You Know That Feeling When Someone Just Gets You?
Imagine if people felt that way about your brand.
We help businesses create that connection.
When Something Isn’t Clicking
It’s frustrating when a great business isn’t getting the growth it deserves.
You know your business has value. You've invested in your website, your marketing, your messaging. Yet people aren't responding the way you hoped they would.
Why is this Happening?
That gap usually isn't about a lack of effort, or even a lack of value. It's about what you're saying versus what people are actually hearing.
When that happens, messaging starts to feel disconnected. People stop paying attention. Trust becomes harder to build. Growth becomes harder to sustain.
“What you have to do is get into their heart. And how do you get into the heart? With stories.”
Discovering What's Getting in the Way
I don’t start by changing the words. I start by figuring out why they aren’t working.
When messaging isn’t connecting, the problem may not be the copy. It may be unclear positioning, assumptions about the audience, or a disconnect between the experience a business intends to create and the one people are having.
I work closely with founders, leaders, and teams to understand the vision they're trying to bring to life while examining how audiences are experiencing it, what matters most to them, and what's at stake.
This is often where we discover what has been standing in the way all along. It's also where we uncover the hidden gem that makes the business uniquely meaningful to its audience.
Founder, Joan O’Connor
Inspiring People to Care
My approach is shaped by a career spent observing human behavior. Through producing Emmy-winning television shows, casting for brands and conducting more than 2,000 in-depth interviews, I learned how to look beneath the obvious answer and uncover what others might miss.
In television, audiences don’t owe you their attention. You have to understand what draws them in and gives them a reason to stay invested.
That’s why brands often turn to Hollywood storytellers to create messaging. They understand that people don’t connect because something is important or polished. They connect when they recognize why it matters to them.
That perspective shapes how I approach every messaging challenge.
Relationships are the True Currency of Every Brand
How Understanding Their Audience Reshaped Relationships
RankHero
Turning powerful SEO technology into a story Etsy creators relate to and understand.
Rooted Promise
Transforming a deeply personal mission into a brand story gardeners can rally behind.
Blogstorm
Humanizing powerful AI technology through messaging people instantly understand.
L Rose Design
Helping the brand feel as thoughtful and elegant as the spaces it creates.
Leo Innovate
Positioning a salon software platform as a supportive brand experience for owners.
Globowl
Centering baby food messaging around the emotional experience of parenting.
What Clients Discovered
“Joan pushed me to look into the emotional and psychological reasons why people would buy our product, and the story we tell today does that job better than I ever could have on my own.”
— Erica Bethe Levin, Founder of Globowl
“Spotlight Monkey made our complicated tech messaging clear, relatable, and effective. Joan basically humanized our technology.”
— Peter Sedrak, Co-founder of blogstorm.ai
“Since launching the new brand and story, we've seen a 125% increase in sales.”
— Robert Ghobrial, Founder of Rooted Promise
“Joan truly captured the heart of my brand. The final messaging feels like me.”
— Lakesha Rose, Founder, L Rose Designs
“Our messaging was all over the place, and Joan helped us focus it so it emotionally connects with our clients. She also helped with the UX, which made a huge difference in how our story flows.”
— Ellen White, Founder, Ecofixr