How to Build Conviction in Your Messaging with Lucy Bedewi {podcast}

How to Build Conviction in Your Messaging So People Believe You

The Copy That Reads Fine and Sells Nothing

Conviction in your messaging is the thing almost nobody names when a website looks polished, the sales page checks every box, and the inquiries still trickle in at a pace that makes you want to throw your laptop into the pool. Most of us go hunting for the problem in the obvious places first, so we rewrite the headline, change the colors, buy another template, or ask ChatGPT to make it sound more professional. The words get cleaner and the results stay exactly where they were. Lucy Bedewi, the messaging strategist and copywriter behind My Write Hand Woman, sees this pattern constantly, and she told me her clients are rarely paying her just to write good words. They come to her because they feel like an imposter on their own website, or because they know they are playing small and attracting the wrong people.

Sounding Like You Is Only the Starting Point

When clients ask Lucy whether she can make their copy sound like them, her answer is usually no, which made me laugh out loud because I have never heard a copywriter say it so directly. If the goal were only to sound like you, she would hand you your phone, open voice memos, and tell you to start talking. What she is after is copy that sounds like you with a thousand times more confidence behind every sentence, so the person reading it believes you and decides to follow wherever you are going. That is a bigger deal than it sounds, because your current voice is shaped by your current beliefs about yourself, and most of us would agree that where we are today is not where we plan to end up. As someone trained in NLP, I have always believed our copy reveals a lot about our unconscious beliefs, and Lucy works with that same truth from the writing side of the table.

Fear Comes in More Than One Flavor

A lot of business advice says that whatever scares you is the thing you should move toward, and Lucy pushes back on that in a way I loved. Fear can mean an idea is too bold for this season, it can mean the idea sits a little left of what you actually want, and every once in a while it just means your mom still watches all of your stuff. Her process for finding conviction in your messaging involves asking a question, then asking why that matters, then asking again, and then telling you the answer is boring and asking how you would make it more fun. She keeps going till her client gets a little heated and blurts out the thing they have been holding back the whole time. In NLP we call that a pattern interrupt, and Lucy was doing it long before I told her it had a name.

The Compliment Trap

The part of our conversation that stuck with me most was Lucy saying that when people send her compliments about a new offer, she considers it a failure. A message like “what a cool offer” feels lovely in the moment, but it tells you the offer is interesting rather than valuable, and interesting does not pay the rent. So she responds with curiosity and asks what would make it feel specifically helpful for them, which is usually where the real answer shows up, often something about price or timing. She compared ignoring that feedback to dating a guy who says he is not looking for anything serious while you assume he will change his mind because you are cool, and your clients are not going to change their minds either. Building conviction in your messaging means hearing what people tell you, including what they leave out, and letting it sharpen the message.

Say It So Often People Beg You to Stop

Creative people love to create, which is exactly why repeating the same sentence a hundred times in a month feels physically painful to most of us. Lucy told me she would love for someone to screenshot her story and beg her to stop saying a phrase, because that would mean she hit the marketing jackpot. Conviction in your messaging grows through repetition, and her rule of thumb is to commit to a message for about 30 days and tweak it if nobody is moving by then. She means really testing it, which for a solopreneur might look like reaching out to seven potential clients a day with the new positioning instead of posting seven times a day across every platform. Saves, shares, purchases, and people offering to put it in front of their own communities count as real signals, while likes and comments get set aside for a minute.

A Carnival, a Moon Bounce, and Three Repositions

Lucy is living all of this right now with her event, the Proximity Marketplace, happening November 12 in Austin. She started out calling it a trade show, heard people picture polos and awkward booths, and repositioned it three times in three months till it landed as a business carnival that actually fits the fast-moving, playful entrepreneurs she wants in the room. That willingness to change the words while protecting the vision is a skill most of us could stand to borrow, and it is a big part of why I wanted you to hear her. We also talked about why specificity counts as boldness all on its own, and why Lucy would rather fail than do something medium for three years. If conviction in your messaging has felt just out of reach, this episode will give you a few good places to start looking.

FAQ

What does conviction in your messaging actually mean?
Conviction in your messaging is the space between what you put on the page and what the reader feels when they read it. When it is there, people believe you and want to follow you. When it is missing, your copy can be well written and still get scrolled right past.

How do I know if my brand messaging lacks conviction?
Look at what people actually do with it. If your messaging gets compliments but no sales, saves, shares, or inquiries, it is probably interesting without feeling valuable. Feeling like an imposter on your own website is another strong sign.

How long should I test new messaging before changing it?
Lucy Bedewi suggests giving new messaging about 30 days of real, consistent effort before deciding it needs a tweak. That means getting it in front of plenty of people, through posts, community groups, or direct outreach to potential clients. If nobody is moving after a month of real testing, change something.

Do I need controversial content to get attention on social media?
No. Hooks need to be specific and intriguing, but they do not need to be inflammatory, and rage-bait can push away the exact clients you want. Be controversial only about beliefs you would truly stand behind, and remember that being specific is already bold.

Can AI write my brand messaging for me?
AI can help you build content quickly, but if you feed it a watered-down idea, you get a whole marketing ecosystem built on something people will scroll past. Start with what you actually believe, and get an outside perspective from a real person, whether that is a coach, a messaging strategist, or your own clients.

What is the Proximity Marketplace?
The Proximity Marketplace is a business event created by Lucy Bedewi, happening November 12, 2026 in Austin, Texas. It is set up like a business carnival, with games and a moon bounce alongside tables of experts giving personalized advice, plus intentional matchmaking between attendees and table holders. It is built for growing creative entrepreneurs, service providers, and coaches who want to connect and collaborate instead of sitting through speakers all day.