Here’s an embarrassing fun fact:
There was a time in my business where I felt like everyone and their mom was ahead of me and it drove me INSANE.
Every day, I’d watch my colleagues zoom past me with their perfect autoresponders and giant lists and viral content - and I was stuck in the same place I always was:
Nowhere.
It felt like everyone else knew something I didn't, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Was I afraid? Was it mindset? Money scripts? More courses on cold traffic? Copywriting? Do I need a coach? Therapy?
WHAT WAS I MISSING?!?!
WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE FURTHER AHEAD OF ME???
This led to a no-good-very-bad-habit I call comparisonitis. I became obsessed with studying what other people were doing, trying to copy their method, or looking for formulas I could use for guaranteed results.
But I never followed through. Not on purpose. It's just...didn't understand why this was so easy for everyone else -- and SEEMED easy to me -- and yet, it wasn't working.
Maybe I wasn't as smart as I thought I was, maybe I wasn't talented, maybe I'm a fraud who needs to just call it a day and go get a job and stop kidding myself.
It was none of those things.
Turns out I was missing a huge piece of the puzzle and once I figured it out, everything changed: My audience grew, my brand exploded, and I started getting noticed.
I felt CLEAR. Like I finally knew what I needed to do.
Honestly, the bigger win was I stopped feeling so afraid all the time. I trusted myself again.
And it had to do with voice.
Specifically, my voice.
Using my voice to take a stand, say what I mean, and put a freaking stake in the ground for what I believed.
Here's me, Margo Aaron. I'll formally introduce myself later because first I have to finish building the narrative on this sales page.
Part of the reason we’re terrified to use our voices is because there are serious consequences to being seen.
You might make a fool of yourself. You might lose the respect and support of the people closest to you.
You might be found out. You might say something that's totally wrong.
Your ideas might not work. Your content might suck.
You might fail. (And then what?! Go back to a job??)
The consequences of using your voice are terrifying.
But the consequences of NOT using your voice are worse.
What Happens When You Have Something To Say But You Don’t Say It
If you have something to say and you don’t let it out, that desire, that will, that force - doesn’t go away. It doesn’t dissipate or leave you alone.
IT GETS LOUDER.
It starts wreaking havoc on your insides like a ghost trapped in a haunted house. There’s something inside trying to come out and if you don’t take it seriously here’s what happens:
Your trapped voice turns into resentment that you project outward. You start working your shit out on other people, like a stage mom who shames other women. That’s not a woman who’s using her voice. That’s a woman who hates herself for not using it.
“Unused creativity is not benign, it metastasizes.” - Brene Brown
That "trapped voice resentment" also turns inwards. You get pulled into the self-loathing spiral of doom, consumed with all the ways you could have been and should have been better and stronger and smarter and more courageous. You care too much, you’re too sensitive, you’re not cut out for this (it says this, I’m not saying this).
This is what we’re seeing here with women actively resisting using their voice. Opting to say the right things the right way in order to avoid “making a scene” or “causing drama” or “making people uncomfortable” or getting too much attention.
Um hello:
You. Want Attention.
You want your voice to be heard, your ideas to be shared, and your audience to explode into raving fans.
That’s why you got into this work in the first place, isn’t it? The promise of content marketing was like a beacon - You can WRITE and take a STAND and MAKE MONEY?!?!?!?
It’s the dream! The trifecta.
But something’s stopping you from going all-in on your dream.
That fear of being seen. Of being called out as a fraud. That deep secret you carry ("I’m not good enough. I don't belong here.”).
I’ll tell you what a mentor told me when I was encountering all of this and it was [gulps] humbling. He said:
You’re hiding.
I didn’t think I was hiding. I had a website up. I did podcasts. I was “out there!” My name was out there. People knew my brand, I had impressive logos on my website.
“You’re hiding.”
What he meant was you’re not using your voice. You’re playing small. You’re staying safe.
You're not doing the things you KNOW you need to do to grow.
You're not building the giant platform of raving fans you want. You’re not taking a stand. Understandably because it’s scary AF out there and we’ve been conditioned to play and stay small. But it’s time.
It’s time to come out of hiding. It’s time to get your voice heard.
You’re ready.
Which is where I come in.
Hi, hello, I’m Margo Aaron, your trusty narrator, and writer of this sales page.
I’m the woman behind That Seems Important, the co-host of, “Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites,” and the creativity coach here for Voice Lessons. My work’s been featured in lots of fancy places like Inc and Entrepreneur, and my website was named one of the Top 100 Websites for Writers by The Write Life.
But right now what matters is: I’m the creator of Voice Lessons - which is what we're talking about today.
I created Voice Lessons out of my own frustration and inability to access and use my voice.
Ok, that, and it was causing my business to stagnate.
