Why Strategic Language Is Your Small Business’s Secret Growth Tool

If you’re a small business owner, coach, or entrepreneur, your ability to communicate strategically can be the difference between struggling to get clients and running a thriving business. It’s not just what you offer, or what you say about it—it’s how you say it. That’s why writing your marketing copy strategically can make all the difference.

In this conversation, Executive Coach and communication expert Cami McLaren and strategic writing expert and educator Erin Lebacqz. discuss the ways strategic writing can benefit your small business marketing and drive growth.

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EL: Cami, in today’s crowded digital world, strategic language helps your email marketing, social media posts, and website copy stand out, connect, and convert. How does this reality impact the coaches and other small business owners you work with?

CM: Erin, a coach or other business owner can have the best service in the industry, and be a great communicator, but if their words don’t grab attention and inspire action, their audience will scroll right past them. That’s why strategic communication and intentional writing are so important.

EL: When do you think it’s most crucial that entrepreneurs and others make their writing strategic?

CM: It’s always important, but it’s especially crucial at the beginning because if you don’t enroll clients, you’re not even getting to the next step.

That’s why coaches and small business owners can benefit from making their email marketing, web copy, and social media posts work as magnets for getting people interested.

EL: Agreed. This has me thinking about the statement “Your words are your brand.” Do you think this is true in coaching and managing a small business?

CM: Definitely. In the online marketplace especially, your words are your first impression. Before a client books a call, they “meet” your business through email subject lines, social media captions, and website headlines.

EL: Yes, I think people who visit someone’s website, or read their socials, get a sense of who that person is—and maybe even what their business is like. It’s back to that idea about how important first impressions are.

When a website is written in a way that builds trust, for example, it sets a tone for how a client feels about the business itself. For example, I remember recently choosing a health practitioner specifically because I got a sense of her authenticity through her website’s “About” page.

CM: Great example. Strategic language ensures those first moments create trust, reflect your expertise, and position you as the clear choice in your field. It’s also important since everyone receives so many communications these days—sales, marketing, offers, and more. It’s hard to make your own message cut through the noise to get noticed, read, and responded to.

EL: Agreed. In a world where your audience is bombarded with hundreds of messages a day, strategic writing helps you rise above the noise.

It helps to use language that:

• Speaks directly to your client’s needs and goals

• Feels fresh and personal, not generic

• Moves readers toward the next step without feeling pushy

Basically, when your words resonate, your audience stops scrolling—and starts engaging.

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Thanks for reading! The second half of this article will be published in October on the McLaren Coaching blog. (We'll send a link in the October 2025 newsletter!)

If you're a small business owner and want to make your marketing and outreach more impactful, try the strategic writing practices shared in our new eCourse Writing to Get Clients.