What was it that made you connect with them?

Was it seeing their success on Instagram or Youtube by showing off expensive cars and lavish homes?

Or, was it hearing or reading about how much they struggled at the beginning. About how they worked at a dead end job and finally quit to pursue their dreams. Or how they nearly failed at their business but found a way to persevere.

You always remember these individuals backstories more than any new toy or vacation they post online. These are extremely memorable and make it easy for you to relate to them.

I call this the broken glass moment.

Here’s what I mean. When you see a normal window pane of glass in a car you probably don’t think anything of it. But when you see broken glass on the side of the car window, you might get concerned and want to know more.

Did someone break in? Was there an accident? Is everything okay?

Notice the difference? The broken glass tells a much different story than a normal window we all see every day.

I talk more about the broken glass concept in the video and how every entrepreneur needs more of these moments to become successful:

Here’s Why You Need to be Totally Transparent with Your Audience

Consumers Are More Aware Than Ever

In the sea of social media, personal brands, and endless messaging online, it’s hard to know who you can trust anymore. Consumers seem to be able to detect someone who is out to make money versus someone who is genuinely trying to make a difference in the lives of others.

Transparency shows your audience that you’re trustworthy. The more vulnerable the better. If you’re being really vulnerable and sharing a deep dark secret they will really trust you.

They Want to Know You’re Human

Sharing your flaws with anyone is challenging. It requires you to admit that you failed, made a mistake or had to overcome a difficult situation. Maybe you even created the dilemma yourself but have to figure it out.

But sharing flaws online, with the world watching takes enormous courage. My good friend and mentor Lewis Howes said it perfectly in his latest book, The Mask of Masculinity,“Taking off that mask to show vulnerability is one thing, but when you do it to show the world who you really are, that is something else entirely. That is true strength.”

Audiences want this kind of content because they aren’t perfect and want to relate to someone else who isn’t’ either. Sharing this kind of vulnerable content makes you 100X more relatable. It shows that no matter how successful you are, you’re a normal person with flaws, just like them!

The Truth is The Easiest Content to Produce

The easiest way to be transparent is to turn on your camera or start writing when you’re feeling vulnerable. Document the process instead of always creating is much easier. This can take a huge amount of pressure off of feeling like you have to create all the time.

Gary Vee talks about this constantly when speaking to entrepreneurs. “One of the biggest mistakes people make when creating content for their personal brand is trying to oversell themselves because they think that’s what’s going to get people’s attention. I think it’s much more fruitful to talk about your process than about the actual advice you “think” you should be giving them.”

Documenting your journey has never been easier as you always have your phone close by. Simply turn it on and let your audience know what is happening in your life.

Document the goods, the bads, and what you can learn from it like I did with the broken glass video. Not only will this make you relatable, it will help you learn from your own mistakes when you look back on them.

They Want to Relate With You

Personally, I’d much rather follow someone online who shares both sides of the story instead of a one-sided success story. If you’re creating content for the right reasons, you want to be as honest as possible with your tribe.

Plus, sharing your failures and setbacks will only help them succeed faster by not making the same mistakes you did. As they begin to relate with your message the bond between you is exponentially greater.

Once you begin to roll out coaching or online courses, this makes selling nearly effortless as you’ve already done the hard part first.

You Have to Build Trust Before Selling?

The internet isn’t like it was five or ten years ago. People have more options than ever, which means that they are more selective before buying products. People tend to buy from people they like, not another internet marketer promising the world.

It’s why you don’t try to sell a $5000 mastermind or online course to a cold lead. You have to build trust and credibility with your audience before asking for that kind of investment.

Clickfunnels co-founder Russell Brunson talks about this in his book, Dotcom Secrets. When talking about the opening email sequence he says, “The goal is to create an instant bond between your attractive character and the person reading the email. If your first email is boring, you’re done.”

The same goes for your first video, ebook, webinar or course. You want to be incredibly memorable on your first interaction.

Final Thoughts

If you’re not sharing your broken glass moments you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to build an insane amount of trust with your audience. Yes, it will be scary at times.

It’s not easy to share some of your most vulnerable moments in life and business with the world. But it will be worth it if you can get the courage to just start. Start by documenting instead of sitting around waiting to create a masterpiece.

You can’t build an epic business or personal brand by hiding in the shadows. People want to relate to you and learn from you. Once they do, they’ll be part of your tribe for a long time.

Are you ready to share your broken glass moments with your audience? Grab your FREE Your Story Template by clicking the button below. This will help you promote yourself through social media and position yourself more effectively on your next webinar!