Well the outpouring of love and support for my birthday has been pretty epic. I guess since you only hit five decades once in your life, it's worth celebrating, and celebrating and celebrating. As you read this, my mom and step dad are flying in from Florida to continue the celebrations. If my 40th birthday was my quinceanera, as my friend Stephanie called it, then my 50th has to be, well, whatever is more celebratory and over the top than that. And with all these celebrations and gifts, cards, notes, etc. it's hard to stand out. (sound familiar?) Don't get me wrong, I read every email, social media post, card, opened every gift and feel amazingly grateful. But the two things that stood out the most were the things that were personalized for me.
It's a Shaq in the Box
Move over Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg. Let's start with one of the greatest cards I've ever gotten. This is from my client and friend, Mindy. It's an ecard and to be honest, I expected just a nice note about my birthday. You know, maybe some balloons, or perhaps a toast to me with some wine. Maybe confetti. Instead, I got this (click the image to play and be sure to watch the whole thing - it's only one minute long):
First of all, when he said my name, my head almost exploded.
How was this possible?
Sure the name on the shirt could be done with graphics, but to have my name come out of Shaq's mouth? Insane.
If this had been even just a Shaq in the Box and he never mentioned my name, I still would have loved it and thought it was clever, but because it was personalized, I've been showing it to everyone I know.
I'm basically giving Blue Mountain free advertising because this is genius. (also, if you're my friend, guess what card you're getting for your next birthday?)
And what makes it even more genius is the personalization.
It makes it memorable.
It makes it stand out amongst all the other cards.
It shows me the thought and care the giver put into sending this.
It's customized just for me.
It's targeted just to me and gives the allusion of bespoke.
Vintage is the new getting older
The other gift that was memorable and also made me show everyone, was this fantastic wine tumbler from my friend Christina.
Obviously I was born in 1972 and more obviously, I'm aged to perfection, so of course this gift really resonated with me.
Oh, and wine. Duh.
Make it about them and for them
I often talk about how our bios are about us but for them, meaning our audience. But since this isn't a bio or an about page, it was about me and for me, so doubly-resonant. Of course all gifts are for another person, but how many gifts or cards do you remember? How many stood out? The same goes with your messaging. When you make it personalized, when you make it targeted, when you really think about who's receiving it, that's when that message gets seen, gets remembered, gets appreciated and gets acted upon. And while we can't personalize everything, we can try to make our content personal. We can and should think about the one person we want to read it. Our ideal client. Our ideal customer. Our ideal audience. When you create for an audience of one, you end up making your content much more personal, much more relatable and somehow, you attract even more people than if you had tried to reach everyone. Do you need help writing to "the one"? I've got an offer for you.
Give yourself the gift of personality
Maybe you've wanted to work with me for a while.
Maybe you're just personality curious. (no judgment)
Maybe you have a need for some killer email copy, a better LinkedIn headline or a polished and buffed About statement.
Maybe the top of your resume could be more attention-grabbing or perhaps you want help with some marketing materials or video scripts.
Whatever it is, now's your chance.
I'm offering a special one-time-only deal to work with me, one-on-one, for 30 minutes to help with any content you have, for just $99 (normally $175). For you math people that's almost 50% off.
AND, because it's my 50th Birthday, for $50 more you can upgrade to an hour for just $149 (normally $300). For you math people that is 50% off!
We'll get on the Zooms, connect, discuss and get into whatever you need.
This is the perfect way to dip your toes into the personality waters and give yourself the gift of help!
Don't need any help right now? Make a future purchase and lock in this rate. You can schedule months out.
Or, even better, maybe you know someone who could use some personality and you want to buy this for them?
The gift of personality is both priceless and timeless.
But like all things too good to be true, this offer is only good through April 4th (but you can buy now and book for any future date). You can even book more than one session. A Danielle stack is the best gift of all!
AND, if you buy now, I'll include a complimentary ticket to the virtual Women in Tech Summit, April 27-29, where I just happen to be presenting.
Just message me and let me know that you want a ticket once you purchase and it's yours.
