The Story I Told Myself about Showing Up
I used to think I knew exactly what “showing up” meant.
It meant being everywhere. LinkedIn posts, Instagram content, email newsletters, networking events, maybe a podcast or two. It meant posting consistently — even when you had nothing urgent to say — because the algorithm rewards frequency. It meant always having a take, a tip, a thought-starter ready to go.
I’d watched it work for other people. I’d heard the same advice repeated in every marketing conversation I’d been part of. Stay visible. Show up consistently. Keep the content coming.
So I tried. I checked the boxes. I showed up.
And something still felt off.
I wasn’t struggling with showing up. I was struggling with what I was showing up with.
Where It Started to Break Down
The content was going out. The presence was there. But it didn’t feel like me — or at least, not the version of me that actually had something to say.
The message felt scattered. One week I’d write about content strategy. The next, something about leadership. Then a client story. Then a trend piece because it seemed timely. Each individual post was fine. But together? There was no thread. No point of view someone could follow and recognize.
I wasn’t building momentum. I was just generating output.
And the subtle, uncomfortable realization that crept in over time was this: I wasn’t struggling with showing up. I was struggling with what I was showing up with. The frequency was fine. The foundation wasn’t.
The Actual Problem (That Wasn’t Obvious at First)
Once I could name it, it was almost embarrassingly clear.
It wasn’t a consistency problem — it was a clarity problem. It wasn’t an effort problem — it was a misalignment problem. It wasn’t a visibility problem — it was a disconnected narrative problem.
I was trying to show up more. What I actually needed was to decide what I stood for before I showed up at all.
THE REAL QUESTION
It’s not: “Am I posting enough?”
It’s: “Does everything I put out there add up to something coherent?
When someone follows me for six months, do they know what I’m about?”
If the answer is “maybe” or “kind of” — that’s a narrative problem, not a calendar problem.
What I Changed
I stopped trying to say everything and got specific about three things:
→ Who I’m actually talking to. Not “businesses” or “leaders” broadly — but the specific person sitting across from me in a discovery call who says “I know what I do, I just can’t seem to communicate it.”
→ What I want to be known for. Not everything I’m good at — the thing. For me, that’s the belief that story drives marketing, not the other way around. That’s the thread everything else connects back to.
→ What I’m not going to talk about. This one was harder than the others. Deciding what’s out of scope feels like leaving things on the table. But a brand voice without edges isn’t a voice — it’s just noise with good intentions.
Once I had those three things, my narrative started guiding my content instead of my content trying to create a narrative retroactively. That’s the shift. It sounds small. It changes everything.
What “Showing Up” Means to Me Now
Showing up isn’t about frequency. It’s about consistency of message.
It’s not about being everywhere — it’s about being recognizable wherever you are. When someone reads something I’ve written, I want them to know it’s mine before they see my name on it. That’s the standard. Not posting cadence.
It’s not about volume. It’s about direction. One piece of content that clearly articulates what you stand for does more work than ten posts that cover the waterfront.
And maybe most importantly: showing up without clarity isn’t really showing up. It’s just being present. Those aren’t the same thing.
Turn It Back to You
If your content feels like it’s going out but not building toward something, I’d ask you to sit with a few questions:
→ What story are you telling yourself about showing up right now?
→ Are you trying to be more visible — or more clear?
→ If your marketing feels off, is it really a consistency problem?
Because in my experience, it almost never is.
YOUR ACTION STEP: THE NARRATIVE CHECK
Look at your last 8–10 pieces of content — posts, emails, anything public. Read them as a stranger would.
Ask yourself: what does this person stand for? What’s the one thing they want to be known for?
If the answer isn’t immediately clear — that’s your starting point. Not a new content calendar. A clearer narrative.
And if you need some help being more clear, consider signing up for our Brand Alignment Session. Learn more here.