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Social Media Decoded
Why Your Words Aren’t Converting (And What to Do Instead) w/ Lucy of My Write Hand Woman
00:20:08
In this Social Media Decoded episode, copywriter and messaging strategist Lucy (My Write Hand Woman) breaks down why your content isn’t converting—and exactly how to fix it. We dig into foundational messaging, brand voice, and differentiation, plus Lucy’s “Exact Factor” approach to make your offers unmistakably clear so more viewers become buyers across your website, emails, and social posts.
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- [01:01]
A
Today'S guest is the reason you'll finally understand why your last sales page actually didn't hit she's the woman behind the words and my right hand woman. I love, love that y' all and her messaging makes brands unmissable. I'm talking about Lucy, copywriter, strategist and the host of the Unicorn Messaging podcast. So she's been the secret sauce behind a lot of brands that you know and love and today we are pulling back the curtain on why your words might not be working for you yet. Lucy, welcome to the show.
- [01:35]
B
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
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A
I am so excited to talk all things copywriting. I think the listeners are really going to enjoy this conversation. So you already know. You guys get your pens and notepads ready because gems are about to be dropped. So let's get right into it. Loosey, you work with all kinds of brands from seven figure coaches to bakeries, which I think is super cool. Let's talk about what is the real reason that most people are missing the messaging and that it falls flat even when they're doing all of the things.
- [02:05]
B
I think people think that to have messaging that's spicy or zesty or controversial or whatever adjective you want to put in there, that you have to become something, you have to become more charismatic or a better writer. And so many of these things just come down to specificity. I think that is something that not a lot of people are talking about is when you're general, it's almost impossible to be spicy because you're just saying things that don't really mean a lot To a lot of people, they're just kind of words. But when you get hyper specific and you start talking about the exact transformation that you're creating, the exact differentiators that your company has, and you almost paint this sensory experience, you will be amazed how much easier it is to stand out.
- [02:47]
A
What are your thoughts on just like boring messaging? Because I know we see a lot of that too. Like, this is just super boring.
- [02:53]
B
Yeah, I mean, like, I refuse to admit that there's boring people. I refuse to admit that there's boring offers. Like, I just won't accept it. I have seen so many people that just have, you know, a quote unquote boring routine and they're just like, I don't know how to be an exciting personal brand. Or they have like your run of the mill, like one on one coaching offer and they're just like, I'm just so boring. It's like, no, you're just presenting it in a boring way. And if you're bored by your own copy, you need, you need some serious help because then a lot of people are going to be bored by your copy.
- [03:23]
A
That's why they just need to hire you. So I'm, I'm so excited about this. And I know one thing that you talk about is the exact factor, right? What is that? And how can someone start uncovering theirs if they feel stuck, like sounding like everybody else? Because that's a problem, right? We're like, ugh, I just sound like.
- [03:39]
B
Everybody for sure when I talk about the exact factor. That's a challenge I run about every two months where I help people uncover their one liner. So your one liner is what you put in your Instagram bio on your website headline when you introduce yourself on a podcast or when you're in a networking event. If you don't have this one liner on lock, it's really hard to craft the rest of your messaging. So with the exact factor, it really is boiling down everything, your entire core message into one sentence. And I know that sounds like a extremely hefty job, but it's actually relatively simple. When someone follows my formula to do that, and I'm happy to get into that on this podcast episode if we want to, but it's, it's not as hard as you think. But if you don't have it, and if you don't have that focus of this is who I am, this is what I stand for, this is what I do, it's going to be really hard for people to know it.
- [04:28]
A
What have some of your clients and people that you worked with, what have they really struggled with in that area and how did you use that to really help them?
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B
A lot of us, when we think business, one liner or core message, we go straight into corporate mode and we say, well, I exist to empower women to transform. And honestly, that's a so beautiful, but I have no idea what you mean. So with love. What I do is I get people out of that corporate we exist, we empower framework. And instead I have them get really clear on their dismantle. What is their point of view? What are they ripping apart in society and changing and making different. What is their method, AKA that link between the pain points and the value points that they're talking about? Because the link, the method, is how you actually get them from problem to solution. And a lot of people focus on problem and solution and forget, like, they have to be the vehicle that makes it happen. And then putting the two together and really concise, ifying it, turning it into one sentence, and then adding your brand voice. So whatever adjectives naturally come out when you speak to your ideal client mixed with the actual adjectives that your ideal client is expecting from you.
- [05:36]
A
Ooh, Okay, I hope you all are taking notes because Lucy is giving us a masterclass on copywriting. And so I know that so many people struggle with writing their own sales copy copy. It's just the nature of the beast, right? So what are three mistakes that you see entrepreneurs make and that cost them conversions? Because we're trying to convert from the copy, not, you know, repel people away. We want to get them to convert.
