When Your Message Doesn’t Match Their Brain: Fixing a Muddled Message

You think your message is clear but your reader is confused...here's why that happens

It’s a sticky July afternoon and I’m sitting at my desk, ice water at hand, rewriting this email—again.

Not because I don’t know what to say.

But because I’m too close to it.

See, I’m revamping a few things in my business and it’s bringing up ALL the self-doubt.

That little voice in the back of my head is asking:

“Is this useful enough?”

“Is it clear enough?”

It’s funny. I made a quiz to help you spot where your content’s getting stuck.

And in the process, I’m having to face my stuck areas too.

I’ve sent it to marketing friends and asked for feedback.

I’ve tweaked it more times than I can count.

But ultimately, I have to hit publish and see what happens.

That’s what we all have to do when we launch something new.

Yes, do your market research.

Yes, get feedback from colleagues.

But ultimately, you have to publish and promote.

If you don’t get the response you hope for, you might be dealing with a Muddled Message.

The Muddled Message happens to the best of us.

You can be thoughtful, strategic, experienced and still publish something that doesn’t connect.

Usually because you’re too close to it.

That’s the Curse of Knowledge.

It doesn’t mean you’re bad at messaging, it just means you may benefit from an outside perspective.

Here’s the lie we tell ourselves.

“If I explain it clearly, people will understand.”

But what’s clear to you doesn’t always translate.

They don’t have your context.

They may not be able to see the next step.

That’s why I always come back to these four questions before producing anything.

• Who’s the ideal reader?

• What do they already know about this product or service?

• What’s the business goal of this piece of content?

• What do you want them to do next?

When you start applying those questions to each piece of content, it’s a lot easier to see the friction points.

And that’s where things get interesting…because once you dial in the real blocker, you can fix it. Then, your content starts pulling it’s weight.

I made a quick quiz to help you spot one of three sneaky blockers:
🧱 Muddled Message
🧭 Drop Off Zone
🤝 Trust Gap

It’s fast, free, and eye-opening—even if you’ve been doing this a while.

👉 [Coming soon!]
Or hit reply and let me know where your content falls.

Rather have hands on help?

I’m offering 5 “pay want you want” Your Clear Strategy consults between now and August 15.

Normally $150 USD. But now, name your price.

We’ll clarify your goals, review key content, and create a mini roadmap to help your message build trust and drive sales.

That’s how you build content that wins.

If this resonated, would you consider restacking? It helps other people find it here on Substack. THANK YOU!

Photo by 8 verthing on Unsplash

And hey, if you’d like to support this work, you can buy me a coffee. I appreciate you!