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I recently read about a psychologist who was teaching his 6-year-old daughter about feelings.

The little girl was standing in front of a mirror, making faces at herself, so he asked her to make a happy face. She opened her eyes and cheerfully bared her teeth.

Then he asked her to make a sad face. She pushed out her lower lip and started pouting.

After a few more experiments, on a sudden inspiration, he asked her to make a lonely face. She immediately turned her face away from the mirror and away from her parents, and looked down at the ground.

The psychologist and his wife were cut deep in their hearts. Even at this young age, their daughter not only knew what it meant to feel lonely, but she also knew how to make it worse: she pulled herself away from the people who love her most.

Isn’t that what we all do when we feel lonely? It’s as if we are the only person in the world, and no one else can possibly understand us.

Nurture connections with content just like the pros do!

Content is all about communication, and you need communication to connect

Click here to learn how to connect with your audience and grow your business at the same time!

Connections lead to safety and security

It reminded me of a conversation we just had on our podcast, Mighty Married Moms, with probably one of the world’s premier experts on ADHD, Dr. Ned Hallowell.

Amazingly, Dr. Ned insists that one of the most effective ways to combat the problems of ADHD – the feeling of being distracted and scattered; having an inability to stay focused; procrastinating; difficulty finishing what we start – is connection with others.

Dr. Ned shares that when we are connected to other people, we feel safe and secure. That security allows us to “play”, which lights up the brain with joy. And a joyful brain is a brain that is creative, innovative, and interestingly, even more disciplined.

What does this have to do with content marketing?

It is not possible to have a viable business without solid connections with your audience.

They need to know that you understand their pain, their frustration, and even their loneliness.

As Dr. Ned explains, when people feel connected, their brain lights up and they feel more joyful.

Don’t you want people to be happy and joyful when they think of you and your offerings??

Create connections in your marketing

Take, for example, a man who feels that no woman could possibly want to date him, because of the way he looks. Of course he’s lonely!

And when you help him articulate those fears of never being connected, he lifts his head, and becomes brave enough to listen to what you have to say.

Or a woman who is struggling to get recognition at work. She knows all the effort she has put into recent projects, and that without her they would not have taken off.

When you articulate her fears and promise a way to help her fulfill her potential, she also lifts her head, and wants to hear more.

Or the new business owner who walked away from a regular 9-to-5 job in order to follow his dream, but for whom the pieces just aren’t falling into place.

When you connect with him about his fears of loss and failure, and explain that you can help him create that dream business, he feels understood and ready to try again.

If you have a real, honest-to-goodness solution to the fears – and loneliness – felt by your customers and clients, make the connection. Be the reason they feel joy!

Connection deters loneliness

Tell your personal stories. Tell the stories of your other successful clients.

Let your audience know that they are NOT alone. Many other people have had those same lonely feelings of shame, worry, distraction, and disconnection.

Reach out through your free content to create a relationship and dispel that loneliness.

Don’t do it in a “hypey” way. Do it authentically. Be a real person.

Because on the other end of your ledger sheet are real people.

Real people who are lonely, who feel disconnected and uncertain.

As a business owner you have both a privilege and a responsibility to be honest about what you are offering your customers and clients. About what it will take for them to be successful. And about what they can expect along the way.

But you can also promise them that they won’t have to travel that journey alone. They get to travel with you, the expert in this area, and you will give them the helping hand they need.

You want to have a viable business, and feel great about it?

Use content marketing to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Your action: Please share in the comments below how you can create even more connection with your audience through content that matters.