LL Marketing

Even bad writing can be enjoyable when the author speaks like they would to a lifelong friend. Take this to whatever extreme you're comfortable with.

In short, your first draft is to extract novel ideas out of your brain. Your second draft is to rewrite those ideas so they resonate.

One trick for getting yourself to write is to only write sections that immediately interest you. Perhaps it's the middle of a post—that's okay. You don't have to write in order.

Sit down and write any three paragraphs you can. And do it fast. You'll find that by forcing yourself to start with speed, momentum carries you forward.

A hook is a half -told story. You raise a question then tease only part of the answer:

• Questions —Pose an intriguing question, but don’t give the full answer.


• Narratives — Share the start of a narrative, but withhold the conclusion.


• Research —Highlight research findings, but only a small portion.


• Arguments — Make an unexpected claim, but don't explain

... See more

Writing is a laxative for the mind. When you write, your brain can't stop itself from drawing connections between ideas and exploring their implications. Writing slows down your thinking so that you can play with your ideas. This also shines a light on broken logic, which helps you gain clarity.

Step one is choosing an objective for your post, such as:

1. Open people’s eyes by proving the status quo wrong. Example.


2. Share a solution to a tough problem. Example.


3. Distill an overwhelming topic into something approachable. Example.


4. Tell a suspenseful and emotional story that imparts a lesson. Example.


5. Articulate something everyone’s thinking about but

... See more

Clarity and succinctness help ideas resonate. They reduce mental overhead so your ideas pop.

But what gets people reading in the first place? Intrigue , which is the other quality we rewrite for .

Now we rewrite sentence-by-sentence to remove unnecessary detail. The art of rewriting is the art of becoming self-aware about the purpose of every word.

After we remove unnecessary words, we'll rephrase what remains to be even more succinct.

Ask for feedback from the audience you’re writing for. Here’s a template:

It would be helpful if you read my article slowly to transcribe the reactions you have while reading it. For example:

1. Tell me what to delete — When you notice your interest is fading, you can say “I'm drifting here. This isn’t compelling and it isn’t adding value. Get to the

... See more