Welcome to issue 51 of straight-to-the-point insights that turn why they buy into how you sell. (Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here.)

You know I hate a cliché. But there’s one I can’t ignore (even though I want to).

“Your website is your digital storefront.” 🤮

• It’s overused.
• It’s tired.
• And unfortunately…it works for what I want to talk about today.

As much as I hate to admit it, it explains a lot of what I see when I do website copy audits, especially for B2B brands.

So, I’m going to run with it.

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If your homepage were a physical store…

Here’s what it would feel like, based on what I’ve actually seen:

• You walk in, spot something interesting, and try to explore more, but every time, you have to go back to the entrance just to find another section. (That’s what happens when your nav is only at the top and your homepage has no internal CTAs.)
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• You head toward a sign that says “Executive Coaching for Visionary Leaders” and find recycled language you’ve seen 100 times. (Looks premium. Reads like everyone else.)
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• You click into “Our Services” expecting clarity and instead get vague buzzwords, a list of features, or a founder origin story. (But… what do you actually do?)
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• You get to the bottom of the page and it just ends. No CTA. No next step. Just awkward whitespace and maybe a footer link to Instagram.

The problem isn’t the layout. It’s the lack of strategy tying everything together.

And when that happens, even with good intentions, your website ends up sounding like everyone else’s. And converting like it too.

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What I see in audits (and why your site might not be working)

Here are the patterns I see again and again:

• No clear goal for the page (What action do you actually want someone to take?)
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• Headlines that sound polished but don’t mean anything
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• Jargon overload (“Human-centered scalable solutions”. What does that even mean?)
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• CTAs that are buried, competing, unclear, or completely missing. People want to know what’s going to happen when they click
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• Messaging written for the clients they currently have were used to have, even if those clients are not the ones they want more of
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• Copy that reads like AI wrote it. Which means it sounds like everybody else (Even if you don’t think it does, trust me…)
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And one more big one:

Investing in design, but treating messaging like an afterthought.

Design and copy should be cohesive. But if you’re spending thousands on a beautiful site and skipping the strategy behind the words?

You’re just dressing it up, like putting lipstick on a pig. The confusion is still there. Now it’s just in nicer fonts.

And while I’m mostly talking about websites here, these same issues show up on sales pages, in email sequences, and even in LinkedIn posts.

If your messaging isn’t strategic—if it doesn’t resonate with the right people or lead them toward the right action—the format doesn’t matter.

Because whether someone’s reading your homepage, your latest promo email, or a launch page, they’re still asking the same question:

“Is this for me?”

If it’s not obvious, they won’t stick around to fit out.

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(Psst... if this feels a little too close to home, I have space for a couple more copy audits this month. You'll walk away with specific feedback and clear, actionable steps.)

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A note on the “websites are dead” crowd

You’ve probably heard it: “You don’t need a website. You just need [insert the thing they’re selling].”

I get why it’s tempting to believe that, but consider the context. First, look at who’s saying it and what they offer.

If they’re telling you to skip the site and pour everything into a different system, email list, or social strategy (and oh hey, they just happen to sell that exact thing), take it with a grain of salt.

And to be fair, I’d sound like a total blowhard if I said, “You definitely do need a website with strong copy,” because, yes, that’s what I sell.

In reality, it’s not black and white.

There are plenty of people succeeding without a website.

And there are plenty more who could be succeeding, but aren’t. Because they skipped the strategy and hoped a landing page would do all the work.

“My business is doing fine without a website” isn’t a compelling rationale.

• Their business is not your business.
• Their audience is not your audience.
• Their model is not your model.

The real question is: What role does your website play in how people decide to work with you?

If it’s part of the buyer journey—and for most B2B brands, it is—then it’s worth making sure it’s actually helping, not hurting.

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Not every problem is a funnel problem

I see it all the time.

You’re not getting the right leads, so you start tweaking your opt-in. Or rebuilding your sales funnel. Or throwing more budget at ads, hoping it fixes the slowdown.

And sometimes, sure, that might help. But more often?

The issue isn’t execution. It’s foundation.

Maybe it is your offer. Maybe you’re targeting the wrong niche. Maybe it is time for a total rebrand.

But in a lot of cases, those things aren’t the real issue. The real issue is that the message isn’t clear enough to support any of that.

Because if your message isn’t resonating, no funnel, freebie, or ad campaign will change that.

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“So… how do I know if my messaging is off?”

Questions I’d ask if I were you:

• Are you constantly rewriting your site or second-guessing what to post?
• Do people land on your homepage or LinkedIn and still ask, “So… what exactly do you do?”
• Are you generating traffic but not leads, or leads that aren’t quite the right fit?

If yes, those are signs the messaging isn’t landing.

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“And what is messaging strategy, exactly?”

It’s not just a tagline. It’s not just what’s in your About page or hero section. Messaging strategy is the foundation that connects your positioning to your audience’s perspective.

It’s the why behind the words. It tells you:

• What to say and what not to
• What your audience needs to believe to take action
• How to structure your site or content so everything supports that goal

Copy is what you put out into the world. Messaging is the thinking behind it, the strategy that makes it make sense.

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When strategy leads, everything else gets easier

Before my fall bootcamp cohort, most of the participants had been stuck in website purgatory for months.

They weren’t necessarily bad writers. They weren’t inexperienced. They were just trying to write without the clarity that strategy gives you.

We mapped out what their audience needed to see first, what came next, and how it all connected. As Julie said, “it was exactly what I needed to finally feel like my brand made sense.”

The copy got way easier, because the decisions were already made.

They were able to take the messaging they created and use it to make their sites go from unclear, jargon-filled, and confusing to clear, concise, and in language that speaks directly to their ideal client’s struggles.

Since the proof is in the pudding (too many cliches for one day?), see for yourself…

(Oh, and if you need help with CRM implementation, head over to check out Julie’s site.)

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LinkedIn: The other storefront your audience sees

Your homepage isn’t the only place people land. Your LinkedIn profile is a storefront too. And sometimes, it’s the first one they find.

If your profile is clear and well-written, great. It can absolutely build trust and bring in leads. But that only works if your content supports it.

If your posts are inconsistent, unclear, or written for the algorithm instead of your audience, you’re sending mixed signals. And mixed signals don’t convert.

The most common issue? Content that isn’t driven by strategy. It talks about what you want to say or what everyone else is saying, not what your audience needs to hear.

And it often attracts passive fans. Not the decision-makers, collaborators, or clients you actually want on your radar.

That disconnect is subtle. But it matters.

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Today’s actionable advice

Pick one: your homepage or your LinkedIn profile and/or content.

Then ask:

• Can someone tell what you do, who you help, and why it matters? In their words, not just yours?
• Does this reflect your current audience (or is it still trying to speak to your past one)?
• Is there one clear action you want them to take?
• If you covered up your name and logo, would anyone still know it’s you?

If the answer is “not really,” don’t panic.

But do pause before your next round of edits. Because tactics aren’t the problem; what’s missing is the strategy behind them.

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Until next time,

Stacy

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PS: If your site or content feels off and you can’t quite name why, reply and tell me.

Sometimes the real issue isn’t the words; it’s the message underneath. I’m happy to take a look and give you my high-level, honest feedback (sans any pitch).

Or forward this to someone who’s about to redo their homepage and needs to hear this before they spend another hour polishing copy that still won’t work.

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