Business Writing with Belief: Writing About What You Stand For

By Jackie Wilson.

On Black Friday 2011, outdoor clothing brand Patagonia ran a full-page ad in The New York Times featuring a photo of its bestselling jacket and the headline, "Don't Buy This Jacket."
The ad addressed the implications of overconsumption in our society today, urging consumers to think before they buy, buy less, repair more, and only lay money on the counter for something they actually need—even when it came to the company’s own products.

The backlash was immediate. People called it a publicity stunt, and the belief was pretty prevalent that, when it came down to it, the company wouldn’t actually prefer that people not buy its jackets, trousers, etc., if they didn’t actually need them.

And let’s face it, the risk was enormous: Telling people NOT to buy your product during the biggest shopping weekend of the year seemed like commercial suicide.
Revenue grew 30% the following year.

Customers who shared those environmental values became fiercely loyal brand advocates. Those who just wanted cheap outdoor gear went elsewhere, and Patagonia didn't want them anyway. 

They knew the value of standing for your values. Their content stopped focusing on features and benefits and began focusing on what they actually stood for, even when it challenged their own business model.

So let’s talk about it: There’s a quiet revolution that happens when you start telling the truth about what you believe in. Yes, some people will unsubscribe. Some prospects will choose competitors. And that's exactly the point.

(*And check out the end of each section for a quick exercise that’ll help you, not just read and understand, but take action. Implementation, baby!)

Your Values vs. Your Voice

Is there a gap between your values and your voice? Are you gatekeeping the ‘private’ you, keeping her at a distance, for fear of putting people off? For fear of losing income? Are you pretending?

That disconnect doesn't simply make you blend into the background, just another voice in the chorus. It attracts clients who aren't right for you because they never saw who you really are. 

This season is a time for reflection, reappraisal, and it’s perfect for getting honest. Which values are you hiding because you're afraid of alienating potential clients? Where are you using vague, safe language when you could be taking a clear stance? 

Perhaps you value slow business over hustle culture, sustainability over fast-fashion approaches, or collaboration over competition, but would anyone know that from your content? 

Exercise: Write down three beliefs, core values that drive your business decisions. How often do they appear in your writing? If they don’t match up, this can be your starting point for change in the new year. 

Stories, Not Statements

Here's where most values-based content fails: It reads like a manifesto instead of a conversation. 

Saying "I believe in ethical business practices" is practically meaningless. Doesn’t everyone? 

Telling the story of why you walked away from a lucrative contract because the client wanted you to diss the competition? (Go you!) Much more likely to draw someone in. 
Maybe you turned down a jewel of a speaking opportunity because it clashed with the holiday you’d been promising the kids since last year. Or you refuse to ‘do’ social media because it feels inauthentic to you.

Your values become magnetic when they're embedded in real decisions, dilemmas, and moments of doubt. Preaching repels people; storytelling invites them in.
And, the beauty of story-based values content is that it self-selects your audience. 

How? When you write about closing your emails on Friday afternoons because rest is non-negotiable, women juggling businesses and God knows what else think, "There, someone who gets it." 

Those who don't? They'll scroll past—and that's not a loss, it's efficient marketing.

Exercise: Choose 3 or 4 significant business decisions you made over the past year (hired someone, changed pricing, ended a partnership, launched something new, said no to an opportunity).

For each decision, write underneath: "The value that drove this choice was..."

Did you tell any of these stories? Probably not. Choose one decision and write 200 words about why you made it and what it cost you. And what you gained. That's your next newsletter or blog post.

Permission to Repel

This is the step that requires courage: accepting that values-aligned content will shrink your audience, even as it strengthens your community. 

When you write about what you stand for, truly stand for (and what you won’t stand for), some people will unfollow, unsubscribe, or simply disappear. It feels terrible in the moment (panic spiral!). It could also be the best course correction you make.

Playing it safe keeps you stuck in a cycle of attracting everyone and delighting no one. (Boring.) 

Plus, when you dilute your values to avoid losing prospects, you end up working with clients who text you at 9pm expecting immediate responses, who question your pricing because they think you ‘only’ work half-days, or your availability because they don’t know about the volunteering you do at the local food bank. 

Remember: Your business IS personal.

You created something from nothing while managing a household, caring for others, and fighting for your own space to think. Maybe while everyone assumed you were "just dabbling" or asked when you'd get a "real job." 

Your values aren't a marketing angle; they're why you started this journey, even when it felt like an easier path would have been to give up. Write like it. 

Exercise: Before planning your content for this month/quarter, complete these three sentences without editing yourself:

• "Something I believe about my industry that most of my competitors would disagree with is..."
• "I've turned down money/clients because..."
• "If I was completely honest in my marketing, I'd say..."

Now read what you've written. These are probably the things your ideal clients desperately want to hear, but you've been too cautious to say. Pick one and turn it into a social media post or email this week. Don't soften it. Notice who responds. Likelihood is, those are your people.

Keep doing this, and you’ll also find your messaging consistency (that elusive crown jewel of good content) just drops into place.

So, as you move forward into the year ahead, perhaps you have a decision to make: Would you rather have a large audience that's lukewarm about you, or a smaller community that luuurves you and hangs on your every word? That buys your stuff and comes back for more? 

The stories you tell tell others who you are. Like Patagonia, whose most important product for decades now has been their “unflinching sense of purpose,” your truth works the same way. The courage to say what you stand for is what makes you worth standing with.

Jackie is the founder-owner of BrickHouse, a small content creation company that mainly serves SMEs, and a media professionals with many years of standing.

She has over 25 years of experience as a freelance writer, broadcaster, and media trainer. She is a scrupulously precise editor who is utterly pedantic and very word-choosy. As a trainer, she worked with young journalists and reporters in parts of Africa and Central Asia–something she still sees as thoroughly rewarding and the most fun to be had while working.

Her content these days includes marketing copy, but she describes herself as a storyteller rather than a copywriter. A journalist to the bone, she does nothing without research, and the research object is her client’s story.