Better Brave: Your Podcasting Mentor

153: Unlocking Effective Copywriting and Branding with Mechi Mansilla

• Candace Dudley • Season 1 • Episode 153

Share episode

In this episode of the Better Brave podcast, I sit down with Mechi Mansilla, a seasoned copywriter, marketing strategist, and email marketing specialist with over 8 years of experience. Mechi has worked with industry-leading brands like Train with Joan, Shapermint, Krissy Cela, Michelle MacDonald, and Fiverr, contributing to over $100M in client revenue. She also hosts the podcast Acta Non Verba, where she shares actionable insights on marketing, freelancing, and entrepreneurship.

Key Points Discussed:

  • Defining Copywriting and its Role in Marketing
  • Steps to Identify and Cultivate Your Brand Voice
  • Website Essentials for Business Credibility
  • Optimizing Social Media Impact
  • Enhancing Conversion Rates Through Website Strategies

About Mechi Mansilla: Mechi Mansilla is not just a marketing expert; she's also known for her energetic approach and creative insights. Her podcast, Acta Non Verba, serves as a platform where she empowers entrepreneurs with actionable advice on navigating the world of marketing and freelancing. Connect with Mechi and explore more of her work:

For a detailed CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) checklist mentioned in the episode, you can access it here.

Don’t miss out on Mechi’s expert advice and vibrant personality—tune in to this insightful episode!

👉 Grab your Podcast Guesting Bundle [HERE]

👉 Book your 1 on 1 call with me [HERE]

Support the show

Speaker 1:

Welcome back. I have a special guest, Mechi. She is a copywriter, marketing strategist, email marketing specialist and podcaster in her free time, and I'm really excited to get to pick your brain on all of these things. I had a great time being on your show in January, so I'm really excited for you to be here today.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for having me, candice. It's really great to see you again and I can't wait to delve into copywriting zero and all those things that we were talking off camera.

Speaker 1:

Yes, start by just giving the audience a quick introduction about yourself and what you do and who you help.

Speaker 2:

My name is Meche Masia. I am the founder of a boutique agency aka small agency that helps businesses grow with fractional CMO services, final strategies, copywriting and ghostwriting. I have more than eight years of experience working with brands in the business coaching area, fitness, wellness, e-commerce and personal development industries, and I've helped them generate over a hundred million in revenue. Pretty much what I do. If I had to say it in a nutshell, it's just I take what most businesses are missing, which is a weak messaging or broken funnel or non-existent funnel, and turn them into strategies that actually sell.

Speaker 1:

Nice, yes, I can't wait to talk more about this. Can you help us understand a little bit the word copywriter and just copy in general? I feel like it gets confused and we automatically think like authors and people writing books and that's not what it all covers. So can you just kind of dive in on that topic a little bit?

Speaker 2:

For sure. Copywriting is such a bro term and I get why people maybe they get confused because copywriting is a bro topic. Everything you see from let's say this, for example, this was written by a copywriter. I hope so Should have was written by a copywriter. I hope so Should have been written by a copywriter. So everything you see in the packaging of any product that's copy. Anything you see on a website that's copy. Everything you hear in an ad that's copy. Everything that you read in an email, that's copy. And everything you read on social media, it's copy. And even when it comes to podcasting, let's say that you're introducing someone and you are a big podcast producer, usually you have a copywriter write your scripts. So pretty much everything that you read or read aloud that would be copied Nice.

Speaker 1:

So how can people right away improve their copy? Do you have some tips, whether it's with their website, blog, podcast, show notes, is there any tips you have that just will help people improve their copy right away?

Speaker 2:

Oh, yeah, for sure. I have like a mnemotechnic kind of help, which is the three C's. So your copy needs to be clear, needs to be concise and needs to be consistent. When it comes to clear, it means having a clear messaging.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes some brands, some people, have a messaging that is just not clear. You don't understand what their UBP, so their unique value or selling proposition, is, and when they're trying to pitch their business or the product, they cannot explain it to a 30-year-old, or nobody understands what they do, or they're just like offering so many things that it is so unclear nobody really knows actually what you do. So that's one thing, clear messaging, then concise. We all know nobody likes to read a lot, so we're all used to short form content. That is where that would come in. So keep it concise, keep it short, nothing fancy and then concise. That would be for the branding.

