Show notes
I was halfway through writing an article about generic website copy when something uncomfortable occurred to me. I should probably check my own website.
My headline at the time read: "Helping You and Your Users Succeed."
On the face of it, that doesn't sound terrible. It's positive, it's benefit-focused, and it sounds like exactly the kind of thing a UX consultant should say. The problem is that it also sounds like exactly the kind of thing every other UX consultant says. And their accountant. And possibly even their office cleaner!
Generic copy is one of the most common problems I encounter doing conversion rate optimization work, and like a doctor who ignores their own symptoms, I had been sitting on a headline that failed every test I apply to client websites. So let's talk about how to spot problems and how to fix them.
Three Questions That Will Expose Weak Copy
When I'm reviewing website copy with clients, I use 3 simple questions to find out whether a value proposition is doing any real work.
Could this statement apply to other products or services?
A value proposition should be specific enough that it only makes sense in your context. “Help you and your users succeed” could work just as well on a SaaS website or on the site of a user researcher. If it can work on a different kind of website, it isn't a proposition at all. It's just a sentence.
Could a competitor make this claim?
If your direct competitors could copy-paste your headline and it would work just as well for them, it isn't differentiating you. It's just noise.
Would the opposite statement be ridiculous?
This is my favorite test, because it exposes just how empty a claim can be. If no company would ever say "We're helping your users fail" or "We provide terrible customer service," then the positive version isn't telling anyone anything. You're essentially saying "We are not actively terrible," which is not much of a selling point.
Apply those 3 questions to my old headline. "Helping You and Your Users Succeed."
Could it apply to other services? Absolutely. A web developer, a copywriter, and a business coach could all put it on their homepage without anyone raising an eyebrow.
Could competitors claim it? Every UX consultant on the planet already does.
Would the opposite be valid? No company would ever say "Helping You and Your Users Fail," which means the positive version communicates precisely nothing.
It fails all 3 tests, which was enough to make me start over.
Being Specific Is Harder Than It Sounds
The fix sounds simple. Just be more specific. But that's where most people get stuck, because specificity requires you to actually commit to a position. Vague copy is often a symptom of vague thinking about what you offer and why it matters, and confronting that is a bit uncomfortable.
In my case, getting specific meant being honest about what I actually do and why it's different. I work across 3 disciplines that most consultants treat as entirely separate.
Conversion rate optimization is about improving customer acquisition.
UX strategy is about improving retention once customers arrive.
Design leadership is about getting the organizational buy-in to implement changes at all.
Most consultants offer one of those. I work across all three.
That led to a new headline: "Your Digital Funnel Leaks in 3 Ways. I Fix Them All."
It passes the first 2 tests cleanly. It couldn't apply to a web developer or a copywriter, and a pure CRO specialist or a pure UX designer couldn't honestly claim it.
The third test is more nuanced. If you literally flip it, "Your digital funnel works perfectly, and I'll make it worse" is clearly absurd. But a specialist could legitimately say "Your funnel leaks in one place, and that's what I fix," which is a valid positioning rather than a ridiculous one.
That's worth being aware of: the third test is good at catching empty aspirational claims, but specific copy can still be outflanked by variations rather than direct opposites. The real differentiating work happens in tests 1 and 2.
Back Up Your Claims With Evidence
Specificity is a strong start, but evidence makes claims even harder to ignore. The more proof you can attach to a statement, the more credible it becomes.
"We provide great customer service" is vague. "Our clients rate us 4.9 out of 5 for responsiveness" is specific and verifiable. "We're experienced professionals" is empty. "We've delivered over 200 UX audits for organizations ranging from NHS trusts to e-commerce startups" gives the reader something real to hold onto.
I won't pretend I always have perfect statistics to hand. Often I don't, and in those cases I try to ground claims in specific outcomes or named examples rather than numbers. But any evidence is better than a confident assertion with nothing behind it.
Try This on Your Own Homepage
Pull up your website's homepage right now and read your headline and opening paragraph. Then apply those 3 questions. If your copy could live comfortably on a competitor's site, or would work equally well for a plumber and a UX consultant, it's time to be more specific about what you actually do and who you actually do it for.
The good news is that this doesn't have to take as long as you might expect, especially if you work alongside an AI tool. Give it the 3 questions from this newsletter, tell it what you actually do and who you do it for, and ask it to generate a dozen variations. It will produce far more options than you'd come up with alone, and far faster. Your job then is to apply the tests and pick the one that passes. The thinking is yours. The writing of dozens of variations doesn't have to be.