What ‘Foggy Messaging’ Looks Like on a Real Website

You know that feeling when someone asks you what you do, and suddenly you’re using three sentences to explain something that should take ten seconds? And then you see their eyes glaze over a little bit, and you think, “Yeah, I lost them.”

That’s what foggy messaging feels like. Not everywhere, but somewhere in the middle of describing your business. There’s a moment where the clarity just dissolves.

And if that’s happening in a conversation with someone who’s genuinely interested in talking to you, imagine what’s happening on your website, where a stranger has approximately 8 seconds to understand who you are and whether you’re worth their time.

I see this constantly. A woman knows exactly what she does. She’s been doing it for years. She’s excellent at it. But when it comes time to write it down on her website, something shifts. The words get soft. The specificity disappears. Suddenly she’s using industry jargon that sounds smart but means nothing to the actual people she helps.

And here’s the thing that makes me want to pull my hair out a little, in the gentlest way possible: she’s doing this to herself. Not because she’s not smart enough to articulate her own business, but because somewhere along the way, she got the idea that her business needed to sound bigger, broader, or more impressive than it actually is.

So instead of saying, “I help executive coaches figure out their pricing,” she says, “I provide strategic business optimization solutions for emerging thought leaders.”

Nobody knows what she does anymore.

Why Foggy Messaging Happens (And It’s Not Because You’re Bad at This)

Let me tell you what I think is really going on.

Many women I talk to have been quietly growing and evolving in their business for years. They started out doing one thing. Then they got really good at it. Then they added something related. Then a client asked them to do something slightly different, and they realized they were good at that too. So now they offer four things, or six things, or sometimes they’re not entirely sure how to count them anymore.

And instead of choosing, they try to make one message that covers all of it.

Foggy messaging is often a symptom of indecision. Not indecision about whether you’re good at what you do, but indecision about which part of what you do matters most to the people you want to help.

Here’s another thing I notice: a lot of solopreneurs assume that the bigger and broader their message is, the more opportunities they’ll create. If they say they work with “everyone,” surely they’ll attract more business than if they say they work with, say, “newly divorced women over 45 who are building a business for the first time.”

The opposite is true. Completely opposite.

When your messaging is foggy, nobody thinks you’re versatile. They think you’re confused. And confused doesn’t feel safe to hire.

What Foggy Messaging Actually Looks Like (In Real Time)

Let me walk you through what I see when I land on a website with a foggy message. Because the tricky part is, foggy messaging doesn’t always look bad. Sometimes it looks professional. Sometimes it’s grammatically perfect. And that’s what makes it dangerous.

The Hero’s Journey tagline. You know the ones. “Empowering women to unlock their limitless potential and step into their authentic power.” It sounds beautiful. It’s meaningless. Nobody landing on that website knows what you actually do with your hands. Do you do coaching? Teaching? Consulting? Therapy? All of the above? The visitor has no idea, and they’re already looking at the next browser tab.

The symptom-solving headline. This one looks like: “Are You Feeling Stuck? Overwhelmed? Ready for Change?” Yes, congrats, if you’re on the internet looking for help, at least one of those things is probably true. This doesn’t tell me why you’re the right person to help me. It tells me you understand that problems exist. That’s basic empathy, not expertise.

The jargon jacket. A lot of accomplished women put on their business school vocabulary when they should be using their human vocabulary. “Leveraging synergies to drive stakeholder alignment and maximize ROI” sounds impressive until you realize it could mean literally anything. I once had a client whose site said she offered “holistic transformation pathways.” When I asked her to translate that, she said, “I teach people how to start a business.” THAT. That’s the message. Not “transformation pathways.”

The feature dump. “I offer one-on-one coaching, group workshops, online courses, corporate training, keynote speaking, and private consulting.” Okay, that’s true. But it’s also a great way to make someone feel like you don’t have a specialty, or that your specialty is “saying yes to everything.” It feels reactive, not strategic. It feels like you’re trying to capture every possible dollar instead of being genuinely useful to one specific type of person.

The about me that’s about everyone else. “With over 20 years of experience working with hundreds of clients from diverse backgrounds and industries, I’ve helped countless people achieve their goals.” Fantastic. You’re experienced. But what did you actually help them do? What’s different about their lives now? That matters way more than the word “countless.”

Why This Matters to Your Website (And to You)

Here’s what foggy messaging does to a visitor, and I want you to really feel this:

Someone lands on your site. They’re actually interested. They might be a perfect fit for what you do. But within 15 seconds, they can’t quite figure out if you’re the person for them. And their brain, which is lazy and efficient and practical, doesn’t want to work that hard. So instead of clicking around, trying to decipher your value proposition, they just leave.

