There’s a piece of copywriting advice that’s been floating around forever:

Clarity is king.

And don’t get me wrong, it’s still good advice. Clear copy outperforms clever copy almost every time, and there’s still plenty of copy out there that’s confusing, vague, and making nobody any money.

But in this day and age? Clear is the floor, the bare minimum needed for copy.

In a world where AI can churn out clear copy in seconds and seen-it-a-thousand-times templates exist for every offer under the sun, clarity alone isn’t enough to make you stand out.

So with that in mind, here are three ways to level up your copy beyond just “making it clear”:

1) Specificity

Think of specificity as clarity’s hardworking cousin. Being clear about what your offer is and who it’s for is a good (and essential) start. But it’s specificity that really gives your readers something to dig their teeth into, and something they can see themselves in.

Take this ⤵:

“I help women find their confidence and step into their power in the workplace.”

Versus ⤵:

“I help mid-career women who’ve spent years saying yes to everyone else finally negotiate the salary, boundaries, and career path they actually want.”

Or take this ⤵:

“Grow your business with better systems and streamlined workflows.”

Versus ⤵:

“Finally get out of the day-to-day weeds, stop dropping balls, and build a business that doesn’t fall apart the moment you take a weekend off.”

2) Audience language

If there’s one single thing I want you – nay, I beg of you – to do before you sit down to write copy, it’s this.

Talk. To. Your. Audience.

Because writing copy is, ultimately, an educated guessing game. And the best way to improve your odds is to make sure you’re not just describing your offer clearly. You’re also describing it in the language your audience actually uses.

(So you’re hitting the pain points that actually move them. The hesitations keeping them stuck. And the outcomes they truly care about.)

So: talk to your people. Read their reviews, their DMs, their replies to your emails. Ask them via a survey or an interview how they’d describe the problem in their own words. Then borrow liberally (with love).

3) Personality

Quick clarification: when I say personality, I don’t mean be the loudest person in the room. Or, er, in your copy.

There’s no need to show up on your website in a red dress with a snake around your neck. (A real example I came across recently, in case you were wondering. Though if that is you, you do you boo!)

What I really mean is to stop burying yourself.

I often come across business owners who are excellent at what they do, with real stories and perspective and expertise and reasons someone should choose them… yet none of that is yet none of that is coming through in their copy.

In 2026, this makes a difference.

Sure, people hire based on samples and results. But they also hire based on connection and who they believe you to be as a person. And they can’t do that if you yourself aren’t coming through in your copy :-)

After all, at nearly every Quick Copy Clinic I’ve run over the last year, the most common feedback I've given is some variation of:

“This sounds alright, but it *also* sounds like it could have been written by literally anyone else in your industry.”

The problem is that, in the sea of sameness that is online business today, the most differentiated thing you have is yourself.

Which means that whatever it is that makes you you – your opinions, your stories, your unique way of seeing the world – needs to be there.

~~~

A tall order for your copy? Maybe a little.

And does it require more than “just running it through ChatGPT”? You betcha.

The good news is, I have an upcoming Quick Copy Clinic that can help.

Bring a piece of copy you’d like a second set of eyes on, and I’ll give you some personalized feedback on strengthening it for all of the above. (And yes, clarity is totally still fair game!)

Homepages, service pages, sales/landing pages, emails, and more are welcome.

Tickets are just 9 bucks, only 3 left for June. And no, you don’t have to be there live to get your copy reviewed.

~Nicole

Nicole Elliott Human-First Conversion Copy & Messaging Strategy Non-salesy sales copy that sells w/out the sleaze   hello@nicoleelliott.co www.nicoleelliott.co