If you’re on Instagram, you’ve heard of Nidhi and @my_ayurvedic_life.

If you’re on TikTok, you’ve seen at least one video of Alix Earle.

And if you’re in any way connected to a digital device and internet, you’ve seen or heard that the Barbie movie is coming out.

And that they’ve turned the entire world Barbie pink (and yes, I did google the exact hex code for Barbie pink).

First name / So, what do all 3 of these have in common?

Let’s see if we can suss out the lesson together by analyzing what people love most about these three.

(You knew I wouldn’t make this that easy, right?)

C’mon Barbie, Let’s go party

1️⃣ NIDHI PANDYA @my_ayurvedic_life

Ever noticed how relaxed and relatable Nidhi is in her videos?

Yes, you’re always learning something new from her page.

But she teaches in a way that makes you feel like she’s your personal expert.

She hops on Lives to chat even when her nieces are over at her house.

She’s someone who asks “How are you doing?” at the beginning of her videos and genuinely wants to hear how you are.

People often ask her questions in the comments, and she almost always does a follow-up video or story to make sure she answers them.

No one is left on read.

She feels like the wellness bestie you Facetime when you aren’t feeling good or have that weird rash on your leg.

2️⃣ ALIX EARLE

Alix Earle is the queen of GRWM (get ready with me) on TikTok.

And listen, I’m not on TikTok to follow influencers.

I’m on TikTok so I can send cow videos to my husband (who is convinced we need 1 or 2 or 3 as pets…) and to watch people DIY things that I could never do in a million years.

And yet…she’s on my for you page all 👏 the 👏 time.

I’ve seen her send outfits to followers who ask to borrow them.

I’ve seen her change her plans to party with girls in Nashville who stopped to tell her they love her content.

I’ve seen her give a tour of her college apartment that included where the cockroaches live in her kitchen (yes, real roaches).

I don’t even follow her, and yet I feel like I know her.

3️⃣ BARBIE

Now for Barbie, who takes the movie theaters by storm this weekend.

Although she’s a plastic, mythical creature, people are going bananas over the marketing, the PR, and the storyline.

And it’s not just the movie’s unlimited marketing budget and license deals that have people getting excited to see a movie in the middle of Summer.

Barbie exemplifies US – human beings. 

If we have a dream, Barbie has a version of it.

The many versions of Barbie we played with in our younger years bring up feelings of nostalgia, play, and wonder.

Whenever I think about Barbie, I specifically remember sitting in my bedroom on the floor playing with Barbie train and thinking, “I’m going to travel the world too.”

Barbie gave us a way to bring our daydreams to life. She became the us we wanted to be someday.

Time to see if you guessed right!

The common thread between the creator, influencer, and doll isn’t that –

• They overshared, or monetized their vulnerability
• They share more often (although that helps)
• That they were random or lucky with success

It’s that we feel a connection with them.

We know that Nidhi, Alix, and Barbie aren’t speaking solely to us.

But it feels like they could be.

👉THAT is extra powerful in the online world.

Because no matter how hard it tries, the online world will always be one step (or many) removed from offline reality.

Think about it like this.

How often do any of us share our thoughts and lives to 100k, or 1 million, or 100 million people at a time offline?

Pretty much never.

When it feels like everyone is watching or listening, you start to self-edit.

You don’t say what you mean because you’re trying to resonate with 10 people instead of talking with 1 person.

That’s the not-so-secret secret.

If you want to create content that’s more relatable, more human, and more personalized…imagine you’re talking to one person.

When you talk with someone one-on-one…

• You’re not as afraid to be yourself.
• You aren’t as likely to self-censor your truths.
• You have a more intimate experience.

Picturing one person gives you the courage and focus you need to write and create in a way that connects with your (right) people.

✍ Next time you sit down to write your newsletter, or whip up website copy, picture your best client ever (it can be before they started working with you) and write like you’re drafting an email to them.

XO, Rachel Jeffries Murphy