Style is what they see first — Kelford Labs Daily

People judge books by their covers.

But that doesn’t mean they have the same judgements.

Me, for instance, I’m drawn to the covers of books that make them seem like old, out-of-print tomes. I like a cover that makes me wonder if I’m the only person who’s set eyes on it in decades.

But that’s me.

Some people are drawn to covers that seem modern or exciting, or beautifully simple.

What compels us about a particular style can vary, but each of us is compelled by style.

Style is the surface layer of communication that helps us categorize and sort through opportunities for information.

Which means it’s not enough to be knowledgeable or to be valuable. At least to some minimum extent, we also need to look knowledgeable. We need to look valuable.

Because we’ll never get the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise if people avoid or ignore us.

Think about it this way: If someone was trying to offer you a sample of food at a market, but their table was messy or dirty, or they looked like they just arrived and haven’t even unpacked yet, we’d be skeptical.

We’d wonder if someone so disorganized could also be a good food vendor. We might not even take something free from them because we’d worry it could impart negative value (e.g. illness or disgust) in our lives.

This is why our marketing needs to hit a certain, but not extravagant, visual quality bar to be seen as credible.

We need to put some minimum amount of effort and resources into looking the part, so that people give us a chance to demonstrate to them that we are what they’re looking for.

If our website is messy, out-of-date, or confusing, people will dismiss us.

If our social media posts are sporadic, poorly performant, or off-topic, people will ignore us.

If what we put out into the world to attract our ideal clients looks unconsidered, we will appear inconsiderate.

Even careless.

We do not have to invest all our money or spend all our time on appearances. In fact, I don’t think we should.

Nor do we have to look like everyone else. In fact, we shouldn’t. But we have to look the part for the people who want what we offer, the people who we are particularly set up to serve.

We have to invest enough so that people give us a chance to tell them more. So that they sample and see for themselves that what we offer is high quality.

And perfectly suited for them.

Reply to this email to tell me what you think, or ask any questions!

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