Several years ago I heard Tad Hargrave, a marketing guy whose work I respect, say this: The confused mind says no.

That’s stuck with me. It’s so, so true.

I’ve seen it at play in myself, colleagues, friends, family. Everyone, really.

It's so important that I repeat it countless times to my clients.

The confused mind says no.

How Confusion Lead to a 'No'

A few months ago, I was reminded of this again.

I saw a promotion for a group writing event from someone in a community I belong to. The promotional post made it seem like the event was designed to help tap into our creativity using some art/creative prompts and then there’d be writing in community and optional sharing at the end. A collective creative container of sorts.

I thought – wow, this is perfect!

I’d been looking to carve out some more time for creative writing, and I happened to be free that day and time. I thought it would be fun to meet a new group of women and maybe meet some other people working on similar creative writing projects.

So, the next day I found the Facebook post and followed the link to the sales page.

That’s where I got confused.

On the landing page, I found language talking about inner wisdom and tapping into that. It also went on to explain how writing was a great tool to facilitate that connection. From this copy, it sounded like the session was going to be more about using writing to help get answers to a question or issue we’d been wrestling with.

Hmmm.

That didn’t really align with this other part of the website and the original promotional text, which made it seem like the event had a different focus than I’d originally thought.

Which one was it? To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure.

And do you know what? I didn’t sign up.

Now, I completely admit I could have reached out to the host, sent an email, or even commented on the original post asking for clarification. However, I was new in the buyer's journey, which has an impact on how we react. If, for example, a teacher I know and like and have worked with before, put out this offer, I would have emailed or sent a note asking them to clarify. I trusted their work enough, and felt comfortable enough in my relationship with them to do that.

This was different though. I didn’t have a prior relationship with her or know anyone immediately who did. I didn’t know her, her work, or anything about the offer other than what I read.

So, when I encountered the confusion, my mind just said no.

Well, what happened was more like my mind encountered the confusion and I thought, hmmmm, I don’t know, maybe…maybe I should read more about it or something? And then, life being what it is, I just sort of forgot about it.

Which is another way of saying ‘no.’

Crafting Clear Copy

So why am I telling you about this?

Because I want you to be able to see your offers and promotional materials from the eyes of your ideal clients. It’s so, so easy when you’re writing about your offer to make all kinds of unconscious assumptions. Often when you bring your offer to the world, it’s something you’ve been thinking or dreaming about for some time. And so, it can feel familiar to you. And if something’s familiar, it’s hard to see it with fresh eyes unless you’re consciously intentional about doing so.

Maybe it’s super obvious to you what your event is about.

But is it to someone who doesn’t know you or your work? Or is it to someone who isn’t all that familiar with coaching or healing or other creative work?

What will they understand?

If you aren’t sure, then it can be helpful to get feedback on your promotion and your sales page to check. Doing so can help you identify if there are areas in the copy that aren’t clear.

That way you can go back and revise to make things more specific and understandable.

That way you can avoid confusion and help your ideal clients feel really clear about what you’re offering, paving the way for an enthusiastic and full-hearted ‘yes!’

Photo by Jorge Aguilar on Unsplash