Hint: It’s about your personality!

Here’s Pamela Slim’s take on the subject:

“The reality is, people don’t refer companies or brands; they refer the people in those companies. The more your customers know your personality, your interests, your values and your real voice, the more likely they will refer business to you.”

(Don’t worry. Even if you are bone-dry boring…that’s still personality. You must showcase the real you.)

Check out the rest of this great article by Pamela Slim guest-posting at Duct Tape Marketing about branding for small business:

5 Ways to Amp Up the Personal in Your Brand

You will find some great tidbits like this:

“Write clearly and with personality.

“Check your website, blog posts, marketing materials and emails and make sure you are communicating in a clean, clear, engaging way. The basic rule of thumb is to write like you talk. If you are a corporate refugee-turned small business owner, you may be used to using words like “value-add,” “paradigm shift” and “out-of-the-box-thinking.” You wouldn’t use these words in regular conversation, right? Strike them from your written communications and people will find you are not the tremendous bore they thought you were, you are actually down-to-earth, funny, and engaging….”

Slim also talks about the importance of interesting photography. Showing real-life pictures of yourself and your team can make an enormous difference in your marketing.

People instinctively click on the “about” page when visiting a website. Show ‘em who you are and what you’re all about, or most of them will click away forever.

This website shows how a mechanic does this with style. And don’t you think folks, that if a mechanic can do it, a contractor can do it too? I do. (Just teasing, all you mechanics out there. I love you guys too!)

Try this stuff. It works, I’m tellin’ ya.

For more from Duct Tape Marketing, check out this compelling concept of “Make a Referral Week.”