But I've never fully embraced these frameworks (which is probably a strategic mistake). Regardless of how you structure the sales copy on your website or email, I believe all viewers have three questions on their mind that you need to address (quickly):
Is this made for me?
What does it do for me?
Why should I trust you?
If you don't address these questions, they'll leave the page and forget about it.
Let's break them each down and how you can put them into action.
"Is this made for me?"
We are bombarded with ads and marketing messages every day. Probably not the rumored 10,000 ads, but still a lot.
In order to defend our limited attention, our default is not to engage with every marketing message we see – but to disqualify them as quickly as possible. The quicker we can determine something ISN'T for us, the quicker we can stop thinking about it and get back to whatever it is we care about more.
Our first line of defense when we see anything trying to grab our attention is, "Why should I care?" We see it on short-form video now more than ever – if you don't hook us immediately, we move on.
When it comes to paid products, you also need a "hook" that clearly demonstrates that this product was made for us. The more specifically you relate your product or service to my needs and situation, the more I lean in. Personally, I think this needs to be the first headline you see on the sales page.
Describe your ideal customer. Talk about the problem as THEY experience it. Speak in the language they use.
If it's unclear or non-obvious that a product is made specifically for us, that's immediate permission to move on. Only when something was clearly made for us are we forced to continue considering it.
"What does it do for me?"
If you've convinced the reader that the thing is made for them, they will continue listening, but remember: they WANT to stop paying attention ASAP.
So the next big hurdle is making them care more. They're still wondering, "What does this thing do and how does it make my life better?"
Similar to the premise of your creator platform, your product needs to be legible, compelling, and differentiated.
Legible: Easy to understand (quickly)
Compelling: Something that makes us light up (solves a real problem or addresses a major desire)
Differentiated: How your product is better than competitors for ME
If you can't describe your product in a legible, compelling, and differentiated way, we'll leave the page and stop thinking about it.
But if you've convinced us that you've built a product specifically for us that solves a problem we actually have...
"Why should I trust you?"
Anyone can make a promise. Why should we believe you'll follow through?
In a skeptical world with declining trust, we need evidence. We want to hear from believable third parties that THEY'VE already taken the risk of believing your promise (and can confirm it was worth it). Even more, we want to relate to those third parties.
This is where ratings, reviews, and social proof really stand out. Video testimonials are still the gold standard in social proof (though I'm nervous how this will change in an AI video world).
The more testimonials and success stories you capture, the better. Not only does this create a mountain of evidence, but it also gives you more options for people to identify with the person giving the testimonial.
Ending soon: 50% off your first year of bookkeeping
How did tax season go for you this year? Did you feel stressed and rushed to categorize all of your transactions so you could file before the deadline?
Bookkeeping probably isn't the top of your list of priorities. But it's something that I've been taking seriously for years now, and up-to-date financial reports play a huge part in my month-to-month plans and projections.
This was a painful, time-consuming, manual process before Kick.
Kick uses cutting-edge AI to provide self-driving bookkeeping that does the work for you. It automatically learns and recommends rules that categorize your transactions in a fraction of the time. It is beautifully designed and easier to use than Quickbooks.
Kick's founder also co-founded Teachable. They're backed by OpenAI and 60+ investors with backgrounds at companies like Stripe, Notion, and Square. It's built for creators and, on average, saves users $4,000 on their taxes.
Kick works out of the box and only takes five minutes to set up. Kick is free to start, so there's no reason not to give it a try. I believe in it so much that I'm a customer AND an investor.
If you choose a paid plan (I did), I've partnered with Kick to offer you 50% off your first year if you sign up before June 25. Just use code JAY at checkout (more than 175 readers have already).
PS: Kick is currently only available in the US. Sorry!
NEW EPISODE š§
259: My numbers from May 2025
This week on the feed, I shared an audio recording of my May Retro.
Every month, I record a ~30-minute video for The Lab (all tiers) that goes in-depth into my goals, wins, losses, and decisions I'm making in the business. We go into the numbers on my P&L so you see how much I'm earning, spending, and more.
This Retro was recorded before going to Boise for The Lab Offline!
You'll hear:
More information about my book proposal
How I achieved my highest month of service revenue…ever
