TL;DR: This Week in The Digital CEO Weekly👇
✅ Most businesses stall because the offer is wrong: either you’re trying to sell something people don’t actually pay for, or you’ve positioned a good offer so poorly that the value never lands.
✅ Messaging is usually the silent killer: if your content isn’t building demand or removing resistance, and you’re just “teaching stuff,” your audience won’t convert no matter how much value you think you’re giving.
✅ Weak, watered‑down copy is the root issue: most entrepreneurs write broad, boring language, and James’ “sleazy > specific > unique qualifiers” exercise instantly sharpens copy so your message finally cuts through the noise.
From the Desk of James Wedmore:
I am Shoulder-Deep in our 30-Day Challenge helping our clients launch their first program... and the reason I love doing stuff like this is that it gives me a first-hand experience to see where my clients are at, what's working and what isn't for them.
And there are things I see that they are perhaps unconsciously doing that are obvious mistakes to me.
So if your business isn't "working," like you want it to, chances are it's one of these 3 factors right here. Let's get into it.
Bad Offer.
This is the biggie. A bad offer will never make you successful. And when I see our students incubate on their first offer, I can see that oftentimes their first idea is the worst.
Sadly, for most, when you don't understand the art or the science of offer creation and you put out your first offer and it tanks, you'll give up. That's what happens to most people. They try it once. It didn't work. They walk away. But it didn't work because the offer was wrong.
So when I say "bad offer," it can mean one of two things:
Number one, it means you're trying to sell something nobody wants. People that sell self-love or gratitude or confidence as their transformation end up having a really hard time trying to make sales. And it doesn't matter how great of a salesman you are or how great your copy is. There are certain things that people just won't pay for.
But you tell me if I'm wrong. If I had a $1,997 course on how to trust yourself... would you buy it? (if yes, send my team an email and we'll get ya signed up... but I think we'll be waiting all week for a single purchase!)
See, this is the perfect example because a sentiment like trusting yourself is incredibly important, but just because it's what someone needs doesn't mean it's what they're willing to pay for. So, in order for an offer to be great, it has to be something that people would already be willing to invest their money in.
Number two, you have an offer that people are willing to pay for but you've just positioned it poorly. This is where I would say 80% of offers fall. The lack of communication, copy, and messaging that really communicates and conveys what the offer is and the true value that is available to the prospect.
There is so much to this that I could write ten newsletters just on the topic, but if you don't fully communicate the value and relevancy of your offer, if you don't communicate it as the best solution for your prospect, and you don't share why they need it now, they will never join.
Ok, let's talk about the second "cause".
Bad Messaging.
Messaging is the "word" we use to describe the words we use to actually sell your offer. Everything from your domino belief to discrediting the alternatives, addressing objections, and providing value all make up your messaging. It's actually your messaging that sets up the sale. And most... don't have a clue how to do this.
Most struggling entrepreneurs still think that if you just do a webinar and share a bunch of cool stuff for free, people will automatically throw money at you. I hope that sentiment dies out soon, because it's causing too much disappointment and heartbreak among coaches and entrepreneurs.
Your messaging needs to always, 100% of the time, do one of these two things:
a) build more demand and desire for your offer
or b) remove resistance to the sale.
If you're just "teaching stuff" without doing A or B... you won't make sales.
But... both "Bad messaging" and "Bad Offer" stem from this one thing I see:
BAD COPY.
In today's AI slop world, I'm seeing the Art of Great Direct Response Copy slowly fading into the distance. It's almost becoming a lost art. And it makes sense. No one wants to learn it. They definitely don't want to invest in learning it. And now, people just say, "Hey Chad G Tee, write my copy for me."
And I'm seeing it clear as day: bad copy. Copy that isn't even copy. It's just confusing, broad, ambiguous throat clearing.
Yet the irony is apparent: with more competition and content than ever before, using words to cut through the noise is more important now more than ever. If you MASTER the use of WORDS, you will WIN this game.
So, I'm going to help you! The following is a simple little exercise I gave our challenge participants over the weekend, and I saw an instant and massive increase in their headline copy from doing this simple trick.
In fact, here is one headline that a student wrote in a few seconds that was 10x better than her first one. No prior training. No 1,000 hours of copywriting. She followed my exercise. Check out her new headline:
Now, as you read this, imagine you are a Wedding Photographer struggling to get clients:
That's her first take. And sure, I have some notes. But she did that on her own. No formula. No "copy+paste" from AI. That was ALL HER.
Here's the exercise. BUT... I'm gonna warn you: as simple as it is, you're not gonna want to do it.
Do it anyway.
Don't fight it. Just have fun. Here it is:
======
Step 1: Rewrite all of your Landing Page copy like you are the SLEAZIEST, HYPY-EST Used Car Salesman/Snakeoil Salesman. Just go nuts.
Step 2: Go back and review it. Now get UNCOMFORTABLY specific with all of your language. Highest Level of SPECIFICITY possible.
Step 3: Then... review a third time, but ADD any unique qualifiers that differentiate your work. Use Time, a Number, a Specific Example, or Curiosity.
But please... for the love of the Marketing Gods, stop pulling your punches. Broad is boring. And boring is the Cardinal Sin of Marketing.
Creating/writing something that makes the WORLD STOP.
=====
That's your lil' assignment this week. Try it. Then... go back and REPEAT the three steps AGAIN on that same copy. Watch how much it improves your work. You'll see.
NOTE: Now, I did give my warning that most people won't want to do this assignment, and it's obvious why, right? Because you're not sleazy.
Here's the thing: people that aren't sleazy... can't be sleazy, but what you tend to do is water down your messaging and create weak language.
So... this is not an exercise in being sleazy or manipulative. It's an exercise in pushing yourself to be bolder, stronger, and more in your power when you write, because the reality is, it's ten times easier to tone something down than to crank it up.
So, give it a shot and let me know on IG that it helped!
Here's to not just writing GREAT COPY... but using those Copy Skills to create Million Dollar Messaging and Irresistible Offers!
Here's to building that DREAM BUSINESS and helping more people!
And here's to having fun along the way!
Have a great week!
Cheers,
James Wedmore
