How to Shape Your Brand Narrative for Better Storytelling

I've written for 25+ coaches. The #1 concern they have: "Will this sound like me?" Fair question. Getting someone’s voice right is more than just about: • Nailing their tone • Using catchphrases • Sounding conversational It has to sound exactly like them.. While saying what they actually mean, in the simplest way possible. Tough for sure. But totally doable. (And tbh, that’s why people hire ghostwriters. They have the ideas, they’re just not great at turning them into words.) Here’s the 15-minute voice-matching test I run for every client: 1) Find their “Anchor Posts” These are the posts they’ve already written. Not just their LinkedIn content. Could be tweets, newsletters, even DMs. And if you have none of that? I’ll ask for 2–3 posts from their favorite creators.. Someone whose voice and style they’d love to emulate. 2) Break down their writing DNA I plug those samples into ChatGPT or Claude (Claude > ChatGPT for this, imo) and generate a style guide. What I’m looking for: → Sentence length → Vocabulary & tone → Favorite phrases → Humor style → Structure & flow It’s freakishly accurate. 3) Match it and test it Then I grab an idea from our kickoff call and write a post.. Using the exact rhythm and tone we just defined. If it feels like them? We’re good. If not? I keep tweaking until it does. 4) Add it to project instructions Once we’ve nailed the voice, I lock it into their Notion doc or project file. Is it perfect? Not always. But it’s usually 85% there, and a quick edit gets it to 100%. And once your content actually sounds like you? → Your audience feels like they know you → Your content starts doing the heavy lifting for you That’s the difference between “just posting” and building trust that sells. That’s about it. Thanks for reading. Want to be a better coach with a stronger pipeline? Follow Kush Shah for content that helps you sign more clients.

Why your first draft is enough Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to exist. If you’ve read my last two posts, you know my process is simple: Start messy. Refine. Post. Repeat. When I wrote those posts, I wasn’t chasing perfection. I had one goal — to create. And here’s what I’ve learned: You don’t need perfect grammar. You don’t need big words. You don’t need hours of editing. What you do need is to let go of the pressure to be flawless. When you start sharing your real thoughts and messy first drafts, you realize something: People connect with you, not a perfectly polished version of you. Yes, I use ChatGPT to polish my words. But the core ideas? They’re mine. That’s the real content. So next time you hesitate to post because “it’s not ready yet,” remember: Done is better than perfect. And that’s how you keep creating without burning out. What’s your take? Do you chase perfect or hit publish anyway? #DoneNotPerfect #ContentMindset #CreativeProcess #LinkedInForCreators #ChatGPTForCreatives

We now have over 1.15 billion professionals scrolling LinkedIn and much of the feed is filled with recycled “moral science.” Half of long English posts might be AI-generated. (yup, coz before chatgpt introduction there were not many story teller) Feel that déjà vu? Here’s what I feel, as a marketing founder who loves both values and value: I get it. We all want to be kind. We all want to share positivity. But when your feed is only “be kind,” “stay calm,” and “you’re enough,” without demonstrating real work - it's… cringe. What about projects, campaigns, branding wins? Where are the real practitioners? The domain experts? The people who ship? At TNSC, I’ve learned that: Real brands are built with consistency in function, clarity in message, and authority in action. Values are the undercurrent. Skill, strategy, impact are the anchor. People don't just buy stories, they buy competence. So here’s a true challenge: If your next post doesn’t sparkle with domain knowledge, strategic breakdowns, or real outcomes; ask yourself: am I storytelling or do I have something useful to say? PS: We’ll help you craft content that’s not viral fluff, but valuable IP. #BrandStrategy #LinkedInTruth #ContentThatMatters #ThoughtLeadership #RealBusinessVoice #MarketingRealityCheck #TNSC #FounderSpeak

“I use the tone doc you created to write my own e-mails.”  That was what one of our clients told me ( and I was over the moon about it, obviously) So, she said whenever she wants an email to sound more like her, she uses the tone doc I created and puts it into ChatGPT and gets an output which sounds exactly like her! This is always what I focus on while ghostwriting for clients.  I make sure that whatever posts I write sounds exactly like them. And for that, I create a tone document which has: 1. Their speech patterns 2. The phrases they use frequently  3. Their tone and cadence  4. Words they’d never use  5. How would they like to come across to the audience - would they like to appear more assertive or approachable or would they like to position themselves as an authority  6. And a few more things ( It’s a secret ) 🤫 After I have mapped everything out is when I start writing. This does 2 things - - Makes sure that the content we put out from their account feels authentic.   - Reduces the number of revisions we have to make. So, having such processes in place always helps while writing Is there anything you do while writing for your clients which helps you write better? 

