The one guide my clients rave about – and how you can use it to get the bookings you want

“I love what I do and I love who I serve ... but I have a hard time putting that into words that convert.”

A client recently told me this before we started working together, and I think so many entrepreneurs can relate when it comes to turning readers into paying clients.

They get stuck staring at a blank page. They second-guess everything they write. They feel lost trying to figure out what to say.

And time after time, they end up with copy that doesn’t deliver the right results.

Because when we don’t have a clear core message, it’s no wonder we can’t market our businesses well or make the sales we want. Instead of connecting with dream clients, we’re confusing them and sending them to our competitors.

But what if I told you that one simple guide could totally change that? Yes, really.

That’s the magic of a brand messaging guide.

What’s a brand messaging guide?

Like a style guide for your copy, a brand messaging guide pulls all your key points into one place so you can write copy and marketing content with more clarity, consistency, and ease.

Anytime you need to refresh your website copy, submit a bio, or prep for a launch, you can grab this document to get inspired – or even better, literally copy and paste from it.

When I guide clients through either website copywriting or Brand Message Consulting, we create a custom brand messaging guide that gives them all the tools they need to create copy that sounds like them, speaks to their dream clients, and generates the sales they want.

The brand messaging guide includes:

Your brand summary – a one-liner to quickly explain what you do and who you serve, along with statements about your mission, vision, what sets you apart, and the values that guide your work.

Your ideal client profile – a look at your dream client’s needs and challenges before working with you, their doubts and fears about hiring help, and the values and dreams they want you to help them live out. No more second-guessing who your people are – you'll be able to spot them (and write copy that speaks to them) in seconds.

Your brand voice guidelines – the style, tone, and feelings that make your copy sound unique to you and allow you to reach clients who truly resonate with your voice – so they’re excited to hire you.

A brand messaging guide empowers you to create clear, strategic, and heartfelt copy that sounds like you and speaks to your dream clients – so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or worry about what to say and instead can attract more of the right people who want to pay you.

5 ways you can use your brand messaging guide to book more dream clients

Clearly define your core message

You only get one chance to make a first impression – especially when you’re telling people about your business.

My husband and I learned this the hard way with his wedding film company. When he started out almost seven years ago, he also offered photography on the side for a little while. (A very little while).

But years later, well-meaning people still ask us how his photography is going. All. The. Time.

All that to say, you might only get one chance to explain what you do in a way that sticks – so you want to use it well.

That’s why having a clear core message is so important.

Whether you’re pitching your business at a networking event, introducing yourself in an Instagram post, or making small talk with a new acquaintance, your audience is more likely to walk away with the right impression if you can summarize in just a sentence or two what you do, who you serve, why they should care, and what sets you apart. No more freezing up or wanting to run and hide whenever someone asks what you do.

When I work with an entrepreneur to create their brand messaging guide, they walk away with these quick talking points so they never have to worry about confusing potential clients or leaving out key information that could make or break a sale.

Communicate consistently across every platform

Want to make your message stick? Repeat it over and over again.

Consistently reminding people what you do is key to becoming known as “the go-to [fill in the blank] in your industry” – and it also builds trust with your audience.

When potential clients see that you’re the same person on your website, on social media, in your emails, and even on sales calls, they can feel confident that you’ll be the same person while you’re working with them, too.

My Brand Message Consulting clients find that after we’ve worked together to create their brand messaging guide, they can use it as a reference point whenever they talk or write about what they do. One client used her guide to not only revamp her website copy, but also create a pricing guide so she could close more sales with prospective clients.

You don’t have to constantly reinvent your message – and it’s actually better if you don’t. Instead, you can follow your brand messaging guide to communicate consistently and build a better reputation with your audience.

Stay laser-focused on your ideal client

Whenever you write for your business, there’s one question you should ask yourself again and again: “so what?”

Your services help people save time. “So what?”

Your process is fast and easy. “So what?”

Your clients have full access to you throughout your work together. “So what?”

As business owners, it’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing on what’s important to us in our businesses – but what we really need to focus on is what matters to our ideal client.

