I just got off the phone with the CEO of a $10 million software company. He said, “We’re trying really hard to put our personalities ‘out there’ more, write more, blog more. It’s kind of a struggle, we’re not really used to being big-ego front men. But we’re pressing harder to do more of that.”
He seemed to be pushing this in an unnatural direction. Like: Yes, you should stretch yourself into new areas. But I didn’t think that was the key to doing what he wants to do.
I said, “What you are really trying to do is FIND YOUR VOICE. This is not about pushing out into some totally new area, it’s more about finding a groove that’s already there.
“Einstein didn’t INVENT relativity, he DISCOVERED it.
“You already have opinions, points of view, ways you think business should be done, ways problems should be solved. You really just need to get out of your own way and express that more naturally.”
My friend, I propose to you that a unique, distinctive voice is THE thing that people desire when they buy things. When people make a purchase, they really want to buy an EXPERIENCE. The essence of any unique experience is personality.
For example:
-I play drums and I love great drummers. The best players are eminently recognizable. I can recognize Mike Portnoy or Neil Peart or Gavin Harrison *anywhere.* Doesn’t matter what album they’re playing on or who the other musicians are, their style is so distinctive, it only takes 30 seconds to tell – “Hey, that’s Mike.”
Any one of them can play the part, the literal notes, perfectly. But it’s not about the note and that’s not where the art lies. It’s about the FLAVOR the musician gives to that note. You can say the same thing about guitar players – Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix or Larry Carlton. Or sax players like John Coltrane and Michael Brecker.
-Starbucks isn’t about the coffee, it’s about the unique experience. All the sights, sounds and smells of that store when you stroll in. Every time you glimpse one of their white cups with the green logo, all those sensory experiences flood your memory for a nanosecond.
-Apple doesn’t just sell MP3 players. They sell a very distinctive set of values and simplicity. In total, it’s a kind of “coolness” that’s irresistible.
About 5-6 years ago, John Carlton was kicking my teeth in, coaching me on my writing. I’ll never forget one day when he said, “You’re finding your voice.”
Yes. Exactly. Those words sank in. I was homing in on a writing style that would be distinctive, immediately recognizable and consistent.
Your “voice” may not be your writing or in the words that you speak. It may be in the way that you write software. It may be the way you design web pages. Or the way you interview clients and reach the heart of some problem. It may be a very specific set of values that permeates your entire team and customer experience.
Whatever it is, it’s unique. It’s the part of your USP that may be unspoken but may in fact be THE thing that your customers love about you.
ALL artists, writers, engineers and people who create things go through a phase where they’re trying to find their voice. At first they do it by imitating other voices that they love. Of course imitation is the highest form of flattery, but flattery isn’t the point. Playing guitar exactly like B.B. King isn’t the point. It’s just a touchstone on the way to figuring out who you are and what you do and what’s unique about you.
You hone your chops and that groove becomes clearer with time.
Be patient with yourself, relentlessly perfect your craft… and enjoy the thrill of discovering the sound of your own voice.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
28 Comments on “"Finding your voice"”
Thanks for the wonderful insights.
However when we start an internet business, not many of us realize what the ultimate purpose of our web business should be.
Now since I have tasted some success, I think of renovating my website with a bigger goal such as providing the online exercise enthusiasts the best experience in terms of planning their exercise and workout programs and track their progress.
thanks again.
Hi Perry,
I’m no muso (unfortunately), but I very much related to what you said about being able to recognise the tone, style & “voice” of different bands & musicians.
For example, I always recognise a U2 song, even if Bono isn’t singing – Edge has a very distinctive style of playing guitar that I have not encountered anyone using.
Same for Santana, AC/DC, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), and any number of other successful musicians &/or their band as a combination.
The analogy of finding your “voice” is sooo powerful, and I intuitively realised in the past that I have my own voice & style.
Regretably, it hasn’t appealed to my boss who often complained about it. At the time, it made me disappointed that he was criticising me, but I guess in reality, it’s simply that his voice & mine are very different & THAT’S why he criticised mine…
Great news is I am out on my own fulltime in 4 weeks, so I get to use the voice I want and if he doesn’t like it, that’s not my concern or problem.