Speaker 2:

Now I work a lot with retention and acquisition. So retention would be like you're nurturing your clients and acquisition would be like running ads, getting new clients, cold outreach, that kind of thing. So the problem when you're combining those two is marrying them in a way that makes sense for your brand. So if the messaging is not consistent throughout all the platforms and you have your brand voice and you sound very different in one platform to another, which, of course, makes sense because not all platforms are the same.

Speaker 2:

I'm not going to speak the same way I speak to you, that I will do with TikTok, that I will do with LinkedIn, that I will do with LinkedIn or a client, but I do want to have my own branding and I do want it to be consistent. So it has to be consistent across all platforms, and especially when it comes to your website. So if you're writing website copy which is one of my favorite topics to write about, one of the things that spark me the most it has to be consistent, like your about page, has to sound exactly like your homepage and, of course, some pages will have more instances where you need to sound a little more persuasive. But, again, you don't have to lose your essence.

Speaker 1:

Talk a little bit more on the topic of branding, and just what can that look like? I think it's something that every business needs, every entrepreneur, solopreneur needs, but also it's sometimes a category where a lot of people feel like they don't know where to start or are unequipped to do that. Where can someone start if they can't hire it out just yet with their branding? What are some things to consider?

Speaker 2:

Well branding? I feel like it has many parts of it, but for the copy would be just trying to understand what your voice is. So how do you want to come across to your clients or your prospect and your target audience? Do you want to sound opinionated, do you want to sound like a professional? Do you want to sound authoritative or do you want to be more fun and approachable and maybe even edgy? It depends on the brand, and that is pretty much like the personality of your brand.

Speaker 2:

And then, of course, comes the rest of the things with the brand that should go hand in hand with the copy and the way that you speak to your audience. So that would be your designs, your fonts, your colors. If you come across as funny, approachable and nurturing and empathetic, then you're going to choose brighter colors and you're going to choose rounder elements for your website and your typography. So everything should come together. It's just not the copywriting. Branding is a thing that it just encompasses more than just the messaging, but it starts with the messaging, and that's what I always tell my clients and everyone who listens. First comes the copy, then comes the rest of your content, because everything will revolve around the message.

Speaker 1:

I like that. You mentioned website copy and I think everybody wants a website or they think they need one. How important is it to have a website first? And then also, if someone is trying to set one up, what are some of those main things that should be on a website? Let's say, because I think it's endless of what we could put on it, but what are some of those basic first things? It's like get this on your site.

Speaker 2:

I love that question. I know this. Starting out, it can be hard. Maybe you don't have the funds to do it, but if you can't afford a website and your service provider or you sell your products, you do need a website, because think of the website as your authority site. That's where people would go and try to find more information about you.

Speaker 2:

Let's say, candice, I want to know more about you. Of course I'm going to stalk your social. Maybe I find you through social media. But what's the next step? I'm going to go with you.

Speaker 2:

I will want to see your website to get a better understanding of what you do. What are the services that you provide? How do you help? Am I the right fit for you? Like, how much do you usually charge? Or do I need to jump on a call with you? What are clients saying and do you have any testimonials? What is it like working with you? How you know one, two, three, like how should I get started to work with you? What can I expect? All of those questions should be answered in a website, which is why I believe it's important to have it out there.

Speaker 2:

If you're only getting started, there's a few things and workarounds you can do? I mean, I know that Canva has an option that allows you to publish something that looks like a website, where you can input all the information and you can just publish it, or at least you have something to show, and then, of course, once you're ready, to launch your website, because that takes time. So for people who are like I want my website in like a week, I do not recommend that at all, because you need your branding Exactly, you need your copy, you need your anchoring. There's so much that goes into building a website that works for you and not against you, because otherwise you're just wasting money on a domain, on copywriters and a website builder and all of that, and it's just not conducive to your growth. And now you were mentioning like what does a website need? It really depends on the type of business that you have. So if you're like e-commerce or if you're a coach, that will really depend a lot on what you're doing.

