Confession: My name is Alicia Nicole. And I am a people pleaser perfectionist copywriter.

And the people-pleasing part is what makes me good at waving my magical word wand around and making messaging magic.

So I'm calling ALL the entrepreneurial, creative people pleasers! This article is your new safe space.

For all my multi-hyphenate do-it-all girls and female entrepreneurs who unfortunately have suffered from people pleaser tendencies two seconds (or two hours) too long: People pleasing isn’t really as bad as people make it out to be.

In fact, if you’re a content creator or write anything that’s consumer-facing in your business – emails, sales copy, Instagram captions (hello backspace button and schedule and unschedule buttons in Planoly and Later…I know you must hate me), then people pleasing might actually be making you a better writer.

Let me explain.

Are You A People Pleaser?

Everyone gives people pleasing a bad rap. And honestly I can’t really blame them.

Us chronic people pleasers have a tendency to put others’ needs and desires before our own and forego our own boundaries in hopes that we won’t be seen as selfish or unaccommodating:

Translation:

• unwanted client emails (or texts) at 8pm on a Saturday night telling you it's urgent and they need your help on something due Monday morning
• 15-eleven revisions on that sales page in that ONE section you know is NOT gonna work, but the client asked for it, so you can't say no…
• Lower priced proposals because you’re thinking you might scare the client off with what you REALLY want to charge and you feel bad that the client needs so much help…so you underprice yourself

Who can relate?

Now in some industries, this might be an AMAZING trait. But as an entrepreneur, this can completely drain the passion, life, and energy out of what you do.

That is…if you don’t know how to make it your own personal superpower.

Can People Pleasing Make You a Better Copywriter?

People pleasing can absolutely make you a better writer. Take a look at me, for example.

I took my worst personality trait and turned it into a business.

I spend WAYYY too much time than productively useful worrying about what others think and how I can make them feel at ease or impressed.

While this particular trait has bled into virtually all areas of my life (um…let's not even get into how it wrecks my personal life), I started seeing how problematic this trait was when I started working at an ad agency and needed to send out an email. I often had no idea what to say. When I finally got the words down on the paper, I kept going back and changing the sentence structure, adding words, deleting words, copying this sentence from the bottom up top.

Just excessively picking over my writing, wondering…

What will people think?

Am I too aggressive if I leave out the word “please?”

Was I clear?

Does this make me sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about?

Will they care?

Am I persuasive enough? Will they do what I ask them to do?

Will they even bother to read it?

After realizing I was wasting hours on emails (and let’s not even talk about the amount of time I spend in the editing/revision phase for my client’s copy projects), I finally came to a new conclusion.

Maybe my lifelong journey to shut those kind of intrusive, disruptive, time-wasting overwhelming thoughts would never be over. But I COULD use it to my advantage.

My biggest weakness was my biggest strength and my business superpower.

My penchant for people-pleasing was actually what made me a stronger writer.

After all, at the end of the day, as a business owner and entrepreneur, if you don’t write copy with your reader in mind, your copy probably sucks, and your sales and engagement probably agree with me.

People are already busy and distracted as it is – they'll just move on to something more engaging and interesting.

When you're writing, you have to constantly ask:

• Is this something they'd read?
• Would they be interested in this?
• Have I kept this written conversation interesting enough to hold their attention?
• What do they like?
• What do they not like?
• How do they talk?
• What attracts their attention?
• What pulls them away?
• Is this too salesy?
• Does this hit them emotionally…and not just logically?

When you write knowing the answers to these questions, you're almost guaranteed to keep their interest and provide them with the value they’re seeking.

In fact:

Successful copywriting focuses on how your product or service benefits your client on an emotional level.

There’s absolutely no way to do that if you don’t think like a people pleaser and ask all of these questions.

Those business owners who don’t care enough about pleasing their audience simply won’t get this.

So don’t let anyone tell you that people pleasing is no good for you.

What's Your Superpower? Comment Below.

Sooo…how many people pleaser writers are reading this article? Comment down below and let me know if you’re part of the club and how you can turn your weakness into your superpower.