If your website, your social posts, and your sales conversations all describe your business a little differently, customers feel that wobble even if they can’t name it. Messaging is what fixes it. This worksheet turns your value into a small set of reusable lines—a headline, a subhead, and proof points—that you can paste into almost anything.
Work through each block. Keep your answers short; clarity is the goal.
Block 1: Your audience and their problem
Before you can write a message, you need to know who it’s for and what keeps them up at night.
- Who exactly is this for? (Be specific—name the person, not "everyone.")
- What’s the problem they’re trying to solve? (In their words.)
- What does that problem cost them? (Time, money, stress, missed opportunities.)
Block 2: Your core message
This is the single idea you want your market to associate with you. Everything else flows from it.
Core message: We help [audience] [achieve outcome] by [how], so they can [bigger payoff].
If you can’t say it in one line, it’s not finished yet. Trim until it’s clean.
Block 3: Your headline
Your headline is the core message, sharpened for a first impression. Lead with the outcome, not the mechanism. Draft three versions:
- Version A (outcome-focused): ___
- Version B (problem-focused): ___
- Version C (bold/specific): ___
Read all three aloud and keep the one that’s clearest, not the one that sounds cleverest.
Block 4: Your subhead
The subhead does the job the headline didn’t have room for—usually the "how" or the "who it’s for." One sentence that adds detail and removes doubt.
Subhead: ___
Block 5: Proof points
People are skeptical, so back the promise up. List three things that make your claim believable:
- A result or number: ___
- A testimonial or example: ___
- A credential, method, or guarantee: ___
If you’re brand new, a specific founder reason ("I built this after watching X happen too many times") can stand in until real proof arrives.
Block 6: Your one-liner
Finally, compress everything into a single sentence you can use when someone asks what you do:
One-liner: ___
How to use it
Once these blocks are filled in, your messaging is no longer something you reinvent for every post. Your headline goes on your homepage and landing pages. Your subhead and proof points support it. Your one-liner shows up in your bio, your intros, and your outreach. The whole point is consistency—when every touchpoint says the same clear thing, your brand starts to stick.
FAQ
What’s the difference between positioning and messaging?
Positioning is the strategic decision—who you’re for and why you’re different. Messaging is how you express that decision in words. Lock positioning first, then write the message.
How long should my headline be?
Short enough to grasp in a glance—usually under ten words. If a visitor has to read it twice, simplify.
What if I have no proof points yet?
Use a specific, honest founder story and swap in real results as soon as you have them. Even one early customer’s words make the page more believable.
How often should I revisit this?
Whenever your offer, audience, or differentiator shifts. Re-run the worksheet, and update every place your old message lives.