Could your messaging be clearer?

Hello Reader

A small confession. I’m a chronic FOMO sign-up person.

If something sparks my interest, I subscribe. A new report, webinar, clever newsletter or topic I suddenly need to know everything about? Yep, I’m in.

It’s why I have 60 tabs open and inbox zero will never happen. (Kudos to you magical inbox zero people).

But it’s also how I keep up with what people are thinking, testing and talking about.

Lately, though, my inbox has felt particularly salesy. And I reckon it’s a bit of a business barometer. The more sales-only emails I receive, the more I think, “Oof. A lot of people must be doing it tough.”

Anyhow, I digress.

The reason I'm talking about that is I'm still thinking about the email I got from the team at Story brand today. They framed something I talk about all the time in a way I loved. Maybe you will too.

Content Rule 1 : Zero cognitive load.

A slightly fancy way of saying nobody should hurt their brain trying to understand what you sell.

How cool is that right? And it's so relevant to creating content, but so easy to mess up.

Your website and LinkedIn profile should pass the no-translation test. The right person should land there and quickly think, “Yep, I get them. They can help me with this.”

Better still, they should remember what you do tomorrow. They should be able to explain it to someone else really easily.

Because good marketing has three jobs:

Help the right people get you, remember you and choose you.

To get you, they need to understand what you do and why it matters.

To remember you, they need a clear idea, phrase or point of view to hang onto.

And to choose you, they need enough relevance, personality and proof to feel confident taking the next step.

That’s why I bang on about messaging. It’s the number one thing you need to get right because it underpins everything else.

Your website. Your LinkedIn profile. Your content. Your proposals. Your sales conversations. Even the experience someone has once they become a client.

When your message is clear, every part of your marketing has a much easier job to do.

So, before you create another post, page or offer, ask yourself:

Could someone quickly understand what I do, remember it later and explain it to somebody else?

Beck

P.S.

Need help nailing your message? Borrow my brain for a strategic lens.

P.S.S. August Activation day is available: Friday 21 August

Try this

The no-translation test

Choose the first place most people meet your business. It might be your homepage, LinkedIn profile, proposal introduction or the way you answer, “What do you do?”

Show it to someone who isn’t involved in your business and ask:

What do I do?
Who do I help?
What problem do I solve?
Why does that matter?
What should you do next?
Could you explain it to someone else tomorrow?

You'll be tempted to prompt them along, but don't. Their feedback is important - it's what someone new to your world sees too.

Listen to the words they use. Notice where they stumble, guess or miss something important.
If they are really off the mark it tells you, your messaging isn't clear.

Start by fixing the first thing they couldn’t answer.

Your next post (sorted)

Tell the story behind one thing you strongly believe about your work.

Think about a moment that changed how you approach what you do:

A client conversation you still think about
A mistake that taught you something useful
Advice you followed or completely ignored
A moment you realised the usual approach wasn’t working
Something small that changed your mind in a big way

Then tell the story:

What happened?
What were you thinking at the time?
What did you realise?
What do you now do differently?
Why does that matter to your clients?

You could start with:

“One of the reasons I always __________ is because…”

“I didn’t always believe __________. Then this happened…”

Keep it specific.

Cool ways to use AI

Chatting with my local business buddies, I’ve realised not everyone uses AI the same way. So this section is about sparking practical, productivity-boosting ideas you might want to try.

Have your own tip? Send it on through.

What are your signature sayings?

I did this last week and it gave me so many ideas and angles to create content with.

Give your AI three to five transcripts from presentations, podcasts, client calls or voice notes.

Ask:

Analyse these transcripts for the patterns in how I naturally communicate. Identify:

Phrases and words I use repeatedly
How I explain complicated ideas
Analogies, examples and stories I reach for
Opinions and beliefs that keep appearing
My style of humour
Sentence patterns and speaking quirks
Things that make my voice recognisably mine

Use direct examples from the transcripts. Separate strong patterns from one-off comments, then create a practical voice guide.

Get AI to interview you

Do you often think it's easy to talk through your ideas?

Staring at a blank screen and demanding an idea from your brain rarely brings out your best work.

Instead, ask AI to interview you using voice chat.

Try:

Interview me about why I believe [insert topic].

Ask one question at a time. Keep digging for specific examples, stories, mistakes, opinions and moments that changed my thinking.

Don’t write or suggest content ideas until the interview is finished.

Once finished, let's explore different ways we can use these ideas in my content.

You talk. It asks.
Together, you find the interesting bit.

At the end, you can get it to sound like you by explicitly asking 'use the phrases I used to describe'.

Run the no-translation test

Open a new AI chat that knows nothing about your business.

Paste in your homepage, LinkedIn About section or offer description and ask:

Based only on this copy, tell me:

What does this business do?
Who does it help?
What problem does it solve?
Why should someone care?
What makes it different?
What should the reader do next?

Show me which words led you to each answer. Flag anything you had to guess, interpret or assume.

If your AI needs to make up the missing pieces, a potential client probably will too.

And who knows what they'll decide you do?

Need marketing help but not sure where to start?
Here are some options for you. Simply reply to this email or book in your Pick my brain session.

Done for you

You've got a project in mind and need someone to take it off your plate. Get my brain on your stuff.

Think:
- Strategy - where to next
- Messaging - how to sound and show up
- LinkedIn Glow up
- Website copy - that's google friendly and findable for AI search.

Done with you

You want to be involved, sense check your ideas and spark new ones.

Think:
- Activation days - 1/2 strategy 1/2 get it done
- Coaching/Reviews
- Nudge Marketing club
- Training

Borrow my brain

Lock in a 90 minute session to move things along.

Marketing Goodness