A description people can carry
In my Lazzzy Hustler writing, I describe a period of taking meeting after meeting as a broad creative team. I could explain our capabilities. I could offer ideas. But when I asked for an introduction, the request was vague: we could help with almost anything.
Looking back, I had handed the other person another piece of work. They had to work out which situation called for us, which person to think of and how to explain the connection. A referral becomes easier when the person making it can carry a clear description into the next conversation.
Give the audience a recognisable situation
The same problem appears in a profile or a post. Content strategy, marketing, design and growth are categories. They say something about the work, but little about the moment when someone would need it.
Here is an illustrative rewrite for a recruitment consultant. A general line might say, ‘I help companies hire better.’ A more specific starting point is, ‘I help founders turn an unclear first marketing hire into a role someone can actually succeed in.’ The second line gives the viewer a situation to recognise. It still needs an accurate service behind it.
Specificity belongs inside the content
A precise bio followed by generic posts leaves the job half done. If first-time hiring is the situation, show the decisions inside it: which responsibilities belong together, how to make expectations concrete and what support the new person will need.
That creates several useful entry points into the same expertise. One post can compare two job briefs. Another can explain an interview question. A third can show where a role is trying to contain three different jobs. The audience should begin to recognise the kinds of decisions you help with.
Narrow the example before narrowing the whole business
My move into specialist content work is part of my history. It is not a rule that every reader must serve the same profession, nor a reason to reject a relevant business because it is at a different stage.
You can start by making one series specific. Choose one audience situation for the next few examples and listen to the response. Are people recognising the problem? Are their follow-up questions useful? Do the conversations connect to work you can responsibly deliver? Those observations give you more to work with than a positioning line you have only tested in your own head.
A short referral test
Write one sentence describing the person, the situation and the work you do. Give it to someone who understands your business and ask them to explain it back. Listen for the point where they become vague or add a service you do not provide.
Then check your last few pieces of content. Could that person use one as an example when introducing you? If the answer is no, make the next piece a demonstration of your judgement in that situation. You are building a body of work that makes the introduction easier to understand.
From the original notebook
This essay develops ideas from my Lazzzy Hustler writing, with a focus on content and business. Original writing: My Story, Riches in Niches.
Keep thinking
Your specific knowledge is content material. What shaped the way I think about content.