Kristen Doyle 0:00
Ever notice how some businesses just seem to speak directly to you, almost like they are reading your mind? Like they just get exactly what you’re struggling with and what you need? Well, that’s not an accident. It comes from having something called a core message.
Kristen Doyle 0:21
Today, we’re talking about how to craft your core message and why it matters so much for your business. Because here’s the thing, when you nail your core message, everything else becomes easier. Writing emails, easier. Creating product descriptions that actually convert, so much easier. Even knowing what content to create gets easier and clearer when you have a core message.
Kristen Doyle 0:46
Now don’t worry if you’re sitting there thinking, I have no idea what my core message should be, or what a core message even is. I’m going to share some simple tips today that will help you get clarity on exactly what you should say to connect with your ideal customers.
Kristen Doyle 1:04
Are you a digital product or course creator, selling on platforms like teachers pay teachers, Etsy or your own website? Ready to grow your business, but not into the kind of constant hustle that leads straight to burnout? Then you’re in the right place.
Kristen Doyle 1:19
Welcome to The Savvy Seller. I’m Kristen Doyle, and I’m here to give you no fluff, tools and strategies that move the needle for your business without burning you out in the process. Things like SEO, no stress marketing, email list building, automations, and so much more. Let’s get started y’all.
Kristen Doyle 1:43
Before we jump into creating your message, let’s talk about some of the typical pitfalls that I see product creators and other digital entrepreneurs kind of fall into. See if any of these sound familiar to you. The first one is trying to sound super professional and ending up sounding stiff instead.
Kristen Doyle 2:04
So for example, if you are a course creator, you might say something like, “I facilitate online learning implementation strategies”, when what they really mean is, “I help you make courses that your students will love”. See the difference between the language? One feels a lot more stuffy, the other feels a lot more personal and approachable.
Kristen Doyle 2:25
Another big one I see this all the time is talking about your audience instead of talking directly to them. So think about the difference between a phrase like “teachers need organized lesson plans” versus “you need lesson plans that keep you organized and save you time”. Which one feels more personal? Which one would make you feel more seen and understood if you’re a teacher?
Kristen Doyle 2:48
And the third big mistake is focusing way too much on the features and not the benefits of whatever you offer. Here’s an example of that. So instead of saying something like “this template pack includes 25 SOP templates”. Try saying something like, “stop reinventing your workflows. Get your VA business running smoothly with these done for you templates”. See how the focus is not on what you’re getting, but how it’s going to help. The good news is these are all pretty easy things to fix once you know what to look for.
Kristen Doyle 3:24
So let’s talk about what makes messaging really work. What makes people stop scrolling and think, wow, this person really gets me. Because a lot of times that is the thing that keeps people coming back to you instead of your competition. First you want to sound like a knowledgeable friend, not like a textbook or an essay. Think about how you would explain your product or your service to a friend over coffee.
Kristen Doyle 3:53
You wouldn’t use fancy language or industry jargon or try to sound super professional. You would just talk normally, right? The way that you always do. One of my favorite tips for this is to read your messaging out loud. If it doesn’t feel right to say it out loud or it just doesn’t sound like something you would normally say, then your language probably needs to be a little bit less formal and a little more like you.
Kristen Doyle 4:23
The second element is using you language. This one is so simple, but it makes a huge difference. Go look at your website right now. How many times on your home page do you say I or we, or otherwise, just refer to yourself, versus saying you or talking directly to your audience. So it’s really important for your audience to see themselves in your messaging.
Kristen Doyle 4:47
An easy way to fix this is to look for places where you can replace I or we language with you language by just rewriting the same sentence just a little bit. Usually it doesn’t take much tweaking to be able to switch the perspective of that sentence.
Kristen Doyle 5:03
Third, focus on benefits, the transformation that your product or your service creates. Instead of just listing everything included, tell them what those features are going to actually do for them. So, for example, don’t just say that this teaching resource you’ve created includes 30 Math Worksheets. Say, help your students master multiplication without spending hours creating worksheets.
Kristen Doyle 5:32
And fourth, this is a big one. Keep your language clear and simple. Don’t make people think too hard about what you are saying. If they have to read something twice to understand it, it needs to be simpler. A big culprit here is really long run on sentences, probably the kind that I use when I record this podcast, because this is one exception to the say it out loud rule.
Kristen Doyle 5:57
See, when we talk out loud, we tend to talk in lots of very complex sentences, and that’s okay when we are talking to someone, but when we’re reading it, it is much easier for people to read shorter, simpler sentences.
Kristen Doyle 6:13
Okay, now let’s switch gears a little bit and break down how to actually create your core message. I’m going to share a simple format that you can get started with that makes this so much easier to do. First, you need to get really, really clear on three things. Number one, what problem do you solve? And if you create lots of different products, try to think about the overarching problem that your products solve, or maybe you offer a lot of variety of services. What is that big umbrella problem that your offers are fixing?
