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- 3 small words = 1 big result ... [šU]
3 small words = 1 big result ... [šU]
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Thereās a weird moment that happens when someone asks what you do.
You know what you do.
You might even be really good at it.
ā¦but when you try to explain it?
Verbal vomit
Your brain scrambles.
You start mid-thought.
& suddenly youāre halfway through a sentenceā¦
with no idea how to land it.
āso, what do you do?ā
Youāve got about 7 seconds.
& somehowā¦
you either undersell it
overcomplicate it
or say something so safe it makes the conversation quietly die right in front of you.
You see it happen in real time.
That slight nodā¦
the polite āoh thatās niceāā¦
& just like that, youāve lost them.
They mentally checked out.
why this actually matters
When weāre standing in front of a person, we see their reaction
& instantly know if somethingās landing ⦠or not.
Thatās not an option with marketing materials.
Your website or social media post or ad doesnāt get to ātry again.ā
Thereās no 2nd shot.
No chance to clarify.
They either get itā¦
or theyāre gone.
& this is where we overcorrectā¦
but we also shouldnāt try to hit them with ALL the information either.
the same way you want to have Goldilocks Goals.
your readers want that ājust rightā amount of information
⦠to lean in & say ātell me moreā
⦠or to realize itās not a good fit & move on.
itās not a writing problem
Most people think this is a writing issue.
Itās not.
Itās a thinking problem.
& until that partās fixedā¦
no amount of ābetter copyā is going to save you.
Youāre starting with what you doā¦
or your experience
or your skill set
Itās riddled with feature, feature, featureā¦
basically a list of things you do
that you care about
& your reader?
They donāt know what to do with that
the āso whatā trap
Thereās a trick I heard in a writing masterclass recently.
They were breaking down how to turn features into actual benefitsā¦
& the question they kept coming back to was to ask:
āso what?ā
As in ā¦
āI help businesses with content strategyā
ā¦so what?
āI offer coachingā
ā¦so what?
āI build websitesā
ā¦so what?
The point they were making was simple:
If you canāt answer āso what?ā clearlyā¦
Maybe even go a few āso what"?ā layers deep
your reader isnāt confused.
Theyāre just⦠done.
where most of us get stuck
Hereās where this breaks down for most of us.
āSo what?ā is a thinking toolā¦
ā¦but itās not something you can actually write.
It stays in your head.
It never makes it onto the page.
the shift that fixes it
Years ago, when I was working with Jon Benson
(the guy who invented the Video Sales Letter)ā¦
He taught me a slightly different way to do this.
Same idea.
But this timeā¦
it actually shows up on the page.
Instead of asking āso what?ā
You just write:
āso you canā
why this works
Because it forces you to finish the thought.
Not in your headā¦
But on the page.
It bridges the gap between:
what you do
or your skills & experience
& what that actually does for someone
Thatās the game ⦠outcomes ⦠results
Not sounding smart.
Not sounding polished & professional
Getting someone to feel somethingā¦
& understand whatās in it for them.
Thatās the part people care about.
what this looks like in real life
I had a conversation with someone recentlyā¦
They told me:
āI help businesses with CRM upgrades.ā
Cool?
But I had no idea what that actually meant.
Then they tried again:
āI help service businesses improve their systemsā¦
so you can spend more time helping clients instead of wasting time looking for information ā
Same person.
Same offer.
Completely different impact.
āso you canā changes everything
Now add 3 words.
āI help businesses with content strategyā¦
so you can attract the right clients without wasting money constantly chasing bad leadsā
āI offer 1:1 business coachingā¦
so you can get custom support for your specific problem & finally stop second-guessing every decision in your businessā
āI build websitesā¦
so you can turn visitors into actual paying customersā
That second half?
Thatās where the reader finally sees themselves in what youāre saying.
making it sound like you
If āso you canā doesnāt feel natural yet or doesnāt grammatically fit ⦠thatās OK.
The goal isnāt the specific āso you canā phrase.
& you donāt want to keep repeating āso you canā over & over
You can say ā¦
ā in order toā¦
ā letās youā¦
ā which helps you ā¦
ā so youāre able to ā¦
Use whatever feels like how you actually talk.
Youāre just having that same conversation
with words instead of voice.
why this matters more than it seems
This isnāt just about writing better sentences using clever copywriting tricks.
It forces you to answer a deeper question:
Why does this matter⦠to them?
& if you canāt answer that clearly?
No amount of ābetterā wording or tricks can fix it.
why most people struggle with this
Because it makes you answer a harder question:
Who do I actually want to serveā¦
& why does this matter to them?
That means you have to understand their problems
Not in a generic way.
In a real way.
The kind of answer that usually leads to a story.
A moment.
An experience.
A reason you care.
where this gets personal
For me, this hits deeper than marketing.
I witnessed the regret my dad had walking away from a career in music.
Not because he didnāt love itā¦
but because it didnāt feel practical ⦠āsafeā
That kind of moment sticks with you.
It makes you care about helping people build something that actually worksā
without giving up the thing they wanted in the first place.
Thatās the difference between saying what you doā¦
& explaining why it matters.
Not listing services or certifications.
you donāt need better words
You donāt need to become an A-List copywriter.
You donāt need to sound more polished & presentable
You donāt need more trendy tactics.
You need clearer thinking.
Because when the thinkingās clearā¦
Your writing gets a whole lot easier.
quick test
Take a sentence about what you do
or a specific service you offer.
Just 1.
Add āso you canā to the end of it.
Then try adding it again
Donāt worry if it gets messy
See how far you can take it.
Push into the deeper benefit that feels just out of reach.
what Iām doing next
Iām starting to build out a few clientless income streams.
Not just to build themā¦
ā¦but to show you how it actually works.
& more importantly
How to share what youāre creating in a way people get.
Not:
āIām building digital productsā
But:
āIām sharing my processā¦
so you can learn how to create income without directly working with clientsā
Same idea.
Very different impact.
final thought
Use this simple shift in everything.
Because it works whether youāre writing a post
a sales page
an offer
or just trying to explain what you do without cringing a little
Try it today.
Seriously ⦠just take 1 sentence & finish it.
Youāll feel the difference immediately.
& more importantlyā¦
so will the person reading it.
Make it a great week!
EG
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