Pop quiz, friend:

Q: What's the worst thing your copy could be?

• a) wordy? 
• b) corny?
• c) polarizing?
• d) terse?

None of the above, actually.

The answer is: vague.

Vague copy is the low-key parasite, sucking the life out of your message.

(A touch dramatic? Maybe. But, that doesn't mean I'm wrong. ;)

Read on for 3 places your copy could be more specific:

1) Your core About statement

It's the heartbeat of your social bios, your About page, and so many other pieces of copy for your business.

And yet, for so many healers + helpers out there, the core About statement (i.e., the statement of who you help and how you help them) fades into the background because it's just too darn generic.

Take, for example, 3 of the most commonly-used terms in health/wellness About statements:

busy
journey
level up/ up-level

(Sidebar: If you're currently using any of these and find that they're working well for you in your business, then-- by all means-- carry on, friend. It's not about the words themselves, but the point they illustrate. So, stay with me, please.)   

Here's the issue with these terms:

MOST HUMAN PEOPLE self-identify as "busy". 
MOST HUMAN PEOPLE are on some sort of "journey".
MOST HUMAN PEOPLE, when pressed to choose, would opt to "level up", not down.

As a general rule, if the majority of the population could look at your core About statement, shrug, and say, "Yeah, that applies to me..."

...then it's not specific enough.   

2) Your email opt-in 

So, you want to start building your email list, but you don't wanna be pinned down to 1 specific opt-in?

I hear you, friend.

But, please trust me when I say:

The solution is NOT to offer your site visitors a vague invitation to sign up for your "newsletter".

First off, a newsletter is not enticing.

Think about it: When the holidays roll around and you start receiving those long, printed update newsletters along with the family photos... be honest: Do you read them? And those are your FRIENDS. 

You need to offer something relevant + appealing. And, just as important: You need to communicate clearly + specifically what it is and how they’ll benefit from it.

(And honestly, maybe we should start doing the same with our holiday cards! Instead of the rambling updates, what if we sent each other the best recipe we made that year or our top 5 under-the-radar Netflix recommendations. I'd read those! (I dunno, I'm not trying to topple an institution here, I'm just saying: Let's get specific. ;) 

Second, getting super-specific with your email opt-in has the considerable added benefit of helping you build a focused list of subscribers. When you know exactly what they signed up for, you'll know exactly what content to serve them each week, and you'll be well on your way to creating paid offers that align with their interests, goals, and needs.

3) Your contact form

There are a zillion ways to structure a Contact page. One of the most common variations includes an embedded contact form of some kind.

And it pains me to say, most of these forms are pretty... weak.

An good contact form should be working on your behalf 'round the clock. Not simply capturing the basics (e.g., name, email, message), but also functioning as a sort of triage for you + your business.

Wanna track where your contacts are coming from? Ask on the contact form.

Wanna shape expectations of your availability, process, pricing? Include these on the contact form.

Want your site visitors to self-select into your various offerings before they reach out to you? You guessed it... contact form.

By drilling down to the specific pieces of info you want to communicate to (and collect from) site visitors, you can outsource much of the brainpower you'd otherwise be spending over email, phone, or {*shudder*, *eye twitch*} Zoom, doing the same.

Looking for inspo?

• Check out how Jamillah uses her contact form to prepare herself and her clients for their first call.
  
  

4) Your expletives

So, you like to sprinkle the odd swear word into your copy?

Love that for you, friend. 

Assuming this is how you actually show up in real life with clients/patients, then I see absolutely no reason why you shouldn't judiciously incorporate some choice expletives into your website, email, and social media copy. 

The key word, though, is judicious. 

If you're gonna swear, be intentional about it. Strategic, even.

For example:

I often stumble, mid-scroll, upon an Instagram caption that's calling out some status quo in the poster's field or niche. And it often goes something like this:

{describes status quo at length}

"And I call bull$&*#."

{end of caption}

This, my friend, is a missed opportunity.

There are MANY things we might want to (or should!) call BS on for the benefit of our dream clients. But, we can't stop there.

To really make our curse words land with impact, we need to embed them in a message that fully communicates the WHY behind the stance we're taking.

That's what'll educate and connect and compel.

Otherwise, it's just %#&*-ing words.
 

Let's take action!

Here's your action step for today:

• Choose 1 of the places above to tackle + try to make your copy even more specific!