“oh sheet” moments [Stretch #15]

a weekly warm-up for marketing that attracts your best buyers

(featuring real stories, copy tips, and cat pics)

Hey Reader,

You know your marketing needs to be “relatable,” but uh, what does that actually mean?

An example that might help:

Last year, I wrote copy for English With Lucy, a YouTuber (with almost 12 million subscribers! 😱) who creates courses for folks learning English as a second language.

One line went like this:

➡️ “Ever felt embarrassed to say the words ‘sheet’ or ‘beach’? This lesson is for you.”

Pronunciation is something Lucy's audience had specifically expressed wanting to work on in comments and feedback. But the copy would be way less relatable if it just said "work on your pronunciation."

We knew they'd feel seen and might even chuckle a bit at this example. Because if you've ever learned a second language, you get that desire to nail tricky sounds — so you don’t accidentally say an embarrassing word you didn’t mean to.

(Living Spain for 7 years, I had more moments like this in Spanish than I can count!)

So this copy speaks to the ideal student determined to overcome that challenge. It gets them nodding their head thinking, “Yep, that’s me.”

The takeaway?

Don’t worry about marketing that “sounds good.”

Instead, start thinking about making your copy “head-nod-worthy.”

Effective copy empathizes with your people and lets them know your offer was made with their specific life experiences in mind.

Put in your sales reps 🏋️‍♀️

Simple actions to fire up your marketing

Start a “head nod bank” for your business.

It can be a Google doc with a simple bulleted list of phrases, experiences, or anecdotes you know would make your ideal customer nod their head, because you truly *get* them.

This will make any marketing you need to do worlds easier.

Copy circuit 🔄

Analyzing copy from around the web

Shakti acupressure mats rebranded in a smart way, because there are a lot of self-care practices that aren’t about instant gratification, but the benefits that come after.

If you’ve tried an acupressure mat, you know it feels weird. But then you feel great later. Leaning into that with their branding helps customers feel understood - and attracts folks who are down with the weird (!)

The cooldown 🌬️

Words to stretch your mind & inspire your week

“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through.”

- From Wintering by Katherine May