Writing scales, talking doesn’t.

If you're not writing, you're not making use of the simplest forms of leverage.

Why is writing important within companies, and how to do it well?

(thread) 👇🏽

How to outline articles:

A blend of @david_perell's process and SEO:

1/ David starts with a quote, a vague idea, or a concept that generates curiosity.

2/ Then, he searches inside his note-taking system for extracts and reflections related to the prompt.

These ideas come from his daily knowledge consumption.

3/ He then assembles extracts to create a narrative around a thesis.

An incomplete thesis will make a reader bounce. While the opposite makes them crave more of your content.

4/ Some of us never built a database.

To fix this, type your prompt into Google and examine the search results:

-People also ask
-Google autocomplete
-Image recommendations
-Related searches at the bottom

These will help you structure your post while following SEO practices.

5/ After creating an outline based on his notes, David rewrites sentences, words, and paragraphs from memory.

He adds personal anecdotes, analyzes ideas, and creates his narrative—A process he defines as POP writing.

In early days I did all our copy.

It sucked so bad. Good thing, I made friends with people who taught me how to write.

Copywriting is the #1 skill for entrepreneurs. You write emails, articles, landing pages every day, and it helps you grow.

This will 10x your copy 👇

First, let's talk fundamentals:

Users on different stages of awareness will respond to a different language.

• Most aware readers understand your solution and are ready to purchase

• Product-aware readers are learning about your product. Free trials, demos will help conversion

• Solution-aware readers are considering solutions to their pain/problem

• Problem-aware readers are dealing with pain/problem

• Unaware readers haven’t experienced the problem

Make sure, that in the copy you:

• talk the language that mirrors the reader's stage of awareness
• move them from that stage to product/most-aware
• prompt them to take action

Focus copy on users.

Instead of saying "we offer" or "our solution," rewrite the copy to address your customers.

Exercise:
• begin with the word “you.”
• on landing pages, start your sentence with a verb.

THREAD ON BUILDING A WRITING HABIT:

If it's hard to get yourself to write,

I surveyed 100+ people to identify how they overcome their blockers.

For writing blogs, books, screenplays:

Blocker #1: Procrastination

If you procrastinate occasionally, that’s normal—forgive yourself.

However, if you procrastinate endlessly, that’s a problem.

Procrastination is the result of two reflexes:

• Indulging in immediate rewards like browsing YouTube instead of writing.

• Avoiding work you perceive to be uncomfortable or tedious.

Let's tackle these two blockers.

A. Avoid distractions

Have you noticed how much writing we can get done on airplanes—despite having our knees and shoulders uncomfortably squeezed together for hours?

Why is that?

It's because there's nothing else to do on an airplane.

This reveals a truth about writing: needing a comfy chair, room, or "the right ambience" is a myth.

If you're waiting until your room is the right temperature to begin writing, you're lying to yourself.

Your blocker is not comfort, but rather distractions.

Two strategies:

The closing keynote from @davidjalmond at @The_UKLA Writing for Pleasure conference was just so wonderful. I feel like i'm going to explode with inspiration and excitement. I was too hooked to tweet at the time but some key thoughts that stood out to me...

On ideas: 'Stories are everywhere, they are ordinary human things that happen to each one of us. Within the boringness are the most extraordinary tales.' Also, 'We are an imaginative species, even deciding what you are having for dinner is an act of imagination.'

On the writing mind: 'The terrifying thing about a book is that it doesn't look like a mind. They look at the book and think it's perfect but they don't see what comes before [the notebooks]. People think writers must have a special type of mind but we all have the same minds.'

On bringing writing out of the head: 'Stationery, notebooks and pencil cases make writing physical. Thinking through a problem in a story can make it harder. Doodling and playing [in a notebook] can help to release the imagination.'

'It's important to remember how close the written word is to the voice. If you can speak a sentence without stumbling it's probably okay, if you can sing it without stumbling it's probably really good. It accentuates that words are not just beautiful black marks, they are sounds'