How To Write Website Copy That Resonates With Your Ideal Clients
4 simple shifts to help you connect with the right people
*Feel free to watch my video on YouTube or read my guide below.
Clients often ask me: “How do I write copy that resonates with my ideal audience?”
To me, they’re really asking — How do you write compelling website copy that connects on a deeper level with your people — the right people for your products and services?
Knowing how to write website copy that connects with your ideal audience is an essential marketing skill with many benefits:
- It helps your best-match clients feel seen, heard, and understood.
- It helps your readers immediately know they’re in the right place with a clear, concise message that speaks directly to them.
- They’ll feel grateful to find you if they feel a deep resonance with your words.
Magic happens when you can write website copy that resonates with your ideal audience.
So how do you do that?
1. Keep it client-centric
What do I mean by client-centric?
It means focusing on your ideal client.
Her problems. Her desires. The main frustration that led her to read your sales page in the first place.
What do most people do? They write about themselves.
They think their ideal clients visit their website to learn all about them. Their mission, vision, and values. Their BIG why or brand story.
I’m not saying those things aren’t relevant, or your clients wouldn’t care to know because they do. It’s just not relevant…yet.
Scan your webpage to see how many instances of “I, me, we, us” and “our” you’re using. If you mostly see “me” or “we-language”, then it’s a good indication your copy is focused more on you and your journey rather than your reader.
Okay, you might be wondering, how can I make it more about my client?
Swap out “me-language” for words like “you” and “you’re” and tweak the sentence to keep the focus on your reader and the reason they’re visiting your site in the first place. Your ideal client is there because they want to know:
- You understand their problem.
- You have a solution to their problem.
- You’re the right person to help them with it.
Here’s an example of how to turn “we-language” back onto the reader.
In the example above, the website copy is formal and also a mouthful to read. It’s also more about the business owner and what they do.
How can you turn this around and make it about their reader?
In the example above, it’s speaking directly to a problem their client wants to solve. They need help using social media to market their small business. That’s what they care about.
By using clear, concise “you” language that’s focused on the problem, you’ll create a deeper resonance with your ideal audience because it’s about them and what they want.
If you’re unsure if your peeps will find your website copy compelling, here are 4 questions to ask yourself before you publish anything:
- What’s in it for them?
- Why would my ideal client care about this?
- Does this speak to a specific problem they’re trying to solve?
- Is this relevant? If not, cut it.
2. Tell stories that share your philosophy
I just told you not to focus on yourself and now I’m asking you to tell a story that expresses your unique perspective about what you do and why you do it.
Here’s the thing, it’s okay to tell stories and share your point-of-view when it’s relevant and meaningful for your audience.
Sharing your individual viewpoint is powerful stuff because it connects you with people on a much deeper level.
Think about someone you naturally connect with. Whether it’s a friend, coworker, or someone you follow on social media. What makes you click with them? It’s usually because you share a philosophical belief about something that matters to you. They view the world in a way that resembles your own thinking.
Kindred spirits and like-minded people are attracted to each other because there’s a common thread that draws them in.
If you have an outlook that differs from what most people in your industry think — share it. If you’ve experienced something that’ll resonate with your audience’s inner struggles and desires — share it and do it often. Being open about your philosophy on life helps you become more relatable to your audience.
It’s important to mention that you shouldn’t just talk about your beliefs—you’ve got to be living them, too (or at least be transparent about trying to align with them). Authenticity is about being a real, relatable human who puts their message out there to connect with the right people — not everyone.
It’s another benefit of sharing your beliefs with the world. You’ll repel the people who don’t align with your message, and that’s a good thing.
Take my own philosophy for instance.
I believe that copywriting is an essential marketing skill that anyone can learn. That means you don’t need to be a great writer to write website copy that resonates with your ideal clients.
You also don’t need to use hype, fear, or FOMO to sell your offers online. I make it clear on my Kind Copy Critique service page that I aim to write for connection over conversions.
Presumably, this message would put a lot of potential new clients off. Anyone whose bottom line is to enrol anyone into their program regardless of fit to meet their $80k launch goals is not my people.
And that’s okay.
By sharing my personal beliefs, I can filter them out. That’s what deeply resonant sales copy should do.
Fend off the wrong people.
3. Clearly articulate the problem
This is a big one. Most people skim the problems their clients are facing by being too vague. Too general. Too lofty. They use complicated language that no one understands.
Even if you have a great offer and the right people find you — it doesn’t resonate because a) the problem you solve isn’t clear, b) it’s not obvious who it’s for, and c) the solution you provide isn’t apparent.
So they don’t realize the thing you offer is for them and scroll on by.
Most conventional copywriting focuses on pain-point marketing or writing to pour salt on your ideal client’s wounds to guilt, shame, or fear them into working with you. That’s not what this is.
Your clients need to know that you understand the specific problem they’re facing and that your service offers some hope in helping them solve it before they read on.
My mentor, George Kao, has an excellent analogy for this.
If you’re sick, a doctor needs to know the symptoms before they’ll treat the patient. Basically, how will your clients know if your solution will benefit them if you don’t explicitly address the problem in the first place?
By clearly articulating your ideal client’s frustrations and struggles, you’ll not only weed out the people who aren’t a fit for your services but attract more of the people who are.
4. Write using a natural tone of voice (a.k.a. be an actual human)
Talk to your audience — not at them.
Engage your readers in a two-way conversation much like you would if you were sitting across the table at a riverside cafe, sippin’ your favourite tea. Imagine you’re listening empathically to your best friend who’s sharing her deepest struggles and desires as you tear away the flaky crust of your freshly-baked croissant. What’s the mood and tone like in that setting?
The point is to think about a place that makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.
Maybe that’s lying on the beach gazing up at the stars.
Drinking chai tea on your porch with a chunky-knit blanket draped over your lap.
Or maybe it’s yacking at a pub over burgers and a pint of your favourite pale ale.
Think of any place that makes you feel safe to be who you are. Channel that energy as you write.
To do this, imagine you’re holding space for a dear friend or a best-match client who’d genuinely benefit from your work.
As you listen to them describe their problems and share their greatest fears, hopes and dreams, what specific language are they using? How do they describe what they want? What tone is conveyed? Cheerful and light-hearted? Deep and reflective? Bold and determined?
Writing with a natural tone of voice can be tricky to do. Especially if you’re an academic type or you’ve had a long corporate career like me. That’s because your tendency will be to write formally. It lacks personality and is painfully buttoned-up. I commonly see the mistake of academics and professionals loading their sales copy with yawn-inducing jargon that’s way beyond their ideal client’s comprehension or realm of what they need to know.
Don’t try to sound smart. Don’t try to be the expert.
Be a real person. Be the conversation starter. Your copy will not only be resonant and relatable but more enjoyable for your audience to read.
Key takeaways
Don’t be afraid to insert personality into your writing and sound like a real person. Self-expression and having the courage to share what you believe and why it matters for your clients will be a key differentiator between you and others in your niche with similar offers.
Your readers will sense your tone. They’ll vibe with your energy. And the more you put the real you out there, you’ll weed out the ones who don’t resonate.
When you rank connection over conversions, the right people will sense your authenticity. But like anything, it takes practice and a buddha-level degree of patience. But if you’re willing, you can apply these tips to help you write website copy that resonates with your ideal clients. A few simple shifts are all it takes to connect with the right people.
Thank you for reading. Learn more about how to write website copy that connects without using hype in my article published in Better Marketing:
