Most campaign messaging fails not because the writing is bad…
…but because the basics weren’t nailed before anyone wrote a word.
You don’t need clever headlines or fancy copy to win attention.
You need clarity.
Here are five simple questions to ask yourself before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). If you can answer them clearly, your campaign messaging will land. If not, no amount of wordsmithing will save it.
1. Who exactly is this for?
“Marketing teams” is not an audience. Neither is “SMBs.”
That’s too broad. You can’t picture the person, and neither can they.
Example:
- ❌ Wrong: “Finance professionals”
- ✅ Right: “Heads of Finance at VC-backed Series B SaaS companies”
The difference? In the second one, you can actually see the person — their role, their world, their pressure. And when they see it, they’ll say: “That’s me.”
2. What problem are they facing today?
Not abstract problems like “they want to grow faster.” Everyone wants that.
Call out the pain they feel this week.
Examples:
- Reply rates stuck under 1%
- Month-end close hijacks weekends
- Half-empty trucks lead to rush fees
When you put the problem in their language, you’ll get a nod instead of a shrug.
3. What’s one question that makes them nod?
If you had 15 seconds in an elevator, what’s the question you’d ask that gets a smile or a quick “yep”?
Examples:
- “If checkout took two taps, would abandonment still be this high?”
- “If you could close in 3 days, what would you do with the extra week?”
- “If every truck left full and on time, would rush fees still bite?”
Here’s the kicker: this question isn’t just for the elevator. You can drop it straight into your campaign copy — as an ad headline, a subject line, or the opening line of a LinkedIn post.
4. Can we explain the fix in plain English?
This is where most teams overcomplicate.
If your “solution” sounds like: “an AI-powered, end-to-end synergistic platform” — stop. Nobody talks like that.
Better:
- “Pulls data into one place so reports are ready in minutes”
- “Syncs orders and returns so trucks leave full, on time”
- “Finds warm accounts, researches contacts, and drafts 1-to-1 emails for approval”
If your mom can understand it in one read, you’ve nailed it.
5. What outcome can we prove?
This is the punchline. The change they’ll feel after they use you.
Sometimes it’s a number:
- 3× more replies in the first month
- Month-end close cut from 10 days to 3
- No-shows down from 12% to 8%
Sometimes it’s a vivid shift:
- Monday mornings start with a clear list, not guesswork
- Month-end feels like any other week
- Customers finish checkout instead of dropping halfway
If they can see life after, your message is on point.
Quick recap
Before you write, check these five boxes:
✅ We know who it’s for
✅ We know their pain today
✅ We’ve got one nod-worthy question
✅ We can say the fix in plain English
✅ We can show an outcome that feels real
If all five are clear, your campaign messaging is ready.
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