FAQs + Facts

I’ve been working in the field of marketing, brand identity, and brand messaging since 1998. I have over 18 years as a full-time small business owner, first as founder of a graphic design studio and now as owner-operator of Paraphrase Communications, an agency specializing in strategic brand coaching, copywriting, and marketing implementation.

I spent the first 15 years of my career on the visual side of brand messaging as a graphic designer building websites and designing logos and print collateral. During this time, my clients would often struggle with what to put on the website such as how to talk about their work and the results they were producing. Since I have a degree in Journalism with a specialization in copywriting, I knew I could help them.

I informally started offering copywriting support for my design clients in the early 2010’s and when I had the opportunity to sell my half of the design studio in 2016, I officially transitioned to copywriting services and founded Paraphrase.

My mentorship and teaching experience began as a paid tutor in high school; then as a community assistant, teaching assistant, and tutor throughout college; and later after many years of offering design, software, and small business courses through Community Education and other professional development organizations. I currently run our small cohort-based program (Client Attraction Accelerator) twice a year, co-run a business coaching program with my colleague Ilise Benun, and co-teach a business development program through American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI) for several cohorts throughout the year.

I grew up in a family of educators and entrepreneurs so teaching, marketing, and a love for all things small business is in my blood. ❣️I have the great fortune to work in full alignment with three things I’m passionate about and good at—writing, design, and teaching—while fully backed by an amazing team of design, messaging, and technical specialists.

We primarily work with service-based professionals—coaches, therapists, creatives, and consultants—many of whom are in mid- to late-career transition, either out of corporate into entrepreneurship or doing something new in their existing businesses such as a new service or moving from brick-and-mortar to online.

Our clients are already experts and have accumulated a lot of lived experience, but because they’re doing something new, their confidence is often low. This leads to a tendency to undercharge or work for free in order to “gain experience”—even when they’ve already proven themselves to be highly competent, committed professionals many times over.

In helping them define their brand positioning and messaging, our clients get clear about the real value of their work and become totally sold on their own offers. (It’s amazing how many people try to sell without truly believing in what they’re selling, and for obvious reasons, this doesn’t work.)

We also work with small teams of both nonprofit and for profit organizations with similar issues as to what our solo entrepreneur clients are experiencing: how to get clarity, language, and marketing collateral that communicate values and vision and efficiently sell others on their mission and solutions.

[ VIEW CLIENTS + SELECT PROJECTS HERE ]

In the last two decades, I have (and my team by extension) worked with many clients across an array of industries. Yet when it comes to messaging and marketing, there are fundamental principles that hold true no matter what field and regardless of your business model, size, or legal designation.

However, if you happen to be in a field where we have less familiarity, this can be to your advantage as we bring fresh eyes to what you’ve been doing, and create newfound levels of clarity in doing so. We will help you stand apart from how others in your space are showing up.

Through Paraphrase Communications, clients can get business coaching, marketing strategy, copywriting AND design. There are many business advisory services that offer coaching or consulting but no help on execution. There are many service providers who can produce deliverables but aren’t able to offer coaching and mentorship, often because they don’t yet have the years of experience in the trenches to offer meaningful perspective and advice. We offer BOTH. Clients get to tap into my 18+ years of experience as an entrepreneur for long-term planning and strategy with business vision, while getting in-the-moment support on their messaging and marketing initiatives.

[ VIEW HOW WE WORK HERE ]

I work best with high-drive individuals who are committed to doing the work required to get their business in front of others. Our best clients (and frankly, we have incredible clients) are motivated by their values and a deep desire to be in service to others. They are inherently kind, empathetic, and responsible persons who appreciate collaborating with other experts on a project.

You can expect a process-driven approach to the work we’ll do together. Developed over many years of iteration, we have a messaging framework we take all our clients through to ensure we’ve identified and closed any gaps in what your ideal audiences need to know to take action with you.

