Write the core message
One sentence: what you want the audience to believe after reading anything you publish.
Core message
Hartwell is the practice that won’t make you feel bad for staying away.
How to build a simple messaging framework
The website says one thing, the sales deck another, and the ads a third. A messaging framework gives every writer the same starting point: one core message, a few pillars that hold it up, and proof for each.
You’ll recognise it
- Writers keep asking “what’s the main message?”
- The same product is described four ways
- Proof points live in someone’s head, not on paper
Why it happens
Messages multiply when nobody has written down the hierarchy. A framework is a short, ranked list. It doesn’t need to be long to work: the discipline is in choosing three pillars, not ten.
The approach
3 steps, in order
Each step gives the next one something to work with. The worksheet below follows the same order.
Choose three pillars
The three reasons that message is true. Each one should be different enough to carry its own page.
Pillar
No telling off. Ever.
Pillar
Your first visit is a chat.
Back each one up
One piece of proof per pillar: a fact, a review, a number, a process.
Proof
“Didn’t lecture me once.” Google review
Worksheet
Build yours as you read
Fill in each step. Your message house updates as you type. It stays in this browser until you choose to keep it.
More Strategy guides
Next problem?
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Questions
Good to know
Why only three pillars?
Because people remember three. More than that and writers start choosing their favourites, which is how inconsistency starts.
Where does proof come from?
Reviews, sales calls, the client’s own data, and things the business does that competitors don’t.
Do I need an account?
No. Your worksheet stays in this browser. Leave your email and we’ll send it as a PDF.
Who writes these guides?
ProCopywriters, the UK’s professional body for copywriters, with members who do this work every week.
Strategy, from Studio
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