Defining My Key Messaging Pillars After Finally Getting Clear on What I Stand For
I don’t want to be all things to all people!
Ain’t that the truth.
Cue: soul-searching, deep breathing, and…sitting down to decide what I really loved. It was really no surprise in the end that I honed in on the psychology behind email marketing in all it’s forms. Whether that’s a Welcome Sequence to make a new sign up feel they’ve finally found who they need to help them or a pre-launch to sales sequence. There’s something about the science of the words, where you put them, test them and the results.
Let me take you behind the scenes.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my skill sets and where I want to go with them.
‘Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should’ is the phrase that has been ringing in my ears. If I’m honest, it’s been causing me to procrastinate. When it comes to my services, I’ve been holding myself back because I don’t know what to offer and promote.
Over the years, I’ve invested heavily in my professional development and can offer all of the following:
Website copy
Brand messaging service
UX strategy
Sales & Launch Copy
Pre-launch strategy
I don’t want to do everything because I don’t want to be known as a generalist. I’d far rather specialise now I have all this knowledge. Enough to make a decision based on experience.
What caused the rumblings of discontent?
Good question.
When I offered up a free Copy Clinic service to my Costa Women network, I had to stop hiding behind my knowledge and all the programmes and courses I have lurking on my computer. Tens of thousands of pounds worth of investment that I kept telling myself I would use, ‘one day.’
That day came.
Fast forward with even more knowledge I have acquired about myself over the last few months, my head is spinning at the speed of realisation and self-awareness.
What I’ve gained is deep clarity in my overarching message, along with the three key messaging anchors that will now guide everything I do in my business.
The Three Anchors: Who I Am, Who I Serve, and What I'm Known For
Who I want to be: The quietly confident, strategic (and warm) business partner to a small number of ambitious female-founded brands. Women who've weathered storms and stood strong, even when they're struggling inside… and who continue on a path to do good and change lives.
Who I want to work with: Creative service providers who care about how they show up. They know first impressions count across every angle of their business — from their website to their newsletters. They work to deepen trust and want a strategy that reflects it.
What I want to be known for: An email marketing strategist and conversion copywriter who builds email ecosystems — from welcome sequences to launch campaigns. Where every word has purpose and moves readers closer to a confident ‘yes’ to working with clients.
Knowing this, and that I’m no longer pushing myself to appeal to different audiences, has given me so much more confidence about where I want to be with my business.
Then came the underlying belief that surfaced from a core value I’ve been holding for years, without realising its strength, largely because it’s built in my DNA,
The right first impressions count.
This stems from my many years in tourism promotion and marketing — and later, successfully attracting government and private-sector funding for project management and delivery. Jeez, did you see how those corporate words slipped back in so quickly there?
I picture this value like an umbrella in my mind — sturdy, built to last, colourful, about the size of a golf umbrella. And everything I do sits underneath it.
From there, identifying key messaging pillars was a breeze.
What are key messaging pillars and why do they matter?
They are the foundations of everything you want to communicate to your audience. At their core, messaging pillars spell out what your brand stands for, what you promise, and how you want to be perceived. I now have deeper convictions running through everything I create. Some marketers call them their North Star - guiding everything they do. That’s a pretty good analogy.
Here's why they matter so much for positioning and content creation:
They stop you from sounding scattered. A key message pillar inspires and guides every piece of content you create.
They help you attract the right people. Your pillars signal your values before anyone gets on a call with you.
They repel the wrong people. That's a good thing because we’re not for everyone.
They make content creation so much easier and faster. You have a framework to work with.
They build recognition and deepen trust over time. When you say the same things consistently, people know what you stand for.
My 5 Key Messaging Pillars (and What Each One Means)
1. First Impressions That Count
I help my clients make an immediate, meaningful connection through their messaging and strategy — because the first touchpoint shapes every interaction that follows.
You don't get a second chance at that first moment. So let's make it work.
2. Deepening Trust Through Intentional Messaging
I keep seeing the phrase ‘we're in a trust recession’. Is there any wonder, given the amount of slop slooshing through our inboxes right now?
Things have changed in the online world. AI-generated filler is everywhere. Audiences are more sceptical and discerning than ever.
Trust isn't a side effect of good marketing; it's our goal. Connecting with our audience is more important than ever. Every email, every sequence, every piece of copy should deepen that trust, not chip away at it or destroy it.
3. Perfect-Fit Clients Over Volume
I'm not for everyone, and I don't want to be.
This pillar is about writing to attract clients with whom we want to work. Not energy vampires. Not just anyone who'll buy. Your messaging is there to filter as much as it converts.
When your copy is clear about who you're for — and who you're not for — you spend less time on time-wasting enquiries and more time working with people who genuinely value what you do.
4. Every Word With Purpose
I'm the one who used to love Twitter at 140 characters. You had to be really intentional about what you said to get your point across.
I’m the same in aspects of my writing when it’s called for. Nothing is filler. When you know what you stand for, every word, every sentence earns its place and contributes to a clear message with a determined outcome.
This applies to email subject lines, calls to action, sales pages, and even the microcopy most people overlook. Precision isn't about being minimal — it's about being intentional.
5. Steady, repeatable growth through ethical marketing
This is such a values-led pillar for me…and I speak from experience.
I’m in this for the long haul with my clients. Our relationship holds up over time because it’s built on trust, shared values and strategies that will evolve as their business grows.
Quick fixes rarely feature, unless it’s part of my new lead magnet audit service!
Emails aren’t just for sales spikes; they maintain connection, nurture trust, and support long‑term relationships.
Launches or sequences build on the last one, so my clients aren’t starting from zero each time.
The end goal? Consistent sales results with perfect-fit leads and clients who value my work and enjoy evolving with me as their strategic partner.
Those are my five. And even though I’ve only just reached this point, it feels liberating to have such a clear vision of how I intend to go forward.
And underneath all of this, the core of what I work with in the Copy (+Strategy) Clinic is that:
Being good with words isn’t enough.
The other day, I was on a call with a woman who needed guidance with her newsletter strategy.
I smiled when she said, ‘I’m pretty good with words.’
That’s the thing - most of us are. But I always come back to the idea that being good with words isn’t enough in the online business world we’re in right now.
Conversion copywriting is not about being pretty good with words; it’s about whether those words can deepen trust, guide a reader from interest to becoming a client, handle objections and create urgency without pressure.
Key messaging pillars are here to use as your copy foundations — so you always have a clear idea of what to write about, helping you stay clear and consistent.
Prompts to help you define your own messaging pillars
If this has sparked something for you, here's a simple starting framework — but please hear me when I say clarity comes first.
Get clear on your three anchors — who you want to be, who you want to serve, and what you want to be known for.
Identify your core value or values — when I stood still long enough, this was blindingly obvious to me. So obvious, I hadn’t thought of it, let alone how to use it as positioning. Everything fits underneath it. That’s not to say there aren’t branches off; there are, but it’s there to guide.
Brainstorm the themes you naturally return to — think about the less obvious, in conversations, in your content, in client work. Patterns will emerge.
Refine to 3–5 pillars. Each should feel distinct yet connected to your core value(s).
Test them - once upon a time, I would have rolled my eyes and sighed over this bit! Can you create 5–10 content ideas for each pillar? If yes, they're strong. If not, they're too narrow or too vague.
And finally, back to clarity.
Will I still offer website copy?
For the time being, yes. Whilst I control the narrative around what I do and position myself so that I only offer email marketing. Not least because I’m passionate about your website, which has about 7 seconds to create the right first impression (and that’s being generous with time).
If you have questions about defining your key messaging pillars, let’s chat and see how I can help you clarify what they could be.
