How to take an idea and find the perfect words to define it
I’ve just wrapped up one of the biggest projects I’ve ever worked on. And I’m so effin proud of it.
For the past 3 months I’ve been working with Moz to help them reposition their 2 key products, Moz Pro and Moz API . We’ve worked on their product overview pages but the copy was the least of it.
What I loved was the positionig and messaging work, the cross-functional collaboration with the Moz marketing, product and exec teams, and their willingness to trust my process.
It reminded me of what I recently saw Austin Rief say on Twitter :
The best writing takes an idea that a community feels deeply but can’t quite articulate, and finds the perfect words to define it.
This is message-market fit. And it’s what I believe I helped the guys at Moz with.
Their amazing team knew a lot about the products, a lot about the audiences and ICPs, and a lot about the trajectory the company is taking. But they needed help articulating it. They needed help finding the perfect words to connect with the customers they are working so hard to help.
And that’s what a lot of companies struggle with when it comes to differentiating their message: they can’t find the words .
But also, they think words alone will convert and they miss the “why” behind it.
We can find this “why” with what I call Conversion Alchemy: the combination of conversion copywriting, UX design and decision-making psychology, to bridge the gap between product and customers. So we can join the conversation already happening inside their heads.
I’ve learned a lot in the process, but here’s three lessons from applying Converson Alchemy on this project:
- Your customers won’t always shout out why they choose you , you have to go and ask them. And often they won’t even be able to voice it clearly. It’s your job to connect the dots between your value and their perception.
- You don’t have to do everything differently to be different Your approach and the combination of your uniquenesses can make you stand out as the go-to for the right people.
- Getting to message-market fit requires setting aside your ego and expectations. It’s an outside-in process, not inside-out. First, you find the message that resonates, and only then do you put it out. Too many companies try to fit a square message into a round hole.
Lots more I’m thinking about, but I’ll leave it here for now.
Case study coming soon!
Originally published at https://christophersilvestri.com/blog/how-to-take-an-idea-and-find-the-perfect-words-to-define-it/.