Thanks for another brilliantly insightful post. As always, your voice resonates with me. I guess, at the end of the day, the people who love Perry Marshall do so because his voice resonates with them.
The ones it fails to resonate with miss out, but might be better served listening to someone else’s voice that better suits them.
Eran
PS: Ailis, record yourself (video or audio) presenting your message in a more powerful way, then have that transcribed and you’ve got your voice in written form for blog posts, email posts, etc.
Hi Perry,
So many times people come to me and say their niche is saturated and they don’t realize that their voice is unique and they probably do have something to offer and if they were just authentically themselves it would be a huge step in the right direction. Thanks for sharing this. Also I love the drums example too! As a Grammy-nominated songwriter I know exactly what you mean!
Perry
Thanks for the tips – your definitive ad word course has helped me get my cost per click down to abut .21, and I get consistent sales everyday. I will look to buy the Ultimate guide. FYI – some of these SEO companies are claiming that I’m missing almost 80% of my customers because I’m not coming up on an organic search for key words and key word phrases.
I’m kind of late to this party, but if to no one else than the cosmos – here’s my two cents…
I find the Three C’s most helpful in gut checking whether or not I’m conveying my voice to my audience:
Clarity – “Don’t waste my time.” Does your audience know exactly what you’re saying, and just as importantly, exactly what you want them to do and WHY? If not, you’re likely going broke.
Congruence – “Don’t confuse me.” Does what you said today fit glove to hand around what you told me yesterday? Does it build, does it reinforce, does it expand? If it contradicts, I’m leaving.
Consistency – “Don’t take it for granted that I care about you.” Do I come to know and care about you by resonating with your voice over a long period of time? Or do I become complacent?
I have to come to appreciate Perry’s voice more than any other guru specifically for these reasons. He simply resonates more clearly, congruently, and consistently than anyone else out there.
The old sales maxim holds true – “If the customer is confused, the answer is No.” In many markets it takes awhile for the client to complete the process of becoming unconfused. They may need to hear your voice for 12-18 months before dropping coin.
Build the Maze right Perry? And while you’re doing it… Be Clear, Be Congruent, Be Consistent.
Excellent post as usual Perry.
It has been about ten months since I have read any of your work. I have been doing some vocal lessons with my “Voice” Hah. Seriously, I have been very busy building, testing, and tweaking. I am not quite sure if my voice is a whisper or a yell as of yet but I know it is mine.
Thank you Perry for words that you wrote years ago that inspired me then and even more today. I found my voice while trying to enter the IM snake oil game. In short, I found your website read much of the content, especially the armchair philosopher, and then decided maybe not every Internet Marketer was a crook.
Here I am several years later a web developer with great optimism and zeal for the craft. I love SEO because it is fun to do the impossible. I owe some of my success today to your adwords tutorials although I push the organic results as hard as possible.
Thank You for your leadership through the years, and your work with the armchair philosopher.
William
G’day Perry,
Thanks so much for the message regarding ‘finding your own voice.’ The timing is perfect because I’m just about to commence a total re-write of my story about a seven-year journey around Australia photographing the landscape. I’m rewriting it because the last version didn’t have ‘my voice’ in it. I’m thus encouraged, and so it’s a case of putting the pedal to the metal to get it finished.
Thanks again, and all the best to you,
Cheers,
Mark
Perry: I read a lot of stuff, but “Finding Your Voice” was exactly what I needed today. I have taken loads of training, have lots of knowledge about my field. But, somewhere after I did all the training I felt afraid that I was not doing something correctly, so I stopped. I really needed to hear this information. In the beginning, I may not be the best, I must not be afraid. I am not like anyone else, I just need to share what I do know. Thanks for this great kick in the butt!!! Charlene
This is one article I carefully read and then read again. I’m not sure I’ve found my voice, but your article made me realize that what I have is unique – it’s just a matter of focus and continuing to work on my prototype until it’s perfected.
Thanks,
Bill
P.S.
