Second Shitty Draft

This draft still needs lots of work and some sources... but here is what I have for now!

While inspiring others, and still having time to meal prep every week, Lauren Bragg gracefully (and humorously) changes the lives of middle-aged women every day. Growing up, she always loved to cook and help others; but never in her life would she think these two would combine into something amazing and life changing. What began with just jotting down recipes and handing them out to her work out partners led her to posting them online for others to see, along with a weekly email and awesome helpful blog updates. This passion overcame her desk job, and then began to consume her life in a positive way. When asking Lauren how she was able to do this with the competition of so many other health and wellness coaches, her answer was simple, “by being my best, authentic self”. Although writing did not come easy to Lauren, she found she did her best work when being truly authentic to herself and what she wanted to discuss. Because of her authenticity, her audience formed in a way that worked harmoniously with her business.

After graduating college, Lauren had a well-paid office job where she was essentially a secretary. Her day consisted of writing and replying to emails in which she had no personal connection with the person on the other end. Although she was making good money, she soon realized she was not getting my personal satisfaction from sending emails. During this time, she would decompress by working out at the gym. Her gym buddies became good friends and after small talk turned into every day conversation, they started to realize she had a serious talent in the kitchen. This inspired Lauren to start writing down her recipes and soon after, bring them with her to give to her gym friends. What started as jotting down ingredients led to her creating her first blog, “Simply Paleo”, of all of her paleo recipes. This was a huge hit. She was able to attract people locally as well as across the country with her unique, quick and easy, and healthy recipes. Once Simply Paleo became a large success, she then decided to take things one-step further. How could she continue to promote healthy eating while also providing the foundations for a health mind body and spirit as well? Becoming a certified health and wellness coach was the first step. Once she had this certificate, she was able to show future clients her credibility, and constructed a helpful and effective program. This was the beginning of Wellness Vixen, a six-week program that inspires women to become the best version of themselves. This program is what cultivated Lauren’s creativity and brought a level of self-satisfaction she did not know was even possible. Although much of what Lauren does is in her writing and the messages she is giving to younger women, she does not consider herself a “writer”. Her approach to writing well and making it effective is solely authenticity. She finds she cannot even get her words across when she is not being authentic to herself and her thoughts. In order to help inspire other women, she feels she has to be honest and true to herself. With this being said, her blog is the most informational area of her business.

When scanning Lauren’s blog, the viewer can further understand what her business is about, just by reading some simple, well-constructed sentences on the first page. Lauren’s target audience are busy moms or middle aged women who do not have a ton of time to sit down and read every day. With this, she makes her bullet points simple and to the point, as well as light and humorous. When asking Lauren about how she gained her audience, she stated that she first had to figure out how she wanted to go about helping others and what that looked like to a busy, working women. Once she did this, her audience essentially came to her. Wellness Vixen blog is a very accurate depiction of the life that Lauren lives every day. For example, she states,

Heya Gorgeous! My name is Lauren.  I’m a board certified Health and Wellness Coach with over 5 years of experience guiding women in cultivating the most vibrant version of themselves.  I can help you heal your body and your relationship with the mirror so you can truly live like a Vixen.  Stop trying to accomplish your goals alone, let’s elevate your life together!

This shows her ability to not only clearly state her purpose, but also show her creative side. After meeting with Lauren and then reading through her blog, I feel all of what is writing is so authentic, and can hear her saying it when I read!

            After Lauren had figured out her target audience, she constructed a muse. Her muse was the exact person she felt was a good fit for her program. For example, busy, working, and needs time for herself without bearing her struggles alone. This helped when Lauren felt stuck on something, or did not know if she should say/write a post a certain way. When this happened, she would think to herself, would her muse be offended? Would her muse find it helpful after a long, busy day? By doing this, she was able to strip down what she was saying and it creating more effective and note worthy posts.

            Throughout the interview, Lauren cussed a couple times, which was not to my surprise. This sparked my curiosity though in wondering if she cussed to her vixens. Language is a very important concept, and can be taken offensively if not implied correctly. She stated that even cussing was something she continued to do (when she felt it appropriate) as it kept her authentic and human. She looked at it as more of a social expression and a way to get out feelings and emotions, rather than something of harm. I felt this was very powerful as so many words have negative connotations, yet it is all about the implications behind why they are being said. It is not the word; it is the emotion and drive behind it.

            Although Lauren does not consider herself a writer, and does not even enjoy writing much, she is able to create a blog with beautiful key points and expressive language. This comes from authenticity and pure passion for what she is speaking about. When she is able to think of writing blog posts and emails in those terms, she doesn’t even feel like she is writing. Through her unique and eloquent posts, she attracts her target audience by keeping things personal and helpful. By having the best audience, she is able to create her best work.