Brand Messaging Shortcuts: Sell Better With These 4 Hacks
I’m convinced that the marketing gurus and gods created the word “messaging” just to mess with us.
If you’re a business owner who’s ever tried to sell a service, pitch an offer, or just put their brand out there in a meaningful way, you know what messaging is. Even if you don’t know what messaging is.
Messaging is just the what stuff – what you’ll say to care, connect, and click with your ideal audience (re: your dream people).
The problem? We overcomplicate messaging. We think our messaging guides need to be fancy, advanced, and like, four pages long to be impactful.
But it’s like they say – the best tool is the one you have. And personally? I always find a short but sweet messaging guide with powerful and punchy messaging points (no matter how fancy they are) is always going to be what hits with the right audience.
The second problem? We get in our heads again when we start trying to write down powerful messaging points.
So today? I’m dropping 5 of my favorite, low-lift ways to give your messaging rut a full shake-up so you can stop freezing and start chattering away about your offers, services, and products.
TLDR: Don’t know what to say when talking about your offers? These 5 tricks will have you spittin’ out powerful messaging points in no time.
Lil Key Takeaways: This Blog at a Glance
Messaging = what you say to connect; voice = how you say it; copy = the clicky combo that sells.
This blog has 4 of my favorite, must-know hacks for getting your messaging going
The Get-Who-Need-To-By framework helps you stop rambling and start actually saying something clear.
The 4Ps of Messaging (People, Problems, Promises, POVs) keep your message rooted and relevant.
The 5 Whys Framework drill down from surface-level fluff to the juicy, real-deal stuff your audience actually cares about.
Feelings > Features every time – talk about the why it matters, not just the what it is.
Want a lil help with the 4Ps? Mini Messaging Marker’s got your back.
Brand Messaging 101: Your Down ‘n’ Dirty Intro
Messaging is the what behind your words – it’s the consistent core you return to every time you need to talk about who you are, what you do, and why it matters. Here’s the quick breakdown:
Messaging is what you say
Brand Voice is how you say it
Copy is the clever way you combine it to click with your people
Your messaging strategy is your cheat sheet for connection. It’s the guide that holds your key ideas, POVs, and can’t-miss-stuff about your offer or thing.
That way, when it’s time to write a sales page, pitch a new offer, or even post on Instagram, you’re not starting from scratch and asking, “wait…what do I say?”
Instead, you're pulling from a central, intentional source that keeps your ideas aligned and consistent.
Think of messaging as the throughline running behind every word you share. It’s not just for your brand overall; messaging should exist for every service, offer, and launch you put out into the world.
A strong messaging strategy helps you chatter about what’s different and compelling about your work. It’s your go-to when someone asks, “So, what makes this so special?” And it’s what helps your copy land with the right people in a way that feels clear, intentional, and true to you.
My Top 4 Brand Messaging Shortcuts Every Business Owner Should Know
1. The Get-Who-Need-To-By Exercise
One of the biggest battles with messaging is that there are a million different things we could say about our offer or service. So much so that we freeze up and don’t know what to say.
We only have so much space to share compelling thoughts and get attention. That’s a lot of pressure! And that pressure can paralyze us into saying nothing at all – and that obviously doesn’t help anyone.
To break through this block, you need to uncomplicate messaging. Make it easy. Ask yourself these questions and fill in the blanks about your latest offer:
The Get-Who-Need-To-By Groundwork
GET: (Who’s your audience?)
WHO NEED: (What are they craving or desiring?)
TO: (What specific problem are they looking to solve?)
BY: (What transformation does your offer provide?)
By filling in these blanks, you’ll be able to distill your messaging down to a clear, focused statement that speaks directly to your audience's needs and the unique transformation your offer delivers.
2. The 4Ps of Messaging Shakeup
Sometimes you don’t need a whole a** makeover for your messaging strategy. You just need a hot jolt of inspo to start talking about your stuff. If all you’re looking for is a shake-up on knowing what to say and who to say it to, the 4Ps of Messaging hack can help a ton.
The 4Ps of Messaging Framework
PEOPLE: Who are you talking to?
PROBLEMS: What’s bugging them?
PROMISES: What can you promise them in return?
POVS: What’s your unique point of view?
Yes, seriously. Messaging can be this simple. Ask and answer these questions. Think about ‘em! Then, write them down – all four are part of a powerful messaging guide.
Two Ways I Can Help with the 4Ps of Messaing Trick
The 4Ps is lowkey my favorite messaging hack – so much so I have a few ways I can help you dig a lil deeper into it.
The Free Route: Peep this blog all about the 4Ps of Messaging (spoiler: I’ve got a blog on each of the 4Ps, too: People, Problems, Promises, & POVs).
The Not-Free-But-Worth-it-Route: My quick Mini Messaging Marker training walks you through each step of the 4Ps to help you create powerful messaging points for your latest thing!
3. The 5 Whys: Getting to the Root Issues
One of the issues with messaging is that we’re too damn close to all of our stuff to see what our people are really dealing with. And like it or not, the problems our people are struggling with are our business.
But only if we understand and want to solve them.
So, when we try to hit on their problems without digging deep enough, we miss the mark and our messaging falls flat. That’s because we’re not getting to our people’s root issues.
