Branding usually has very little to do with your logo, website, colour scheme or a cheeky tagline. Most customers don't care at all about the graphic and web design investment you make in your marketing collateral. They have no intrinsic loyalty to your logo.
Your personal branding is your message. It's about genuine value and the sense of community your followers and customers receive by following you and becoming part of your inner circle. People follow you because they connect with your voice and values, which is your brand.
According to Wikipedia, "Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action."
When I started out in magazine design and copyrighting in 1987, I created magazine display ads and wrote catchy copy. There were no websites back then, and if the ad caught the readers' attention, and the copy was persuasive, the phone just might ring. If magazine readership was sizeable, it targeted an audience that corresponded with the company's niche, and that ad displayed alongside an article that caught their eye at the newsstand, a sale might result from that inquiry call. Successful companies typically hired aggressive sales closers who would pressure the bejesus out of anyone who wasn't ready to buy on the spot.
A lot of today's online marketing agencies still use the same model today. Instead of television, newspapers and magazines, the ads are placed in feeds and search results. Brands run paid ads on Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The links typically point to a landing page on the company website, where the visitor is coaxed to exchange contact information for a lead magnet offer. Less scrupulous marketing firms will embed scripts, cookies and other trackers that identify visitors just by landing on the website, forwarding in-depth information without permission to the seller.
The baited visitor then begins receiving a series of automated emails sent to subscribers at predetermined intervals, typically used to 'nurture the leads', onboard new customers, or follow up on specific actions. If a sale doesn't take place within a day or two, a company closer is likely to call the phone number provided to apply some pressure. Invasive scripts that use cookies and other trackers provide the seller with your phone number, email address and social media accounts, even when you haven't given it, or filled out the form.
Almost all of us have regretted clicking on ads and filling in the online form for "a free guide", or being automatically identified by the tracking software when we visit the site. We feel tricked and betrayed as soon as we're bombarded with email or text spam, or even worse, we receive a sales call, and the caller has far more information on us than we feel comfortable with. And as we've become more wary of ads, the marketers have become far more aggressive. They'll hit us with a discount code or special offer before we even get to see the product or service page, in exchange for our email address and text message number, just in case we leave when we see their offer.
Am I saying that the pay per click approach doesn't work? Not at all. Paid ads work just often enough that brands still invest in them. Google Ads have a click-through rate of 4 - 6%. The average click-through rate for social media ads is around 0.5 - 1.2%. 94% of visitors click organic links on search engines and articles and links on other platforms, not ads.
Paid advertising can reach a wider audience quickly, for those scrollers who actually click on ads, while content marketing focuses on building a niche audience, credibility and trust. You can build organic followers and email subscribers instead paying for ads forever. Even pay-per-click advertising becomes far more effective when visitors already trust the brand because they have received value from its content.
Today's hybrid writers create impactful marketing campaigns that engage the audience while driving conversions, infusing connection and content with copywriting. This robust content strategy and a cohesive brand messaging framework offers compelling storytelling and captivating hooks and calls to action simultaneously.
Content and copy are no longer separate skills; they are intertwined.
You not only need their attention, but you must earn their trust. And that's becoming a lot harder to do.
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, distrust has become society's default emotion. This widespread skepticism and distrust mean people are less likely to trust institutions, leaders, information sources, and advertisers in particular.
Content builds trust and credibility by consistently delivering valuable, relevant, and engaging information to the targeted audience. When they subscribe and follow they become part of a community. Building trust takes time, and posting valuable, human content consistently that reflects your brand's values and messaging lets your prospective customers know what to anticipate from you.
Today's content writer needs to know how to craft a winning content strategy to pull your ideal customer into your world so you can earn their trust and provide enough touch points so they can decide to explore buying from you. They need to trust you before they're ready to even download your free lead magnets that deliver more genuine value, like guides, checklists or eBooks. That's when they're likely to respond to your ad. It typically takes a series of micro-conversions, inspired by valuable and memorable content, before they're ready to convert to a customer.
You've probably seen sales colour funnel diagrams with 5 - 7 levels, but my years of experience suggests there are three types of content most brands need.
Top of the Funnel (TOFU): This is the awareness stage. The goal is to the goal is to attract your potential customers and generate some initial interest. You need to get and keep their attention, so you want your audience to follow you online. Examples of TOFU content include blog posts, Linked in posts, Medium essays and thought pieces, Substack stories or newsletter and social media posts, with general informational content.