If your message sounds like it came from a robot, it’s going to be treated like one. This is why most cold outreach gets ignored. The reader can tell, immediately, that it’s a copy-paste pitch. And the moment they feel that, trust drops to zero. Let’s break down 3 writing mistakes that silently kill your cold outreach. These are small but deadly. And if you fix them, your reply rate goes up. Fast. Let’s dive in. Mistake 1. Writing like ChatGPT on default settings. It’s technically correct, but has no pulse. Polite robotic and painfully neutral People are pattern-recognition machines. And “AI-tone” is now one of those patterns. Clean grammar is not what makes a message human. Be a person. Show friction. Use voice. Mistake 2. Trying to sound “professional” instead of personal. The urge to “sound right” comes from fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of being judged. Fear of stepping outside the formal mask. So we hide behind phrases like "Hope this finds you well" or "I’d like to introduce our solution" It feels polite, but it signals nothing. And humans subconsciously ignore what doesn’t carry intent. Instead, speak with presence. Be brief. Be direct. Be warm. Professional doesn’t mean distant. It means clear and honest. Mistake 3. Making it all about you. “We offer X” “We specialize in X” “Our offer is Y” “We help teams with Z” Why doesn’t this work? Because people are too busy to play detective. They won’t do the mental work to translate your pitch into their reality. Your message has one job: show them that you already understand. Center their pain, their situation, their outcomes. When people feel seen, they start listening. Flip the lens. Show you’ve thought about their world, their goals, their timing. Reflect their needs and use empathy, and that will build the attention. Fixing these three things won't guarantee replies. But ignoring them guarantees silence.

 Most posts flop because they miss these 3 things: You write something valuable. You hit “Post.” Then… crickets. Chances are, you're missing one (or more) of these: 1. A Hook that makes people stop scrolling Your first line is everything. No one will read your “value” if they don’t even stop to look. Boring hooks = no views. Strong hooks = everything changes. 2. A Clear Structure Big blocks of text? No thanks. Use spacing. Use flow. Guide the reader like a conversation — not a lecture. 3. A Human Voice If it sounds like ChatGPT or a LinkedIn bot, people will scroll away. Show your voice. Use real language. Be clear, not corporate. Want to write better posts? 🔹 Focus on these 3 things 🔹 Keep it simple 🔹 Talk like a person Your writing doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to connect. ✅ Save this post ✅ Follow for simple writing tips founders can actually use.

Most people struggle to grow their brand not because their content is bad, but because they don’t know who they’re really talking to. That’s why building clarity around your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) is so powerful. Once you know exactly who you’re speaking to, your message feels like it was written just for them. I learnt this one thing early on “If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one” and it has helped me so much, when I’m creating content. To help you get started, try this quick journaling exercise: 1. Why do you want to build your brand? 2. If 500 people followed your every word, who would they be? 3. What problem are you passionate about solving? 4. If someone described you as a guide, what would they say? 5. What are your audience’s goals and dreams? 6. What problems can you solve for them? Answer these honestly, and you’ll have the foundation for your ICP. In my latest YouTube video, I break this down step by step, share examples, and even show how to use ChatGPT to uncover your audience’s pain points and desires. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gsrW4F5S

Why are chat messages so easily misunderstood? Has this ever happened to you? You send an “Ok” via chat meaning “noted,” but the other person reads it as “annoyed or rude.” This phenomenon happens with "Chatting" and is what communication scholars call a “Lean medium.” Chats convey words but eliminate the real-life cues, such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language, that help people understand intent. Some classic communication theories explain why this happens: Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1986) → This propounds that rich channels (such as face-to-face or video) convey tone and emotion. Lean channels (like chat) don’t, which is why meaning often gets lost. Social Presence Theory (Short, Williams & Christie, 1976) → Chats have low “presence” in that you don’t quite feel the other person there, so it’s easier to misread. Cues-Filtered-Out (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986) → Text removes the little social signals like smiles, pauses, and emphasis that shape interpretation. Attribution Theory (Heider, 1958; Jones & Davis, 1965) → When meaning is unclear, people fill in the gaps with their own assumptions or mood. Expectancy Violations Theory (Burgoon, 1978)→ If a message feels shorter, slower, or more formal than expected, it can come across the wrong way. That’s why a simple “Sure.” might feel supportive to one person and dismissive to another. What can you do to fix this? ·      Add tone back using emojis, punctuation, or even GIFs ·      Use voice or video when the message or conversation is sensitive ·      Ask for clarity instead of assuming the worst. At the end of the day, words are not always the problem; the medium is. Also, chats don’t always carry intent; people do. Nonetheless, the responsibility of understanding is shared: senders can add clarity when chatting, and receivers can pause before projecting tone. So next time you read a short reply, pause before reacting. What you “hear” in your head may not be what the sender means at all.

It could have been a video, not an email. We’ve all said it: "This could have been an email." Usually when we’re stuck in a meeting that didn’t need to happen. But here’s the other side of that coin: Not everything should be an email either. I recently came across a well-written and detailed guide on using ChatGPT. It was full of valuable insights. But the moment I opened it, I found myself endlessly scrolling. The message was solid but the format buried it. As someone who’s spent hundreds of hours building skills around prompting and ChatGPT, I value depth. But depth doesn’t need to come with friction. Sometimes, it's simply easier to watch than to read. A short, clear video can deliver more clarity, more context, and a better experience; especially for tutorials or step-by-step content. It's not that one format is better than the other. But there's always a right format for every message. Ask yourself: - Is your content instructional? - Does it benefit from visuals or pacing? - Are you aiming for clarity and engagement? If so, video might be the smarter option. Would love to hear your thoughts. Are you using video enough in your day-to-day communication? P. S. I make mine on Tella!