The Secret to Messaging Clarity
"I know I'm good at what I do, but I have no idea how to talk about it."
I hear this from accomplished women all the time. They solve complex problems for their clients, but struggle when asked to describe their own value in concrete terms.
I recently spoke with a consultant who's been running her business for over a decade. Deep expertise, long-term clients, real results. But when I asked her to explain what she does, she stumbled and then rambled.
Sound familiar?
It's hard to see yourself clearly
Being good at what you do doesn't mean you're good at selling it. Sometimes you need fresh eyes to see what makes you extraordinary. And then you need to take it a step farther and convey the VALUE of what you’re selling.
I start every project with a Branding Roadmap—a 90-minute interview that serves as the foundation for the entire branding project. Out of all the questions I ask, I've found these 6 to be the most valuable. They force you to articulate things you've probably only thought about in vague terms.
By the end of our Branding Roadmap conversation, before I've even written the brief, my clients often say they already have more clarity, just from talking it out.
The 6 Magic Questions
Pull out a piece of paper and try answering these questions:
1. What's keeping your ideal client up at night? What are they googling at 2am? This gets at the real pain points of your target clients and the actual language they use when they're feeling vulnerable.
2. What is the main emotion your audience feels before they work with you? Are they frustrated? Overwhelmed? Stuck? Embarrassed? Get specific about their emotional state.
3. How do your clients feel AFTER working with you? What problem goes away? Focus on the emotional shift, transformation, and relief they experience. That's what actually sells your services.
4. What do you dislike about your industry? What are you trying to improve on? This is my personal favorite because it reveals your unique positioning. Maybe you hate how your industry over-promises and under-delivers. Or how it ignores a specific group of people. This question uncovers what makes your approach different.
5. Name 3 things you definitely do NOT want your visitors to your website to think. Working backwards creates surprising clarity. Don't want them to think you're too expensive? That tells you to emphasize value and results. Don't want them to think you're a lightweight? Time to showcase your expertise and depth. This question helps you course-correct before you even start writing.
6. If your ideal client doesn't hire you, what will they experience if their problem isn't fixed? This gets at the real stakes. What happens if they keep struggling? What opportunities do they miss? What gets worse over time? Understanding the consequences helps you communicate urgency without being pushy.
The answers to these 6 questions give you the raw material for messaging that actually connects. But then it's easy to get stuck when it's time to turn those answers into homepage copy that converts.
Okay. So what now?!
Start with your homepage hero section (the main banner of your homepage). That's the first thing people see and where you either hook them or lose them. Your header should be compelling and concise (think 4-8 words), while your subheader expands on it by clearly stating what you do and the transformation you provide. Focus on results, not features.
Then create a "problems and results" section that makes your target clients nod and think "Yes, that's exactly my problem!" Start with empathy about their frustrations, then transition to hope and the results they can expect from working with you. Keep the pain part brief—just a sentence or two. Move quickly to how you’re going to be their painkiller.
Want the complete roadmap? I've created a guide that walks you through transforming your answers into copy that converts visitors into paying clients. You'll get an 8.5-minute video breaking down the most common homepage mistakes (with real examples), plus a workbook and AI prompts to help you write copy that makes potential clients think "Yes, I need to work with her!" (And if you've already downloaded it, this is a good reminder to actually use it!)
password: quickfix
Try answering these 6 questions for your own business and then I'd love to hear how it went! Did any of the answers surprise you?
Goodies Just For You
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT: This newsletter could easily just became an Ezra Klein fan zine. His recent podcast episode about how "Our Lives are an Endless Series of 'And'" is really beautiful and human. It's about holding all the things we need to hold at once without feeling overwhelmed or numb.
WHAT I'M BAKING: Alison Roman’s Blueberry Cornmeal Tart. I bake a lot of Alison Roman stuff because I’m obsessed with her Sweet Enough cookbook. I also read her newsletter religiously. So far there was only one miss—the cottage cheese cake. I know—I should have known. It sounds weird. But I trusted her and I was wrong. The Blueberry Cornmeal Tart is fucking delicious, though. It tastes like summer. No notes.
WHO I'M ADMIRING: When people ask me to recommend a designer who has a broader niche than my own, I often direct them to Anne Marie Jasinowski. She's super talented and a lovely person. What more could you want?! She has a new design + content venture with another one of my favorite humans, content strategist Renee Lynn Frojo, called Hue+Echo. Check them out! They're doing awesome work!
