35: "I" Before "We": Owning Your Voice

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Most of us were trained to hide behind "we." We learned it in our first jobs, we carried it into our own businesses, and we tell ourselves it sounds more professional. But when you are the face of your business, hiding behind "we" isn't humility, it can be a missed connection.

In this episode, I sat down with Jill Ivey, founder, principal, and chief storyteller of Jillitante Creative, to talk about story-first copywriting. Jill works with professional service providers, often solopreneurs who left larger organizations to build something of their own in crowded markets full of people offering the exact same thing.

She talked about coaching clients through their instinct to write "we, we, we" even when there's no team behind them. We also chatted about her "peeling-back-the-layers" method for finding a client's story and about how you don't have to expose everything, just enough to feel real.

This matters even more now that AI is everywhere around us. Jill talked about how language models are predictive text engines, not creative thinkers, and when everyone leans on them the same way, every brand starts to sound identical.

Making your brand memorable and authentic is probably closer to the surface than you think. You don't need a polished narrative or to overexpose yourself, you just need to get honest and comfortable about the moment that actually got you here.

01:13 How Jill wants her brand to make people feel

01:56 Jill's personal journey and how her business has changed her

02:53 Jill's fun hobby: writing a romance novel

07:49 The connection between creative writing and client work

15:32 Helping clients find their compelling story

25:18 Jill's stance on AI for copywriting and storytelling

44:53 Final advice for business owners on storytelling and authenticity

Links:

Connect with Jill:

Visit her Website, reach her at hello@jilletante.com, and find her on Instagram.

Curious what your own brand is saying? Start with her Story Audit.

Connect with me:

Branding: Learn more about my branding and design services.

Instagram: Follow along between episodes @branchcreativeco

The AI Advantage Workbook: Eliminate the uncertainty in writing branded prompts! This free PDF workbook includes six reflective exercises to define your brand and a branded prompt formula—similar to Mad Libs—to quickly create content that actually sounds like you and connects with your ideal clients.