Like there were financial consequences to this.
I spent years hiding behind impostor syndrome and the fear of being who I am in public.
Putting myself out there was something I secretly wanted, but was afraid to actually go for because it meant saying weird things that might get me ousted from the cool kids club. Like saying, “you’re hiding” in my sales page. Which I believe, but like, you don't say stuff like that. That’s weird.
Being yourself in public IS WEIRD.
It’s weird and confronting and we often make the mistake of thinking it’s not right for “people like us.” Sensitive, introverted, intellectual types.
Here’s the thing:
You can be YOU and do this work.
So long as you use YOUR voice and not someone else's.
Which is what I'm going to help you do.
What It Means To Be Ready
You've read all the books. You've taken all the courses. You've gone to all the conferences. You've followed all the thought leaders. You've joined all the masterminds (ok some of the masterminds).
You've done all the things as far as PREP goes.
You've also dabbled in implementation. Maybe you write for your clients or for your job. Maybe you've written copy for your own products and website. You have a social presence. You've given a few talks, maybe you were even paid.
Here's what I'm getting at:
You know enough.
You've never going to feel like you're done learning because you are never done learning. That's how learning works. There's always more to know.
But when it comes to putting your work out there in a way that both SOUNDS LIKE YOU and SENDS YOU THE RIGHT PEOPLE - there's no more following other people's formulas, methods, and rules.
If you've experienced any paralysis, overthinking, or perfectionism when it comes to doing what you know you need to do to grow your business - YOU. ARE. READY.
That's the sign that you're done with learning.
It's time to take the reins.
Unlearn How You Think You're *Supposed To* Sound and Start Sounding Like YOU
When I coach clients struggling with impostor syndrome, I use a specific framework for accessing and using your voice as you establish and grow your brand.
It has three stages: Disentangle, Define, and Defeat.
DISENTANGLE
- How you make money and how you make an impact
- What you want and what you’re good at
- What you’re doing with your platform and what you WANT to do with your platform
DEFINE
- Impact, difference, meaning, change
- How you make money
- What you enjoy
- What you want
DEFEAT
- Perfectionism
- Overthinking
- Writer’s block
- Resistance
- Your cultural conditioning
- “Supposed To” and Comparisonitis
My framework makes it so you stop feeling like shit about yourself all the time, stop second-guessing yourself, and start taking FORWARD ACTION on the work that matters to you.
I can’t make the consequences of using your voice disappear. We still live in a world where using your voice is a radical act for a lot of us.
But what I will promise you is you’re equipped to handle it.
Moreover!
[hitting enter to denote the importance of this next sentence]
Avoiding doing this work - avoiding using your voice - is like sentencing yourself to a life of quiet desperation.
If you're someone who is feeling like there's more inside of you BURSTING to come out, you can imagine what not letting it out for the rest of your life will feel like.
We cannot avoid the social and personal consequences of using our voice, but we can use that voice, if we want to, as a beacon to attract more people like us.
AKA: Grow your audience, stand out online, and become the big recognizable AUTHENTIC personal brand you want to become.
"Margo's superpower is mixing practical advice with remarkable insights into what's holding you back.
She honed into the actual reason that I was struggling and helped me get unstuck. After our discussion, I completely shifted my thinking around my writing goals and gained the clarity I needed to move forward."
- Melissa Howard, on working with Margo
"I came to Margo unclear, unsure and unhappy with where my business was. I'd read a gazillion blogs and books, taken course upon mastermind, joined umpteen Facebook groups and coaching calls, heck, I even work at a marketing agency.
Six weeks later and I am over the freaking moon about my business! DO YOU KNOW HOW INCREDIBLE THAT FEELS? I am clear, focused, excited, primed and ready to make moves."
- Hannah Shamji, Host, The Hannah Podcast
"I get my ass in the chair every day, so it's a practice now. I finally have a plan to create content on a personal brand platform. That had me stuck for a year."
- Jocelyn Ring, Founder, The Ring Effect
Voice Lessons help you use your voice to take a stand on the things you care about.
We’ll dig into why you’re afraid of looking stupid, being unprepared, and saying the wrong thing. Why you’re obsessed with getting it right (and why that’s a good thing, but right now it’s keeping you from shipping).
The pressure to make your writing perfect sucks all the fun out of the creative process. Part of what we’ll do together is get back to the parts of writing and creativity that light you up.
We’ll explore what you like, why you like it, what’s interesting to you, and what content you personally enjoy consuming. And use that as a compass to direct us towards what and how you actually want to be writing and using your voice.
So you can take pride in your work again.
I will help you get out of your head and onto the page, so you can get on with growing your platform, audience, and brand.
GET MY THOUGHTS. But mostly get your own thoughts.
