Poldermarketing
Positioning and messaging for startups
Startup positioning and messaging means taking the words buyers already use and turning them into one sentence a buyer can judge in a single read. It is for founders whose site does not say who it is for. You get that sentence and the website copy around it, including the homepage. I do not promise this will bring customers.
Who is this for?
This is for you if the sales call is clear and the homepage is a list of features. A buyer who lands there cannot tell in one read whether you are for them.
LinkedIn says it one way, the site says it another, and the blog went quiet after a few posts.
What's involved?
Startup positioning and messaging takes the words buyers use, turns them into one sentence, and then writes the website copy that has to agree with that sentence. Without notes from real conversations I will not invent the line.
- Conversations, or notes from conversations, with people who buy or nearly buy. I listen for how they name the problem, not for how the site names it now.
- One sentence: who it is for, which problem it solves, and why someone ends up with you. Every page has to survive that sentence.
- Website copy around it: the homepage, the page about the offer, and the words on the button. That copy is part of this service.
- The same sentence on the places you already show up, such as LinkedIn, so the promise does not change from one channel to the next.
- Short rounds where you say whether the sentence matches how you actually sell.
I did this work for Bombos, an AI platform for small and medium-sized businesses: positioning from customer conversations, then an edit of the site.
What you get
You get one sentence that says who the product is for and which problem it solves, in the words buyers already use. Around it I write the website copy: the homepage, the page about the offer and the words on the button, in English, in Dutch, or in both.
What I need from you
I need conversations or notes from people who buy, or who nearly do, and I need you to say when a sentence does not match how you actually sell. I also need what the site and LinkedIn say today, so I can see where the message splits.
Timing
We agree on timing after the intro call.
What is not included
- A logo, a visual identity, or building the site in code.
- A promise that the new copy will produce leads.
- Search setup. That is startup SEO.
- A check of whether an AI answer names you. That is getting cited in ChatGPT.
- Running a marketing team.
- Deciding what you charge.
When you don't need this
You do not need this if a buyer can already tell, in one read of the homepage, whether you are for them, and LinkedIn uses the same line. You also do not need it if you want a fractional CMO, a part-time marketing director who runs a team.
I write the message and the pages. I do not run a department.
How I work
You work directly with me, Piet Baudoin: one person, not an agency, fully remote. AI agents search and draft in my Marketing OS, which is my way of working and not a product, and nothing is published without my approval.
I put each sentence in front of you. A second AI agent reads along, and anything that does not match how you sell comes out. Read more about how I work. The free growth scan reads your homepage and shows what is in place and what could be better.
Questions people ask
Is website copy included?
Yes. Website copy is part of this service: the homepage, the page about the offer, and the words on the button. I will not write a page that is not tied to the one sentence.
Can you guarantee the new message will bring customers?
No. I can make the site say, in the buyer's own words, who it is for and which problem you solve, so a buyer can tell in one read. Nobody can honestly promise that this will produce enquiries.
How much does it cost?
Rate on request. After the intro call you get a proposal that says what you get. We agree on timing then.
Do you write in Dutch as well?
Yes. I write the message in English and in Dutch, each in the words buyers use in that language. The Dutch site is not a translation of the English one.
What do you need from me?
Notes or calls with people who buy, or nearly buy, and a person who can say whether a sentence matches how you actually sell. Without those words from real conversations the copy is a guess, and I will not publish a guess.
The free growth scan
The free growth scan reads your homepage and shows what works and what could be better. Rather talk first? That works too.