Your thoughts on SEO vs. pay per click would be helpful – there’s a lot of SEO companies making incredible promises and claims, and I’m not sure if I trust the claims. I would like to get my google cost down, especially since I’m moving into brick and mortar.
Bill,
You should not believe outlandish SEO claims. use PPC to determine the best keywords and then do SEO. There’s a great chapter on SEO in my Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords (it’s on Amazon).
Perry
Organic results and PPC results are 2 independent sources of visitors. You need to look at ROI of each and never want to replace one with the other.
If your PPC ROI is (too) low, you need to fix that problem. If you try to compensate it with Organic results, you´re missing out on a lot of sales.
Perry, I’ve been on your list now for a while and trying to absorb your Google AdWords knowledge. But today, you hit me with insight that really hit home. You see, I’m an offline maraketing consultant and what you had to say today about finding your voice hit at a time that I think I truly am finding my marketing voice. I’ve been a branding “guru” for a long time, but it’s only now that I’m finding that my true position in this industry is what I call Xtreme Branding, where I go above and beyond the normal and make people uncomfortable with what my client is saying. It’s a tough sell, but for the clients who “get it” the results are well worth it.
I also happen to be a drummer, so I recognized the guys you mentioned and fully understand how you can tell the difference.
I really like the voice that you are discovering.
May it grow louder and find more ears to hear.
Well Done.
JOHN
Perry-
I have been on your list for less than a year, but to my “ear” your message has changed to more of “elder statesman” than the positive coach you were. Maybe to do w/turning 40? Or maybe it’s just me?
But, as the Captain of your ship Destiny, if you want to focus in on part of the big picture, you are invited to check out my brass telescope section. In truth, I credit this, and my other sites (like camping fridge) to your inspiration, and the encouragement I gain from your regular emails.
Thanks for everything.
Ted
Ted,
Great to see inspiration in action. What pursuit would be older or more nobler than contemplating the secrets of the universe by studying the stars?
And yeah, when I turned 40 I told everyone I’d been holding back. Not doing that anymore.
Perry
Perry, you almost always light a bulb in my head with your insights. It’s great getting emails from an IM expert who actually teaches you something with every email (and not just sell or bragg)
I wonder what could be ‘the voice’ for an Adwords accounts manager: transparency and trustworthiness?, managing campaigns in just one industry (such as tourism, for instance)…
Again, keep the good work!
Carlos
Best argument I’ve seen against outsourcing.
“Finding your voice” is a very beautiful simple concept. But not an easy one.
A first hurdle is that entrepreneurs have a hard time to listen to themselves with their customers’ ears. And if you cannot hear your voice, it’s hard to find it.
Second problem is when they listen but don’t understand what their customers understand of the brand. Brand positioning is made by cutomers and prospects, not by companies.
The best advice to “find your voice” is letting your customers find it for you.
I mean literally: talk with them, let them do your brand positioning – naturally, while they talk about your products and why they buy or consider buying them – and let them make you hear your voice with their ears (the only ears that count).
Hi Perry,
I loved this article, here is my dilemma: I have a business I love in a niche I am passionate about with some success to date BUT I do not market or blog on a consistent basis. I seem to have serious difficulty EXPRESSING my voice.
My writing style is unemotional and corporate in style(having spent years working in big corporates). I have an autorepsonder series but send out adhoc email campaigns and get disappointed when they dont work. I try individual emails to customers who talk to me directly and I find that I cannot connect with them in email but can do so in person or on the phone.
I avoid email marketing and blogging because they require writing whic is clearly my biggest obstacle!
Any suggestions you would have would be most welcome.
I have been an avid fan for years and am thrilled to get the chance to ask you a question directly.
Thank you so much for your honest voice in the wilderness of internet marketing darkness!
Ailís,
If writing is your thing, don’t fight it. Do videos, audios, teleseminars. Whatever DOES connect with customers, do THAT.
Perry
Indeed, Perry said: find your voice. You already found it: it is your voice! (literally)
Do audio (or video) recordings and send the links to these recording as your autoresponder sequence.
You can even be candid with your list and tell them “I do audios because I cannot express to you what I want with the written text”.
And, by the way, audios (or videos) have a higher perceived value, so your list will be happy.
