How To Write Marketing Content — Without Sounding Salesy
Many of us weren't taught to write like we speak, making it a real challenge to craft authentic copy for our businesses.
From a young age, our schooling drilled into us a formal, academic style of writing. Remember starting letters with "Dear Sir/Madam"? It's hardly something you'd say in everyday conversation. Later, in business training, we were introduced to frameworks like Problem-Agitate-Solution (PAS).
But these methods can strip away your natural voice, leaving your writing feeling stiff and uncomfortable. Let’s explore why this happens and how you can reclaim a writing style that feels more like you.
— In this article —
The Problem with the PAS Framework
The Problem-Agitate-Solution (PAS) framework is the way many of us have been taught to communicate in business, and it goes like this:
Problem: Identify the customer's pain point.
Agitate: Stir up the emotions associated with that pain point to make it more immediate and pressing.
Solution: Present the product or service as the solution to alleviate the pain.
A typical PAS sales copy would sound like this:
“Are you constantly putting others’ needs before your own? You’re always there for everyone else, but who’s there for you? Every day, you feel more drained and taken for granted. You’ve lost sight of your own goals and dreams, buried under the weight of everyone else’s expectations. This cycle leaves you feeling unfulfilled and invisible, questioning your self-worth. Break free from the chains of people-pleasing with our 12-week coaching program. Rediscover your voice, set healthy boundaries, and pursue your passions without guilt. Transform your life and start living for yourself today!”
While this method has historically been effective in generating quick sales, that era is quickly changing. We only need to reflect on our own experiences of reading PAS-styled content and sales copy to know how superficial, manipulative and cringeworthy it feels.
Enter Authentic Connection Copy (ACC)
Now think about it, you wouldn’t open a conversation with that friend by asking several questions designed to make them feel their pain or inadequacy more deeply.
And at the same time, you wouldn’t ignore how they were feeling. You would naturally and lovingly acknowledge what they are experiencing because you know how important feeling seen and heard is. Your humanity would lead the conversation.
Steps to crafting Authentic Connection Copy:
Problem Identification: Instead of dramatising the issue, simply state what it is in a relatable manner.
Empathy: Let the reader know that you see them by acknowledging their feelings and experiences.
Positive Visualisation: Instead of agitating the problem, offer a vision of how change is possible..
Solution: Present a supportive journey rather than a quick fix.
Authentic Connection Copy (ACC) would sound like this:
“I know how challenging it can be when everyone else’s needs seem so urgent, and as a result your own needs are overlooked. The hours in a day vaporise into helping everyone else, and by the end of the day, there’s no time left for you. It’s easy to feel taken for granted and lose sight of your own dreams and goals.
What if you could find a balance where you can still be there for others but also honour your own needs and aspirations?
In my 12-week coaching program, we work together to help you set healthy boundaries and rediscover what truly makes you happy. It’s about creating a life where your goals matter just as much as everyone else’s. Let’s embark on this journey together and reinvent how you live your life, one step at a time.”
Can you feel the difference between these two examples? There is a high level of care and thoughtfulness that can be felt from this ACC example. It feels like an exhale, rather than the contraction vibe of the Problem-Agitate-Solution example.
Relying on Your Own Voice, Not AI’s
If authenticity and meaningful connection are important to you, be cautious about relying too much on tools like ChatGPT for your writing. While they can be incredibly helpful in providing a structure to work with, they can also strip away your natural voice if overused. Instead, channel your own unique voice with this process I recommend:
Clarify the specific problem that the content piece is attempting to solve.
Think of 4-5 things you want to say about this topic off the top of your head.
Write these down as bullet points on a post-it note.
Record yourself riffing on these 4-5 points using an audio recording app such as Otter, which can transcribe what you speak.
Copy the transcription into a Google Document and edit as needed from there.
Write Like You Speak
Years ago, when I was still in my corporate job, I read 'Write Language' by Allan Pease and Paul Dunn. The key takeaway for me was to write the same way I speak. It sounds incredibly simple, but it was a game-changer. Shortly after reading the book, I received this feedback from my CEO: "Dani, when I read your emails, it's like you're right there with me in the room. I can hear your voice and everything."
Writing the way you speak, the way you would journal, is so much more natural than the unnatural communication style often taught in school and business courses. If you have no challenge with journaling, you can also write in a meaningful way that will connect with your intended reader — you just need to throw away the rules!
The key is to stop overthinking it and instead write the same way you would talk to someone face-to-face. This makes your writing more authentic, engaging, and relatable.
The Golden Hour of Marketing
The Golden Hour Of Marketing is something I discovered by accident. It was during a road trip while I was working on some Canva slides for one of my courses in the car.
Immersed in my creative bubble, I felt in my element as I weaved content and design elements together. From this place, a natural desire arose from within me to share what I was working on. First, I created an Instagram Reel of my view from the car, previewing the scenery and the slides on my laptop.
Then over the next few days, I shared snippets of the teachings as I felt inspired to. People were responding with comments like “I’m looking forward to seeing this new offering Dani!” This felt magical to me. I was truly make-art-ing, and as a bonus people were getting excited to hear about my new offering.
I continued to play with this idea during the creation of other offerings, and then found myself referring to it as ‘The Golden Hour of Marketing’ to clients.
The Golden Hour of Marketing is that period of time when you are amidst the creation process of a new offering. You are inspired and full of awe about what you are making and how valuable it’s going to be for your people. There is no ‘link to buy’ yet and this makes you feel so relaxed and free to share from your heart about your new thing.
All too often, this opportunity is overlooked. We wait until our creation is fully complete and the sales page is ready to go before we talk about it. This is when awkwardness and second-guessing arrive on the scene. Suddenly, we’re confused about what we should say, how we should say it, and in what order. We don’t want to sound salesy or desperate, and at the same time, we want to see folks jump on our offer asap. Marketing starts to feel hard, heavy, and like a necessary evil.
The most connected and authentic content arises from within you during this time, so make sure you take advantage of it!
Developing Your Writing Style
So many people in my client and peer circles have told me that they struggle with writing, and often the struggle is due to the conditioning already mentioned. As I said earlier, if you can find your words when you journal, you have the ability to write for your business too — just accept that it will probably feel awkward before it feels elegant.
Here are some additional recommendations to help you refine your voice and create engaging content:
Identify and Develop Your Style: Take time to explore your natural writing style. Journal regularly, mimic writers you admire, and experiment with different tones until you find what feels most authentic to you.
Use Storytelling: Share personal anecdotes, lived experiences and your own thought processes that have solved challenges for you.
Engage the Senses: Use descriptive language that engages the senses, making your writing more vivid and immersive.
Seek Feedback: Get input from trusted peers or mentors to gain new perspectives and improve your writing.
Do it imperfectly: When I first started writing it was very imperfect, but I always wrote for myself first and foremost as a channel for self-expression, and over time my writing has improved.
Your Creative Assignment:
Pause for a moment and see if there is a piece of content that comes to mind (e.g., a blog, email automation, sales page) that is calling out for a revision. Use this opportunity to apply the principles we’ve discussed and see how it shifts your energy around writing and creative self-expression.
Has this blog post been helpful for you? If so, let me know in the comments.
Danielle Gardner
The Quiet Marketer
View my bio
