Words That Win: Turning Website Visitors into Customers Part 1
Wed Feb 04 2026
In this episode:
Karen Vick is joined by Sarah Guilliot, a Seattle-based website designer, copywriter, and brand strategist, to unpack the essentials of copywriting and brand voice for service-based small businesses. With a background in UX and web design at companies like Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, and GoDaddy, Sarah Guilliot shares her entrepreneurial journey and actionable tips for crafting copy that connects and converts.
Sarah’s Career Pivot: From 20 years in corporate tech and design roles to launching her own business, including the Coach Lift Off service for coaches wanting an easy, all-in-one website and marketing solution.
Copywriting 101:
What copywriting is—and isn’t.
The difference between content writing (blogs, social media) and copywriting (websites, sales pages, emails).
Why your website is not just a digital brochure.
Brand Voice Essentials:
Why your copy should sound like you, not a robot (or a generic AI!).
How reading your copy out loud helps you catch awkward or stiff language.
The importance of consistency and authenticity across all touchpoints.
Copy Misconceptions:
Common mistakes, like using old brochure copy or product descriptions as web copy.
Why your copy needs to fit its platform—social posts, blogs, or website pages all have different needs.
SEO & Standing Out Online:
The balance between writing for people and ranking for search engines.
How being authentic and using real client language can boost your SEO naturally.
Market Research Tips:
Using conversations and testimonials from real clients to inspire and refine your copy.
“Copy stalking”—a method for gathering actual phrases and words your audience uses.
Coach Lift Off (Sarah’s signature program for coaches – details forthcoming in her network)
EEAT by Google (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness): https://searchengineland.com/e-e-a-t-and-seo-392924
“Copy stalking” concept credited to Mariah Coz
Read Your Copy Aloud:
Sarah's top tip—record yourself or read website/email copy out loud to spot unnatural or stiff language.
Gather Customer Feedback: Review testimonials and set up discovery calls to understand the language your clients use when talking about your services.
Customize for Your Audience: Adjust your brand voice to be true to yourself, while still clear and relatable to your customers—especially if you serve a multi-cultural/multi-lingual audience.
Don’t Rely Solely on AI: Use AI as a draft or brainstorming assistant, but personalize and humanize all final copy.
Repeat Key Info: It’s OK to reinforce core messages on different pages of your website—users might land anywhere!
Guiding Brands Podcast listeners can schedule a call with Sarah at https://www.sarahdesign.com/guiding, to get personalized insights about your brand.
You can also find Sarah on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sarahdesignagency
Listen to more episodes, subscribe, and leave a review at:The Guiding Brands Podcast: https://guidingbrandspodcast.com
Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe and join us next week for more bite-sized branding & marketing wisdom.
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In this episode: Karen Vick is joined by Sarah Guilliot, a Seattle-based website designer, copywriter, and brand strategist, to unpack the essentials of copywriting and brand voice for service-based small businesses. With a background in UX and web design at companies like Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, and GoDaddy, Sarah Guilliot shares her entrepreneurial journey and actionable tips for crafting copy that connects and converts. Sarah’s Career Pivot: From 20 years in corporate tech and design roles to launching her own business, including the Coach Lift Off service for coaches wanting an easy, all-in-one website and marketing solution. Copywriting 101: What copywriting is—and isn’t. The difference between content writing (blogs, social media) and copywriting (websites, sales pages, emails). Why your website is not just a digital brochure. Brand Voice Essentials: Why your copy should sound like you, not a robot (or a generic AI!). How reading your copy out loud helps you catch awkward or stiff language. The importance of consistency and authenticity across all touchpoints. Copy Misconceptions: Common mistakes, like using old brochure copy or product descriptions as web copy. Why your copy needs to fit its platform—social posts, blogs, or website pages all have different needs. SEO & Standing Out Online: The balance between writing for people and ranking for search engines. How being authentic and using real client language can boost your SEO naturally. Market Research Tips: Using conversations and testimonials from real clients to inspire and refine your copy. “Copy stalking”—a method for gathering actual phrases and words your audience uses. Coach Lift Off (Sarah’s signature program for coaches – details forthcoming in her network) EEAT by Google (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness): https://searchengineland.com/e-e-a-t-and-seo-392924 “Copy stalking” concept credited to Mariah Coz Read Your Copy Aloud: Sarah's top tip—record yourself or read website/email copy out loud to spot unnatural or stiff language. Gather Customer Feedback: Review testimonials and set up discovery calls to understand the language your clients use when talking about your services. Customize for Your Audience: Adjust your brand voice to be true to yourself, while still clear and relatable to your customers—especially if you serve a multi-cultural/multi-lingual audience. Don’t Rely Solely on AI: Use AI as a draft or brainstorming assistant, but personalize and humanize all final copy. Repeat Key Info: It’s OK to reinforce core messages on different pages of your website—users might land anywhere! Guiding Brands Podcast listeners can schedule a call with Sarah at https://www.sarahdesign.com/guiding, to get personalized insights about your brand. You can also find Sarah on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sarahdesignagency Listen to more episodes, subscribe, and leave a review at:The Guiding Brands Podcast: https://guidingbrandspodcast.com Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe and join us next week for more bite-sized branding & marketing wisdom.