So here’s a question Perry, and this is not to criticize, I just want to know what you think.
It’s easy to use the “voice” of successful people as an example, but what about people that have found their voice, but there’s no audience for their “voice”?
That does happen a lot, I’m sure. What would you suggest these people do? How does one adapt ones voice so that it gets an audience?
Peter,
We all know extremely talented musicians, for example, whose work has never really seen the light of day.
Seeing the light of day – hey, that’s what marketing and advertising are all about. Getting an audience – that’s exactly what I teach.
I can’t guarantee that any one person’s voice is the voice the world wants to hear but market research can tell you what kind of voice the world is looking for.
Bottom line: Master the 100 year old principles of direct marketing.
Perry
Thanks for this post. It’s like we have to find our own “groove” by growing and developing ourselves and our unique message. The thing is to have the patience to “keep on keeping on” in the process of that development and not give up.
I honestly hope a lot of folks who are on your list appreciate the value of these rare case studies.
These are priceless gems!
My first copy writing course I bought was that of Clayton Makepeace. Then I discovered that it is entirely different from the way you and Bob Bly write your copies.
Then later discovered again that John Calton is entirely different.
I think new marketers find it very frustrating indeed when they can’t find that rhythm.
Once you find your rhythm, no one can stop you. It just flows flawlessly and Gracefully!
Thanks a million.
I Like This.
I Like It A LOT!
I don’t know why it is that we’re taught to hide who we are, rather than to reveal it.
I was raised to fear criticism.
It has taken me many years to realize this is a screwed-up approach to life.
I used to believe I was sensitive – a sensitive male – and that this was a unique strength, among a world of boorish males.
(This is how I was raised – by my Well-Meaning Mother)
Now – finally – at this late stage of life – I’m finally realizing the benefit of knowing how to be thick-skinned – and being able to choose it as a mode of being, in certain circumstances.
I still could use lots of practice, but at least sometimes now,
I can choose to NOT be easily offended.
I can choose to allow others to complain –
even if it’s about me.
I can choose to allow others to criticize me.
If that is their chosen modality,
then I can merely choose to adjust mine in return.
It’s interesting that deeper definitions of “thick-skinned” extend all the way to —
-Emotionally hardened
-Deficient in human sensibility
-Not mentally or morally sensitive
One need not go to that extreme, but it’s nice to have a full range of being to choose from – ranging from sensitivity & subtle understanding, all the way to being thick-skinned and not easily offended.
That’s a big part of what I admire about You, Perry:
Your ability to understand and identify the most delicate subtleties at times
– and at other times, be admirably “thick-skinned”
– like the time you stood there on stage at Your April 2006 AdWords Conference
in Chicago, just listening – no defensiveness, not even a reply
– when that jerk stood up and yelled out a mind-twistingly unfounded & stupid critique of YOU & the conference,
while a hundred of us watched and listened with our jaws dropped and our mouths open.
You weren’t “hooked” into his diatribe & didn’t even respond.
Amazing!
You are a champion of truth & integrity —
and You Know How to be “Thick-skinned” When You Choose To Be.
You clearly demonstrate the power of one who has found his own voice.
Well Done!
Thank You, Once Again.
~Sunny :)
Perry, I have to admit that I was just taking a quick view of your emails, up to today. Yes! But today’s email touch my “sensitive chord”! As a musician (i play the bass) I can understand exactly what you mean. Even if I wouldn’t recognize those drummers you mention, however, I would recognize David Weckl and his straight hits or Santana playing the quitar or Patitucci playing these smooth and low tunes with his bass, etc. Perry I don’t know if you can “spy” me and that’s for this email (I don’t think so) but I just realize that I am trying these 9 months, I am involved with Internet Marketing, to find my voice and I want this voice to be loud and clear. So congratulation for this inspiring email and thank you for all the emails you’ve sended me. I promise to read them all from now on very carefully.
Posts like this are exactly why I trust everything you say… I’ll never stop reading your emails.
And you don’t even have a video of you riding a fancy car, doing back flips out of a helicopter, telling me how I’ll get rich if I buy your product.
Imagine that!