Hey, friend — 

By far, this is hands down the biggest copywriting mistake that instantly turns your website visitors off. There's a good chance it's all over your website and blogs too.

It's this 👇

💬 Talking all about yourself 💬

On company websites, it looks like this: 

• We're uniquely positioned to…

• We have 15 years of experience

• We care about you

And on a solopreneur website, it sounds like this…

• I'd love to help you

• I have 10 years of experience

• I know what you're going through

Talking about yourself on your website is fine — it just belongs in one place — your About page. Which, by the way, is probably the second most visited page on your website. Yes, it matters — a lot.

Even though you'll talk about yourself or your company on your About page, there's a specific way to do it — you'll write about yourself as it relates to your potential clients and customers.

Everywhere else, here's the simplest shift to make. 

🙌 It's this → Make your writing customer-focused.

Customer-focused writing is centered around "WIIFM." (as in, "what's in it for me?") Even if you think it's obvious, spell it out.

Let's take the above examples of self-focused language and rewrite them to be customer-focused: 

• We're uniquely positioned to… → You get unique insights from [specific experience]

• We have 15 years of experience → You get access to 15 years of experience helping you avoid the mistakes most people make when… 

• We care about you → Your business is important to us

• I can help you → It doesn't have to be this way

• I have 10 years of experience → Discover the pitfalls that most people miss

• I know what you're going through → You're feeling ______

See the shifts? It's subtle. 

And if you naturally write in a you-first way, that's totally cool. No need to worry about it — this is where you'll edit. When you're writing, I encourage you to write however it's easiest for you. You'll focus on refining your surrendered drafts later.

📘 What I'm reading: 

Explore Your Life: A journey to discover, live, and write your legacy! By Christy Lynch.

Christy has been a long-time writing community member. She was also one of my first clients when I had a plant-based food business (a reminder, that as you pivot in your business, some people will be along for the ride!) I love this book for its practical workbook style. As I read it, I can see how this is the perfect tool to help write memoir. I've written one piece of memoir already — Unfussy Life, and I have many more stories to tell, which I'll do in future memoirs. And I'll be using this book to help organize my thoughts.

🧴 What I'm slathering myself in:

I'm a long-time fan of YellowBird products. Made in the US by a big-brained, Jesus-loving, homeschooling mom of 3, their bug spray is the ONLY one I use. Florida, this time of year, is mosquito heaven, and the bugs are jumbo here. I love that I don't need a shower after spraying this all over because it smells good! I also regularly stock up on bundles of these Patchouli, Hemp, Clay Soap Bars.

💻 Writing website copy? These blogs have some prompts for you:

• 25 Writing Prompts for Sales Page Copy That Does Its Job — Sells!

• 12 fun writing prompts to help craft a standout about page

• The Smart Way To Write Your Website’s Home Page

📚 Calling author-entrepreneurs

I'm hosting this free workshop on Tuesday with Squarespace designer Christy Price. 

• You'll get a walk-through of one of her author website templates telling you exactly what to say on each page

• You'll get expert copywriting tips on how to write your Home, Services, Book, About, and Contact pages

• Get answers to your Squarespace and copywriting questions live

Register here. If you miss the live call, you'll get the replay later.

Psst. 👆 I wrote those bullets above in customer-focused language — thinking about what's in this class FOR YOU. To give you another example, here's how they'd sound if I was me-focused: 

• I'll walk you through of one Christy's author templates telling you exactly what to say on each page

• I'll give you expert copywriting tips on how to write your Home, Services, Book, About, and Contact pages

• We'll answer your questions about copywriting and Squarespace

Now that you see these key differences, you can easily make this shift to anything you're writing!

✨ Coming Up at The Intuitive Writing School

• The Copywriter's Mentorship is taking 6 people. This is a high-touch 1:1 experience that starts September 1 and runs through the rest of 2024. Apply here.

• Pop-Up Co-Writing & Chill Sessions: Write with a small group (no video!) for 2 hours. Spots are limited in each session and there are 4 times and dates to pick from.

🤓 Updated blogs for you this week: 

• Have 99 ideas for what to write but can't pick a topic? Here are 7 things to consider

• Are you writing more in your journal than on your blog, website, or social channels? Those writing prompts could be a distraction

I'd love to hear from you

Do you have a "me-focused" sentence you can't seem to write your way out of? Reply and share it with me and I'll share at least one option to write it in customer-focused language. Reply with your sentence! 😘

🤍 Cheers to a fucking fantastic week!
Jacq