Start with the struggle: Here’s what your brand messaging is missing
Your clients and customers’ problems should live in your head rent-free—their frustrations and the quiet fears they don’t say out loud. You should know what keeps breaking and what they’ve already tried before finding you.
The more clearly you understand their pain, the more precisely you can position yourself as the one who helps them through it.
Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest gaps I see in a founder’s brand messaging during our initial discovery call. They’ve spent months, even years, building a company but have the hardest time answering one question clearly: Who are you serving and why do they need you now?
When that clarity is missing, the foundation is weak. Founders jump into creating a marketing plan without fully understanding what they’re marketing or who they’re speaking to.
So they post what’s trending or write about topics that are interesting to them, without considering what matters most to their audience.
The real fix is getting closer to the problems you already know exist. Speak to the tension, the misalignment, and the friction your audience is dealing with.
When you know how to do this, your message starts working for you in your pitch decks, your investor calls, your sponsorship outreach, and your website copy.
The words you use start to carry weight because they’re anchored in a clear solution.
So let’s talk about how to do that: how to turn pain points into relevant content that inspires people to act.
Name the pain and symptoms
Founders who are great at marketing often carry a little therapist energy. You’re not diagnosing your audience, but you are listening for patterns they may not have the language for yet.
Here’s where you can look for clues:
Sales calls and discovery sessions: Listen for confusion and resistance. What problems do they bring to you? What’s unclear to them before you explain it?
Your DMs, inbox, and comment sections: What posts and emails do people resonate with or respond to? What questions are they asking? What are they bookmarking and sharing?
Reviews and testimonials: What struggles did they have before working with you? What are they raving about? (Don’t forget: Look at your competitors’ reviews and testimonials as well!)
Online communities: Go to Facebook groups, Slack channels, Reddit threads, and niche anonymous forums to see what people are afraid to say out loud. What advice are they seeking? What are they ranting about?
Team conversations and debriefs: Your internal team may see trends before you do. What client or customer problems are they noticing? What gaps can they find in your messaging?
Now, grab a pen and paper and create four buckets to group your research:
The problems: What specific roadblocks are they running into? What’s not moving fast enough or not producing results?
The emotions: Frustration, fear, burnout, shame, and hesitation are a few clues that someone is stuck and needs your help. Pay attention to their internal tensions in addition to the external problems they’re dealing with.
The wording: What exact phrases or metaphors keep showing up? What do they say with confidence and what do they dance around? Use that language back to them in your content. That’s how you create the feeling of “this was written for me.”
The wish: Listen for what people want but don’t have, like more time, clarity, support, or direction. Those are the results they’re looking for, and that’s what your message should highlight.
✨The AI tool I can’t recommend enough: The Ouchy Painfinder Bot helps you dig into the emotions and blockers your audience might not be naming directly. And it’s freeee!
Turn pain into content (the right way)
Once you have the golden research, turn it into content that serves as a direct line to your audience.
Tell stories that highlight the problems you solve and the transformation you create. Use these in social posts, podcast interviews, and sales calls.
Integrate your audience’s exact language into your website copy, email subject lines, and social captions. Let them guide your SEO strategy, especially in page titles, headers, and meta descriptions.
Test headlines and messaging in paid campaigns by leading with the problem, not the solution. Track which pain points actually convert.
Update your bios, decks, and pitch materials to speak directly to the problems you solve, not just what you offer.
Let’s clarify your message: 3 questions I’ll help you answer
One of my favorite parts of my job is helping founders with their brand messaging. After one session, we’ll define your audience, outline the problems you solve, and write solutions-focused language that shapes your content.
You’ll leave with clear answers to these three questions, using the language your audience relates to:
Who am I speaking to and what problems are they trying to solve?
How does my offer help solve those problems and what results can they expect?
Where do I need to update my messaging so it’s clear and relevant to my audience?
To get started, you can book a free 20-minute discovery call to learn more.
And if you’re not there yet, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn. I’d love to learn more about what you’re building!
