What Gentle Parenting and Compelling Messaging Have in Common
"You are so. incredibly. patient. with her," my dad said in disbelief.
I was on my knees, on the floor, softly explaining to my then-3-year-old that it was time for us to put on our shoes and head out the door.
What my dad had been trying to do for 5+ minutes - with increasing agitation - happened easily with a few communicative tweaks.
My parents did not raise me per the "gentle parenting" principles I try to follow.
And I don't blame them.
We know so much more today about early childhood brain development, nervous system regulation, and the negative impact of stress on our bodies than we did back when I was the one who wouldn't put on my damn shoes. 👀
But today, I do know that when I get on my daughter's level and calmly explain to her - with boundaries - how and why something needs to happen...
9 times out of 10 – ok, maybe 7.5 – it happens without shouting, crying or threats that I grew up thinking were just how grown ups talked.
Wondering if you clicked through to the wrong blog post?
Wait! I promise this is actually about how you market your signature offer.
How so?
Because many of the practices that are part of gentle parenting also work when you're talking to your ideal clients.*
Here are 3 strategies ripped straight from gentle parenting that work equally well at moving grown-ass adults to action:
1) Get on their level:
This first one will come as no surprise, but you will see a WAY bigger response when you speak to your audience members in the exact words that they use—not the ones you use with your colleagues or even how you talk to your coach.
Your copy should highlight the benefits they care about, not the ones that get you excited, because they're the ones whose buy-in you need for your plan (a sold out launch) to turn into action (e.g. multiple sign ups while your webinar is live).
One of my favourite hacks for finding these benefits is to look to your own testimonials + see what clients highlight about their experience working with you.
Targeting a higher level client for the first time? Take a peek at someone else's sales page for the benefits their clients loved.
2) Give them options:
One of the most impactful gentle parenting techniques I learned was to cater to little people's desire for control. And honestly, I think this is one of those desires that never really changes:
Options = choice, and choice = power.
When your prospective clients have power to choose the option they most desire, they feel in control and you get to give them exactly what they need (which may or may not include that extra VIP support).
To implement this in your offers, ask yourself how you can make the purchase decision an "either/or" question, versus "Yes" or "No".
3) Make the deadline + boundaries clear
Remember the old: "I'm going to count to three... 1... 2... 3... ..."?
"But what happens at 3, Mom!?!?" laughs the child as they run away.
(Yes, it was me, I was that child 😅)
This technique is actually super effective for me, with a few minor tweaks:
"Do you think you can put your boots on before I count to 5? If not, I'm going to have to put them on for you. 1... 2... 3..."
My daughter loves to do whatever I've asked by 4 because that's her current age.
Look, I know, your people aren't toddlers, and I'm really not advocating for you to treat them as such—I swear!
But humans in general do better when we:
a) have a deadline by which we need to complete a task, and
b) understand the stakes of not meeting that ask
This does NOT mean you should use countdown timers willy-nilly, or amp up the scare tactics in your closing emails.
What it does mean is that you should always remind people of a deadline, e.g. if the special offer for subscribers in your welcome sequence expires 7 days after they sign up...
...and that you should clearly speak to the stakes for them if they decide not to take action, e.g. if they decide to join your membership later, they'll have to do so at regular price instead of the $9 promotional discount.
So what can you do with these insights?
Well, you can keep them in mind as you're revising your web copy, crafting a new offer and/or putting an automated email sequence in place...
Or you can hire me to make sure you're communicating with your ideal clients in the most effective manner possible.
Because here's the thing—
Getting your messaging dialled in isn't just about...
...being able to schedule a sales email you *know* will sell, so that you can take the morning off to just chill on the couch – in blissful silence – while the other people in your house aren't there to ask for snacks
...feeling super confident (and maybe even a little bit smug) when you see a competitor posting bland AF ChatGPT written content, while you watch your most recent post create a massive engagement spike,
or even
...earning enough money that even your most condescending Boomer uncle stops asking about "your little business" because he's sitting on the new couch you bought after your last successful launch 😎
It's also about freeing up the time you've spent building funnels that don't convert or writing content that doesn't connect so that you can spend that time offline with the people you love—or online, doing the work that really lights you up.
Messaging that connects with your ideal clients is the inevitable outcome of my Immersive Copy Research process.
If you're ready to chat about how I can support your business with messaging strategy or done-for-you conversion copy, book a Consult Call today.
Talk soon,
Katie
P.S.
I really don't mean to imply that our prospective buyers are toddlers, or that we - the "wise adult business owner" need to treat them as such to make sales.
Really, it's more like, we're all just grown up toddlers—and some of our ways of thinking change more than others as we age (like, I no longer think singing songs about 💩 are as funny as P. does, but I do still enjoy being bribed with a snack).
xo KP
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