How to Create a Simple Marketing Message

Having a clear marketing message makes it easy for people to understand who you help and how you help them. So often holistic practitioners try to describe their discipline - although you understand what you do, often the person you’re speaking to doesn’t. Either that or they have an opinion on what you do, which could be totally wrong.

If people don’t understand what you do, how will they know you can help them? Why would they pay you? Your business must find clients, they're the lifeblood of your practice.

You need a clear marketing message or help statement that tells people exactly what you do. One that's simple enough for a child to understand and repeat. That way, if your offering doesn’t suit someone personally, they’ll be able to recommend you to a friend in need of your services.

Simple Marketing Message

This is a simple description of what you do, you may have heard it referred to as an ‘elevator pitch’. It's a succinct way to describe who you help, what you help them with, and the results they can achieve - it's basically what people pay you for. This message then appears consistently throughout your marketing.

Craft your message in a similar format to this:

I help (the people you help) from/with (the problem you solve) to (the results you help them achieve) through/using (your approach).

For example:

“I help menopausal women suffering from crazy, changeable symptoms to reclaim their health and confidence using herbal medicine”

The more specific and simpler the language you use, the better.

You may also find there are times when you use it in a slightly different order or have longer or shorter versions - this is fine as long as the general information is consistent.

Your Message Doesn’t Limit Who You Work With

Having a marketing message that focuses on your favourite clients doesn’t limit who you work with, it just focuses your marketing efforts. If you say “I can help anyone with anything” won’t resonate with anyone.  You won’t stand out and you’ll get lost amongst the noise, especially in today’s online world.

Your Message Will Evolve

Your marketing message isn’t set in stone, this is your starting point. You won’t get it right the first time so be prepared for it to evolve and keep on evolving as you grow. Just use your best thinking right now.

Deeper Messaging

There is another layer to your marketing message that goes even deeper. This layer is where you show what makes you different and unique. It’s at this level that you really start to attract your favourite clients and repel those who aren’t a good fit.

This area of your messaging weaves through everything you do and demonstrates what makes you tick. It shares who you are as a person, and what you stand for, and is where you let people into your world to discover the real you.

For many holistic practitioners, showing this side is scary. You’re selling yourself and feel exposed and you’re opening yourself up for rejection. It’s this place where you will connect with other like-minded people, and build relationships and trust.

For years I fought being ‘Captain Sensible’, feeling vulnerable even admitting its existence. Experience has shown me, that this is exactly why clients are attracted to me. Absolutely, some will be put off, but they aren’t the right people to work with me.

Inspiration For Your Messaging

Make notes of the language your clients use and how they describe how you help them. This is gold for creating messages that deeply resonate with them.

Do a values assessment on yourself and identify your core values. What are the things you’re willing to fight for? What is your purpose, your cause, your beliefs? Why do you do what you do? People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Talk about the things you believe in to attract the right people to you.

A couple of great resources for this are:

• Simon Sinek’s TedX talk, ‘Start With Why’
• ‘How the World Sees You’ by Sally Hogshead. This book helped me to own my ‘Captain Sensible’ side as well as identify phrases to include in my marketing messages.

Get Help With Your Messaging

Your message is central to your marketing but it’s difficult to refine on your own. You can certainly get the groundwork done but you’ll need to get other opinions to really get your message honed. This is an ideal project to work through with a coach-mentor or mastermind group.

If you're struggling with marketing and making the impact you want, let's have a chat and I will help you get a clear plan of action to success on your terms.