?? 3 Trade Secrets to Ace Online Writing

Hello Fam! You’re joining almost 19k+ founders and entrepreneurs curious about building an online voice. If you want these stories sent to your inbox, subscribe here . If you enjoy reading the Personal Brand Brief, forward it to a friend. ??

If there is one piece of advice I can give to anyone who aims to ace online writing it would be: Take everything that you’ve been taught about writing in school and burn it.?

Is that an overreaction? Possibly. Should you still take the advice? 100%

One of the hardest parts of Personal Brand Brief was that I had to unlearn what universities teach us about creative writing.?

In the real world, you don’t write to impress. Instead, you write to attract attention and provide value for your audience.

A 5-second elevator pitch changes lives.?

A 100-word cold email changes career trajectories.?

Here are 3 secrets I wish I had years ago when starting my online writing journey.

1. Respect Your Readers’ Time?

In school, they teach us to write long to hit a word count (thanks Mr. Cavalli). In the online world, your reader care to grade your writing. They only care about how you’re helping them.

You’re up against emails, texts and Netflix shows. Prove to them you’re worth listening to.

I like to remind myself that my readers have busy lives. They’ve got 100s of emails to read and kids waiting at home to be with. Honor their time at all costs.?

With online storytelling, the least amount of words wins.

2. Attract With Stories, Validate With Data

People come for the stories, but they stay for the value.?

When you’re writing for strangers and you want to win their trust, address their *human* pain points. Check out this example:?

Etsy’s bullet points evoke tons of feelings in the reader –?

One-of-a-kind community? I won’t have to do it all alone.??

Come together? I’ll be a part of something bigger than me.

Peace of mind? I’m sold.

School asks you to convey your points. In the online world, your job is to stir the hearts of readers with stories then back them up with data. ?

3. Skip Fancy, Try Simple

I wasted hours hunting for synonyms when I was writing essays as a student. When I started writing online, I realized writing simple was the name of the game.

The cliché is: write like you talk. Sounds easy, but it takes lots of practice. To build trust with your audience, use simple vocab to deliver quicker understanding.

Deconstruct life-changing ideas in a clear and concise message that enlightens your readers instead of confusing them.

—

?? RIFF OF THE DAY

Check out this amazing Notion Template bundle that’ll help you simplify your tasks:?

Thanks for reading. I try hard to make it worth your time. Got feedback? Let me know .

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.

??? Joel

Wanna learn more about building your voice online? Check out my 2022 Cohort Class .

You can also learn more about my work on my Website , Twitter or LinkedIn .