As promised, a bit of a personal story this time…

I was never very popular at school.

Don't get me wrong: I was never bullied, and I had a good circle of close friends.

But I wasn't one of those kids who was popular with everyone. I wasn't very sporty, and I wasn't really interested in music.

I was much happier thinking about computers and what happened in the previous night's episode of Blake's Seven (and if you remember Blake's Seven it means you're probably as old and as geeky as me).

Within my small circle of friends with similar interests, I was well-liked and listened to, and I felt appreciated.

But every now and then, I wished I was one of the cool kids. One of the ones everyone liked.

So every now and then I'd look up what was in the pop charts. Find something to say about the school rugby team.

Something with broad appeal rather than the geeky stuff I liked myself. Something funny or clever I hoped everyone would like.

You can probably guess what happened next.

My attempts to please everyone never got anywhere. Passing comment on the current number one was certainly a more “acceptable” topic to the majority than the ins and outs of the latest Commodore Pet computer.

But it was no different to what everyone else was saying. It didn't turn anyone off. But neither did it turn anyone on.

Eventually, I learned that it was far better and far more personally satisfying to engage meaningfully with my small circle of friends.

We'd discuss Sci-Fi and computers. We liked model trains and other nerdy stuff that makes me cringe thinking back.

But the truth is I built deeper and more meaningful relationships with that small group by focusing on what we really liked than I ever got near to by trying to please everyone.

And the same goes for marketing.

Whether you're communicating by email, or you're giving a presentation, there's a huge temptation to focus on the majority. To not say anything controversial and to try to please everyone.

But when we try to please everyone, we end up coming across as bland and wishy-washy.

We may not upset anyone, but neither do we inspire anyone.

And whether you want people to be friends with you or to buy from you – you have to inspire them. Not upsetting them is not enough.

So if you're writing an email – write for your real core audience, don't worry about the rest. Don't worry about losing subscribers and getting complaints from the people who don't like what you have to say.

They were never going to become your clients anyway.

If you're giving a presentation, don't worry about your scores on those awful feedback sheets.

All you should care about is your impact on the few audience members who might become customers or who might go out and do something with your message.

Focus on inspiring the few, not mollifying the many.

And actually, you'll find that there are more of the few than you think. Certainly enough to help you build a flourishing business.