- [05:59]
B
First mistake, I'm going to come back to it that I said in the beginning of this episode. Being general, saying things like, this offer is going to transform your life. I don't want you to just tell me how it's going to transform your life. I think people are saying, oh, be more specific. And then say someone will go from, okay, well, it's not gonna transform your life. It's gonna transform your relationship with food. Still not specific enough. I wanna know, am I gonna be able to go to a restaurant, order the mimosa, order the buffalo wings, and not go home and scroll endlessly on my fitness pal to figure out the calories and try and do it from memory. That's what I want you guys to create is the sensory experience that someone can actually feel. So being general is like the quickest train to vanilla town. So I would say that's mistake number one. Mistake number two is rambling on so many sales pages are just too long. And I'm not the kind of person. I don't believe people don't read. I do. This is so many negatives in one sentence. I believe that even in this attention economy, people still read long sales copy. It's just they don't read long sentences that don't keep them hooked. So you can have as many sections as you want. In fact, when you're selling high ticket, you kind of need to. Because you need to, like, hit those objections on the page, but keep those sentences really short. Only say what you need to say. Don't information overload people. Don't tell people you're going to get 800 workbooks and we're going to be together for 500 hours. I mean, it sounds like you're doing a lot, but you're actually just stuffing an offer that doesn't seem like it's confident on its own. And then third mistake is just holding back. I think often when we go into selling and we are not creating content or we're not getting on video, we go into, like, weird corporate sales mode where we're like, oh, I'm selling now. I need to, like, tone it down and, like, get it right. But by you selling and turning into this different person during launch week, you're freaking out your audience, and they're just like, who's this person? Does she need an exorcism? Why is she speaking so weirdly? This is not her. And then you're actually sabotaging your own sales because you're not you anymore. You're this weird corporate I need to now make sales mode.
- [08:02]
A
Ooh. So I'm getting that. We need to be authentic. The sales page doesn't have to be long because I'll tell you, yesterday I was reading the sales page, and it was just so long, I was actually bored. And I was like, this is a lot, right? So we don't want to give people, like, you said, too much information. We want to give them the right information. And, yeah, I was super bored with this sales page. I feel like I was just reading and reading and reading and reading before I even got to the button. So, like, what do you say about that? Like, should we have, like, our buttons to, like, get them to convert in the beginning? Like, where do you think those things should land? Because for this, this was, like, a $27 product, and I was like, okay, I was ready to buy, but now that I have all this, you had.
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B
Me at the header. Yeah, it's so true. I mean, I put buttons Everywhere. Like, I'm, like, I'm sprinkling them on every section. I mean, almost every section. I think you want one at the beginning, especially if it's a digital product. That's a quick yes. Definitely let people buy if they're ready. Maybe you did get them with the headline. Go. You have some in the middle. And then definitely at the end, I like to recap everything that's in the product. So even if you're selling something which is a coaching program or something a little more high ticket, this is your space to be. Like, you get a workbook, you get a one hour call with me. You get like three group calls a month. We don't need to know that information until the end. And then you have that final button that's like, this is the investment. And then like a buy now.
- [09:22]
A
Oh, these are good tips, Lucy. You're giving us a master class. So you said that sales copy is more about clarity than creativity. Can you break that down for us? Because I think that is so interesting.
- [09:34]
B
It's definitely about both. But I always say it's more about clarity because you can't be creative and clever if you don't have clarity. I mean, you can come up with the coolest theme ever. You can turn your offer into like a Greek goddess portal and like brand it with like gold and people feeding people grapes. But if no one knows what you're selling, people will be like, oh, what a cool offer. And then like, never buy from you. So I think it's really important. I like to always ask my clients, what are you trying to sell?
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A
Sell?
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B
What are you trying to transform? What do you want your impact to be in five years? Where do you want this to be? Like, let's set some really tangible goals and then we can have fun and then we can create puns and we can create like a theme or we can go in that direction and create a new angle for the program, but not until we actually know, well, what's happening. And then how do we make the theme support it instead of this, like, brilliant idea for a theme. And then we just get lost in the weeds, not able to see the forest, and we're wondering, okay, like, what the heck are we even selling?
- [10:30]
A
That is so good. Oh, my goodness. Because, yeah, now I'm just thinking about grapes. And now I want grapes just because you said that. But if someone is listening, and I know there are a ton of people who are listening, and maybe they're about to write a launch email or a sales page, what is a Tip that you could give them that will make a big difference in how they present this to everyone.
- [10:50]
B
I think just have a session with yourself before you do this and ask yourself, what is it that I actually want to say about this program? And record a voice note, transcribe it. You can even put it into chatgpt and just like have chatgpt mirror back what you're trying to say so it'll help you, like, clean up your thoughts. I use ChatGPT to mirror back my verbal thoughts all the time. I think it's one of the most underrated usages of AI. And then when you have that, you can have your own internal clarity. So then you can create a launch email with words that you actually want to say instead of like following some weird templates.
