What do you do with a Character Diamond?
So, you’ve taken the time to complete a Character Diamond template. Now what?
How are the four quadrants of the character diamond going to help you pass off copy and content creation to those you trust to write on your behalf?
Here are the top five tips for using a completed character diamond when creating content of any kind.
If you haven't done this killer process, you can score a template and how to video by clicking the big orange button below.
We even made you a video tutorial to make it easy!
Top 5 Tips For Using Your Character Diamond Once It's Complete:
Step 1. Open and close!
Keeping the Character Diamond handy when you write will keep your salutations in emails and videos in character.
This may seem overly simple, but as soon as you hear the HBO jingle followed by, “Welcome, welcome, welcome…” you know John Oliver is about to inject humor into a recap of the week’s most pressing news.
A consistent intro and sign off creates congruence that builds familiarity and trust.
2. Relatability Creates Relevance.
You’ve added your recognizable intro. Now, how do you present your content in a way that is relatable so your brand becomes relevant in the audience’s world?
Look at your Character Diamond with your topic in mind and draft out the content being sure each quadrant is, to some degree, represented in the delivery. Different content pieces will reflect more of certain quadrants, but all four should show up, even if only in subtle ways.
Look for aspects of your Character Diamond that can offer a sidebar on the topic. Perhaps the entertaining part of you needs to be represented with more humor or references to cultural or political references that are common for you to share.
3. Cultivate YOUR Crew.
Maybe you’ve heard that marketing to everyone is marketing to no one. You don’t need to attract the whole world, just the people who want and need your offers. You showing up as genuine in your content will resonate with just the right people for exactly the reason they need you.
Using the Character Diamond consistently ensures that even if your content is all over the place, your persona is consistent. That consistency builds trust. Congruence of character over sustained interactions makes you safe by way of predictability.
In the example of John Oliver, no matter what he talks about we know he will inject humor, some self-deprecating comments about his appearance, a liberal stance with plenty of empathy, added intellectual support for moderates, and some sort of extravagant display that’s entertaining. Not everyone is his crew. He and his staff know that and they create content for those who ARE.
4. Endear with empathy.
Look at your Character Diamond and notice the two ends of both spectrums. They are opposing elements. How can you present empathy and understanding for the opposing end?
For example, in creating a Character diamond for a client that was a “mensa member” at the credibility end of the intellectual spectrum and a “blond bombshell” at the entertaining end, we simply acknowledged in her content that a thin blonde might be the last person on earth that audience wanted in front of them while they were overcoming weight struggles.
The opposing ends of both spectrums also offer windows to the empathy one side could offer the other. Including those flavors of empathy and compassion endears the audience to you and your brand.
5. “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.”
Take it from Ice Cube and do a final pass through your copy and content to be sure that all aspects of your Character Diamond are included. Look for ways that you can add credibility, entertainment, trust and vulnerability. This is where I use the characters I resonate with most to spice up my copy for tone, humor, and formality.
(When you download the Character Diamond template, you’ll have access to the free video that explains this process in detail.) This last tour of the copy is the most fun for me since the work of content has already been done and I simply get to make sure the copy reads as if I was talking to one of my friends. (Hi friend!)
If you’ve never done a Character Diamond before, here’s a free template. When you grab that, you’ll also see a video that explains how to use it, gives examples and walks you through spicing up your copy. Have fun with it and let me know how it goes over in the practitioner-only private Facebook Group.
For more insight on using your Character Diamond in your copy and content, check out “Before You Bare It ALL In Your Marketing.” That conversation helps you include vulnerability while maintaining professionalism.
