Welcome to Issue 24 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about a good brand move that helped grow a small business. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.)

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Hello Reader,

I deleted the post 20 minutes after I hit publish. I so desperately wanted to tell the world what had just happened. To expose myself and let the walls holding up this curated image come crumbling down.

But—as soon as the comments started pouring in—I realized it wasn't something the world needed to know. It was something I needed to figure out.

Feeling very sorry for myself, I sat there wondering: How did I let any of it get to this point?

I had just hit 10,000 followers on Instagram, which served as my billboard and "community" for a thriving little food blog that I was pivoting into a new passion project. I had a beautiful house, two cute babies, a husband, and a packed travel schedule.

But, of course, everything wasn’t as perfect as it appeared. It was "working" in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t really working for me.

When I left journalism to start this online business—this food blog—I saw an opportunity to build something around a niche, realized I had the skills to match, and ran with that.

I thought: I can write. I can cook. I can hop on this influencer train and build a solo business that allows me to live the life I want with the freedom to set my own schedule, rules, and flexibility to pursue creative projects.

I worked hard, the business grew quickly, and the lifestyle I thought I wanted followed suit. So for a while, I believed that story.

But it wasn't long before I started to feel the cracks.

The audience and algorithm demanded more—more recipes, more video, more engagement, more SEO, more reach, more lifestyle, more me. I learned you can't grow in this space without giving your audience—and the algorithm—all of you all of the time.

It felt full of opportunity and demands while devoid of any real purpose.

Meanwhile, my marriage was falling apart. I was pretending that it was all okay when it wasn't. And all of it combined started to feel performative.

It was all for someone else. Some faceless audience.

The day I knew my marriage was officially ending was the day I could no longer keep up the facade. And the gap between the image I’d created and the reality of my life was too wide to bridge.

I threw up that post letting the world know. I felt like I owed it to them. But why?

That’s when I had to ask myself the question that I—and so many of us—hadn't asked in a while: Why the hell am I doing any of this? And why does it matter?

A Good Lesson

Actually, I don't think I lost sight of my why. I think I never really had a compelling and honest "why" to begin with. I saw an opportunity, recognized my skills, and built a business around that.

But when you build something based solely on external factors—what the market wants, what the algorithm demands, or what your audience needs—you risk creating things that don’t light you up.

And that disconnect will eat away at your creativity, your motivation, and your ability to sustain the work.

If you want your storytelling—and your business—to have longevity, it has to start with you.

It’s not just about what your audience (or, in my case, society) needs and expects. It’s also about what drives you.

A Good Takeaway

The best stories to tell for your business live at the intersection of what your audience cares about and what you care about.

When you find that alignment, you create connection—not just content—while setting yourself up to sustainably do this for the long haul.

So, before you attempt to uncover the stories that are most likely to resonate, you have to start with these 3 things:

1. Clarity on your goals. Are you trying to build awareness, fill your lead pipeline, or build trust? Ultimately, what's the outcome you want from your content?

• For awareness, share stories that highlight your values and make you relatable.
• For leads, focus on case studies or moments that show your expertise.
• For trust, share personal challenges and the lessons you’ve learned.

Ideally, you have a mix of all of this. But if you have a more short-term need to pad your pockets and can’t take a year to build your platform (nor want to), you should probably lean more into stories that highlight social proof and market the problem you solve.

2. An understanding of your "why." Reflect on:

• Why are you solving this problem? Why does it matter to you?
• What values do you want your audience to associate with you?
• What's wrong with the way things are being done and why are you doing it differently?
• Why does any of it matter? Why are we even here?! (Okay, you don’t have to get so existential, but you get the picture.)

3. Clarity on your audience's "why." Through lots of conversations and social listening, find out:

• What are their biggest challenges, fears, and desires?
• What impact are they trying to have on the world?
• Why are they doing what they do? Why does that matter to them?

Finally, start digging for stories that illustrate what you both care about.

Here’s a snapshot of what this all looks like in action on my own calendar:

To get real meta, I'll show you how I applied this process to write this newsletter.

First, I thought about my goal: What am I trying to communicate here, and for what purpose?

I want my audience to understand that good storytelling—and sustainable content—starts with purpose. I want them to know that I've been there. And building something solely for what other people or the market wants won't help you stay in this game for the long run.

Then, I considered your goals: What challenges might you be facing when it comes to storytelling to build your brand?

I know many of you struggle with figuring out what to write about or need a framework to create more content that resonates.

Finally, I looked for a story that lived at the intersection of those two things. I asked myself: When did I pursue what someone else wanted, only to realize it didn’t align with what I truly wanted or needed?

Some ideas that came up:

• Pursuing journalism to please my parents. (Too long ago.)
• Getting married before I was ready because he was ready. (Too much to unpack.)
• Realizing being an Instagram influencer is the worst. (There's a lot there, but I guess it'll do.)

Ultimately, what I'm trying to say is this: It's hard to know where to start (and easy to lose yourself in the process) when you're only thinking about serving your audience.

By telling stories that live at the intersection of your goals, your audience’s goals, and the shared values or challenges you both care about, you’ll create content that lights you up instead of drains you.

You'll also reach your business goals, resonate deeply, and be an all-around more interesting person, to boot.

What do you think?

A Few Good Resources

1. Want more on this idea of why start with "why?" Simon Sinek said it best. (This is where I start with most of my clients.)
2. Speaking of good, honest storytelling, my friend Erika has a great newsletter she just renamed "The Secret Life of Freelancers." No pretending there.
3. Curious about this "life-changing" ChatGPT prompt from April. I haven't tried it, but I'd trust her with my life.

Hope you have a good one,
Renee