Resonance

Avoid vague platitudes or anything that sounds like marketing, such as “all in one,” “faster,” “revolutionary” or “convenient.” These platitudes engender cynicism, and people will not infer what they mean. It forces prospects to either guess at what you do or take your word for it that you're awesome — which they’re unlikely to do, given that your

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If your headline completes the sentence “Our product is...” You’re not using their words. If your headline completes the sentence “Now you can ______” or “I wish I could _____” or “Someday I hope to _____” then your language might resonate

Starting with language/market fit brings three other big advantages:

1. Speed - Product build-measure-learn cycles, even just prototyping, can take weeks. But you can iterate language 5X in a single day.

2. Traction - A pre-launch lead-capture site (that markets the product to validate demand) with 25% conversion is a strong signal to potential inves... See more

It’s language/market fit at work — when you find the exact right words to explain your product or service to prospective customers, words that resonate with goals and struggles that are already in their brains. When you talk about your product, a lightbulb in their heads switches on that says, “That is EXACTLY what I’m looking for” — they feel like... See more

A charismatic brand includes a dedication to aesthetics. Why? Because it’s the language of feeling, and in a society that’s information-rich and time-poor, people value feeling more than information.

A brand is always answering two questions. The first one internally facing: What do we believe? The second, externally: How do we behave? You must remain authentic to yourself, your core values, and what you stand for. If you’re not, people will sniff you out. But your brand must maintain cultural congruence — remaining relevant to the times, alway... See more

Brand sustainability comes down to two things:  relevance and differentiation.  Something either affects a brand's relevance; is it meaningful to my life today? And its differentiation; is it unique and can I identify that uniqueness? Everything falls into one of those two buckets as it relates to brand.  The goal is to be high

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When people resonate with what you create, it means you’ve correctly diagnosed and articulated a collective idea. Successful writing is the arbitrage of capturing people’s ideas and communicating it to them before they are aware of it themselves.