Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Lanci.
Amy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For the longest time, I didn’t think I ever had a knack for language.
You see, I was speech delayed as a child. My parents wouldn’t hear me utter “Mommy” or “Daddy” until I was 3 years old.
Because of the difficulty with getting me to speak, my parents decided not to teach me Chinese. As the first generation of American-born Chinese in their families, my parents knew Chinese because it was their parents’ first language. For myself, as a second-generation American-born Chinese girl living in Southern California with a speech delay, concentrating just on English made things simpler.
However, I always felt inadequate and “not enough” whenever someone would ask me the question, “Do you speak Chinese?” Every time I said “no,” I felt judged and disconnected from my culture.
To overcompensate, I did everything else to be a good Asian American girl: I got straight A’s, played two instruments, played sports, got a bachelors degree in biology from UCSD and worked in sea turtle genetics for over 10 years.
While it looked like I had everything together on the outside, on the inside I didn’t. Even though I no longer had the speech delay, I still had trouble communicating what I wanted and what I needed. I used food as my comfort source and that’s when my emotional eating started.
It was at this time, I started to learn more into my own writing. I had always loved writing because it was where I could be as creative and unapologetic as I wanted to be. I would vent, talk about my day or visit far off places borne from my imagination. Having my thoughts written out where I could see them made me face my fears, my insecurities, and my truths. Writing springboarded me to create better friendships with better people and to believe in myself in a way that was not dependent on other people’s opinions of me.
As I gained more and more value in myself, I realized that I do have a thing for language. The languages I speak, however, are not governed by culture or by country. They are governed by people. I wasn’t able to speak back to other people when I was a speech delayed kid but I sure knew what they were saying by the tone of their voice, their body language, and their attitude, even if it didn’t match the words coming out of their mouths. As a scientist, I was trained to observe and make note of patterns, trends, and correlations when it came to the behavior of animals and people.
I use these past experiences and skills as tools to get strangers to tell me their life’s stories. The “data points” I collect from their first impression are used to meet them on their level so they can feel comfortable with me. Because of this ability, I was able to get a fellow airplane passenger to tell me about his boyfriend who speaks to ghosts and animals and one woman whom I met on a bus to tell me that her father was a victim of Agent Orange.
Now, as a copywriter, I use both sides of my brain to help business owners be relatable to their audience in their copy and messaging without sounding salesy. If you speak logically, I can speak logically. If you speak with your heart, I can do that too. If you need to translate between the two, I’m your girl!
Has it been a smooth road?
Of course, not!
When it came to my entrepreneurial journey, the road has been quite bumpy! Namely, because I had to work on myself, to believe that I brought something of value to the people I serve. To break out of my own multi-layered box despite how scary it is. I was taught to not talk about my imperfections and yet here I am, advocating everyone around me to own their story.
My advice for young women starting out is to work on yourself when something is going wrong in your business. Chances are you’re not recognizing your true gifts or you don’t believe in the true value you bring in your offers.
Work on you and the rest will follow.
We’d love to hear more about Untold Story Copywriting.
The name of my business is Untold Story Copywriting. I am a copywriter who helps business owners with their copy and messaging so they can be relatable to their audience without sounding salesy.
Most copywriters throw around words like “conversion” and “sales” repeatedly. While the copy I create does help with increasing conversion rates and sales, I simplify my method down to my tagline, “Connection, Not Perfection.”
Sure, we can talk about A/B split testing, SEO and trendy buzzwords. However, when it comes down to it, your audience needs to have a connection with you. When they feel connected to you, they will follow you, sign up for your e-mail list and work their way through your sales funnel.
Connection is behind conversion. Period.
I offer help with messaging, content creation, bios of all kinds and website copy.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Find a mentor who really understands you in heart, mind, and soul. I found my business coach, Tiffany Largie-Smith, at a workshop I found through my local networking group. She has made my own parts of myself I didn’t even fathom and now it’s paying off in my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.amylanci.com
- Email: amy@amylanci.com
- Instagram: @amylanci
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amylanci
- Twitter: @amylanci
Image Credit:
Higher Vision Branding, Megan Gilbert
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