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The 5 Messaging Mistakes Making Your Copy—and Sales—Fall Flat
- Nicole Elliott
- Nov 4
- 8 min read
If you run a business, there are a few “to-dos” you simply can’t escape—building your offers, finding clients, making sales, managing budgets…the list goes on.
However, there’s one piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked, the very same one that runs through every part of your business: your website, your emails, your social posts, even the way you introduce yourself at networking events or during consultation calls.
Your messaging.
The reality is, you can have the most incredible offer, years of experience, and pages of glowing testimonials. But if your messaging (and the copy that communicates it—i.e., the actual words that appear on your website, sales pages, emails, and other marketing materials) isn’t capturing that value and presenting it in a clean, compelling narrative that your audience immediately understands, your sales won’t reflect the quality of your work.
The good news? A few simple shifts to your messaging can change that—and make the difference between someone clicking away or choosing to buy.
On that note, here are the five common messaging mistakes that might be costing you clients, along with what to do instead.
Mistake #1: Getting Caught in the “Me Me Me” Trap
We’ve all seen it—a website, sales email, or even networking introduction that’s polished, professional, but painfully self-focused (and frankly, a little boring to be on the receiving end of).
You know the kind:
My mission is to deliver world-class service.
I love helping people grow their businesses.
We’re passionate about helping clients succeed.
Our team is dedicated to exceeding expectations.
This is what I call the “Me Me Me” messaging trap—where every sentence is focused entirely on the business itself, rather than the audience it’s trying to reach. While this type of language may sound impressive, it rarely converts. Because when people can’t see themselves in your message and understand why it matters to them, they stop reading, listening, or caring.
The fix is simple but effective: swap out that “Me Me Me” language for “You You You” language. In other words, literally use the word you.
This isn’t just a stylistic choice; it’s a psychological one. When your audience sees or hears the word you, their attention immediately perks up. It feels personal, as if you’re speaking directly to them.
To try this yourself, open up your homepage, a recent sales email, or anything else you’ve written for your business recently, and highlight every instance of I, me, my, we, or our. Then, rewrite at least half of them with you or your. Read it back aloud and notice how it instantly sounds warmer, more engaging, and more direct.
For example:
Before: “We offer comprehensive financial management services for small business owners.”
After: “Finally feel confident managing your cash flow—and have the financial clarity you need to make smarter decisions about your growth.”
Before: “Our team specializes in creating websites that help entrepreneurs stand out.”
After: “Get a beautiful, strategic website that makes you look like the expert you are.”
Mistake #2: Choosing Cleverness Over Clarity
You’ve likely heard the saying, “A confused reader doesn’t buy.” It may sound cliché, but it’s true—and it’s one of the reasons so much marketing and messaging falls flat. After all, if your audience struggles to understand what you’re offering, who it’s for, or why it matters to them, they’ll move on, likely choosing to buy from someone who can explain it more clearly.
That’s why clarity always wins. Not creativity. Not clever wordplay. Not academic or flowery language. Not even your brand’s personality or unique flair. When it comes to your message, clarity comes first, every single time.
Clarity always wins. Not creativity. Not clever wordplay. Not academic or flowery language. Not even your brand’s personality or unique flair.
Here’s a simple clarity test: imagine a member of your ideal audience lands on your website or sales page. Within 30 seconds, could they answer: What are you offering? Who is it for? And why should I care?
If not, it’s time to give your message a clarity sweep.
Start by stepping into the head of one of your ideal customers, or someone who doesn’t know all the details of your offer and may never have bought something similar. Then, read through one of your pages and ask yourself:
● Is it clear whether you’re providing a service, a product, a course, a program, or anything else?
● If it’s not a product, can readers easily tell how it’s delivered (live, self-paced, one-to-one)?
● Can they identify what’s included just by skimming?
● Does the transformation or benefit come through in straightforward, accessible language?
If you can answer “yes” to each, you’re on solid ground. If not, simplify. Strip away unnecessary jargon, vague language, or clever phrasing until what’s left is unmistakably clear.
For example:
Before: “Revolutionize your client journey and optimize long-term business scalability with our cutting-edge template solution.”
After: “Wow new clients and save hours every month with the Ultimate Client Experience Kit: An easy-to-customize onboarding template set that gives you everything you need to impress clients, streamline your process, and free up your time.”
Before: “Harness our proprietary 7-phase eCommerce framework to maximize ROI.”
After: “Learn the A to Zs of effective eCommerce and walk away with an actionable, ready-to-go plan for driving your first online sales in 30 days or less.”
Mistake #3: Not Giving Your Audience a Reason to Care
You can get every part of your message right—plus make it clear, concise, and audience-focused—yet still have it fall flat if you skip this one crucial step: showing your audience what it means for them. The truth is, your audience doesn’t just want to know what you do; they want to know why it matters to them.
