You’ve seen the brands.

All caps. Neon. “Boss energy.” Screaming their message from the rooftops like they’re being chased by an algorithm.

That’s a kind of bold.

But it’s not the only kind (and it’s definitely not what I mean when I talk about bold messaging).

Because bold isn’t about being loud. It’s about being clear. It’s about saying the thing your audience actually needs to hear. Even when it’s uncomfortable, unexpected, or not what’s trending on Threads.

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P.S. This started as a LinkedIn post.

What you’re reading now was sparked by the conversations in the comments. They were so insightful I included snippets throughout: quotes from smart people who added nuance and pushed the idea forward.

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Bold can be quiet. And still unforgettable.

Sometimes, the boldest message isn’t the one that grabs you by the collar. It’s the one that whispers something you didn’t realize you needed to hear. And suddenly, you can’t stop thinking about it.

Think about brands like Everlane, Basecamp, or even Apple at its best. They’re just clear. And confident.

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That’s what bold really does, makes you stand apart.

If you’ve ever said:

• “I’m in an oversaturated market”
• “We don’t know how to set ourselves apart”
• “I struggle to explain what I do”
• “My networking intro is three minutes of word salad”
• “Our competitors are booking our ideal clients”
• “People don’t really get the value I offer”

…it’s probably not a visibility issue but a vanilla issue. It doesn’t mean that your business or mission isn't bold; it’s that your message isn't.

And your audience is doing exactly what their brains are wired to do: ignoring what looks, sounds, and feels common.

🧠 Now for the nerdy brain science part: our brains are wired for efficiency. We filter out anything that feels familiar, expected, or repetitive. It’s not personal. It’s neurological.

So if your messaging sounds like every other “strategic coach” or “creative studio” or “conscious brand” in your industry? It’s getting filtered right out of your audience’s attention.

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The antidote? Say the thing.

Say the thing no one else is willing to say. Say the thing your audience actually needs to hear, not the thing that feels safest.

And no, that doesn’t mean being a jerk. You don’t need to agitate pain points by rubbing salt in the wound, or manufacture urgency or push fear-based tactics.

You just need to understand your audience deeply enough to speak to what’s really going on.

• What thoughts are distracting them during their kid’s soccer game?
• What are they dreading on Monday morning?
• What do they secretly want, but don’t quite know how to name?

That’s the level of empathy real marketing requires.

And when you can connect the dots between that lived experience and the value you offer? That’s when messaging moves people from “nice words” to “damn, I need this.”

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Bold ≠ Controversial. But it might be contrarian.

If your work challenges outdated systems, flips the script, or offers a different way forward, that’s a good thing.

But how would anyone know that if your message tries to please everyone?

Some of the brands I respect most take stances I don’t fully agree with. And I still (usually) respect them because they’re clear about what they believe and who they’re for.

That kind of clarity can build trust. As long as it doesn’t cross into harm, hostility, or anything I can’t stand behind.

And if it does? Then the message isn’t for me, which is exactly the point.

I’m a big fan of kindness and human rights. If your message repels me because it’s missing those, I’m not your people (and I don’t want to be in your orbit anyway).

But repelling doesn’t have to be controversy. Sometimes it just means showing someone, clearly and kindly, that your offer isn’t the right fit for their problem. And that’s a service too.

Sometimes, the very thing that turns one person away is the same thing that magnetizes someone else.

And when the right people see your message and say, “Finally, someone gets it”? That’s the point.

“Working with you helped me say what I actually needed to say. And the right people immediately started paying attention.”

That’s bold. Not because it’s loud. Because it’s real.

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What changes when you stop trying to speak to everyone

When you stop shaping your message to sound a certain way—more polished, more professional, more “like the others”—you make room to actually sound like yourself. And that’s when people start paying attention.

It’s not about being louder. It’s about being more honest. More specific. More you. That’s what sets you apart.

A lot of clients come in saying, “I want to sound bold.” Then we dig into the work, and they say, “Can we really say that?”

But once they do? They stop holding back or overexplaining, and start sounding like the expert their clients have been looking for.

➡️ Sometimes, that shift starts with a single strategy session:

“The biggest takeaway from our session was to lean into our brand voice. When we try to present as corporate and jargony, it feels inauthentic to the tone of our brand. It was helpful to know that we could celebrate our boldness in copy to both be true to who we are and make a lasting impact.”
— Maggie Gremminger, Co-Founder, Leona

➡️ Other times, it takes deeper positioning and messaging work to step back and say, “We don’t have to be everything to everybody”, and mean it:

“We were tired and a little exhausted from being everything to everybody. We sold all sorts of work, small and large, to all sorts of leaders and economic buyers. It gave us a little bit of relief that we didn’t have to speak to everyone’s language. By honing in on specific buyers, it actually allowed us to be more clear and more attractive to the kinds of buyers that we wanted to work more with.”
— Joanne Chu, Co-Founder, Strelo Group

Confidence doesn’t just show up in how you feel. It shows up in how clearly you speak to the right people, and how easily they say yes.

One more thing, while I’m up here on my soapbox

If you’ve got the word “bold” listed in your brand voice guidelines? We need to talk.

Not because it’s wrong, but because it’s meaningless without context.

“Bold” gets interpreted 87 different ways, depending on who’s writing. Same goes for “authentic,” “edgy,” “professional,” and other well-meaning words like “empowering”. They sound clear, but without context, they leave too much room for interpretation.

Unclear guidelines lead to inconsistent messaging. And inconsistency? Screams lack of confidence. Which creates confusion. Which kills conversions.

And none of that is the kind of bold we’re going for.

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TL;DR?

• Bold ≠ loud
• Bold can be subtle, contrarian, empathetic, or softly disruptive
• Bold means clarity, confidence, and saying the damn thing
• And if you want to stand apart in a saturated market, you can’t sound like everyone else

Attract the right people. Repel the wrong ones. That’s the point.
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Want to put this into practice?

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​Start with a piece of your existing copy. It can be your homepage headline, a sales email, your LinkedIn bio…and ask:

1. Does this reflect why my best-fit clients actually buy?
2. Or does it sound like what everyone else in my industry says?

Not sure? That’s your cue to go ask.

Look at your past testimonials. Ask current or former clients why they chose you. Check your DMs, call notes, or client surveys. The words are there; you just need to listen for them.

Because bold messaging isn’t about sounding strong. It’s about being specific, honest, and useful. It turns buyer insight into brand clarity. It turns why they buy… into how you sell.

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Until next time,

Stacy

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👋🏻This was issue 62 of straight-to-the-point insights that turn why they buy into how you sell. Did someone forward this to you? If you don’t want to rely on a forward next time, you can subscribe here.
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