style over substance

The following statement will sound counter-intuitive. That’s because you’ve been lied to for years. Okay. Here goes.

In marketing, there’s a case for style over substance.

It’s a strong case, too.

Just think about this for a moment.

The top political commentators get paid a ton of money, to deliver their take on the news for major networks.
The also-ran commentators get paid peanuts, to deliver their take on the news, for small, local networks.

Here’s the thing. In both cases, the news (substance) they comment on is the same. Here’s why one of them is earning 10 times or 50 times more than the other. It’s their style. The style with which they work.

For example:

Their courage, when choosing to take, or avoid, a controversial stance.
Their ability to communicate with confidence.
Their vocabulary.
Their energy.
Their effectiveness when injecting their personality (style) into their work, so that it’s truly theirs.

Here’s my point: When it comes to business, the substance should be there by default. Every qualified consultant, coach, lawyer, adviser, etc., knows what their service (substance) is and how it works. It’s their style that sets them apart from the crowd.

Style over substance in marketing

The newsletters, blogs, Facebook groups, YouTube channels, Social media accounts and podcasts, which people take notice of, all have their own style.

And the ones that fail to grow, fail to get noticed, fail to make an impact… well… they don’t.

Instead, they follow the cookie-cutter approach to marketing. They bought into the lie. The lie that says; ‘Just market your stuff this way, like everyone else, and it works. Follow the steps. 1-2-3’.

That’s bullcrap.

You can certainly learn substance that way. However, your style, the very thing that gets you noticed, by default, can’t possibly be learned from a marketing seminar, a course, a book or any other generalized form of information.

Why?

Because your style is all about you.

Where are you right now?

Okay, you obviously understand the services you provide extremely well. So the substance is there. You know what you’re doing. You’ve got the substance part covered.

But what about the style?

When it comes to your marketing, when it comes to the story behind your service, are you telling it from your perspective? Are you sharing the substance of your knowledge, using your voice, your perspectives and your experiences? Because these help form your style and your style is what people connect with.

It’s your style that sets you apart.
It’s your style that makes you approachable.
It’s your style that inspires people to share your message.
It’s your style that gives value to your substance.
It’s your style that motivates people to want to hire you or buy from you specifically.