Throughout my 20s I always wanted more – more to do, more to see, more to experience. 

Now, well into my 30s, I still want a rich life, but I also want something new, something that’s been quietly creeping up my priority list for some time: simplicity.

Simplicity means different things for different people. For me, it’s about reducing the noise, which makes more room for the good stuff. Less social media, more room to think. Fewer commitments to everyone and everything, more quality time with the important people.

For our clients, simplicity means clear messages, thoughtful language, and prioritising a lean, emotive story over complex tactics to sell a service. It means removing jargon, tangents, and anything else that distracts from their simple truth: we can help you.

Here are three ways we help clients keep their message simple, and why their audience thanks us for it:

1. We are never too clever

Anyone who’s worked with us knows that we are big believers in Donald Miller’s Building a Storybrand, in which he famously states that “if you confuse, you lose.”

That idea is the core mechanism of his work. The human brain is built to conserve energy, and it will tune out or abandon anything that takes noticeable effort to understand, and rightly so. Most of us are constantly jumping between WhatsApp messages, Zoom meetings, Ring doorbell alerts and a never-ending inbox. 

When we do find precious time to visit your website, the least you can do is make it quick and easy to understand.

We call that “reducing the cognitive load,” which means challenging clever wordplay and jargon, or pages with too many ideas, all of which cost the reader energy.

So, as much as you may think a strapline is brilliant, trust us when we tell you why it has to stay on the cutting room floor. 

Because it’s always the firm that’s easiest to understand, not the one with the most creative ideas, that wins the hearts of customers.

2. We make you impossible to ignore

Your ideal client has landed on your homepage, they know exactly what they need, and yet they can’t find it. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist – it may be buried elsewhere on your website – but that doesn’t matter. Without hesitation, they’re on to the next firm.

This has probably happened to you in the past (it may be happening right now). If it has, it’s because you failed to immediately give your audience the answers they’re looking for. 

They want to know what you offer, how it will make their life better, and what they need to do to have it. They don’t want to read that your firm was established in the 1800s (not on the homepage, anyway), and they certainly don’t want to read ‘we, we, we’ (more on that next). 

If a visitor has to think, scroll, or interpret to get those answers, most will simply leave rather than do the work. 

Simplicity isn’t a style preference, it’s the difference between being understood at all and being ignored.

3. We focus on one clear message

It’s tempting to want to explain the full range of your services or expertise upfront, but we urge you to focus on a single problem you solve best. 

The deep dive into your offerings and tenure does have a place on your website, just not front and centre. If people care about the details, they’ll seek them out, if they don’t, why force it down their throats?

Simplifying the path removes that friction point entirely.

If you’re still unsure, ask yourself which of the following statements is more likely to hook you?

• “We help you feel financially secure, so you can focus on what really matters…”
• (Deep breath) “With over 100 years of experience in investment management, retirement planning, Inheritance Tax advice, and estate planning, we bring a unique perspective to financial planning, and are highly skilled at helping you…”

One is simple, emotive, and engaging. The other is someone talking at you about all the things they think you want to hear. Every extra piece of information is a jumping off point for bored or time-poor clients.

One puts your client and their priorities front and centre, and offers an immediate way to help them meet those needs. The other focuses on listing the firm’s accolades, and fails to even address the reader’s challenges, let alone help solve them.

I know which one I’d rather work with.

____

If you’re still reading this:

a) The need for simplicity has resonated with you 

b) I’ve kept this blog simple and engaging enough to hold your attention

One thing that’s worth pointing out at this stage is that simplicity isn’t about dumbing the message down, quite the opposite in fact. 

It’s about respecting how little effort a distracted person is willing to spend to understand you. Simply put (ha!) it’s about doing everything in your power to give them what they need when they need it.

Contact us

If you’re struggling to simplify your message or hold your clients’ attention, we can help you change that. 

Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300 to find out how we can help.