Who Is Margo and Why Should You Work With Her Me:
Margo Aaron is the loud redheaded cohost of, "Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites," the popular internet talk show that Loomly called one of the Top 7 marketing shows of 2019, alongside HBR and Akimbo. Aaron began her career as a psychological researcher before she accidentally landed herself in marketing. Today, Margo helps people develop and use their voice as they build their personal brands.
Her website, That Seems Important, has been named one of the top 100 best websites for writers by The Write Life and her writing has been featured in Inc, Entrepreneur, The Observer, Copyhackers, Thought Catalog, and Business Insider. She is a proud graduate of Emory University (BA), Columbia University (MA), and Seth Godin's altMBA where she won the prestigious Walker Award.
How Voice Lessons Work:
This is a 6-week coaching program.
Voice Lessons consists of six private one-hour sessions with me, live on Zoom. Each session recorded and sent to you, so you can revisit our conversations as often as you like.
There will be weekly customized assignments to help you make forward progress and push past the blocks standing in the way of you using your voice (using the Disentangle, Define, Defeat framework).
You’ll also get 24/7 Voxer and email access, with a guaranteed 48-hour response time.
What You Get:
- Private training sessions
- Unlimited access to me on Voxer and Email
- Feedback on your work
- Copyediting as needed
- Accountability so you follow through on shipping your work
- Practice using your voice in a safe environment before unleashing it on the world
- Customized and personalized assignments (While we rely on my framework, it's designed to be flexible to the specific places where you need the most help)
- Support and encouragement - This shiz is hard to do alone. I'll keep you motivated to follow through on the assignments and producing the content you want to produce.
- Clarity on what you actually want to say and how you want to say it (and which platform you want to say it on)
- Access to my courses and classes on sales, copywriting, and marketing (as needed)
Price:
$3,700. We use PayPal and yes we take credit cards. And, yes, there are payment plan options.
How do we get started:
You apply here. If you qualify, we'll schedule a chat to dig into what's going on in your business and where you're stuck, we'll review the details of our 6-weeks together and - if you're a good fit, I’ll send you payment details and an onboarding survey.
And, then, it’s go time 😉
Here's What Else You Will Get When You Sign Up For Voice Lessons
ACCOUNTABILITY:
Deadlines are the most effective way to get you taking action on overcoming impostor syndrome, which is why we'll set them. And I'll check in with you - a lot.
CLARITY:
Finally, feel like you know what you're talking about. We'll clear out that mental clutter and get you focused when it comes to what you have to say and how you want to say it (and where you want to show up).
FEEDBACK:
Want my eyes on your stuff? You got it. I'll do copyedits and feedback on creative assets - we'll also (probably) do a lot of brainstorming on Google docs, so you'll be getting lots of notes from someone who's been at this for the better part of a decade.
CONFIDENCE:
We'll take the voices in your head telling you, "You suck!" and throw them in the garbage. Ok, fiiiine, I have an assignment for getting rid of them, but same idea. You will walk away feeling a lot better about how you show up in your work.
"Margo brought me more clarity in 45 minutes than other consultants/coaches have brought me in the last 6 months. Not only is she honest and brings a genuine energy that is rare in our time, she has an innate ability to make one feel at ease. After all she gave me some follow up notes and to does which was really helpful." - Alexandra Hall
"I love Margo’s ability to dig into the heart of the matter - with great questions and well-directed answers. We got to the heart of what I really needed and then cut through the b.s. to focus there. She does it with a lot of warmth, but backs it with insanely high emotional intelligence and impressive knowledge of marketing." - Christina Salerno
FAQs:
What Time Zone will this be in?
I'm in Eastern Standard Time (EST) and we can work out a time that works in your time zone.
Do you have a payment plan?
Yes, we create customized payment plans that fit your needs.
Is there a Money-Back Guarantee?
While I expect all my clients to do the work, come prepared, and implement what they're taught, I cannot make you do it. But I can make my MBG contingent upon it. If you find within the first 7 days that this is not for you, then email hello@thatseemsimportant.com with your completed assignments and a detailed account of your grievance and I will refund your investment. I want people here who want to be here. And I hope that's you. In the event that it isn't, I understand and wish you the best.
How much homework will there be?
The assignments will be in congruence with what you're working on. They're not a distraction from your business. And I promise no fluffy, "If you had $16 million dollars and were going to die tomorrow, what would you do?" questions. These are customized assignments based on what you tell me your goals are and activities I trust will help get you unstuck.
What if I'm in Australia or Europe?
Not a problem. I've worked with people from all continents. We simply find a time when we're both awake to connect each week.
Will this program help me become a gluten-free chef?
Unfortunately, no, but thanks for the thoughtful question.
What if I have other questions?
Send em over to hello[at]thatseemsimportant[dot]com.
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