Today's YATM newsletter is brought to you by...
Our Creator Day friends, Barclays Eagle Labs
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Hi YATMers, I'm Natasha Player and I work with leaders, companies, and organisations to build inclusive spaces where people can thrive better, enhancing the talent pipeline.
Through creative workshops, we guide teams to uncover insights, spark lightbulb moments, and take meaningful action.
We facilitate brave, honest conversations supported by a proven framework that activates higher performance and equip leaders to work through complex problems, communicate better, strengthen collaboration, and create real impact especially in today’s fast-changing global landscape.
Here is my recommendation for you today. It's the Bournemouth Reggae Weekender. It's a feast of reggae music and food for all the family to enjoy. That’s me on the left!
Let's make sure we connect today
Here I am on LinkedIn​
Where I work here​
When you find a way to express your ideas in a way that feels true to you and connects with others, it transforms everything.
It’s when you stop copying other people, cease trying to be clever, steer clear of bandwagons and you start saying what matters, in your way.
However, to get there doesn’t happen as soon as you start, but that’s ok.
Finding your voice takes time. From my own experience that has been shaped in three stages. This journey not only reflects of me, it also recognises where you may be in your own efforts.
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My Own Path
In the early days of You Are The Media, I sounded like everyone else.
Then I aimed to sound like no one else. It took years, and a community, to finally finally express my true self.
A lot of what I do requires time. If I had the rulebook or followed someone else, maybe I’d hit milestones a lot quicker. However, it has taken me over 10 years to find a place that feels like it's truly working.
When I look back through the You Are The Media blog, that started in 2013, I can clearly see three stages in how my voice developed.
If you're creating regularly, whether it’s for your newsletter, YouTube, podcast, LinkedIn, or you deliver events, your voice is the bridge between what you make and how others feel about it.
Let me show you what these three stages looked like for me and how they can help you build a voice that has its own place today, where you feel comfortable.
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Stage 1: Fitting In (2013–2015)
When I began the YATM blog, I was publishing regularly, but I wasn’t doing anything different, I was just blending in.
It had a marketing focus, but everything was generic. My structure resembled what every other agency or small business blog was doing at the time.
I was trying my hardest to sound knowledgeable, but I lacked my own proof to back it up.
The articles weren’t wrong, but they were dull and they were not me.
Perhaps you find yourself creating work that simply fits in with what’s already out there? That’s ok.
What I've realised is that the problem isn’t the lack of information, it was it lacked permission. I didn’t feel that I could bring in my own experiences, humour or quirks into the world. My role was to fit in.
I conformed. I wrote for what my industry expected and assumed what an audience would want, not for the people I knew.
If you find yourself in this stage, it’s a necessary part of the process. It’s where you learn how to show up, you share and you think in frameworks that are relatable to your industry.
I had to write like everyone else, before I figured out how to write like myself.
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Stage 2: Nothing to Lose (But No One Listening) (2016–2020)
When you realise your work doesn’t sound any different, you start to add personality and find ways to bring you to the front.
I began to feel frustrated with the monotony of it all. I didn’t want to write what was expected. I wanted to have fun with my writing. I wanted to express myself.
The result? I went rogue.
I became reckless in my writing. I tried to be too clever. I overused metaphors, got carried away with “creative” analogies, and often wrote in a tone that, while amusing to me, it missed the mark with readers and those who subscribed to the weekly newsletter.
By adding your personality into your work is a vital stage.
When there’s no one to impress, you’re free to experiment. Voice only develops through challenges. When not many people are watching, you can afford to say things that flop.
This was also the beginning of me taking shape, as someone with a point of view, a personality, and a belief system.
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Stage 3: Clarity With Others (2021–Today)
The more consistently I showed up, the more people started to show up with me.
I started to get to know the people around me. Lunch Clubs brought people together and an annual event, helped people see my intentions.
Around 2022, the voice of You Are The Media settled into a rhythm. It became clear, confident, and most importantly, collaborative.
