10 Messaging Tweaks To Help You Make More Sales: Why Your Content Isn’t Converting
So in the last episode I shared 11 ways you can generate more leads ahead of sales season.
And if you haven’t listened to it yet, make sure you do, because today’s episode of the How I Do Content Podcast is how to turn those leads into sales.
Because obviously there’s no point generating leads if they just sit dormant in your community and I know making more sales is the top priority of about 98% of business owners right now.
I’m a wizard of the people, so I’m giving you what you want – more sales!
So let’s do this!
Why Your Content Isn’t Converting
Now even though 98% of business owners tell me they want to make more sales…
When I actually look at their messaging and the by-product of this, their marketing – it’s not optimised to help them make more sales or stand out in the current landscape filled with AI slop.
And when you feel like you’re doing all the things you should be doing – like showing up, talking about your offer, promoting it consistently…
It can feel frustrating when you’re not seeing that effort rewarded in your cash flow.
But that’s also the problem – you’re focusing on the wrong things.
More content doesn’t mean more sales…
More leads doesn’t mean more sales…
Because ultimately what leads to more sales is messaging that moves your ideal client from first discovering you to deciding to buy from you.
So content creation and lead generation without good messaging is a big fat waste of time.
You’ll forever find yourself doing all the “right things” but never seeing it flow through to your bank account.
How can you fix this? Well I’m glad you asked! Here are 10 messaging tweaks to help you make more sales.
#1 Remember that marketing and selling are not the same thing
Marketing is the work of building awareness, trust and connection with your audience. It’s the content, the podcast, the stories, the emails that make people think “I really like this person.”
Selling is different. Selling is the specific, intentional work of moving someone from “I like this person and their content” to “I’m pulling out my credit card and buying this thing.”
And the mistake I see constantly is people creating content that’s relatable (that gets the “omg SAME” comments and the saves and the shares) but that isn’t actually optimised for selling. It’s nice. It resonates. People feel seen. And then they keep scrolling and never buy a thing.
Relatable content builds connection. But connection doesn’t automatically build cashflow.
So before you do anything else on this list, I want you to ask yourself honestly: is my content actually selling, or is it just making people feel good?
#2 Lead with the problem, not the solution
Your ideal client doesn’t arrive at your content thinking “I need to find someone who offers X service.” They arrive thinking about a problem they have. A frustration they’re feeling. Something that isn’t working.
So lead with that.
Not “here’s my 3-month program that will transform your business.” But – “you’ve been posting consistently for months and you still can’t figure out why people engage with your content but never actually buy. And you’re starting to wonder if it’s you.”
When you open with the problem (the real, specific, uncomfortable problem your ideal client is living with) they immediately feel like you get them. And feeling understood is the first step to trust. And trust is what converts.
#3 Pain gets attention, but desire gets the sale
This is one of the most important messaging principles I teach, and it’s wildly underused.
Pain is a great hook. It stops the scroll. It makes someone feel seen. But if your messaging is all problem and no dream, your ideal client feels understood – and then does nothing about it.
You need both.
For every problem you name, paint the picture of what life looks like on the other side. Not vaguely, not generically – specifically.
Not just: “you’re exhausted from creating content that doesn’t convert.”
But: “imagine opening your inbox on a Monday morning to enquiries from people who already know they want to work with you, because your messaging did all the heavy lifting while you were living your life.”
From the pain to the promise. From the now to the after. That journey – that’s what your messaging is supposed to take them on.
#4 Specificity sells
Vague messaging loses sales. Every. Single. Time.
“I help women feel more confident in their business” is forgettable.
“You sat down to write a caption about your offer last week, stared at a blank screen for twenty minutes, got frustrated, and then just opened Instagram and started doom scrolling, because you have no idea how to describe what you do in a way that makes someone actually want to buy it” – now that hits differently.
The more specific you are about the exact moment, the exact feeling, the exact situation your ideal client is in – the more they feel like you’re reading their mind. And when someone feels like you’re reading their mind? They buy.
So wherever you currently sit on the specificity scale – go one floor down. Then another.
#5 Use their words, not yours
Here’s a quick way to check if your messaging is landing: read it back and ask yourself – is this how my ideal client would actually describe their problem? Or is this how I as the expert would describe it?
Because there is a difference and it’s important.
Your ideal client isn’t lying awake at night thinking “I really need to work on my brand positioning.” They’re thinking “why does everyone else seem to be making sales and I’m doing everything right and nothing is working?”