We have a standard way of working through deliverables such as a website build, pitch deck, or email campaign which will require timely reviews and sign-off to stay within budget and meet deadlines.

You can also expect clear and frequent communication, frank recommendations, and lots of encouragement when limiting beliefs or suboptimal circumstances start to become challenges.

When you get your messaging figured out and start doing your marketing (to the right groups of people), you’ll get to work with (more) awesome clients. Inevitably this translates into increased income, impact, and joy in your business or organization.

Our clients have achieved a variety of wins, and though many are specific to their goals and vision, you can reasonably expect…

… greater clarity about who you are, who you serve, what you have to offer.

… the ability to answer the “what do you do?” question succinctly and clearly.

… client-attracting words for your website, proposals, social channels and everywhere else you’re showing up.

… higher conversions on sales pages, proposals, and in your sales conversations.

… increased visibility with your ideal audiences.

… more confidence in presenting your offers and doing your follow up.

… momentum on projects that were previously at a stall.

… improved writing skills with access to writing exercises and templates for easier flow.

… simplification of your marketing efforts.

… greater alignment between your values and how you present your business to the world.

I can’t promise specific results and we don't market our services by making income claims as many business coaching and service providers do. I feel this tactic is misleading because these claims are often presented without context or clarifying details. You can learn more about the type of outcomes we’ve helped clients achieve by watching and reading the client testimonials here.

We try our best to address what feels most pressing to you with your messaging and marketing needs early in the process. At times this means first developing an interim piece of collateral (i.e. a one-page website for a new business that needs an online presence ASAP) and then “working backward” with you to lay the foundational pieces for comprehensive brand messaging and sustainable marketing efforts.

Most often it’s better and more efficient to work from ground level up to get you what you need. Both messaging and marketing efforts for a business are ongoing—meaning the work is never truly done as you will continue to gain new levels of clarity and have new situations which require nuanced communication. But we can get you to a point of readiness for greater visibility and more compelling outreach within a few weeks (VIP Experience). You will absolutely start to feel more clear in your business and more confident within the first month of Client Attraction Accelerator.

Of course! I recommend you view some of our client testimonials and select projects. Then you can let me know which ones speak to you. We can help you get in touch with that person so you can speak directly with them about their experience working with me and the team.

Absolutely! Getting clear about who you are as a business or organization, who you serve, and what to say to potential clients is priceless. Learning how to write clear and compelling communications is a critical skill that will serve you for the life of your business. Having someone beside you to hold you accountable as you implement your messaging and do your marketing is invaluable.

I ask you to consider what it’s costing you right now to…

…not know what to say to a promising prospect when they ask about how you work.

…not having a website you feel proud to send others and leads them to reach out with inquiries.

…feel confused about what offers you have and how to present them.

…have that sinking feeling you left money on the table because you under-priced your services again.

…feel exhausted trying to keep up with doing all this marketing stuff that’s bringing you more crickets than clients.

Yes, they do! Many of our clients have been with us for multiple years. Because we are heavy on the execution of ideas, accountability, and offer ongoing implementation support—and these are the things that are often missing or easy to lose track of—our clients appreciate having a team beside them to see them through.

We have a number of resources on the Paraphrase website: blog articles covering a range of messaging and business topics; Tiny Tutorials for more tech-focused help; and the Message Matters Guest Expert Series for deep-dives into specific topics like planning, rest, social media, and selling.

You can access our on-demand copywriting mini-courses like Copy Camp Now (for headlines, titles, and email subject lines), and Copy Camp for Homepages.

I also frequently share messaging and marketing resources on my LinkedIn page, Instagram, and on the Paraphrase Facebook page.

All client engagements begin with a no-cost, no-obligation conversation so I can learn about your situation and assess fit.

Do you and I already have a call already scheduled? Yay! I look forward to speaking with you.

If we don’t have anything on the calendar yet, please click here to book a time for us to chat. There’s no cost or obligation and I promise you’ll at least leave the call with more clarity than you may be feeling right now.