Write the service page for one person
@nicolascole77 on Instagram
A service page works when the first lines name one person's problem and the change, in plain words, instead of listing what you offer.
What to look at
A color photo of Nicolas Cole in a black cap, on a brown leather couch, with a white card over him: his name, the handle, and copywriting tips to hang on your wall. Seven gray photos follow. Each has one black bar of white type, and none shows a rewritten page. The bars read: Don't sell. Help the customer transform. Ditch formal language. Be simple. Be a painkiller, not a vitamin. Speak to 1 person, not everyone. Emphasize benefits, not features. Share 1 shocking stat. Be clear, not clever. The last panel is the same man in black and white. Follow for more is highlighted in yellow, with the handle under it.
Why it works
Nielsen Norman Group says website copy should "speak to readers and not at them," and that a list of features does not attract people, because they want to know what the service will do for them. Use you, and name the benefit in words a buyer would say. That research is about websites, not about these slides. A 2005 rewrite of a medicine site into simpler text, tested with 50 people, raised task success from 46 percent to 82 percent for lower-literacy readers and from 68 percent to 93 percent for higher-literacy readers. The same study says to put the main point at the top, because many people stop after a few lines. The slides' line about one person goes further than that research, which talks to the reader as you, not to a single named buyer.
Try it
- Name one reader and the problem they have this week in the first two lines of the service page.
- Replace each feature with the change it makes for that person. Keep a feature name only if a buyer would search for it, and put the benefit in the same line.
- Read the page out loud. Cut any sentence you would not say to that person.
- If you use a number, put the source next to it. Do not add a number you cannot point to.
- Put the offer and the next step under that problem, not under a list of tools.
What it costs
The slides name the rule and never show a service page before and after. Share 1 shocking stat gives no number and no source. Be a painkiller, not a vitamin is a clever line, and the later bar says to be clear, not clever. The last card asks the viewer to follow. It does not say what changes for a client. On 2026-11-13, Cole's Ship 30 page does talk to you, and it names people who have not started, feel stuck, or are afraid to publish. It then lists sessions, templates, a community, and bonuses, and it speaks to those three situations at once rather than to one person. I did not join, and I did not check the student, follower, or revenue lines on that page.
Words worth knowing
- Benefit: What changes for the buyer, written in their words, not the name of the feature.
- Feature list: A list of what the offer includes, which readers skip when it does not say why it matters to them.
- Plain wording: Short, ordinary sentences a reader can understand without stopping to decode the line.
Sources
- User-centric vs. Maker-centric Language: 3 Essential Guidelines Nielsen Norman Group
- Lower-Literacy Users: Writing for a Broad Consumer Audience Nielsen Norman Group