Middle of the Funnel (MOFU): In the stage, you're educating your audience and building trust, helping them understand the value proposition of your products or services, and the free lead magnet items you are sharing, such as tools, strategies, tips, frameworks, mini courses or whitepapers. You're showing them what you're made of; how you can help them achieve their goals or solve their problems. Examples of MOFU content include case studies, webinars, comparison charts and infographics. The goal here is to get your followers onto your email list. It's incredibly important that you deliver a ton of additional value in each email, or you can expect your audience to unsubscribe right after they access the lead magnet.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU): The purpose of your content strategy is to not sell directly. The BOFU conversion content pieces are only released occasionally to grow and nurture your engaged audience, and build a relationship with your them. The content focuses on specific problems, agitates those problems, delivers high value immediate solutions, then gently reminds your audience about the products or services you offer, and that you're there for them whenever they're ready to take it to a higher level. Hard close conversion copy is avoided, but it's okay to present an offer from time to time, so readers or viewers who are ready can take action.
Your content needs to say something so the people in your audience feel something. Your heart and your brain need to connect with the hearts and minds of people if you want to build a relationships of trust with them. Don't be seduced by the quick and cheap AI shortcut, publishing anaemic content that basically says nothing.
Email follow-up sequence: As your subscribers begin receiving your sales emails, your readers need to feel that you deeply understand them and their problems, you know what they're going through, what they care about, and that you genuinely care about their outcomes. Your emails need to deliver additional and deeper value than ever, or they'll feel they were tricked, and immediately unsubscribe from the list.
Punchy headlines, hooks and persuasive ad copy are of course still important. More important is that the emails still sound like you, not some slick copywriter you hired to dial up the heat and close the deal. The writing style needs to stay conversational, with great stories that touch the heart and stir emotions in the reader, while gently overcoming objections and leading through a copy formula such as PAS (problem, agitation, solution). They need to feel that you empathize with their struggles, their pains and fears, and desires. You convinced them to fill in the landing page form because they trust you, and it's important that you sell without being forceful or pushy, or their trust could vanish in a heartbeat.
Building your brand voice is about creating a place where your followers enjoy hanging out online, asking questions in the comments and expanding the conversation. Long-form thought leadership content is how you stand out. You're helping people do something that actually matters, sharing fresh ideas and perspectives, so the engagement group community is where like-minded people belong and feel safe discussing the topic of the article, video or live event. Effective branding creates a sense of belonging, through identity, values and messaging, building long-term loyal customers. Value is the brand.
We've never been inundated with more mediocre AI-written content. The noise has never been more deafening, and authentic online voices are desperately looking for writers that can make them stand out from the din, with a unique, natural and authentic extension of their voice. Readers want to feel something.
Traffic for the AI-generated content fluctuated from month-to-month while the human content had steady increases over the 5-month period.
In fact, by month 5, the human-generated content had 5.44X more traffic than the AI-generated content on a monthly basis.
– Neil Patel
Based on a 2025 Neil Patel Digital study of 744 articles over 68 websites, with 50% human written and 50% AI output that was "humanized" somewhat before publication.
Every human writer has a unique energy signature. Readers want something fresh, with real beliefs, real feelings, with vulnerability and transparency… unsanitized, unedited, straight from the heart. Your audience wants to feel your beating heart, and AI writing lacks originality, empathy, context and soul.
You have knowledge and skill many others can benefit from, but like most online personalities, you need help with content creation, strategy and expanding your reach.
Depending on your location, we begin with a Zoom or one-on-one strategy session. I frame my questions to draw out your key messages, opinions, stories, and goals. Together, we define your audience, tone, and positioning. I want to understand how you want to be perceived online, and what a win looks like for you.
Your "voice" is your brand. Whether you’re bold and contrarian or insightful and reflective, I learn to match your tone and rhythm perfectly. I will also dive into your industry, competitors, and audience to ensure your content resonates with your readers and viewers.
From blog posts, LinkedIn articles and Medium essays to X tweet threads, and video scripts, I write it all in your voice. You stay visible and credible online, and expand your reach, without spending hours writing or editing. Every piece will be crafted to reflect your expertise, values, and style, so you’ll sound like the authority you are.