Why Messaging Misses the Mark (and How to Make Yours Move Again)
I’ve been there.
Trying to make sense of everything I could do, every idea I carried, and every version of myself I thought I had to explain. I once tried to merge my hairstyling site with my marketing business, please don’t ask me why. All I knew was I was good at both. But that site confused everyone, including me.
I thought I needed to show everything to prove I was capable. But, what I needed was a message that could hold what mattered most.
Most of the people I work with are not just doing great work—they’re doing meaningful, life-giving, community-shaping work. They lead nonprofits and churches. They write and create. They’re building businesses that will outlast trends. But their message often doesn’t match their impact.
It’s not that they don’t know what they’re doing.
It’s that they’re trying to say it all at once, with no clear structure to carry it.
What I see when messaging falls flat:
1. You’re trying to talk to everyone.
You’re saying, “I help women, men, businesses, nonprofits, new parents, creatives, and the burnt-out corporate girlies…” and you’ve lost your audience by the second breath.
The best messaging doesn’t try to reach everyone—it speaks deeply to the one it’s meant for. Speak to the one who’s already leaning in.
2. You’re leading with what you do—not what it changes.
You run programs, lead services, write books, sell products, consult, coach. But that’s not the message. The message is what happens after someone experiences your work.
What opens for them? What changes in their life, their leadership, their thinking?
That’s the power your message should convey.
3. Your words live in drafts, not decisions.
Sometimes, the message is swirling in half-sentences and iPhone notes. You’ve written it, edited it, reworked it—and now you can’t tell what actually makes sense anymore.
This is the moment to bring someone in. Not to rewrite you, but to help you clarify what you’ve been circling.
4. You sound “professional,” but not like you.
Your messaging might be clean, correct, even beautifully formatted—but it could belong to anyone. There’s no heartbeat in it. No conviction. No unexpected sentence that makes people stop scrolling and listen.
Real clarity sounds like you. Not templated. Not buzzy. Not made-for-LinkedIn. Not fully written by AI.
Just honest and sharp, just like how you talk when you mean it.
What good messaging actually does:
Makes your audience feel like you’ve already been thinking about them
Names the change you help create
Reflects your voice—directly, confidently, and in rhythm with your work
Guides people toward the next step with you—whether that’s a deeper read, a discovery call, a purchase, or a yes
Messaging doesn’t need to be cute, clever, or complicated.
It just needs to carry the truth of your work—and carry it well.
Try These Quick Fixes:
✅ Voice it first. Record yourself explaining what you do to someone who respects you but doesn’t know your work. Then write it down.
✅ Audit your homepage. Can someone tell, in under 10 seconds, what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters? If not—it’s time to refine.
✅ Read it out loud to someone you trust. If you feel yourself cringing, apologizing, or skipping lines, your message may not be yours anymore. Then, on top of that, you’ll get live feedback.
Inside my 1:1 Strategy Sessions, we get to the root of what’s not working. We don’t just tweak sentences—we untangle the twists in your head. We figure out what you're really trying to say, who it's for, and how to say it in a way that moves them.
If you’ve been feeling off about your message, that’s the exact time to get support.