One easy way to stay focused on your client’s wants and needs is to have an ideal client profile and review it regularly.

You don’t have to know your ideal client’s favorite color or what they eat for breakfast in the morning (unless that’s relevant), but a brief overview of their challenges, fears, and desires can help you answer that “so what” question with more clarity and confidence.

For example, I know my Brand Message Consulting partnership is designed for business owners who are struggling with what to write on their website and other marketing materials. They know getting their message right will help them create the results they want – but they’re so close to their business that they’re not sure how to talk about it in a clear, concise, and consistent way.

These clients want clarity and confidence around their brand message so that they can write copy that connects, convert more readers into dream clients, and ultimately grow their businesses.

And through our work together, that’s exactly what they get.

Every time I sit down to write copy that will guide readers toward Brand Message Consulting, I can write with this person in mind to keep my message clear, consistent, and connected to what this particular client wants and needs.

This is why your brand messaging guide should always include an ideal client profile – so you can stay laser-focused on the one person you’re writing to and truly connect with them through your copy.

Write inspired (and never start from scratch again)

When you sit down to write about your business, do you ever feel like you have nothing to say?

I get it. Most of us spend so much time working in our businesses that it’s easy to forget what our audience really wants to know.

Luckily, that’s where your brand messaging guide can help.

It’s packed with points about your brand’s mission, your values, what sets you apart from your competitors, your ideal client’s journey, and the way you want people to feel when they interact with your brand.

Each of these could easily be its own post or talking point – or even a series of content to make your audience feel more connected to you and your brand. And the more your readers know, like, and trust you, the easier it will be for them to buy.

So, next time you find yourself struggling for inspiration, you can take a quick trip through your guide, brainstorm content ideas, and quickly write copy that gets results.

Have your key marketing copy ready to go

If you’re anything like me, writing about your own business is about 200 times harder than writing about someone else’s.

I think that’s why so many business owners find themselves continually rewriting their brand bio (and second-guessing themselves the entire time).

And I’m not just talking about the bio on your website – I’m talking about the two or three sentences you write to summarize your business every time you set up a new social media account, join a business directory, or pitch yourself for a podcast interview.

These little pieces of copy can be so important in growing your following and communicating your message clearly and consistently.

But if you’re always starting from scratch, they can also be really time-consuming, not to mention confusing for your ideal client. Because let's be real . . . are you going to remember to update everywhere you've put those three sentences?

That’s why my Brand Message Consulting clients always walk away with these key points refined and ready to go in their brand messaging guide – so they can easily copy, paste, and move on with their day (knowing they're attracting the right clients in the meantime).

No more freezing up at the keyboard, and no more missed marketing opportunities.

Getting to clarity, consistency, and confidence with your brand messaging guide

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, uninspired, or confused when you sit down to write content for your business, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer.

It simply means you could use more clarity around your brand message, so you can show up consistently and truly connect with your dream clients.

But the good news is that this is exactly what I help my clients with when we work through the Brand Message Consulting process together, and I absolutely love supporting them to make this shift in way less time than they might think.

Because writing content for your business doesn’t have to look like hours of second-guessing yourself and staring at a blinking cursor. With clarity on your core message and a brand messaging guide to back you up, you can finally free yourself up to communicate clearly, strategically, and with heart every time.

I’d love to guide you through Brand Message Consulting – or a full website copywriting experience.

In Brand Message Consulting, we’ll:

kick off with a Messaging Strategy Session call to uncover your brand voice
interview your clients to understand exactly how to write copy that connects and converts
create your custom brand messaging guide to carry your clear, consistent message forward
connect on a follow-up consulting call to help you put your new message to work and start attracting more dream clients asap.

And my website copywriting clients get all this and more – including done-for-you copy for each page of their website.

But either way, you’ll walk away with a strategic message and a deeper understanding of how to reach your people in a way that feels true to you – so you can attract more of the right clients and grow your business in less time, with more ease.

Contact me today so we can start finding and refining your brand message and driving those dream inquiries on repeat.

Contact Kelsey to get started