It’s like being on the top floor of a skyscraper, but our people are on the ground floor. We can’t see what they’re dealing with from way up here – and they aren’t clicking with what we’re saying from way down there.
If we really want to get them, we need to get down to their level.
To cut through your own Curse of Knowledge fluff, try one of my fave hacks called the 5 Whys. (No, I didn’t invent it, take it up with Sakichi Toyoda).
It works exactly as it sounds. You name the problem you think you’re dealing with, then you ask why. Then you do it again. And again. You do this five times.
At that first why, your problem is a lil vague. By the fifth why, you’ve worked down to the root problem – the feelings and real-life stuff that hits.
The 5 Whys Framework
List the problem you think your people are dealing with: (Top Floor Problem)
Ask why. Answer that.
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that.
Now, list the problem your people are actually dealing with: (Root Problem)
4. Feelings > Features Lean In
Humans don’t really click with the abstract. We need concrete examples to hit us where it matters.
In other words, shiny features and dry details won’t do it – we need to feel something to click with it. When our brains are hit with info, we sometimes go into a version of the fight or flight mode instead of an emotional response.
In the sales world, emotion is sometimes the shortcut to action because our brain’s emotional center is much quicker at processing info than our logical center. Translation? When we feel something emotionally, we’re more likely to act – even before our logic kicks in.
We’re also self-involved by nature (something I lovingly call the ME-ME-ME POV), and when we see something that speaks to our emotions, we’re way more likely to pay attention.
Instead of bombarding people with a messaging list of what your offer can do (features), ask yourself: What’s in it for them?
The why (feeling) behind that feature is what’s gonna make them lean in, not the feature itself.
The Feeling > Feature Framework
List the top three features of your offer: what are the main things your offer has or can do?
Ask WHY that matters: What’s the emotional result that happens for your customer when they use or experience that feature?
Reframe each feature into the feeling behind it: Instead of “our course has 10 self-paced modules,” you can say “the freedom to learn at your own clip, with none of the deadline guilt.”
Repeat for all the features you want to mention: Watch your features (boring! skippable!) turn into powerful feeling connectors (the good stuff)
A Few More Messaging Quick Tips to Help Things Click
You’ve got a few quick hacks in your bank to start creating powerful messaging points. Want to make those really hit with your people?
Starting with a messaging point (the what stuff) is great – making a few tweaks here and there to make those messaging points more powerful (that’s the role of good copy!) can be the thing that sticks in their brains forever.
Here are a few tips to help your messaging points click with ‘em:
Make things sensory: Touch, taste, smell, sound, sight – these things ground abstract concepts into real, tangible experiences, and that hits our people harder in the feels. It’s like the movie trailer part of our brain. Messaging sticks when you use the senses because it’s memorable and easy to imagine.
Instead of: “This process gives you clarity.”
Try: “It’s like someone Windexed your brain – you’ll see your message clear as sunlight through a just-cleaned window.”
Incorporate narratives and storytelling: A good story someone resonates with can spike dopamine, cortisol, oxytocin, and endorphins.** Those are the chemicals in our brains that make us focus, remember, and feel good. (AKA, stay with our people).
Instead of: “We help entrepreneurs find clarity in their messaging.”
Try: “She stared at a blank Google doc and a blinking cursor for days – until she found our framework. The words came flooding (and so did the inquiries).”
Connect the dots for ‘em: Abstract concepts are hard for people to remember and connect with. Try making your messaging concrete by drawing associations between things they already care about with things you think they should care about.
Instead of: “We help founders streamline their genius.”
Try: “It’s like swapping your 47 open browser tabs in your brain for a neat little all-in-one dashboard.”
Label their inner thoughts: Be specific. Name what you people are feeling. There’s a term for this – emotional labeling. When someone sees their thoughts mirrored, their amygdala calms down and opens up because they click with the fact that you get them. They feel safe and willing to listen.
Instead of: “Feeling stuck on what to post on IG for your business?”
Try: “You’ve rewritten the same caption 5 times (you still hate it). Your brain? Fried. Your coffee? Cold. The cursor? Still blinking.”
Always focus on full transformations: Messaging should explore the full transformation they’ll experience with your offer – don’t just describe the before; describe the after, too. You’ve seen those before-and-after photos in weight loss or health commercials, right? They’re only powerful because you can see the whole journey. Without a before picture, that after doesn’t have an impact. Without an after picture, the before picture just exists. Don’t make your people imagine the possibilities – show them!
Instead of: “You’re struggling with writing your own sales copy.”
Try: “You second-guessed every sentence. Now you’ve got an inbox full of “how do I hire you?”
Brand & Offer Messaging Made Easy (No, But Really)
Don’t let the marketing gods and gurus throw you for a loop on your messaging. It really IS just the what stuff – the things that make your people care, connect, and click. And now? You’ve got a few go-to tricks for working up powerful messaging points that’ll hit your people in the feels.
Lookin’ for a little help creating messaging for your next offer? Check out Mini Messaging Marker – my 12-minute training on the 4Ps of Messaging.
Remember that 4Ps hack? From up at the top of this blog? MMM walks you through each step of the 4Ps with direct help from yours truly (plus examples as you walk through your training).
By the end of it, you’ll have a hot jolt of inspo for what to say to sell your latest and greatest thing.