If you suspect this might be a gap in your messaging, focus on connecting the dots between your offer and the outcome your audience cares about most. In other words, answer the “so what?” behind every feature, benefit, or promise you make.
A simple way to do this is to add “so you…” after any statement, which forces you to dig a little deeper and link what you do to the transformation or result your audience is actually looking for.
For example:
Before: “My program includes six one-hour coaching sessions and weekly accountability check-ins.”
After: “My program includes six one-hour coaching sessions and weekly accountability check-ins—so you can finally make consistent, reliable progress on the goals you’ve been putting off for months.”
Before: “Our software tracks your time automatically.”
After: “Our software tracks your time automatically—so you never miss out on another billable hour.”
Mistake #4: Guessing What Your Audience Wants to Hear
It’s tempting to think you know exactly what your audience wants to hear—you built your business to serve them, after all.
But even with the best intentions, it’s easy to make assumptions about what your audience actually values or needs most. In practice, that often means business owners end up guessing what their audience wants to hear instead of asking them directly, leading to messaging that sounds generic, forgettable, or simply doesn’t land.
The good news is that you don’t have to guess, and the fix is surprisingly simple: use your audience’s words, not your own.
When you build your messaging around the exact language your customers use, you remove the guesswork. You’re no longer relying on assumptions about what will connect and convert—you’re grounding your message in what your audience has already told you matters most.
Here are three of the best ways for you to find that audience language:
● Talk to your clients directly: Schedule a few short interviews or send quick surveys to your happiest clients. Ask what they were struggling with before working with you or your product and what changed afterward. Their exact words often make perfect elevator pitches, headlines, and bullet points.
● Do some review “mining”: Spend some time digging into reviews and testimonials for your own offers, or alternatives your audience might try instead (such as apps, Amazon books, or competitors). Look for recurring language about what people love, what frustrates them, and what they wish existed. Those patterns point directly to what your messaging should emphasize.
● Listen in where your audience hangs out: Visit Facebook groups, Slack communities, subreddits, or forums where your audience naturally talks about their challenges. Note the questions they ask and the phrases they use, then reflect that language in your own messaging.
As an example, if you have several customers who say, “I just wish I could sleep through the night without relying on medication,” your core message or promise should mirror that language directly:
“Finally sleep through the night – no medication required.”
If you ever find yourself staring at a blank page or struggling to figure out what to say next, don’t guess. Go talk to your audience. The most effective messaging won’t come from your head—it’ll come from theirs.
Mistake #5: Making Promises Without Proof
At the end of the day, you can have the most beautifully written and strategically developed message in the world. But if your audience doesn’t believe it, it won’t move them to act.
That’s where the proof behind your message comes in.
Your testimonials, case studies, and client results aren’t just nice-to-have extras: they’re what turn your claims about your product or service into something your audience can truly believe in.
The problem is, many business owners treat testimonials and other forms of social proof like decoration. They drop them onto their website or into marketing materials because they know they “should,” but don’t tie them back to the specific points or outcomes they’re promising.
A stronger approach is to use your social proof intentionally to reinforce your message. In other words, wherever you make a promise in your copy or messaging, back it up with a relevant example or testimonial that proves it true.
For example:
● If you’re talking about the transformation you deliver: Back it up with a case study that includes a tangible result (“I booked my highest-paying client to date within two weeks,” will beat “She’s so inspiring!” every time.)
● If you’re talking about what makes you different from the competition: Back it up with a client video review that highlights your unique process or approach (“I’ve worked with other coaches before, but this was the first one that actually helped me land consistent clients.”)
● If you’re talking about a specific feature of your offer: Back it up with a testimonial that shows how that feature created value (“The templates alone saved me at least five hours a week—I wish I’d had them years ago.”)
Ultimately, your message is one of the most powerful tools in your business. When your messaging is clear, focused on your audience, and backed by proof, it does the heavy lifting for you—building trust, creating connection, and turning your words into sales.
When your messaging is clear, focused on your audience, and backed by proof, it does the heavy lifting for you
Get your messaging right, and everything else—from your marketing to your business strategy—is sure to flow a whole lot easier.
Meet the expert:
Nicole Elliott is a conversion copywriter and messaging strategist who crafts human-sounding, non-salesy sales copy for women entrepreneurs who want to sell without the sleaze (or excessive exclamation points). Over the past decade, she’s developed launch campaigns, sales pages, and websites for industry-leading brands like Strategic Coach, Hello Audio, and Entreprenista. Her signature 3-Step Human-First Messaging Approach weaves together strategic audience insight and authentic brand voice to create copy that connects and converts.
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