We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danielle Hughes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danielle below.

Alright, Danielle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My idea found me. Sort of.

I never set out to be an entrepreneur because growing up, Entrepreneur was a magazine, it wasn’t something I ever thought you could be. Especially as a woman. But after a very disappointing corporate role that ended in disaster and some consulting, I thought it was time to take the plunge. I decided to be a freelance copywriter. I had a robust portfolio of marketing writing across almost all industries and platforms and figured my professional network would be enough. Famous last words.

About 2+ years in, I had the realization that I was playing business, not running one. I wasn’t marketing. I wasn’t networking and my brand, if you can call it that, was generic and forgettable. Besides needing a copywriter, no one knew what to come to me for. I was too broad.

So I hired a Creative Coach to help me figure out my brand and niche (eek!). Working with her was the first time anyone had ever told me to put more ME into my messaging. Her advice “they’re going to find out anyway” has always stuck with me. But the concept of Personal Branding as a Gen X-er, never felt right to me. Why am I sharing anything personal with the world?

But I knew I needed to infuse some personality. And what I realized was that the minute I started to be more myself in my content, the more I was attracting the right clients. I had people who responded to my message and who I was and would tell me, they loved my website or my bio and that once we talked, I was “exactly what they expected” the highest compliment. In other words, my content was doing the vetting for me. And I started to be more comfortable showing up as myself. No pretending, No dancing around. No pretense. I could just be me and they could be them and it was magic.

Along with getting more clients that I could be myself with, they would tell me they loved my bio and could I help them with theirs. Theirs was generic and boring. They wanted it to sound like them.

So one day I had this kernel of an idea that we don’t need personal branding, we need Personality Branding. After all our personality is who we are. And all the parts that make us, us. It’s our culture, the movies we love, music we listen to, food we eat and the things we love to do outside of work. Those are the things we connect with. No one is bonding over Spreadsheets and TPS reports, we’re bonding over shared workouts, travels and mix tapes. What we need more of in professional settings is Personality and Personality Brand. And once we have that, we are more comfortable and more confident. The transformation for clients is More Than Words (my company name for a reason) since it affects their entire being!

Over the past few years the types of people wanting help with their professional bios has evolved. It used to be solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, or small businesses. Now I get C-Suite and Senior Leaders. People who were promoted or pivoting. And beyond just writing, I now speak and train people on the importance of having a Personality Brand. I run workshops to help people craft their brand and bios. It’s all about taking ownership of your professional story and career. Sharing what you want the world to know and what will help you move forward.

I never could have designed this if I tried, but I just kept being me and listening to what people needed. And I gave it to them.

Danielle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always enjoyed writing. As a child, I was really good at it. I was always able to write a book report. I think I was really good at just making things up and being very sort of effusive. But I also had a really strong passion for art and for drawing.

When I got to college, the Advertising Design program I was in didn’t have copywriters. So when you were concepting your ads, you needed to write your own copy. And it became very obvious to me that I was a better writer than I was a designer!

When I got out of school, it was a really bad job market. Long story short, I ended up getting a job in television, in ad sales marketing. My boss took me under her wing and started giving me projects to write content around. And I found out that I was good at writing marketing copy. I knew how to write in a warm, friendly, relatable way that got people to buy.

As I’ve honed my craft (barf!) over the years, what I keep being told is I have a gift for helping people connect the dots. I can see how you think, why you do what you do and what all of your roles have to do with each other. I’m VERY inquisitive and while I used to think I was a pain in the ass, my curiosity is a secret weapon because I know how to get people to share the things that I think are most interesting and relevant, things that would never occur to them.

My followers follow me because I’m 100% unapologetically me. I curse. I’m funny. I’m direct. I know I’m not for everyone and that’s the point! My friend Matthew calls them the Danielle Diehards, because they will read everything I write, come to my talks, listen to my podcasts etc. I see them and I hear them. And I’m generous with my time and my support. Loyalty is a huge aspect of who I am. I’m also a super networker and love connecting people. So many of my clients have become friends and vice versa because we forge genuine connections. It’s humbling and amazing.

I’m so proud that I built a business and in less than 5 years hit multiple six figures, but it really is about the impact. About being able to champion my clients and remove the fear that prevents them from being more them. I want a world in which everyone can be themselves in professional spaces, however that looks to them. That is my mission and my why!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

100% it’s having a clear brand and being relentless about it. I often say you haven’t cut through the clutter if you aren’t sick of yourself. It took me about 2 years to be sick of myself! 2 years of posting, commenting, talking on podcasts and collaborating on workshops and presentations. I basically ate, slept and breathed Personality Brand, explaining it and explaining it until my pitch was so honed that it elicited head nods every time I talked about it. So this relentless promotion made me memorable, but my constant connecting and networking helped me build that reputation. In 2020 I had almost 250 one-on-one meetings with potential prospects or partners. I connect on LinkedIn but I also use my newsletter to stay in touch. I’m always reminding people that I’m here.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I think this changes over time. It might still be networking and building connections for referrals, but I also get a lot of clients now from speaking engagements. I don’t believe in just one source, so I’m always finding ways to increase my audience, my engagement and my impact. LinkedIn is a big driver for me, as is my newsletter, but new clients are coming either from referrals or hearing me speak. The power of seeing someone speak can’t be underestimated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morethanwordscopy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellezhughes/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellehughes/

Image Credits
Kristen Vallejo Photography