This year, I’m diving deeper into all things messaging—helping you refine your message, making sure it hits home for the right people, and showing you practical ways to get more resonant and effective. This episode is all about understanding your client journey—not just their experience within your business, but their bigger journey in your area of expertise—and using that in your messaging.
In this episode, I’m going to walk you through how to make sure your messaging meets people exactly where they are, so your services feel like the logical next step for them.
Let’s get into it!
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Who Are You Talking To—And When?
We’ve all heard the classic advice: if you try to speak to everyone, you end up resonating with no one. It’s usually thrown around when talking about niching, and for good reason! To create a message that lands, you need to know exactly who it’s for.
But here’s something most business owners miss—the focus ends up almost entirely on demographics or goals. Yes, it’s great to know what your client wants to achieve or their age bracket, but let’s take it one level deeper.
Let’s think about their journey. Not just, “Who are you helping?” but, “Where are they in their journey when you help?”
Messaging Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
You have a core message—the stuff you write out for yourself about your niche, your offers, and how you attract clients. That’s where you want to be hyper specific about your ideal client: who they are, what they want, and exactly where they are on their journey.
When it comes to content—blog posts, social media, Q&As—you can loosen up a bit. You might answer questions from people a little earlier or later in the process, and that’s okay. But for your key messaging and offers, specificity about the stage is absolutely crucial.
The Different Stages of a Client Journey
Let’s talk about the journey itself. Imagine all the stages someone goes through before they’re ready to work with you. I’ll list some example stages here—you can adapt these to your own area of expertise.
Stage 1: Stuck and Hopeless
“This situation sucks and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Imagine you help with mindset for new business owners. In the very early days, they might say, “Starting a business is hard, but I keep sabotaging myself and there’s nothing I can do.” Or for parenting coaches: “My child is lashing out, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
I actually don’t recommend targeting this stage in your main messaging. It’s easy to default here because you want to catch everyone, but these folks aren’t ready for solutions yet.
Stage 2: Frustrated, but Open
“This sucks. I wonder if I could do something about it.”
Now they’re starting to get curious, but aren’t even sure change is possible.
Stage 3: Ready, but Lost
“I want to change it, but I don’t know what to do.”
Here, they need guidance and are looking for direction.
Stage 4: Clarity Without a Plan
“I know what I want to do, but I don’t know how.”
Maybe they’ve decided gentle parenting is for them or they want to start a podcast—now they need the practical steps.
Stage 5: Inspired and Researching
“I’m clear and inspired. Time to figure out how to actually do this.”
Still, they haven’t taken any action yet.
Early vs Later Stages—Which Should You Target?
So honestly, how much of your content is speaking to these super early stages versus people who are already taking action? The answer matters!
People in earlier stages need way more convincing and handholding. They’re not solution-seeking yet. The later stages need something different—they’re almost sold but might already be following your competitors or working with someone else.
Stage 6: Overwhelmed from Research
“I’ve researched how to change this, but I’m more confused than ever!”
This stage is tricky—they’re possibly shut off from advice because opinions conflict and it all feels too hard.
Stage 7: Got a Plan, Stuck on Action
“I know what I’m going to do, but I keep putting it off.”
Maybe they’ve done endless research and finally narrowed their approach, but resistance to starting takes over.
Stage 8: Started but Stuck Again
“I’ve started, but I’m stuck.”
For parenting: “I’m applying gentle parenting, but I embarrass myself at the shops and don’t know what to do.” Same goes for business, health, creativity—you name it.
Stage 9: Moving but Frustrated
“I got unstuck, but things are slow!”
It might be discouragement about progress, impatience, or just hating to be a “learner”.
Stage 10: Seeing More Problems than Solutions
“The more I learn, the worse it looks.”
Ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect? That nail-biting moment where a little knowledge made them confident, but learning more makes them question everything.
How Do You Use This Insight?
These are just some of the first ten stages—and you can keep going! You might find there are thirty or even fifty micro-stages in your client’s journey.
Mapping out these stages helps you realise that if you speak too early in the journey, those people often need a LOT of free content and reassurance before they’re ready to act or invest.
If you speak too late, they’re likely already committed somewhere else.
Honestly, the sweet spot for your messaging is often a few steps before the “ready to buy” point—where they’re open, curious, and solution-seeking.
Let’s keep going:
Stage 11: Creating Systems to Solve
“I’m going to find answers and create a system.”
Stage 12: Seeking Social Proof
“I’ll ask my friends if they’ve faced this.”
Stage 13: Looking for Experts
“I’ll follow someone on social media who’s an expert!”
Stage 14: Attending a Webinar
“I’ll go to this webinar because it feels like the right focus for me now.”
And yes, someone can go through this entire journey and never buy anything. That’s fine! Your job is to know at which point your message will land with the people who are actually ready.
Matching Your Zone of Genius to Their Motivation
When you align your offers, message, and expertise with the right stage—the point where people are open to help, motivated to listen, and able to see your value—it’s magic.
The “problem mode” stages usually need you to initiate contact, maybe through things like social media ads, because they’re not searching yet. The “solution mode” stages are actively looking.
So how do you use all of this insight?
- Map out those steps for your clients.
- Home in on the specific stage where your offer is a perfect fit, and focus your core message there.
- Use your content to help move people from earlier stages toward this pivotal point.
- When crafting blog posts, podcasts, or videos, think: “What stage are they googling, and what are they searching for?”
Your messaging ecosystem should have “bridge” content—a way to light up the next stage so people naturally move closer to working with you.
Ready for Next-Level Messaging?
Here’s what I recommend:
First, grab my free Resonate training at tashcorbin.com/resonate. It’s perfect if you want to attract more action takers and to nail this journey-based message crafting. The visuals make it even clearer!
Second, challenge yourself to actually write out the stages for your ideal client. Micro-detail them as much as you can, or steal my list as a loose jumping-off point.
Your message might not need fixing. Your offer, niche, or platform choice might not be the problem either. It might simply be that you’re covering too much of the client journey—or focusing on the wrong stage—when you craft your message.
When your content is more relevant, your message is more resonant. That’s when leads and actual sales start rolling in.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
