[Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of my insider intel with a little series I like to call, “The 4 C’s of Crushworthy Copy.” (Yes, I realize crushworthy is not actually a word. No, I don’t care. Yes, I’ll eventually tell you why.) Today we are covering the first (and arguably most important) C: Clarity. Dig on in, sisters!]

I know you’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again:
If you want to sell something, you need CLARITY.

It’s become a total buzzword in the online community and honestly – it should be. But like, WTF is it really? What does it mean to have clarity around your business, your brand, your offerings, your target market? Fear not, sisterfriends. Check out my handy-dandy guide to copy clarity below.

Clarity is knowing WHAT YOU SELL, WHO YOU SELL IT TO and (here’s the biggie!) WHY THE EFF YOU’RE SELLING IT.

…But how the hell do you figure this stuff out, you ask? Especially if you’re a total noob?

Here’s a quick look at how you can figure all this totes essential business groundwork stuff out:

Your What.

What it means:

♥ Knowing the features and benefits of your product/service (and the difference between the two)
FEATURES: A feature is a tangible. It’s like saying, “When you purchase my Overnight Celebrity copywriting package, you get one sexy sales page…” The sexy sales page is a feature.

BENEFITS: On the other hand, a benefit is what the sexy sales page is really doing for you. When you think about what you’re selling, you gotta take a step back and look at things a little more objectively. You’re not just selling life coaching to women going through a career change. You’re selling confidence. I’m not just selling words on a page. I’m selling you time. I’m selling you peace of mind. I’m selling you the ability to make more money. You see?

A QUICK GUIDE TO FINDING & COMMUNICATING YOUR BENEFITS:
// Ask yourself What kind of experience your clients will have while working with you. What feelings will you give them during your time together?
// Ask yourself what your client’s life will look like AFTER working with you. How will they be changed? Will they be closer to their ideal lifestyle?
// Include the answers to above questions on your sales page. Paint a picture with words about how amazing, fabulous & transformed your clients will be after they work with you. (Because, obvs, they will be.)

Your Who.

(and I don’t mean the band, although they kinda rock, too.)
What it means:

♥ Knowing YOUR IDEAL CLIENT. Here’s a quick way to nail down your target market. You really only need to ask yourself two questions:

Sunday afternoon: Is she sipping chai tea lazily at the kitchen table? Is she out carpeing her diem hiking a mountain somewhere? Is she making PB&J sandwiches (and cutting off the crusts) for two kids, in between fixing herself a delicious (mostly) organic salad?

And what about Monday morning? Is she curling her hair while checking her e-mail on her iPhone, prepping to hop in her silver BMW and drive across town? Is she doing yoga to the sunrise? Is she dead asleep until at least noon?

It’s crazy how much this stuff tells us about people, right?

ACTION STEP: If you’ve never done this exercise before – DO IT. Seriously. In a notebook. NOW. 🙂

and finally…Your Why.

What it means:

♥ Knowing YOURSELF & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DO WHAT YOU DO. This should actually probably be first, because without a “why” – you really don’t have a business.

Your why is simply the big reason – the true motivation – behind all that you do in your business. If you’re not 100% on your why, it’s likely nothing in your business feels right.

A QUICK GUIDE TO DISCOVERING YOUR WHY:
// Ask yourself what LIGHTS YOU UP about the work you do.
// Ask yourself what your TRUE MISSION is.
// Make your “remember this shit when I wanna quit list” (I got so much clarity from this!)
// Ask yourself what you want people to say about you at your funeral. (Morbid, but useful.)
// Put it all together & voila!

BUT PLEASE. IF YOU READ ONE THING OFF THIS LIST & ACTUALLY TAKE IT TO HEART, REMEMBER THIS ::

Clarity does NOT come from a drawing board. It comes from experience.

Clarity comes from just going out there & doin’ the damn thing.
Over & over & over.

You can start at the drawing board and you should. But your path to clarity should NOT stop there. And believe it or not, this is good news! It frees you up to just DO things, and not worry about whether they’re perfect.

So if you’re hung up on the one of the above areas? The best advice I can give you is to put down the MacBook, switch off the iPhone & just DO SOMETHING.

Launch the program. Publish the e-book. Shoot off the pitch letter.

Taking consistent action – even when you feel like you have no fucking clue what you’re doing – is the only way you’ll ever reach that beautiful place known as…CLARITY. (Cue angels singing.)

Check back next week to find out about the next “C” of Crushworthy Copy! And in the meantime, why not sign up for my list over there to the right (and grab my NEW, FREE MANIFESTO!) so you never miss a beat? (Or, you know, a blog post.)