You know the saying “you get your best ideas in the shower?”

well this week I’ve been literally living it.
Except it’s been a combination of rain & snow showers.

I spoke with 2 marketing coaching clients last week …
both have new potential customers

1 loves pickelball & wants to work with a club that just opened up in their area. The club’s trying to do the marketing themselves & they’re just not getting the foot traffic they want.

the other wants to help a family-owned kitchen/bath remodeling company. This company’s generating interest …

but it’s the wrong people …
they’re just tire-kickers or looking for a Park Avenue look on an IKEA budget.

What’s interesting is both companies are using social media … mostly Facebook …
& they’re posting regularly.

“New pickleball club … now open”
“Just finished this bathroom reno”

There's a surprisingly small gap between copy that converts & copy that just takes up space.

Rarely is there a need to start from scratch.
Usually it’s a few nips & tucks that can make a big impact …
without spending the big budget.

& there's a deceptively simple framework that maps it out better than anything I've seen.

My scramble to box stuff up in & around my tent so things would turn into slop in this weird rain-snow-rain weather reminded me that we need to be careful how we pack boxes

The Magic Square Test

I learned this from David Deutsch who learned it working for Ogilvy & Mather, the real-life ad agency that inspired the TV series Mad Men.

Now, David worked there in a very different era than Don Draper.
But the obsession with getting every single word right?
That part’s always in style.

The framework he calls the Magic Square comes down to two things:
promise & believability

Promise is the benefit they’ll get. Notice I said benefit & not feature.
→ how relevant
→ how much it actually matters to your reader.

Believability (or proof) is whether they trust you’ll actually deliver.

& here's what most people get wrong…
You need both.
Not one or the other.
Both.

Picture a simple grid with 4 boxes.
on the vertical axis you have Promise.
& going across is Proof.

Box 1: The Hype Zone.

High promise. Low believability.

This is your typical “bro-marketer” territory.

You seen these promos everywhere
Somebody's running a paid ad that says something like:
"Join 10,000 entrepreneurs already making $10K a month with this one simple system."

Maybe the number is real.
Maybe the system works.
But there's nothing in that post that makes you believe any of it.

Where’s the proof?

Because it doesn't matter how good your offer actually is if people don't believe it.

Imagine some stranger offers to sell you a Ferrari for $10,000.
Even if some part of you thinks it’s not stolen & you won’t get arrested,
you’re still not buying
because you’re wondering … what’s wrong with it?

“It’s too good to be true”

The promise is incredible.
& with zero proof…
No sale.

Box 2: The Who Cares box.

High believability. Low promise.

This one’s sneaky because it feels responsible.
You're not overpromising.
You're being real & credible.

& it’s opposite to the hype.
That’s a good thing … right?

Think about that kitchen & bath company posting
'just finished this bathroom reno' with a gorgeous photo

Beautiful work.
& the exact kind of post that gets likes…

But where's the offer?
Who's it for?
Why should someone with a dated bathroom act today?

Sure, the reader trusts they’d do a good job.
They’re just not given a reason to do anything about it.

The business is expecting them to assume the next step is to come & buy.
(& we all know what happens when you ASS-U-ME)

Because trusting someone isn’t the same as having a reason to buy from them.

When someone knows-likes-trusts you,
but sees no benefits they actually care about?

They’re stuck in the Who Cares box.

Credibility without a reason to buy is just a nice reputation with a bad bank balance

Box 3: The Back to the Drawing Board Fail Box.

Low promise. Low believability.

A new business announced their grand opening with this:

"Pickleball club now open!"

That was the entire post.
They couldn’t figure out why no one was showing up.

No promise …what’s in it for the reader to check it out?
No proof… who are they? Who else is going?

There’s nothing to get excited about & nothing to believe in.

Box 4: The Sold Sweet Spot.

High promise. High believability.

This is where you want to plant your flag.
With every single piece of promotional material.

Here's what it actually looks like when both are working together.

Imagine a coach running a paid ad that says:
"87 students. 90 days. Every single one landed their first paying client. Applications open now."

Read that again.

The promise is right there … you’ll get a paying client.
The proof is right there too … 87 real people, a specific timeline, a specific result.

There's no fluff.
No adjectives.
No "I'm passionate about helping you succeed."
Just evidence that speaks for itself.

That's your Sweet Spot … SOLD.

It doesn't shout.
It doesn't beg.
It just makes the case so clearly that saying yes becomes the obvious next move.

How to figure out which box you're in?

This is where it gets practical.
& a little uncomfortable.

Grab 2 highlighters.

Yellow for every promise in your copy
→ every benefit claim
→ all the results you're dangling
→ each "you'll get."

Green for every proof element
→ a testimonial with a specific result,
→ a stat,
→ a case study / before-&-after,
→ a credential that actually means something to your reader.

Now look at what you've got.

Mostly yellow with almost no green?
You're in the Hype Zone.

Every single claim needs a proof partner.

Mostly green with almost no yellow?
You're in the Who Cares box.
The credibility is there … now make the offer.

Neither color anywhere?
“Pickleball club now open.”
Back to the drawing board.

Make a list & check it twice

Here's the step David emphasizes that most people skip: make a list.

For every promise (or benefit) in your copy, write down the proof you have for it.
Specifically.
Not just general results …
Proof that’s relevant to this reader's situation.

Because people don't just need to believe you've helped someone else.
They need to believe you can help them.

What’s in it for them?

The Magic Square isn't complicated.
It just asks 2 questions your promo has to answer every single time:
→ Do they want what you're promising?
→ Do they believe you can actually deliver it?

If the answer YES to both, you're in that Sweet Spot.
If not, it’s time to change.

Full disclosure …
I’ve written a lot of ‘Who Cares’ posts.
The kind that feel responsible…
& get completely ignored.

I’m too busy trying not to sound like a bro-marketer that I forget to actually make an offer.
So here's me practicing what I preach.

If you want to know which box your marketing’s sitting in & how to fix,
I do a Magic Square Review.

We look at your promotion
Run the highlighter test together,
make the promise-proof list, & check it twice

Once you know what to fix
You’ll also get the how.
not just what to add
but how to say it.

So you can walk away knowing precisely what's missing & how to close the gap.

Here's what that kind of clarity looks like in practice:

"I've made more progress in the past five weeks than I have in the last two and a half years." — Dr. Bernadette Stockwell

"I've gained more followers in one day with this campaign than all of last month before working with you." — L. Lucas

Fast.
Specific.
No fluff.

If you’re tired of posting & hearing crickets…
Reach out so we can schedule a time to get you into the Sweet Spot Box

Make it a great “ evenly-highlighted “ week!
EG

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