Yesterday night, I was watching a Netflix TV show with my wife –
AI’s Kitchen
(no, before you ask… it has zero to do with AI)
It’s the Taiwan version of Youn’s Kitchen… gathering a bunch of celebrities to run a restaurant, advertising local cuisine.
The highlights of these shows are always
“how celebrities messed up every dish”
~ forgetting to prep ingredients
~ forgetting to open the fire
~ cooking the sauce dry
~ burning the pan
~ underbaking the cake
It gives you a different appreciation for how top chefs can produce mouth-watering dishes in 10 minutes—with consistent quality.
This reminds me of my own copywriting experience.
To deliver consistent, quality copy, an editing checklist is key.
Here’s mine:
After finishing a draft…
1) Eye-rest
Whenever possible, you should rest at least 24 hours before editing. This allows you to look at the draft with a fresh mindset.
(you’ll have to balance the timeline vs quality here… so 24 hours isn’t always available)
2) Read-through
Before I jump into any hacks or tips…
I always do a read-through, reading the copy out loud to make sure I don’t stumble. If I hit turbulence, I know it needs to be fixed.
3) The rule of ONE
When it comes to writing, less is more.
Focus on ONE hook (story), ONE insight, and ONE CTA for email.
(context matters. this is different for sales letters)
Giving people more hooks and insights results in a confused mind, and a confused prospect never buys.
The next point I learned from David Deutsch’s posts…
4) Zoom in
After I’ve looked at the copy from a 10,000 ft view, it’s time to zoom in.
Here, I quote David’s post:
“Zoom in on a sentence in your copy and take a good look. Does it convey what you want it to convey? Does it connect to the sentence before? Does it flow seamlessly into the sentence after?
Do you need to add or delete anything? Are the words and phrases in the right order? (For example, it’s sometimes the case that the second half of the sentence should come first.)
Now look at each word. Is there a better word that more accurately or powerfully expresses what you are trying to express — or helps accomplish what you are trying to accomplish?
Above all, is the sentence NECESSARY?”
Pro Tip: eliminate the “filler words”—such as absolutely, about, all things being equal, etc—that soften your copy. As my mentor, Cole Vandewoestyne, said—aim for clear, concise, and confident
Pro Tip: another tactic I learned from Lana Sova is to make sure you translate the value behind each feature. Don’t expect your readers to understand the feature… tell them what it means to them by adding, “this product gives you [feature] SO THAT [BENFIT FOR THEM]”
5) Spice up
At this point, the copy is 80% done.
(if you’re on a time crunch, you can send it as is)
But if I want to take the copy to the next level, I’ll want to spice up the copy with
* Show, don’t tell
How can I reveal important ideas through actions, feelings, thoughts, and dialogues? The idea is to demonstrate like a screenwriter presenting a movie scene.
Examples from another of David Deutsch’s posts:
– “Blood pressure is a bio-mechanical function that…”
becomes
– “Because your blood is under pressure, it can flow everywhere it’s needed in your body. But too much pressure puts a strain on blood vessels and organs by pushing too hard, like water straining against a dam…”
…
“Findings from a major research study revealed that…”
becomes
“Researchers divided participants into two groups. They gave one group the remedy and the other group a sugar pill. Jaws dropped when they discovered that the remedy outperformed the sugar pill by 87%…”
…
“The stock market went up yesterday…”
becomes
“Traders’ shouts echoed across the floor as they scrambled to snatch up the day’s hottest stocks, sending the market soaring…”
* Boost the story with sensory and power words
– Sensory words evoke the sense of sight, sound, touch, or smell—making the scene more vivid
– Power words “exaggerate” the actions—making the scene more entertaining
(you can find resources on these two topics on Jon Morrow’s SmartBlogger blog)
6) Grammar
Grammar policies like to make a big deal out of typos.
But in reality, as long as your email flows, it doesn’t have to be 100% accurate.
(no, this does not mean you can write with broken English… it has to make sense)
The simplest hack –
Turn on Grammarly… and use my brain to decide what to approve.
(^^affiliate link^^)
7) Readability
I’ve trained myself to write between reading grades 3 to 6.
For example, I wrote this email in grade 3—without editing.
However, I like to do one final check before delivering a project.
Simple hack –
Copy & Paste the copy into HemingwayApp and… again… use my brain to decide what to approve.
That’s it.
This is the ultimate editing checklist for all my client’s projects.
(I don’t go through every step for my daily emails. Instead, I zoom into one thing I want to improve for each email)
I don’t know why I’m writing this “value post.” We’ll return to the original “no-value” storytelling theme next week.
But for now, if you want help spicing up your emails, like watching a movie, book a call with me >> https://wuyenhsu.com/call
Cheering for you,
– WYH
PS – there are more “advanced” tactics regarding email storytelling—which I learned from Daniel Throssell. But I won’t go into the details in this already-too-long email