My Messaging Model ⭐️
Hello Reader,
I don't market myself as a messaging expert—not because I'm not an expert in this (I am—been doing it for 20 years), but instead because "messaging" is a concept people define in so many different ways that it's actually really freaking hard to market (we hate hard!).
Fancy agencies will create 100+ page messaging guides while others may present a one pager and others still will wrap messaging up with brand voice.
No one is right or wrong here—all of these messaging tools work for sure.
My way is dead simple—and I learned a variation of this at my very first communications job waaaaay back in the day. I've since simplified and tweaked it to make more sense for busy business owners and solo consultants. Here's what it looks like:
Moving from left to right, we start with two questions:
- Why does this matter?
- How are we doing it?
Then, we follow up with three more questions:
- Is this true?
- Is this meaningful?
- Is this distinctive?
Finally, we run through this twice (which is where my take departs pretty significantly from what I learned).
- The message should resonate with both your audience/clients and YOU.
The "you" side of this question is important, because if it doesn't "click" with you, you won't commit to it and you'll not be fluent in your messaging. Which makes things hard (again, we hate hard).
I bet you're thinking, "But, Sarah, where's the message?"
Let's go back to the first two questions: why it matters and how we do it.
This is, at its core, the message. When I co-create frameworks with clients, this is where we start. We document these two truths, and the framework and the message—assuming they pass the true/meaningful/distinctive stress test both times—come from those truths.
Is it simple? Absolutely.
Is it effective? Absolutely.
Messaging simplicity is a feature, not a glitch.
Talk soon,
Sarah
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