Speaker 2:

I would say a homepage, which is your authority page. That needs to be short, punchy, like I just need to have a quick look at it Within the first three seconds. I do need to have a clear, an idea of what you do, who you help and how you do it. That would be like the first thing you see and in your homepage you could show really quickly the services that you do, a little bit of social proof. So you can add a few testimonials I wouldn't add more than three, to be honest, because you don't want to be, you don't want it to be overwhelmed with information, because you have other pages to do that and then just something about you like, maybe like a tiny bio.

Speaker 2:

And then, of course, you have your other pages, like you have your about, where you can talk a little bit about what you do and more depth, but not make it entirely about you, because I see some people make the mistake of like me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

Speaker 2:

It should be how can I help you? Yes, I can talk about me and I can show you that I am the person you want to work with, because I studied this and that or I work with this client. But I do want to talk to you and I do want to reach out to you and convince you not me to work with me, you know. And then a service page would be a good idea so you can go more into detail what the services are how it works, how to get started, a contact page and, of course, for SEO, blog, I would say that would be a really good outline for people. And then, of course, if they have a shop section, if they have resources or if they have anything that they're selling, they can put that in their resources page.

Speaker 1:

Okay, that's a great place. Someone could spend a month working on that, with just all of that information you just did. So that's perfect, thank you. Let's switch gears, then, to social media, because everybody is on social media and we feel like it's free. We got to be there and it can be a really great tool, but also can feel like maybe a time suck or overwhelming and another place that you have to wear, like another hat in your business. So let's talk about best practices for marketing strategies specific to social media.

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, I just got to be honest with you I hate social media. I'm only there because I know my business needs it, but because you get to meet people and myth read through threads.

Speaker 2:

But, I personally love TikTok. The only bad thing about TikTok is that it's geoligated, so it only shows my TikToks in Argentina, like there's a few works around that you could do it, but it's hard. But I would say, starting out, focus on one single platform. Don't try to be all over the place because, like again, if you're running your own business, then you're probably wearing way too many hats more than you can handle. So you don't have a big head. So, like you know, just keep it and try to think okay, where's my ideal target audience? Where are they hanging out? Because probably you're putting all your effort into growing Instagram, which is hard to grow really it is and probably they're hanging out in TikTok. They're probably hanging out in X or threats or LinkedIn. So, first of all, understand where they're at and put all your eggs in that basket. Now, don't put all the eggs in one basket. We know that. But what you can do and I think this is the best way to approach it, especially if you're alone and you're a solopreneur just to recycle the content. For example, this podcast is long form. It could be repurposed into short form content for other social medias and then it could also be repurposed into a blog post or a newsletter. You get the transcript and you can even ask ChatGPT to rework it for you, train it to have your voice and then just use it. But I would say, starting off, just don't be scared to go out there, because that's the first thing we'll go through Like, oh, I'm so scared of like doing this. And then, really, if you're going to spend time into you know, working your socials, I would say most of your time should be spent benchmarking and seeing what works in your niche and what goes viral and, like write down the hooks that are going viral. And it doesn't matter if it's not exactly the same industry Ideally it's not so that it's not an echo chamber and everyone's saying the same thing but you want to see what is working and you want to reverse engineer it.

Speaker 2:

I like writing ads and for writing ads you need the ad to go viral on its own, because it's not like because you're paying. It's just going to make you viral. It doesn't work like that. That means you're paying, it's pushing you just a little bit. But if the video doesn't have the value organically to go viral, your ad's not going to go viral and it's going to cost you money for nothing. One thing that I do with my clients is just reverse engineer. Let's say that you're a skincare brand, right, and I saw a video, an ad, that works super well in the fitness industry and it has an amazing hook, and I know that there's a way to use that same approach and then reverse engineer it to adapt it to my niche. So that's something you can do and you know that it's going to work. So that way you're not burning your money and just throwing it down the toilet.

Speaker 1:

Right, right that repurposing, not reinventing the wheel, like you said, take your content, rework it. I agree with you, like with the podcast, it's so easy to grab little bits out of there and make a post, to make a thread post and just spending your time where you enjoy it. I enjoy threads. That's about the only spot I enjoy right now. Go where you're enjoying yourself. You're going to show up more authentically maybe. Right, I know you also are really great with CRO conversion rate optimization. Hopefully I got that right. Just helping bring in your income and things like that and ignoring it can really leave a lot of money on the table. Talk about what that is, how people can utilize that.