The words you use in your messaging should be the words they use in their head. And the best place to find those words? Your DMs. Your discovery call notes. Your client testimonials. Mine them. Then put those words straight back into your messaging.
Because when someone reads their own words reflected back at them, that’s when they know – this is for me.
#6 Name the cost of NOT solving this now
Most messaging tells people what they’ll gain if they buy. And that’s important. But what’s often missing is the cost of doing nothing.
What does it actually cost your ideal client (in time, in money, in missed opportunity, in how they feel about themselves) to stay exactly where they are?
That’s the question your messaging needs to answer.
Not in a fear-mongery, manipulative way. In an honest, real way that helps them actually reckon with what inaction is costing them.
Because when someone says “I’ll think about it” it can mean they haven’t fully connected the dots between the cost of staying stuck and the value of solving it now.
So when you name that cost clearly –”I’ll think about it” turns into “when can we start?”
Bonus 10 points to Griffyndor: be specific about the cost too. Not just “you’ll keep struggling” – but “you’ll spend another three months posting content that gets crickets, another launch that doesn’t land, another season of watching other people make sales and wondering what they’re doing that you’re not.”
#7 Make sure your messaging is speaking to who your buyer is RIGHT NOW
The messaging you wrote 12, 18, 24 months ago was written for a version of your ideal client who may no longer exist in the same way.
Buyer behaviour has changed. What people want has shifted. The problems they’re prioritising are different. And if your messaging is still reflecting a reality that’s a couple of years old, it’s always going to feel like it’s not quite hitting.
So pull up your website, your sales page, your Instagram bio, your email sequences. Read them with fresh eyes and ask: does this reflect where my ideal client actually is right now? Or am I speaking to a market that’s already moved on?
- Desire – are you speaking to what they desperately want right now, today, in 2026?
- Demand – why do they need to solve this now, specifically?
- Differentiation – in a market that is genuinely more crowded and more samey than ever, what makes you the obvious choice?
Messaging is not set and forget. It’s a living, evolving thing.
#8 Your voice and your perspective are your differentiator
I want you to think about how much content exists in your industry. How many people do what you do, say similar things, share similar tips, post similar carousels.
And then I want you to think about how many of those people actually have a distinct voice, a clear point of view, a perspective that challenges the norm or says the thing everyone else is dancing around.
That second group is a much smaller number.
When your messaging sounds like every other muggle, the only thing left to differentiate on is price. And that is a race to the bottom you do not want to be in.
Your voice is something no one can replicate. Your perspective (the way you see your industry, the things you believe that others don’t, the way you explain things) that’s your competitive advantage. So use it.
Stop playing it safe. Say the thing you actually think. Because the people who are meant to work with you? They’re waiting for someone exactly like YOU.
#9 Handle objections before they’re raised
Your ideal client has doubts. Before they buy, they’re thinking things like:
- “Is this actually going to work for me?”
- “I’ve tried things like this before and it didn’t work.”
- “I don’t know if I have time to implement this.”
- “What if I invest and don’t get results?”
And instead of waiting for these objections to come up in a discovery call – address them in your content before someone ever needs to ask.
When you can name their fears and hesitations directly – you’re doing two things at once. You’re showing them you understand them deeply, and you’re removing the barrier between them and buying.
Objection handling in your content isn’t pushy. It’s generous. It saves them the mental energy of talking themselves out of something that could genuinely change their life or business.
#10 Use proof – let your clients do the selling for you
In 2026, buyers are more discerning than ever. They’ve been burned by promises that didn’t deliver. They’re more skeptical, more considered, and they need more than your word for it.
This is where proof does the heavy lifting your copy can’t.
Client results. Transformation stories. Testimonials that speak to the specific before and after. Screenshots. Case studies that walk through exactly what changed and how.
And the key here is specificity – again! A testimonial that says “working with Tahryn was amazing” does nothing. A testimonial that says “I went from having no idea how to talk about my offer to signing three dream clients in the first two weeks of my launch” – that sells.
So start collecting better proof. Ask your clients better questions when you request testimonials. Share the full story, not just the highlights. Because when your ideal client can see themselves in someone else’s result, they stop wondering if it could work for them – and start figuring out how to sign up.
So there you have it – 10 messaging tweaks that will help you make more sales.
A BONUS messaging tweak that will help you make more sales…
Signing up for The Messaging Fasttrack Intensive.
Together we’ll get your messaging in shape so that when it’s time to sell, you’re not second-guessing every word or scrambling to figure out what to say.
You’ll know exactly how to position your offer as the obvious choice, create genuine demand from your dream clients, and sell with actual confidence.
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