being compelling
Google any subject or phrase and you will find hundreds, if not thousands, of articles about your interest. How, then, does one go about create compelling content and getting people to read that content?
That's the million dollar question, isn't it? It's the back bone to any freelancer wanting to find work, any blogger wanting to get subscribers, anyone who relies on being compelling for their success. Wedding photographers are freelancers, by the way, although many of us don't realize that.
A Compelling Voice
Finding your voice is one thing, choosing your voice is another. I've battled with this – I have a pretty strong voice in my writing, but I worried at times, that it wasn't the voice people wanted to hear. I chose to use a different voice at first, thinking that playing it safe would attract more clients.
It is your voice that people want to hear, not some watered down version of your voice, or a mimicry of another voice – they want your voice, your point of view, your experience and perspective. It's less about the actual words you use and more about the intention behind them. Some people share in a way that is funny and self deprecating, others use shock value in their message. Both voices have value, both send a message that is larger than the actual words or images they use…it is the authenticity of the voice that gives it credibility.
Let's repeat that: authenticity drives credibility.
The scary part of that statement is that you need to trust in who you are, and the message you want to share.
Compelling Content
How are people going to find you? Is trusting your voice enough? What must you do to get noticed and get jobs?
Trusting your voice is not enough, but it is a start. Choosing to be authentic automatically sets you apart from people following the herd. In fact, the herd followers start to become indistinguishable leaving their followers wanting (and needing) something more. There is a place for those who are different, distinct in their voices. Know this and trust that your authentic voice will be heard.
Trust your voice in the content you are sharing. If you are a wedding photographer your voice is heard in two places – your words and your images. Neither one is enough, and neither one can stand alone. The time of images speaking for themselves has passed.
Wedding photographers are faced with so much more than making images – they must also sell them to complete strangers whose only connection to the images is the fact that they are also getting married. The images are a single part of the equation that combines images, words and image. Yes, image – your image. (that's another post)
Freelancers in other industries face the same dilemma – the time of a simple portfolio of words or designs has passed. As a recent entrant to the freelance writing market, I'm learning each day about the importance of my voice in this process. It is not just the words found in the writing samples I create, it is the way in which I present them and myself to clients. Naively ignoring the lessons I learned in wedding photography, I pursued my writing without putting trust in my voice. In other words, I lacked credibility because I wasn't being authentic in my pursuits.
One Voice can be Heard
Are you guilty of playing it safe and doing what you think is expected of you? I am. Not in wedding photography, but certainly in freelance writing. Thankfully, I learn fast and learned this: originality is noticed and rewarded while conformity ensures you are forgotten.
Our biggest successes came after we realized that we needed to forge our own path, turning our backs on what others were doing and fine tuning our voices instead. As wedding photographers we did things our way, and that way worked for us. It won't work for you. Neither will any other photographer's way of making images. Your success will come when you take the tools others have given you and use them to share your voice through your images, not before. Emulation is fine, but take what you want to emulate and spin it to make it your own. Then, stop emulating anyone and start trusting yourself.
Use your voice, the one that is authentic to you. Know that not everyone is going to like it; not everyone is going to understand it. That's ok. The point of having a voice is using it. In a world where everything is starting to look and sound the same, saying something different will set you apart. Your images, your words, your image all combine to create something that is your own. Why would you want to follow where others lead only to blend with all their other followers?
Trust that your voice, your authentic voice, deserves to be heard. Trust that with authenticity comes credibility. Trust that clients will see and respect your voice. More importantly, trust that you have a voice and that your voice is compelling.
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