A few months ago, I came up with the CORE Approach to online communications. The idea behind it is to help you make your content more appealing to your target audience.

However, I realised that when I work with clients, there’s a bit more to my process than just how write better copy. The CORE is only one part of it, and it comes in in the middle.

After attending Susanna Reay’s workshop on using frameworks to build authority, I have mapped out the ‘Define Your Difference Framework.’ This is the entire process I take clients through.

I think that too many business owners struggle to communicate well online because they think they need to sound formal and professional. They don’t know how to sound like themselves, or they don’t feel brave enough to talk abut what matters to them.

And the unfortunate result is that they end up sounding generic. There’s not much to differentiate them from all the other people offering similar services, so they’re not getting noticed by their ideal customers.

The digital space is noisy enough, but now people are also using ChatGPT to write their content, and it’s making it harder to stand out. I understand that people think it saves them time, but you have to invest a lot of time to make the output sound like you.

And because it’s a computer programme, it can’t do nuance or apply context to the stories it’s telling for people. ChatGPT regurgitates the existing copy it finds online, so it’s not helping users to create unique content.

How the Define Your Difference Framework Works

When I take my clients through the Define Your Difference Framework, we look at where they are now. What are they putting out in terms of blogs and other online content, and does it align with their brand tone of voice?

Then, we discuss what makes them different – their USP (unique selling point). If it’s not something they can easily articulate, I’ll take them through my Find Your USP process.

It’s a short but impactful session that digs into what really matters and the circumstances that have got them to where they are today. We can also look at their mission, vision and values, which underpin their USP.

From there, we look at what their ideal customers want to hear about, and we come up with as many ideas for content as we can. That includes blogs, social media posts, newsletters and any other content they want to create.

And then we apply the CORE Approach to their content. I can write it for them, or they can write it with me as a sounding board and guide. Or we can do both, and as they get more confident they know they can do it all themselves.

The outcome is a clear plan for blogs, newsletters and social media that will attract better-fit clients faster. And more importantly, the confidence to stop being generic, sound like themselves and stand out.