- [11:24]
A
Ooh. And what do you think about templates? How do you feel about people using templates? I think, like, things should be in your own voice. And yes, we have ChatGPT and I think it's great. Right? But like you said, I think it's a tool to help you get unblocked, to help you with that starting point. So what do you think about, like, different templates that people may use? I think that sometimes they'll. They're stale.
- [11:45]
B
To be honest, I couldn't agree more. I think if a template resembles like a Mad Lib that you filled out when you were eight years old, run. You should never be filling in verb, adjective, program, like, absolutely not. I do think there are some great digital products out there and I'm a big believer in anything that helps someone get unstuck they should use. And we all have different brains. For some of us, getting unstuck is going to be taking a hot yoga class. For others of us, we actually like. A blank Google Doc is going to give us night sweats. So we need something that makes it so it's not blank. So I would just like dig deep, figure out what your brain needs. But just know that the more structure you have, the more limitations you have. So if you're starting like from a ChatGPT homepage that you just whipped up, you have to edit something that's quite bad. You are blocking your creativity, you're blocking yourself in. Same with a Mad Lib. If it's like really filling most in for you, that's limitations. So on the flip side is like a blank Google Doc. You have so much space and room for creativity in your own voice, but like, it's stressful. So it's finding your gray area of how much of These tools do you want to use versus how much do you want to let yourself come through?
- [12:51]
A
I love that. Just get a good writing session in, you know?
- [12:54]
B
Yeah, just light a candle. See what comes out.
- [12:58]
A
Yeah, put set the vibes, y'. All. Basically, what Louis Lucy is saying is set the vibes. Maybe you need to light a candle. Maybe you do need to take that bubble bath and get those thoughts going and then come back to the page. I love that. I love that. So I know you do unicorn messaging. So that's what I want to get into next. Okay, let's talk about voice. How can someone identify and lock in their brand voice without feeling fake or forced? Because I know some of us feel that way, and we want to get out of that. So give us the tea, girl. Give us the tea.
- [13:27]
B
When I say unicorn messaging, what that means is creating a space where your messaging is turning you into a category of one. You are untouchable. You are rare. People try and replicate you, but they just can't do it. So that usually comes from a few different factors. We've talked about them. The first one is specificity. You know who you are, you know what you stand for. You know you specialize in. Another is that dismantle having that spicy point of view that you're not afraid to say again and again. Part of it's just being untouchable. There are things, there are differentiators that you have that no one can do it like you. And if you can talk about those things, then everyone's going to close all of the other tabs. And then the last part, which is what your question was about was your voice, your brand voice. And I think when it comes to not wanting to feel over the top or fluffy or weird, I tell people to create dissonance in their brand voice. If you have a brand voice that's controversial, punchy and funny, that. That sounds like it would be good on paper, but it lacks depth because all of those things are kind of in the same realm. I would way rather you have a dry sense of humor, you're incredibly empathetic, and you have a little bit of an ego. So I think, like, when you can have these adjectives that don't seem like they play. Play well together, but you find a way to write in a brand voice that has neutral, negative, and positive adjectives, your brand voice actually sounds human instead of some manufactured thing that you're trying to perform as.
- [14:49]
A
And, yeah, I feel like I'm witty too, but also, like you said, I'm not cocky. But I know. I know what I'm talking about. Good. So. Because, look, I know copywriting and all of these things can cripple people. So I know that the people listening, you are giving them so much, so much value. I hope you're taking notes because this has been a masterclass.
- [15:07]
B
I tend to rapid fire. I do not hold back.
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A
No, you don't hold back. And that's what I love. That's what I love about all my guests and you all. Me and Lucy actually met at the Power Table Live. So if you've been listening to the podcast, you've been hearing some guests that have been at Power Table Live with me. And she was a speaker as well. And so this is why I tell you all, get out to events. Get out to events and speak to people. Many opportunities will come from you just getting out the house. Right. I know we are in this. We've been in this world, the online world on zoom and all the things. But no, we have to get out. So get out to the event. Go talk to someone and make new friends. And so I'm. I'm so glad, Lucy, that we connected your. Your pink jumpsuit girl. It was hitting at that event, and that's what I remember most about you. So. And then we got to talk, and I was like, I'm so glad.
- [15:54]
B
Like, shout out to rent the Runway for, like, giving me the boldest clothes.
- [15:58]
A
I know you have a quiz, and it is called what's your messaging superpower? And I'm gonna take that because I definitely wanna hear what my superpower is. But can you walk us through how knowing your style can shape your content strategy?
