and suddenly think that the vacation you took your kids on wasn’t cool enough. 

Or you see one mom’s morning routine and start beating yourself up for sleeping in.

Or it could be something as silly as what someone ate for lunch today – you’re telling me they made a homemade salad, and you had a measly turkey sandwich? Pshhh, not good enough. 

It’s exhausting, isn’t it?!

Comparison really starts to rear its head when you sit down to write about yourself because you immediately start to think about the other person in your industry that has more credentials or experience than you. 

Maybe they went to college for this and you didn’t.

Maybe they’ve been doing this for 10 years, and you’re still in your first year of business. 

Whatever the case may be, it’s really easy to start discrediting yourself when you try to write about yourself because you become so obsessed with trying to convince the world that you know what you’re doing and that you’re good at it.

But guess what? People don’t actually care about where you went to college, what you majored in, what your GPA was, or how many years you’ve been in business. 

What they DO care about is how you serve people and how you can help them specifically. Guess what all of this comes back to? How you show up online.

The counterintuitive piece of all this that I want you to remember is that your story is actually less about you and more about the people on the receiving end of it. 

When you show up as your true self and own your story, regardless of what your accomplishments look like compared to someone else’s, the right people will recognize that and become more connected to you because of it. 

How To Start Writing About Yourself With Ease

Now that you know WHY writing about yourself can be so dang hard, you might be wondering HOW you bust through the blank page syndrome and just do it already. 

First things first, give yourself permission to be you.

That might sound cheesy or cliche, but that really is the first thing you need to do. 

I’m willing to bet that you’ve been holding back on your personality and uniqueness for the sake of hoping people will like you online, but it’s time to trust that the right people WILL like you… when you show them who you really are.

Next, allow yourself to own YOUR story, and stop trying to make someone else’s your own.

Now feels like a good time to remind you of that popular quote: “No one is you and that is your power.”

Call it cliche if you want, but it’s true. No one is you, and you aren’t anyone else – no matter how hard you try to be.

Your expertise, knowledge, and experiences are YOURS, and it’s time you own them because all of those things make up who you are, what you do, and how you can uniquely do it. 

Lastly, if you’re really struggling with writing about yourself and can’t seem to get out what you want to say in a concise way, that may be a sign that you need someone to come alongside you to help. 

How a Copywriter Can Help You Show Up Authentically Online

INSERT: Your favorite copywriter for photographers. 💛 (It’s me!)

I know what you might be thinking… “Sara, if I can’t even write about myself, how are you going to?”

Valid question, my friend – let me explain!

As a business owner, no matter what industry you’re in, you’re very close to your business. You’re in the work day-to-day, which can make it really hard to step outside and view it how your audience does. 

The easiest way to think about this is by imagining that you’re inside a soda bottle. When you’re in that bottle, you can’t clearly see the label. Things are fuzzy, confusing, and you’re just sort of guessing about what you see.

A copywriter is someone who can come alongside you, listen to what you’re trying to convey, and help you put your personality into words that feel like you and that other people understand.

And that’s exactly what I help my clients do!

I ultimately serve as a third party who is detached from the day-to-day of your business. This helps me ask the right questions to truly get to know you, so that I can help you create personality-packed copy that people truly connect with. 

Do I think it’s possible for business owners to effectively write their own copy? Absolutely!

But do I also believe that sometimes, a little extra help is needed to create what you really want? You betcha!

Let’s Work Together

• Copywriter on Call – for the photographer who wants custom website copy…fast!

What You Get:

✔️ 1:1 kickoff call, where we talk strategy and define your project to-do list

✔️ Up to 6 pages of done-for-you website copywriting, with two speedy rounds of revisions to ensure we get it right

✔️ Custom website copy, delivered in Google Docs or implemented on your website

After our strategy session wraps up, I ride off into the proverbial sunset (or, as copywriters often do, into my Airpods-muffled world) to do what I do best: write. ✍🏼

During this time, you get to hang out in your zone of genius or serve your people. In other words, you do you, friend. I’ve got this!

At the end of your project, I’ll send over all of your deliverables or place your copy on your website, and thank you kindly for trusting me with your brand and your business!

Click here to connect, and let’s work together to create your very own word magic in your business. ✨