Kristen Doyle 6:48
And then who exactly are you solving this problem for? And be specific here, if your audience is other business owners, what kind of other business owners? Corporations, small businesses, solopreneurs, female owned businesses, online businesses. What exactly is your target audience? Who exactly do you solve this problem for?
Kristen Doyle 7:12
And then third, what makes your solution unique? Now I know sometimes it can be hard to identify the thing that we are doing that is unique and special, especially if we have a little imposter syndrome, which, let’s be real, who doesn’t struggle with a little imposter syndrome here and there. So one of the best ways that you can figure out what people love about you specifically is to look at the feedback that you’re already getting.
Kristen Doyle 7:39
Go look at your product reviews, emails from happy customers, DMs where people might be thanking you for your content. What words are they using? What specifically are they saying helped them the most? I saw a comment in a Facebook group a little while back, and it’s not even a group I’m super active in, but it showed up in my feed because the person had tagged me saying that they like to learn from me for some very specific reasons, and it was really good to be able to see that and help figure out what makes me unique based on what that person had said about me.
Kristen Doyle 8:14
So look for those kinds of comments. Look through your product reviews and any other place that people are talking about your work. Once you get clear on those three questions, what problem do you solve? Who are you solving it for, and what makes your solution unique, then you can start with a simple elevator pitch format that helps you to just clearly articulate quickly what you do and who you help.
Kristen Doyle 8:40
If you’re not familiar with it, the elevator pitch idea. The concept is that if you step into an elevator and someone gets on the elevator with you, and in that 30 seconds that you are in the elevator together, they ask you, what you do. You should be prepared. You should be able to explain your business to them in that just quick elevator ride.
Kristen Doyle 9:01
Here’s a basic framework you can use. Start with either your business name or maybe the thing that you create, or you sell, the service that you offer, or the thing that you’re creating. So my business helps what specific audience to get what specific result without this pain point or otherwise bad thing that they want to avoid.
Kristen Doyle 9:27
Let me share some examples to make it make a little more sense. So if you are a template creator who sells templates for virtual assistants, then you might say my templates (or the name of your business) help virtual assistants create professional client systems without spending hours building it from scratch.
Kristen Doyle 9:50
If you’re a teacher author, maybe you say, my products help third grade teachers teach engaging math lessons without spending their Friday night planning. A course creator could say, my course, whatever the name of it is, helps creative entrepreneurs build passive income without burning out on consistent launches or whatever specific thing that your course offers.
Kristen Doyle 10:16
Those are some pretty generic examples, and I would say be even more specific about your actual elevator pitch, because the key really is getting super specific about who you help and what transformation you create for them. Don’t try to help everyone. Just really narrow in on your ideal customer. Now that gives you a great place to start, but it really is just scratching the surface when it comes to core messaging.
Kristen Doyle 10:41
If you want to go deeper with a more comprehensive framework that helps you really connect with your audience, I’ll tell you more about a special workshop I have for you at the end of this episode. But for right now, let’s talk about how to use this core message in your business. See once you have that core message written out, it becomes that foundation for everything else in your business.
Kristen Doyle 11:02
It’s that phrasing that is just rolling around in the back of your mind anytime you’re creating anything. Let me show you what that might look like. So let’s say that you are writing an email to your list. Instead of staring at a blank screen and wondering what to say or how to talk to your people, you can look at your core messaging and pull themes from it. What’s the problem you solve? How can you talk about that? What transformation do you create? Share an example of that, or share some resources related to it.
Kristen Doyle 11:31
Same thing with product descriptions. Instead of just listing out those features, you’ll be able to connect them back to those key benefits that you’ve identified in your core message. You’d be amazed how much easier the writing gets when you have that clarity and you have that messaging in the back of your mind all the time.
Kristen Doyle 11:48
Social media content can get simpler too, because you know what types of topics are resonating with your audience and what transformation they’re looking for because hopefully you’re building an audience of people who want the thing that you are constantly talking about being what you offer. So there’s no more random posting and hoping something sticks and people pay attention to it.
Kristen Doyle 12:08
Okay, here is what I want you to do next. Take that simple elevator pitch framework that I shared earlier and write out your first draft. Don’t worry about making it perfect. Just get something down on paper or or on screen, as it were, once you have that basic foundation, you might find yourself wanting to go deeper into core messaging, and if that is you, or if you’re just struggling with that basic foundation and need a little more help.
Kristen Doyle 12:33
If you really want to nail your messaging in a way that builds trust and connection with your audience, then I’ve created something special to help you plant that core message and watch your business grow. And I’m calling it the seed Framework. It is a no fluff workshop that walks you through my seed framework for creating that core messaging that really resonates with your audience. It’s just nine bucks, and you can find it at Kristendoyle.co/seed.
Kristen Doyle 13:00
Whether you grab that workshop or you just use the elevator pitch framework that I shared today, the important thing is to get started, because once you have clarity on your core message for your business, everything else in your business can rotate around that. And it just becomes so much easier to create things that are targeted right for your ideal customers. Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode, and I’ll catch you next time.