- [16:11]
B
Absolutely. I think so. Often we wanna know, like, what should our messaging be? Should we lean more in this direction or this direction? So I wanted to create this really fun to take quiz that gives you a starting point. So you answer seven questions about your brand, about your messaging, about how you speak about your kind of inner psyche, and then I give you your superpower. But I think that's really just the tip of the iceberg, because I also give you a full report which explains what your superpower is, explains what you're probably hearing from people, what you're good at naturally and should lean into more, but also what the gaps are and where you're probably falling short and how you can explain, expand to get out of those gaps. So you get this whole. I. Sometimes I'm like, man, I really created, like, a Myers Briggs up in here. But you get this whole report on all of the different Ways you can utilize your superpower instead of just this fluffy buzzfeed quiz that you're never gonna think about again.
- [17:07]
A
Ooh, that's. That's good. That's good. And you all, you're definitely going to get to take this superpower quiz. So make sure you look down in the show notes. Now, I know some of you don't be looking down in the show notes, but you guys, all the good stuff is really in the show notes. So please do me a favor today and make sure you head down to the show notes so that you get this powerful information and that you take this quiz that Lucy is graciously providing. I think it's amazing. I'm gonna take it myself because I love quizzes and I think they, you know, they're fun, right? And so the last thing I wanna talk about is this is something that everybody has issues with. Okay, how do we keep our messaging consistent across all the platforms? Right? Social sales pages, emails everywhere. Because we're all over because of me, right? I love to talk about visibility and omnipresence. So how do we keep it consistent?
- [17:55]
B
This is going to be the most unsexy answer, but you have to define your guidelines. So what I do is I build brand messaging decks for my clients. And what that is, is I literally go through and say, this is your one liner, this is your mission statement. These are your differentiators. This is how you're going to talk about your differentiators. This is how you're going to talk about the problem, this is how you're going to talk about the solution. And then you can pull from that deck for your emails, for your content, for your copy. Because if you don't have any standardized place when this is our brand message, you're not going to know your brand message. You're going to be following trends, you're going to be hoping for the best when you write your sales page and just hope it lands. And you're not going to have that centralized place. So this is something that you can obviously do on your own. I can even toss in, I have a workbook in the show notes. If you wanted to do this process by yourself, or you could hire me to do it for you. So you have a few different options there. But if you never stick standardize, this is how our brand talks, or as I like to call it, your verbal brand, you're going to have like this pretty but disconnected brand.
- [18:54]
A
Ooh, this is so good. Lucy and I know everybody is scrambling for their notebooks right now to make sure that they're jotting these things down. And like Lucy says, she is so gracious to give you all a workbook that you'll be able to get. So look, the show notes have gold. Make sure you go down there.
- [19:09]
B
Head to the show notes.
- [19:10]
A
Yes, head to the show notes. Lucy, this episode has been so, so helpful. But before we head out, where can people find you and what's the next step? If they're ready to uplevel their messaging with you?
- [19:20]
B
Yeah, so come find me on Instagram. I spend way too much time on there. It's my right hand woman. It's going to be in the show notes. But also spell it right is spelled like writing. So it's my. And then write U, R, I, T, E hand woman. So that's like the best place to find me, hands down. You can DM me, you can ask me questions, you can tell me if you loved or hated the episode. Give it to me. If you want to work together, head over to my website. My right hand woman dot com. Just click. I have a project request form you can fill out and then I can either talk to you in the DMS or hop on a call and help you figure out what's best for you and if you're ready to take the next step. Today I created something special for you guys. If you sign up for the exact factor, AKA that sprint I was talking about, where I help you figure out your one liner, your core message in five days, then if you use the code decoded, all caps, then you get $50 off and you get to spend the week with me for under $100.
- [20:13]
A
You all. That sounds like an amazing offer. I might have to take you up on that offer because.
- [20:19]
B
Find your one liner. Let's do it, girl.
- [20:21]
A
This was so amazing for you to give to the social media decoded listeners, y'. All. Thank you so much. Lucy, that was amazing. Okay, not like everybody else. Hit that quiz, get your exact factor, use that code, decode it, and let your brand do the talking. Lucy, this has been such an amazing episode. Again, thank you so much for being so gracious and coming on and sharing all of the gems with the audience today. And you all, don't forget to follow her at my righthand woman, make sure you tag me also on Instagram. Take a screenshot of this episode and let us know what you love the best. Tag both of us. Tag me. Achellthaimes and hesocial media decoded pod and whew. I'm just. I gotta go back to this and just write my own personal note. So Lucy, thank you. This has been amazing.
- [21:07]
B
Of course, thank you.
- [21:08]
C
At Capella University, learning online doesn't mean learning alone. You'll get support from people who care about your success, like your enrollment specialist who gets to know you and the goals you'd like to achieve. You'll also get a designated academic coach who's with you throughout your entire program. Plus, career coaches are available to help you navigate your professional goals. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at Capella Eduardo Popsicles, sprinklers, a cool breeze.
- [21:42]
B
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