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Are you struggling to engage with your audience despite working hard to consistently show up online? Maybe you have a perfectly curated Instagram feed or you provide great free resources on your blog or YouTube channel–but for some reason, people aren’t resonating with your content. 

I hear you. And you’re not alone. 

The struggle is real. Even a decent following and a beautiful online presence can’t guarantee traction. Communicating your value is hard work, and unfortunately there’s not a lot out there to teach us about how to do this effectively. Many people focus on the “where” (which platforms to use) and the “what” (which strategies to use). 

One of things I do with my done-for-you website copy clients is hold a strategy session where we walk through goals, messaging styles and marketing strategies. In a recent strategy session, one of my clients told me that she hasn’t been active online at all because something felt off about her past efforts to create online content. She felt like she didn’t know what she was trying to communicate and that her old content felt pointless and lacked intention.

While it’s not wrong to focus on lead generation activities and marketing tactics, if your messaging is off, your content won’t be effective. There’s no such thing as a successful, fast-growing CEO who DOESN’T know what their message is. Their unique message is what gives them the ability to grab people’s attention and inspire their audience to experience something better. 

In the same way, your message is what gives you the power to capture YOUR audience’s attention and move them closer and closer to acting on your offers. Your content is just the vehicle you use to get your message out there. 

If you want to spend your time AND resources wisely (trust me, you don’t need another Instagram course), what you first need to do is have your message dialled in. 

3 ways to leverage your messaging to see consistent traction 

1. Repeat your message using unique angles.

If you don’t feel like you’re talking about the same thing over and over and over again, then you probably don’t have a well-defined message.

Repetition does not equal redundancy. People need time to digest information. Studies have shown that people need to hear the same thing at least eight times before they will actually start to pay attention. You heard me–if you actually want people to pull out their credit cards and buy from you, you need to repeat your message again and again. Repetition is a good thing. 

But how do you repeat your message without sounding redundant? There are SO many unique ways you can get your message across. Be creative! Play around with elements such as storytelling, real-life examples and statistics to build your case so that with each repetition, your audience feels like you’re presenting them with a fresh perspective.

2. Don’t just make a statement and then move on. Back yourself up and tell people why your statement matters.

I often see business owners try to prove a point by simply stating their opinion, giving a vague reason for it, and then moving on. This is not enough to convince people! You need to do more than just state what you think. Tell your audience WHY what you believe matters to THEM. Describe it in detail! 

For example, most brand designers will tell their potential clients that their brand should involve more than just a logo, that it should communicate their personality, experience, etc. What they should ALSO be explaining is what this means for their clients and what happens when businesses don’t have a brand with these elements.

Psychology Today said that people will do much more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure. Knowing this, when you make a statement, back yourself up by showing that you understand what your audience is experiencing (what pain they are trying to avoid) and explaining why they should listen to you (why and how you can help).

3. Set messaging boundaries.

I’ve been working with a stylist for the last few months to curate a wardrobe that will outlast fashion trends. I’m not a big shopper, but was tired of opening my closet door, seeing it full of stuff, and still not knowing what to wear. I felt guilty spending money on more clothes, so I reached out to a stylist. At this point in my life, I try to reduce the amount of decision-making I have to do, so having her tell me exactly where to shop and what to wear (without breaking the bank) has been so helpful. Since working together, she has coached me to set boundaries on the colour schemes and textures of my wardrobe and ask intentional questions when I put on an outfit. These questions help me determine if I actually love and feel good in certain pieces. They also help me declutter and stop buying things that don’t fit with my dream wardrobe.

So where am I going with this?

When you don’t set clear boundaries with your messaging, you run the risk of watering down your message. You’ll start using inconsistent language or even create content that has nothing to do with what you actually offer. If you feel like you have a lot to say but words are not coming to you, chances are you don’t have boundaries that help you stay focused and be intentional about how you show up.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. When encountering a new potential content topic, do a gut check – are you really qualified to tackle this? Is this topic going to help your audience move closer to your paid offer? By addressing this topic, are you adding or are you distracting? You want the content you produce to (a) add value and (b) help your audience see why your solution matters.

Next steps:

1. Write down 3-5 beliefs your audience members need to have in order to experience the transformation you promise to deliver.
2. Write down 3-5 fears your audience members are having right now that prevent them from working with you.
3. Write down 3-5 high-level steps that you’re going to bridge the gap so that they know it’s possible to get results and it’s worth taking action.
4. Once you have some ideas written down, outline a few posts to make a point and back yourself up with data and examples.

Using my business as an example,

Belief: More information doesn’t equal more value
Fear: Don’t wanna be salesy
One high-level step: Copy isn’t to turn a no into a yes. It’s matching your solution to a pre-existing YES! We’ll use ethical persuasion techniques to help your audience members overcome their limiting beliefs and see things differently while building demand for what you sell.

Wanna see it in action? Check out this Instagram post!

If you’re ready to become the clear, concise CEO that your business and audience NEED, check out my signature service where we’ll work together to uncover your unique message and craft copy that helps you sell on auto-pilot.