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Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working: The Real Reason Is Your Messaging

Updated: May 12


Let’s get one thing straight.


Twenty years in marketing communications is like 100 years in regular-people years. I’ve seen entire industries flip, rebrand, overcorrect, and still not understand the basics. And at the center of every flop?


Somebody skipped the messaging.


See, people think marketing is just doing. Pushing. Promoting. As if it’s separate from how you sound, how you move, how you get remembered. But the real ones know: marketing is just a mouthpiece. If the message isn’t right, it’s just noise. To take it a step further, brands that thrive don't just shout into the void but listen and adapt while staying true to their values, ensuring that their values are coming through in their messaging, too.


Let me say that again louder for the folks skipping steps:

If your messaging is off, your marketing will always underperform.

The Foundation People Keep Skipping


Marketing sits on branding. Branding sits on strategy. And brand strategy has two core expressions:


  • Visual identity design — how your brand looks

  • Verbal identity design — how your brand sounds


That second one? That’s messaging.


And most people fumble it. Not because they’re unskilled, but because they’ve never been taught that brand messaging is a system. Not a slogan. Not your bio. Not a one-liner in your captions.


Messaging is how people understand, remember, and feel you.



Let’s Talk Plain: Messaging Ain’t Optional


Trying to market without messaging is like planting random seeds in dry dirt and hoping for a maple tree. You might get something. Probably weeds. But definitely not what you wanted.


People avoid messaging work because it feels abstract. Writing is hard. Reading is annoying. And nobody wants to admit they don’t actually know how to explain what they do without spiraling into a three-paragraph voice note that still says nothing.


And that’s not shade. It's a signal.


If you can’t say it clearly, your audience can’t receive it fully. Period.


Why Your Marketing Isn't Working (Even If You’re Showing Up)


You're posting. You’ve got decent visuals. You even threw in a reel with some trending audio. But something still feels… off. Unclear. Unbought.


Here’s why:


  • You don’t have messaging pillars anchoring your content.

  • Your voice doesn’t match the emotional truth of your brand.

  • Your content is saying what you do but not why it matters.

  • You’re writing to be liked, not writing to land.


That’s a messaging problem.


And it’s not fixed by another caption template. It’s fixed by learning how to structure your verbal identity with the same intention you’d give a visual rebrand, especially when your marketing isn't working as expected.


Messaging Strategy = Verbal Identity Design


Let’s make it plain.


Verbal identity design includes:


  • Your brand voice (cadence, tone, lexicon)

  • Your narrative (origin, promise, proof, perspective)

  • Your messaging ecosystem (core message, pillars, themes)

  • Your archetype alignment (the vibe behind the voice)

  • Your emotional resonance (how it lands, not just what it says)


It’s not “pretty words.” It’s psychological precision. And if you build that system, your content stops feeling like a chore—and starts feeling like a channel.


You’ll Know Your Messaging Is Working When:


  • People repeat your phrases back to you

  • You stop over-explaining your value

  • The clients you attract feel like home, not hustle

  • Your work starts to spread through alignment, not algorithms

  • You finally sound like yourself—and it moves people


If that’s not happening, your messaging isn’t broken. It's just unstructured. Unclear. Unaligned. This is when you must accept that change is the only constant. For example, remember MySpace? Yeah, me neither. (Just kidding, I remember those glittery profile layouts like they were yesterday.) Many of the platforms, tools, and strategies we used back then are relics now. And that’s the point: everything changes. The brands that survive don’t cling to old ways—they adapt.


This means that your brand isn’t a one-and-done thing. Don’t be afraid to update your messaging, but only do so based on signals to do so, NOT VIBES. Change like this is about evidence.


You don’t need to give it 6 months if it’s been flatlining for 3 weeks with real data. But you also don’t need to panic at 10 days of quiet.


Here’s a grounded breakdown of the real parameters—what to look at before changing your messaging:


1. Messaging Maturity Stage


Ask: How long has this message been live in the world—fully implemented and tested?


  • < 4 weeks → You’re still in the early exposure phase. If you haven’t pushed it consistently across platforms and formats (email, social, conversations, content), you’re not getting a clean read yet.

  • 4–8 weeks → Now we’re getting into the validation zone. This is where your message either starts to stick—or it doesn’t.

  • 8–12 weeks → If you’ve shown up consistently across channels and you’re still not seeing traction, this is the pivot point.


✅ Real parameter: Don’t measure based on calendar time alone. Measure based on how many consistent, aligned outputs you’ve produced with this message.


2. Traction Data


Ask: What kind of feedback am I actually seeing?


Look for:

  • People repeating back your language

  • Saves, shares, replies, or high time-on-page (on blog/email)

  • Aligned client inquiries (vs. confused or mismatch leads)


If you’re showing up and:

  • People are confused by what you do

  • You’re attracting the wrong folks

  • You feel like you’re overexplaining

  • Content isn’t converting or creating curiosity…


That’s a signal—not to panic, but to refine.


✅ Real parameter: If you’re not getting any feedback loops, no DMs, no replays of your phrasing, no shift in audience, your messaging is either unclear, unstructured, or off-base emotionally.


3. Internal Resonance Check


Ask: Does this actually sound like me—or like what I thought I had to say?

This is often the most overlooked piece. You can have technically “strong” messaging and still be off if:


  • You’re overexplaining to compensate for lack of confidence

  • You’re mimicking someone else’s tone

  • You feel bored, robotic, or disconnected when you talk about your work


If you don’t feel proud saying it out loud or writing it down, that’s a sign the messaging is misaligned.


✅ Real parameter: If you’re not moved by it, don’t expect your audience to be.


4. Consistency of Expression


Ask: Have I fully applied this message across my ecosystem—or am I only testing pieces of it?


Most people think their messaging isn’t working when they’ve only rolled out 20% of it. You can’t test a message that only lives in your IG bio. You’ve got to bring it into:


  • Your About page

  • Your pitch/intros

  • Your service descriptions

  • Your stories and content themes

  • Your offers and launch copy


✅ Real parameter: If your messaging only lives in one place, you’re not testing it—you’re teasing it. Roll it out fully before you judge it.


Bottom Line: How Much Time Should You Give It?


Give your messaging:


  • 6–8 weeks of full application

  • At least 10 consistent expressions (blog posts, emails, reels, long captions, workshops, etc.)

  • Real-time audience feedback—not just internal vibes


After that? Refine. Adjust. Iterate. Not a full pivot—just a better calibration.

Messaging is not “set it and forget it.”It’s alive. And your job is to stay in relationship with it—tending, listening, adjusting—until it clicks.


Final Word: Clarity Is Not a Luxury—It’s a Lever


You’re not here to play small. And yet, if your message is scattered, your impact will be too.


If you want to stop floundering, stop faking it, and finally feel at home in how you show up—your messaging is the place to start. Not when you redo your brand photos. Now. Because marketing without a message is just movement. But messaging? Messaging is momentum.


📚 Want to Go Deeper?


These are the books I revisit every time I pivot, expand, or realign my messaging:





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