How I Used Prospect Language to Change the Offer Message

When I began learning copywriting, I treated advertising too much like a mechanical input-output process: find a claim, write the ad and put it in front of people. It took me time to realize that the person reading it might want something different from what I assumed.

Two experiences made that concrete for me: changing the value proposition of my Instagram growth service and using actual prospect messages on a Client Ascension landing page. In both cases, the useful information came from the people I was trying to reach.

Test the value proposition against what the audience wants

My first agency used a business model I had seen from other operators: helping people get more Instagram followers. I tried positioning it around making more money on Instagram because that seemed like a stronger outcome to me.

The people I was reaching included fitness coaches and influencer-type accounts. In the situation I described, they were interested in followers rather than the money-making claim. When I switched to offering follower growth, I saw more sales.

Do not confuse having a skill with having a wanted offer

I see people learn some Zapier, copywriting or sales and then combine those skills into a value proposition. The missing part is evidence that the proposed offer is something the audience actually wants to buy.

My Instagram example was a reminder that a claim which makes sense in my head can still be the wrong claim for that group. Testing the message showed me something I had not learned from assuming what would be more valuable.

Client Ascension related reading: the client acquisition guide discusses testing offers and matching acquisition channels to resources.

Read the words prospects are already using

One of our setters shared text conversations in the Client Ascension sales chat. Prospects were talking about wasting money on Facebook ads and not wanting to depend on an outside agency to get clients.

I took that language and put it on the landing page, then ran a split test in ClickFunnels. I reported more opt-ins and more sales calls. The change was using the prospects' actual syntax rather than replacing it with language I imagined for them.

Keep noticing who is interested in the service

We had initially spoken about cold email for marketing agencies. Paying attention to the people interested in it also pointed toward B2B companies, consultants and freelancers with something to sell to another business.

That is why I emphasize finding the precise language people use. The work is listening to what they are saying and testing the message against it, rather than assuming that the first description of the market or offer was complete.

Client Ascension related reading: Ravi’s funnel-build account discusses replacing vague service pitches with a defined funnel build.

Adapted by Client Ascension with AI assistance from Daniel Fazio's interview. The first-person narrative follows the source speaker’s account. Watch the original video