In partnership with

Welcome to the 71st issue of Write On!

The newsletter that eats its Oreos the same way it puts on a shirt… one sleeve at a time.

In today’s issue I’ll be covering:

• A new medium for presenting ideas

• From clunky to crisp

• Plus, even more copywriting tactics

Estimated read time: 2 minute 19 seconds

The future of presentations, powered by AI

Gamma is a modern alternative to slides, powered by AI. Create beautiful and engaging presentations in minutes. Try it free today.

From clunky to crisp:

Editing is the time to cut words out as if they cost you money. To be as concise as possible while getting your message across.

There’s a famous quote that has always stuck with me related to editing:

❝

If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter.

Editing should be the most time-consuming part of the writing process…

But, how much time exactly?

I shared this thought on Twitter a while back:

Why this much time on editing?

Because it’s tough to write AND edit at the same time.

It requires two different mindsets.

• Writing requires creativity, continuous flow, etc.

• Editing requires attention to detail, brevity, connecting thoughts, etc.

You can try to do both simultaneously, but it will cost you time.

My messy editing process:

I’m an extremely organized person. I’m clean. I know where things are. I enjoy using systems, processes, and frameworks.

My editing process is not like that, though.

I don’t have a “go-to” system of QA for every piece of writing.

But here’s how my writing and editing process roughly shakes out:

(1) The Outline:

Whenever I write, I try to go in with a rough outline of what I want to write about.

Here’s how I structured today’s newsletter:

(2) The Brain Dump:

From there, I’ll start typing away. I don’t give much thought to what I’m writing.

I just write and fill in the blanks of the outline.

I write until I feel all the main points have been accounted for.

This completes the rough first draft.

(3) The First Edit:

Next, I’ll review everything I’ve written and start cleaning things up.

Typos, poor grammar, irrelevant words, and sentences, etc.

I always have Grammarly turned on to catch many of these obvious errors (I highly recommend this tool if you’re not using it already).

(4) The Second Edit:

The second time around, I’m looking to clean up my thoughts.

I want to ensure my ideas flow seamlessly from one line to the next.

No wasted space.

This part of the editing process takes the longest because I’m carefully trying to pick the best and fewest words possible.

(5) Give It Some Time:

I'll let my draft sit for a night if I have time before publishing.

Then I’ll return to it with fresh eyes the next day and undoubtedly find something I didn’t catch the first time.

(6) Final Edits:

If I plan well and have even more time, I’ll run my writing through some final exercises:

• Hemingway Editor (to make sure my writing is clear and easy to read)

• ChatGPT (using some of the editing prompts linked here)

• I’ll read it out loud to make sure it flows smoothly

• I’ll ask my girlfriend to read it

Then I’ll give it one final read on desktop and mobile and hit publish.

And that’s it!

That’s all for this week! See you next Wednesday.

Cheers,

Joe

Want more copywriting tactics?

I’ve got you covered.

Sell with stories: Write your first story email that sells when you take my FREE 3-day email course: (Click here to start)

Never stare at a blank page again: Download my FREE ebook with my top 15 copywriting frameworks: (Download for free)

Become a copywriting Jedi: Learn how to master buyer psychology with these 52 copywriting psychology tips: (Click here to view)