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Sticking to the Rule of One for Compelling Website Copy

Megan Martin

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Are you a multi-passionate creative?

Do you offer more than just one service or product?

Cool. Me too!

*Only have one offering? You’re not missing out, promise! The Rule of One still applies to you. You’re already on a good track, but I bet there just might be some refining you can do to deepen your connection with your ideal customer!

One of the biggest questions I get asked when it comes to branding and websites is, “So how do you sell multiple services, offerings, or products when they are tailored for different price points and customer needs cohesively under one roof?”

The answer?

The Rule of One, Copywriting tips, How to write compelling copy for your website that connects and converts

The Rule of One

Nope, I’m not going to tell you to only do one thing.

I’m going to tell you to only offer one thing to one person.

Did you catch the difference?

Since I was a wedding planner for 5 years, I often use the example of the two types of services I provided: Full Planning and Month of Coordination.

A bride who wanted me to hold her hand from day one and be there every step of the way through designing the event, being the contact person for all vendors 12+ months out from her wedding, and executing the entire thing for a price tag of $6,000+ had completely different values, needs, wants, desires, hopes, fears, and motivating factors than a bride who only hired me to come in at the end of all her pre-wedding planning to pick up the reigns for the final month and execute on the day of for $2k.

One wasn’t better than the other, but understanding what made them different was key to making the sale.

Understanding what makes your customers and clients unique is the key to a brand messaging strategy that converts.

The Rule of One essentially means for every service or product you sell, you only sell it to the one person it is meant for. Sounds obvious, right? In practice, it often gets forgotten. Does your website have a services page that lists out all the things you do like a menu for someone to figure out what to pick? You aren’t following The Rule of One.

For me to confidently sell to two different people with two very different needs and values, I don’t talk to them at the same time (or place!). If I tried to talk to both brides at the same time or on the same page of my website, my messaging would be watered down to appeal to both the higher-end customer who values quality and the customer who values price.

Do you want to know the real secret to copywriting? The best copywriting… the kind that sucks you in, makes you drool, and swipe your card is essentially just a collection of facts. Facts about you. The writer took the time to deep dive into your life experiences, your values and needs, your desires and dreams, and your fears and worries that all have to do with what they are selling. And they simply speak it back to you. Follow all those hopes, dreams, and needs up with a solution (aka what they are selling) and the question easily changes from who to trust or where to find help to when. As in, when are you going to buy.

So many creatives reach out to me wondering how I write all these blog posts and emails and sales pages while staying “authentic.” Buzzword not intended 😉

The answer is simple. I know my customer very well. Intimately. I know what keeps her up at night. I know what her personal values are. I know her struggles. I know what TV shows she watches and magazines she reads. I know the surface level stuff and the deep stuff. And I confidently know my Unique Value Proposition. I know where my strengths lie and how what I do truly helps my customer.

Having a rock-solid foundation in WHAT you do and WHO you serve changes the branding game. Writing, talking, marketing, and selling to him or her becomes less scary and awkward and more like second nature because you aren’t having to make stuff up. You just organize the facts together and infuse your personality into the words you say.

Most creatives spend a disproportionate amount of time in defining WHAT they do and not enough time defining WHO they serve. So the messaging is watered down from the get-go. Let’s fix that, shall we?

The Rule of One in practice

Rule 1: Commit to doing this exercise for one and only ONE of your services or products (product categories if they are all for the same person). If you have multiple services/products that fit different people, don’t make the mistake of trying to fit all of them into one “ideal customer.”

Stick to the Rule of One and you’ll finally be able to write compelling copy that converts!


Rule 2: This exercise is not about you. It is about the likes, dislikes, wants, needs, fears, desires, and hopes of your ideal customer when spending their hard-earned money on what you have to offer.

While our ideal customers often may have similar visual aesthetics to us, their actual motivating factors for hiring us or purchasing from us are different than ours.

You have something they don’t, so don’t assume they know what you know. Don’t use these ideal customer questions to “educate” your potential customers.

And if you don’t know, ask people! Ask people who are likely to buy what you have or better yet, ask people who HAVE purchased from you!

Get inside her/his mind. Think about what they are actually thinking before they even find you, what is going on in their head when they are thinking about purchasing from you, and what they hope to see as a result of purchasing. Use the language they would actually use!

10 Questions to Answer to help you get inside the mind of your ideal customer

Fill in the blank with what your customer is seeking you out for! Example 1: If you are a wedding photographer, you would fill the blanks below with “wedding day.” Example 2: If you are a marketing strategist, you would fill in the blanks with “business.”

  1. What is your lifestyle like? (Example job, relationships, life experience, etc. Describe him/her!)
  2. What are your priorities and goals for your _____________?
  3. If you could have the dream  _____________, what would it look like?
  4. Surprise! You just won $10,000 for your __________. What will you spend it on?
  5. What do you fear about your _____________?
  6. What are the ick things you don’t want to be apart of your  _____________?
  7. Do you value price, quality, or convenience when it comes to booking/buying (insert your service/product type) _________ services/products? (Pick one and explain)
  8. What have you seen that turns you off from other brands offering  (insert your service/product type) _________ services/product?
  9. What are you nervous about when you start looking for (insert your service/product type) _________ services/products?
  10. What are your non-negotiable must-haves when it comes to booking/purchasing (insert your service/product type) _________ services/products?

Once you answer these questions, you’ll have detailed copy to use in every facet of your branding, marketing, website, and customer experience. You won’t have to guess anymore about how to connect with your ideal customer authentically to make the sale.

Just remember: One person. One product. Always!

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