Speaker 2:

I do have a checklist that I'm going to send you the link so you can put it in the show notes so people can have it. But I feel like the biggest thing you can do to really move the needle in your business is working your CRO, so trying to optimize the conversion rate, and that can be something super quick that you just do. I mean, you know what I mean. It's like the long hanging fruit that you're probably not paying attention to and when you look at the website you're like, oh, I know why people are not clicking, because probably people are visiting your website. You're like, oh, I know why people are not clicking, because probably people are visiting your website but they're not clicking. That's where CRO comes in. It's there to help you get people from lurkers into buyers. So that's pretty much what it is. A few tips that I would have for people who want to improve their conversion rate would be, first of all, the copy. Have a look at the copy. Is it clear? Do people understand what you're really selling? Is the value proposition worth it? The offer which comes up even before writing the copy. Is the offer compelling or is it a bad offer? Would you actually buy it? Do you believe in your offer. So those are the two main things that I would say pay attention to that.

Speaker 2:

And then, of course, you can play up a little more. You can see that in the checklist that I have. But, like, for example, the buttons, the corners around it, it gives more trust. The colors that you're using as well the design of the website is there air in your website in the sense, like you know, everything is together, or do you have some space between sections so it's easy to read? Is it mobile friendly? Like can I actually see your website and, you know, have a good experience.

Speaker 2:

So it's pretty much that improving the user experience, improving the copy and improving other psychological parts that you can use to drive sales. And of course, then you can go into much more detail and see heat maps and see where people are clicking and eye tracking methods to see where the people are reading, Because the reality is that they're not reading the entire website. Like one would think we're just scanning. So usually you're scanning like an F shape or like a zigzag, so you need to make sure that your website is optimized in that scanning. So usually you scan in like an F shape or like a zigzag, so you need to make sure that your website is optimized in that sense. So maybe you have like a photo here and a heading here, and then another photo here, another heading here and then a big banner, so like you're allowing people to scan and still, even if they're not reading the entire page, they're seeing what there is and they're getting a better sense of what you do.

Speaker 1:

You left us with so many things that I'm sure people can just literally go now and make improvements today if they wanted to Tell us what does it look like to work with you? What do you have coming up that people can look out for For sure?

Speaker 2:

I love working with retainers. I do work as a fractional CMO, which is you have your business. I mean, maybe you built it on your own and you got lucky, or you're just trying to grow it or take it to the next level, but you don't know what to do, what to launch next. Then I will come on as a CMO and be like, okay, this is what we have, we need to launch this, based on, of course, I'm going to run the first thing, and everyone should know this you don't start anything without researching a lot and you need to see what's working, what your people want, what they're asking for, because I don't want you spending money on something that is not going to sell. That's the first thing, and then that could be planning a launch, or that could be improving what you already have, so improving your offer, improving your website, improving your CRO, growing your email list, keeping them engaged so pretty much everything that a CMO does. So a chief marketing officer which is just strategizing and thinking of funnels, and then I also work, again talking about funnels.

Speaker 2:

I love building funnels. So maybe you have a launch coming or anything that you just want to do and like, okay, we can build this type of launch. So for this launch, I would start with an ad, and then a quiz or a BSL, or a landing page or a sales page, and then this email sequence of how many emails, depending on how much you need to convert the people and how much you need to, you know, prep them, because sometimes they don't know about your problem that they have. So you need to bring them from completely unaware, like problem unaware, to problem aware, and then you aware, so you're company aware and be like hey, yes, I do want to work with you. So that's pretty much what I do. And then, of course, copywriting. I do copywriting and ghostwriting. When people ask, like, what is ghostwriting, it's just like I pretend to be someone else on the internet.

Speaker 1:

I love it. And where can people connect with you and follow along?

Speaker 2:

They can find me everywhere, at Mechi, mancilla, so that's M-E-C-H-I, mancilla, as you can see here with double L and S, and everywhere, everywhere. So YouTube, instagram, tiktok, everything everywhere all around the place.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. I could talk all day with you, but I like to keep the episodes short and impactful, so thank you so much for being on. I know people are going to love this. There's so many takeaways that they can improve their business with. Thank you for having me. I had a blast.