#025 3 Steps To Message Clarity with Hollie Tkac

saying is like, you have to really dig— So let's dive into today's interview on Personal Brand Breakthrough. We have Holly Tack with us today, and she is a messaging strategist. Holly, I'm really happy that you're here because messaging is really, really important. You're a messaging strategist. Can you tell our audience what that is?

I would love to, and thanks for having me. So a messaging strategist is a copywriting-based role that I play with my clients. Uh, but I call it a messaging strategist because to me it's all about getting clear on somebody's message and then really marrying that with the writing skills that make effective copy effective and also a strategy strategist, and that's intentional and really forwards that person's goals. So that, you know, if you've ever felt like you're throwing spaghetti at the wall with your content or you don't know what to say, or you're just kind of going through the motions because you think you need to have, you know, one post on social media a day or whatever it is, then, you know, I'm not about that. So I'm all about getting over those kinds of feelings and really knowing what your message is and how to get it in front of the right people to forge your business growth.

Well, and I suppose that as we start really talking about how to get clear on your message in 3 steps, the messaging, like the copywriting can't really happen unless you have clarity around your message, correct?

That is absolutely correct, Sheryl. So I would say like, I use this metaphor a lot, um, and I think other people do too. And it's really like, the foundation to your house. So instead of building your house without a foundation or on quicksand, you want to make sure it has a foundation. And that's the message. And so if you've ever felt like, I don't know what to say, then I would venture a guess that you're perhaps not clear on your message or not going as deep with it as you could be. Because once you do do that, then it makes it a lot easier to generate content.

Well, and it's so interesting because even, even for me, and I think this is true probably of all entrepreneurs, no matter what level they're at in the development of their business, messaging is an ongoing thing. It's discovery all the time. You learn more about your, your audience, you learn more about their challenges and frustrations, and then your messaging can evolve. And so let's talk then today about how to get clear on your message in 3 steps, no matter what stage you're at. And, and and I'm always retooling my messaging. Even though I reached 6 figures in the first year of my business, doesn't mean that it stops there. It means that we continue on and on. So let's dive into the 3 steps right now, Holly. What is the first step that an entrepreneur can take to get message clarity? Yes.

So the first step is to really get clear on the outcome that you're helping your clients achieve. And so the way you can do that is a couple questions underneath that that you want to ask yourself. So it's, who are you actually wanting to serve? And again, think about who do you want to serve versus like who might be in your space now if you're in any kind of a transition or growth phase. Um, so who do you want to bring in? And then who, you know, what do they actually want based on like how they would say it. So not, it's not what you want for them. It's what do they want in their life that you can actually help them achieve. So it's the difference between saying like, you know, I am a messaging strategist that helps people create a content plan, consistent content plan versus I'm a messaging strategist that helps people attract more clients. So the first one is kind of like something I do in my process. And that I think is important, but it's not something that my client presents with, like, you know, that's not what's gonna get them to move the needle to make an investment with me, essentially, even if they know they need that.

So I think what you're saying is like, you have to really dig deep into the desires, like their true heartfelt desires of what they want, rather than giving them what they need.

Yes, absolutely.

So I know what they need, but they might not know what they need. Kind of at the front level of it, it's like you have to dig deep on their desires and then you can take them down the path toward a content strategy or whatever it is that they're going to need. Am I catching that right?

Yes. Yes. So, um, really how it is is that, and a way you can kind of look at what you've come up with too when you're going through this process is like, am I talking about something that's part of my process? Right now, or is it more of an end goal? And that's another way you can kind of check in with what have you said in terms of, yeah.

I love that. Okay, so number 1 is outcome-driven. It's like really digging deep on that piece. And obviously that's more than we're going to be able to tackle in a conversation like this. That's where the strategy comes into play, where you actually help people and ask them pointed questions to really mine down what what is the outcome that your ideal clients are after?

So I love that.

What is step number 2, Holly?