You never know they were there. They never know what they missed. And you go on wondering why your website isn’t generating leads.

Foggy messaging isn’t just an opportunity for better copywriting. It’s a direct hit to your bottom line.

But here’s what matters even more: foggy messaging makes you feel foggy about yourself. When you can’t articulate clearly what you do, you start second-guessing whether you should be charging for it. You start thinking you should add more services, or drop your prices, or work with anyone who will say yes, because you haven’t made a clear case for your own value.

Clear messaging is grounding. It’s permission to take up space. When you know exactly who you help and what changes in their life because of you, suddenly you feel like an expert again. You feel like the real deal.

And that feeling is one of the best things that can happen on your website.

The Opportunity: From Foggy to Clear

Getting clear on your message doesn’t mean getting smaller. It means getting honest.

First: pick one person. I don’t mean limit yourself to only working with that person forever. I mean, right now, on your website, imagine one specific human you help. She doesn’t have to be the only person you ever work with, but she’s your primary. Everything on your site speaks to her. This makes everything else easier.

Second: name what changes. Not what you do (that’s boring), but what’s different in their life or business after they work with you. Maybe they went from feeling like a fraud to feeling like a legitimate expert. Maybe they went from saying “I want to start a business” to actually launching one. Maybe they went from doing too many things to having a focused direction. Be specific.

Third: use your own words. I’m not asking you to be unprofessional. I’m asking you to sound like yourself. If you’re sitting across from a potential client in a coffee shop, how do you talk about what you do? That’s the voice that should be on your website. Not the voice from a business book you read in 2015.

Fourth: if you offer multiple things, make one the hero. You might be a coach, a teacher, and a consultant. But right now, on this website, which one is front and center? What’s the thing people hire you for first? Lead with that. Everything else can live somewhere less prominent.

The beautiful part about clear messaging is that it’s not about being dishonest or limiting yourself. It’s about recognizing that your website has one job: to help the right person understand that you might be the right person for them. Everything else can happen in a conversation.

How to Spot Foggy Messaging in Your Own Site

Read your homepage headline out loud. If you can’t say it naturally, without it feeling like marketing-speak, that’s a sign it needs work.

Look at your services section. If each one is described in language that could apply to a therapist, a coach, a consultant, and a teacher, they’re probably too vague.

Ask a friend to read your about section and tell you, in one sentence, what you do. If they can’t do it, you’ve got foggy messaging.

The good news? This is totally fixable. And the fixing is actually clarifying, which means you get to think about your own business more clearly. It’s like your website becomes a mirror for you to see your own expertise more sharply.

I work with a lot of women on exactly this, and I make it easy. But even if you don’t work with me, you can start this work today. Just pick one sentence. “I help [specific person] do [specific thing].” That’s your foundation. Build from there.

One More Thing: You’re Not Too Late to Fix This

If your website has been fuzzy for two years, or five years, or longer, you might be feeling a little embarrassed. Like, “How did I let it get this bad?” Here’s the truth I want you to hear: the fact that you’re noticing now means you’re ready now. That’s perfect timing.

You’ve grown. Your business has grown. Your understanding of who you help and what matters to them has gotten clearer. Your website just didn’t grow along with you. But it can. And when it does, you’ll feel like you finally look the part.

That feeling is relief.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between foggy messaging and being versatile?

Versatility is when you can do many things well and you’re transparent about when you’d recommend each one. Foggy messaging is when you try to make one message sound like it covers everything, so it ends up covering nothing clearly. A versatile business owner might say, “I work with coaches on pricing strategy, and I also work with service providers on their business structure. Here’s the difference and when each makes sense.” Foggy would be, “I help entrepreneurs optimize their business through strategic alignment.” See the difference?

Should my website only talk to one type of client?

Your website should have one primary person it speaks to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work with others. Think of it like having a front door and a side entrance. Your homepage speaks to your ideal client clearly. But inside, there’s room for other types of work you do. Many of my clients serve multiple audiences, but their site leads with the one that’s most profitable or most aligned with their mission.

How do I know if my messaging is clear enough?

Read it out loud to someone who doesn’t know your industry. Can they explain back to you what you do and who you help? If yes, it’s clear. If they’re asking follow-up questions or looking confused, it’s foggy. You want someone to land on your site and think, “Oh, she helps people like me with exactly what I need.”

What if I genuinely do work with lots of different types of people?

Then you might be at a good moment to get clearer about who you most want to work with, or to split your message by service type or client type. Some of my clients have found that being very clear about one offering actually opens the door to more work in related areas, because it makes them look focused and expert. But having a website that tries to say “I work with everyone” usually means your website works for almost nobody.

If your website no longer feels like you, let’s talk about it – Book a Free Website Clarity Call with Beth →