GNT #152: Your message is the manifestation of strategy

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read time: 2 minutes

Have you ever found yourself rewriting the same sentence over and over?

An email.
A homepage headline.
An About page paragraph.
A LinkedIn post you almost publish, then don’t.

It's frustrating. You change a few words. Then a few more. Then you scrap it entirely and promise yourself you’ll “come back to it later.”

Most people assume this is a messaging problem.

I don’t.

I think it’s usually a strategy problem.

In today’s newsletter, we’ll reset the order of operations.

We’ll look at what strategy actually is, why words feel heavy when decisions aren’t made yet, and how a few clear choices make writing, content, and growth feel lighter.

Let's get to it.
 

Before we talk about words, content, or reach...

We need to be clear about something simple:

Strategy is not language.

Strategy is a set of decisions.

Decisions like:

• Who this is for
• What problem matters most right now
• What you are not trying to do
• What you’re willing to be known for

Those decisions create constraints.

And constraints are what make words easier, not harder.

When strategy is decided, messaging becomes execution

You’re not asking, “Which version sounds best?”

You’re asking, “Which version reflects the decision I already made?”

That’s a very different experience.

But when strategy hasn’t been decided yet, words carry too much weight.

Every sentence feels risky. Every post feels loaded. Everything starts to feel like it needs to do all the work at once.

That’s when people start wordsmithing.

What strategy first actually looks like

This doesn’t require a 40-page doc or a brand sprint.

It requires making a few decisions explicit before you write anything.

Here’s a simple way to pressure-test it:

Before you create content, answer these questions in plain language:

1. Who is this for, specifically?
   (For example: a solo founder doing their own marketing, not a VC-backed team with a growth department.)

2. What problem am I prioritizing right now?
   (Even if you solve many, which one leads?)

3. What am I intentionally leaving out?
   (For example: choosing not to speak to beginners this time, even if it limits reach.)

4. What do I want to be known for after someone reads this?
   (Clarity beats cleverness here.)

If you can answer these, writing gets lighter.

If you can’t, no amount of editing will fix it.

The takeaway

Your message, your content, and your reach are not the starting point.

They are the result.

When you decide your strategy first, your words stop carrying so much pressure.

They simply do their job.

And if you find yourself stuck rewriting the same sentence again and again, that’s not a failure.

It’s feedback.

Pause. Make the decision. Then write.

I'm always rooting for you. See you next week.

-Colleen

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