Step number 2 is really, and this is kind of honestly married with step number 3, um, in some ways. So I'll get into that. But step number 2 is to get clear on your opinion around what somebody needs to do to get to, um, get to the outcome that you've defined in the first step. So what I'm— the opinion is really the meat of the statement. If we're going to put this in like one sentence or two sentences, because it is a place for you to take a firm stance. And what that allows you to do is actually to magnetize the right people in more quickly and repel the wrong people away, which is actually a good thing. But I find that this is the part of when people conceptualize their message that they either skip over or depending on where they're at in their business, they're afraid to do. 'Cause they maybe have that fear around like, I don't want to cut people out of what I'm doing. 'Cause that'll make me less clients. But the example I love to give for this is, you know, I could say I'm a health coach that will help you lose weight by eating healthy. Or I could say I'm a health coach that's going to help you lose weight by adopting a vegan diet or by becoming paleo. So, The second two are very specific in terms of like what exactly my stance is in terms of what somebody needs to do to lose the weight. And what that allows you to— obviously, we'll track two different people, like somebody that wants to be vegan and wants to be paleo are usually two different people.

So Holly, it really sounds like with point number two, it's your opinion, your stand, your point of view is a crucial part to getting clear on your message in 3 steps. So, uh, let's move on to point number 3. What is the third way that entrepreneurs can get message clarity and move their businesses forward?

The third thing that entrepreneurs can focus on with this in this area that does relate to step 2 as well is getting clear on your kind of your process that you lead people through. Um, so that to me plays along with what, what your opinion is on what it takes for people to get there. Um, so you know, if you had a new client in front of you to work with, um, and they wanted to get the result, like losing weight, to use the previous example, you know, what steps— and I'm not saying like your most detailed every single step, but just like what kind of themes— it's usually like 2 to 4 What kind of things do you kind of do with somebody to get them through a process to get towards the weight loss goal? And so I find that most people, I recommend that you, you know, play with the words or really think about how you would say this. But most people have a process with a client that includes some kind of like assessment phase or clarity phase, kind of like what's happening now phase. And then there's usually a phase that's like, let's goal set or like make the vision together. And then there's usually a phase that's around taking action, implementing, and actually getting there. And so I recommend everyone to kind of see if that's applicable to you. If it's not, no big deal. I just say share that as, you know, a starting point if you're a little stuck on this. And then, um, just really getting clear on what your process is and After that, I'll tell you how to use this to make content.

Okay. So Holly, so now we know the 3 steps. How do people actually put this into action?

I'm glad you asked me that. Um, so how I recommend you put this into action is to use your message when you start talking to people either in person or in Facebook Lives, and actually you can tie it together into a statement and say something like, You know, for me, for example, I'm Holly. I help coaches. I'm a messaging strategist who supports coaches and I do that through my 4.0 framework. That's just an example. I could say out the 4.0 framework. And then the other thing would be using this to generate your content. Like I would base all of your content on your message and how that would look is, um, using your process part as the real generating tool. So for example, if I wanted to come up with a theme for a week of Facebook Lives or something like that, then what I would do is think about how can I break this down into small granular tips and pieces. So maybe I would still, you know, I would talk about what I mean by optimizing your message and like break that up into pieces and do that over the course of a week. Or what have you. And the one thing I want to say about this is don't be afraid to repeat yourself because you might feel like you're repeating yourself, but other people don't. They, even if they've heard it before from you, they still need to hear it again and they get a new thing out of it. That's something one of my clients has been doing. She's been doing Facebook Lives for almost 3 months every day. And some of the stuff has repeated and like, but you know, maybe the stories are different or whatever, but the overall theme is repeat, but even her clients that she's worked with for like 2 years that tune into the live are like, oh my god, it really clicked for me today, you know.

And that they have to hear— it's almost like they have to hear that message however many times before all of a sudden they go, oh, now I get it. I've only had to hear this message 7 times for me to understand what it is, right? I think that's very powerful. It's taking these steps and actually putting them into action, Holly, and really powerful stuff for sure. And now if people are watching and they're like, I really need to get in touch with Holly, how would they connect with you if they want to learn more about working with you? How would they reach you?

Totally. So go to my website, uh, hollytakac.com, H-O-L-L-I-E-T-K-A-C dot com, weird spelling. And I have a quiz up on the site. I also have a little chat box in the corner. That you can easily send me an email or message on.

That is fantastic stuff. I really appreciate you sharing these powerful steps with us because messaging is where it's at and it all starts at that level. So thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today and thank you so much for watching Personal Brand Breakthrough. We will see you next time on the show. Bye for now.

Bye.