Academy / Find your customer and your message
Lesson 3 of 5 · 5 min
Your message in one sentence
If someone asks what you do and you need a paragraph, your posts will need a paragraph too. One sentence that a stranger understands is the base for your bio, your first lines and your offers.
The pattern
I help [who] get [the result they want] without [what they fear or dislike].
Take "who" from lesson 1, the result from the "wish" group in lesson 2, and the part after "without" from the "doubt" group. Then say it out loud and change any word you would not say at the counter.
Five worked examples
- Yoga studio: "We help desk workers in Denver stop feeling stiff, in classes where nobody expects you to be flexible."
- Hair salon: "We help women with curly hair get a cut that looks good on day three, without a two hour blow-dry."
- Personal trainer: "I help parents get strong in three 30 minute sessions a week, without a gym membership."
- Online candle shop: "We send gifts that look thought about, wrapped and on time, without you going to the post office."
- Business coach: "I help freelance designers raise their prices without losing the clients they like."
None of them names the business first. None of them says "passionate", "quality" or "unique". Every one of them could be the first line of a post.
Three ways it goes wrong
- Too wide. "We help people live better lives." Nobody reads that and thinks "that is me".
- About you. "We are a team of certified professionals with 15 years of experience." True, and it belongs in the proof (next lesson), not the message.
- Too many results. "Stronger, calmer, more flexible, better sleep." Pick the one your customers mention most.
The stranger test
Send your sentence to someone who does not know your business, with one question: "Who is this for, and what do they get?" If they answer both without asking you anything, it works. If they guess wrong, the part they got wrong is the part to change.
Try it now
Write three versions of your sentence with the pattern. Read them out loud. Keep the one you would say to a customer at the counter without feeling silly.
The button opens the composer with a brief for a post to new followers. Paste your sentence into the brief before you press Generate draft, so the post opens with it.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
Which is the stronger one sentence message?
Show the answer
We help desk workers in Denver stop feeling stiff, in classes where nobody expects you to be flexible. Years and certificates are proof. The message says who you help and with what.
Your sentence lists four results. What do you do?
Show the answer
Keep the one your customers mention most. Too many results and none of them sticks. Pick the one from your list of customer phrases.
How do you test the sentence?
Show the answer
Ask someone who does not know your business who it is for and what they get. If a stranger answers both without asking you anything, it works.
In this course
- 1Who you sell toWhy "everyone" is the hardest customer to write for, how to pick one real person, and the five things to know about them. · 5 min
- 2What they want, in their wordsWhere to find the words your customers use, the difference between what you sell and what they buy, and a list of phrases to reuse. · 5 min
- 3Your message in one sentenceA simple pattern for the sentence that says who you help, with what and why you, five worked examples, and a test to know it works. · 5 min
- 4Proof and the doubts people haveThe kinds of proof a small business already has, the five doubts that stop people from booking, and a post that answers one of them. · 6 min
- 5A voice that sounds like youDescribe how you sound in a few words and a few rules, then put the whole course into the brand voice in Postfjord so every draft starts from it. · 6 min