I started to know who I was creating for an who it wasn’t intended for.
My work was for people who wanted to be self sufficient to know how to create on their terms.
It was also for people who believed that interdependence and being around others is what can help to amplify our own efforts. It was for people who are fuelled by creativity, community, experimentation and also togetherness.
It’s at this stage where my ideas started leading to shared experiences.
This meant I could document the process, share the change and became more about tools for thinking when it comes to building your own space and not be wholly dependent on an algorithm.
The reason I wanted to share is that it reflects how, the longer you keep going, the more clarity you gain, not just in terms of advice but to tune your narrative to the needs and expectations of other people.
It’s about meeting people where they are, rather than creating a platform where you assume you know better than they do.
Let’s Round-Up
Finding your voice is a process of trial and error, of experimenting, of failing and adjusting, and ultimately, of connecting with people in ways that feel true.
You can’t find the answer in a book or ChatGPT, you just have to step into the ring.
What makes your voice unique is that it can never be replicated by algorithms. People want to connect with someone they know and trust and feel familiar with.
Finding your voice isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being present and in conversation with your audience.
Continue to show up. Keep experimenting. And above all, you have to keep being you.
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Share this with someone else (plus you can see examples of the three stages of voice) đź’Ś
​https://www.youarethemedia.co.uk/find-your-voice/​
Time Wasting
Cafés and pubs that are currently in the sun, in real time
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This Week Around The Web
GROWTH, CREATION & YOUR INDEPENDENCE
​Why people still show up: building events that matter - from CoWorking Values Podcast
​Publishers find traffic with an unlikely source (WhatsApp) - from A Media Operator
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THE COMMUNITY YOU CAN BUILD
​Are members connecting? - from Becky Pierson Davidson
​Communities are built on inclusivity, commitment and consensus - from Jeremy Connell-Waite
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GROWING YOUR NEWSLETTER
​31 email subject lines - from Daniel Bustamante
​Why you should start your own newsletter - from Fabio Vidigal
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If you can make it to Poole next Friday, 25th May, let's have breakfast.
YATM good friend, Emma Collins has a breakfast networking event and we thought lets make this a way to kick off what's in store for Creator Day.
It's going to be at La Mias, where we're having the Creator Day after after-partyparty (25th May).
Emma's events are great and so relaxed. They're not too early either. If you'd like to close the week together, next Friday, book in your breakfast here.​
Use the code YATMnewsletter to save £45 for Creator Day.​
AI Action Figures ​
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Last week's trend was the AI action figures.
It’s like we’ve all become characters in a show that no one else signed up to watch. We’re the ones directing, filming, and starring in it.
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It’s all starting to feel a bit made up.
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The more polished we get, the less human we feel.
We don’t need another action figure. We need you, unfiltered, unsure, not choosing to fit in, figuring it out but still showing up.
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People Of YATM
"I’m a coach, facilitator, yoga teacher and eternal learner with a love for people and potential.
I joined You Are the Media to connect with other curious, creative humans, and found a space where I could show up as myself, be inspired, and offer support in return.
Whether we're working together or dipping into the sea, this group reminds me that community is also a verb and that together, we’re stronger.
I’ve truly value the honest conversations, the social connection, the ability to be vulnerable and not have it all together, the wisdom so freely shared, and the genuine encouragement from everyone. And of course, the opportunity to team up to try and break a world record with Tim Sills, my new partner in crime.
This is more than a group; it’s a brilliant, supportive, and slightly bonkers, and I am so happy to be part of it."
Come and join in
Activity for you in YATM every single week...
🏡 This morning at 9.15pm is when we Work Together in YATM Club, join here​
💥 Thurs 24th April survive and thrive in the AI-pocalypse, with Mark Schaefer in YATM Club book here​
✏️ Use YATMnewsletter to save £45 on your Creator Day place, book here​
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​Click here to watch the end of newsletter Easter Special video. See you soon.
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