How to read these
Each pair below is a real kind of tweet you have probably written, followed by a rewrite and the reason it works better. The point is not to memorize the specific lines. It is to notice the moves, because the same four or five edits fix most weak tweets.
- Lead with the point. The best line is usually buried. Move it to the front.
- Cut the warm-up. Delete the throat-clearing before the idea.
- Make it specific. Swap vague words for real numbers and details.
- Add a stance or payoff. Give the reader a reason to care or a thing to take away.
Move the point to the front
So I've been doing this for a few years now and one thing I've noticed is that the people who succeed tend to be the ones who just keep going even when it's hard.
The people who succeed aren't the most talented. They're the ones who kept going after it stopped being fun.
The real idea was at the end. Move it up, cut the setup, and add a sharper contrast.
I wanted to talk today about pricing because I think a lot of people get it wrong and it's something I've thought about a lot.
Most people price their product by guessing and calling it a strategy.
Delete the entire I wanted to talk about intro. Start at the claim. The reader does not need the runway.
Trade vague for specific
I made some changes to my posting strategy recently and saw a pretty big improvement in my engagement.
I switched from 1 post a day to 3, and cut the threads entirely. Replies doubled in 2 weeks.
Some changes and pretty big become exact actions and an exact result. Specifics make it believable.
Cold email can work really well if you do it right and personalize your messages.
I sent 200 cold emails. The 18 replies all had one thing in common: I mentioned something from their last tweet in line one.
The number and the concrete tactic turn generic advice into something the reader can actually use.
Add a stance
There are a lot of different opinions on whether you should niche down or stay broad when building an audience.
Niching down is overrated. Niche your point of view, not your topics. That's the part people actually follow.
The before reports that opinions exist. The after has one. A stance gives the reader something to react to.
Meetings can sometimes be useful but they can also waste time depending on how they're run.
Most recurring meetings should be a message. If it doesn't need a decision, cancel it.
Hedged both-sides observations get scrolled past. A clear position, even a mild one, earns a stop.
Deliver on the hook
Some tweets have a great first line and then let the reader down. The hook promised something the body did not deliver. The fix is to make the payoff as strong as the setup.
The one thing that changed my business... was just staying consistent and believing in myself.
The one thing that changed my business: I fired my biggest client. Freed up the time that let me land three better ones.
The before baits with a big setup and pays off with a cliche. The after delivers a real, specific turn.
I raised my rates and braced for clients to leave.
Not one did. Two referred me to bigger projects.
The fear was the only thing that was ever real.
Run these edits on your own drafts
- 1Find your buried lineRead your draft and mark the single best sentence. If it is not first, move it up. That is often the whole fix.
- 2Delete the first sentenceYour opener is usually warm-up. Cut it and check if the post is stronger. It almost always is.
- 3Circle every vague wordSome, a lot, recently, pretty good. Replace each with a real number or detail, or cut it.
- 4Ask what the reader takes awayIf you cannot name the payoff or the stance, the post does not have one yet. Add it before you post.