Brand Voice 101: When is Something TOO Personal to Share?

Every brand and business needs a story, period. Especially if you’re the face of your brand, it’s powerful to share your own story and tidbits about yourself to connect to your readers and followers. Otherwise, you’ll just fade into the background.

But when is something a little too personal to share?

WHAT’S THE LINE BETWEEN TMI (TOO MUCH INFORMATION) AND AUTHENTIC CONNECTION?

Of course, the answer will be different for everyone. But the more I’ve written on some very personal topics on behalf of my clients, the more I’m convinced there are two questions everyone should ask themselves if they’re feeling stuck about whether to share something personal.

Before you share, ask yourself.

#1 IS THIS REALLY IN THE PAST?

The answer should be YES! Especially if you’re sharing a personal story about a tough time you went through, it’s much more useful to your readers if you end with the lessons you learned (whether good or bad — happy endings aren’t required, of course). Just make sure you can honestly say you’ve come out on the other side of that bump in the road.

If you’re sharing your pain from the middle of the storm, it might just make your readers feel stressed or sad, too (especially, ironically enough, if you’re a good writer).

You want to turn your readers into followers, and followers into clients and customers. You don’t want them to click away (even subconsciously) because something heartbreaking that happened recently is too much for them to process.

If you’re still in an intense emotional state when you’re writing, it may feel cathartic to get those feelings out, but feel a little cringeworthy as you read it later.

There’s no downside to giving yourself some time to figure out if you want to share something personal. Your story will always be there.

The second question you should ask yourself is…

#2 WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION FOR SHARING THIS?

Your intention is important here. Are you sharing because you want people to think you’re smart? Or maybe because you want them to think you’re enlightened? Or a great mom?

Here’s something that often takes people by surprise: even if you put your heart and soul into sharing something deeply personal, you still can’t control your reader’s response to your personal story.

Make sure that at the end of the day, you’d feel okay with strangers judging you, liking you a little more or less, criticizing you or others involved in your story, etc.

Your truth will always resonate with those you’re meant to connect with and possibly work with, of course. But it’s easy to underestimate the sting of a personal, and not always positive, response from your readers.

I absolutely don’t want you to think I’m discouraging you from sharing personal stories and anecdotes! I’d absolutely encourage you to do this. Just remember: if you’re feeling unsure about whether to share, simply double check the wisdom of sharing at this moment by asking yourself these two questions we talked about today.

Now it’s your turn: what process do you go through if you’re a little unsure about sharing something personal? What questions do you ask yourself, if any? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

And happy sharing!