Content that Clicks, Test Your Vocab & My Take on Olympic Gold

Well, hello there! Welcome to my sweet and juicy newsletter packed with insights and actionable tips gained from my career as a writer/content marketer/strategist. Look, we’re all publishers now, which means we need to get more intentional, more creative, more strategic, and more audience-focused with the content we create. And yes, AI can be a big help — but a human touch is essential. Strategies, ideas, and truly novel thinking can only come from people, whereas AI is a useful tool. The good news is: Writing and content creation is easier than ever — and fun, too — especially with a helping hand from a seasoned pro (ahem, that’s me).

WORD WARS

4 Steps for Creating Click-Worthy Content, Every Time

Taking the plunge can be scary — but it’s an absolute must for creating great content. You may ask, what about providing context? Setting the scene? Nope. Resist the urge. Your first few words need to grab attention and clearly spell out what your reader will be getting out of your article, social post, or site page. Of course, this is far easier said than done. That’s why there’s a well-known journalistic axiom that implores writers not to “bury the lead.” Or is it lede? (That’s a question for another day.) I want to reassure you that this struggle is normal, natural and literally happens to everyone. It’s been happening to me on a daily for decades. So don’t fight it. Name it, know it, embrace it. And then, correct it.

Step #1: Give Yourself Permission to Write a Horrible First Draft

No one has to see your first draft. That terrible piece of crap is for your eyes only. The important thing is to get started. If you want, assign your first draft to AI. You can even train a service like TaskAde to write like you or create an “AI Agent” as a type of surrogate employee and tell it, for example, “You are a website copywriter. Write a web page about the best washable shoes.” BTW, are you Team Rothy’s or Suavs? I haven’t pulled the trigger on either… yet. I also find it entertaining to see how I perform in a head-to-head competition with AI. (Spoiler alert: I totally win.) But it is a helpful exercise. You write your own first draft, then give the same assignment to AI. This may reveal an interesting lead you didn’t consider or highlight points you forgot to include. 

Or… my personal fave, just allow yourself to ramble with ugly, disconnected sentences that go on for paragraphs or a whole page. Turn off your inner perfectionist (Silencio, Bruno!). Please don’t spend time thinking of the perfect word or constructing an impeccable sentence. Writing is an act of discovery. Sometimes, you don’t even truly know what you think until you begin writing it down. So don’t worry that this drafting time is a waste. You’ll likely know once you’ve reached the actual point of what you want to convey. And if you don’t right away, you’ll learn to recognize that aha moment with practice. 

Step #2: Get Comfy with Cuts

So you wrote your crappy first draft, hooray! Now, just walk away (you know how). If you can, sleep on it. Then, when you’ve had a little time to gather perspective, open your piece back up and “kill your darlings,” as they say. Can you now see that you wrote two intro paragraphs that are unnecessary fluff? Trash them! Or if you’re like me and you’re a tad attached, write CUTS at the bottom of your doc and cut/paste the useless sections there. One day’s word trash can be another day’s literary treasure. Plus, it cushions the blow. You didn’t pull a Kristi Noem and shoot your puppy in the head; you just took it to a nice farm you can visit whenever you want.

Step #3: Refine Your Angle

Every piece of content becomes infinitely improved with the right angle, or hook, that connects with and draws in readers. What is the entry point that will attract your audience? Does your main theme resonate with any cultural moments? Is there a compelling way (versus going the super straightforward route) to package up what you have written for easier consumption? Your headline, subhead, and intro are crucial to making this point. Make them work hard. If it’s an email, your subject line and preheader text can also be a powerful part of establishing this hook. Don’t treat them as throw-aways, and don’t be repetitive. 

Sometimes, I challenge myself this way… if I had to take away my whole intro paragraph, what would my headline and subhead need to be? During my years at Kroger working on emails, I honed this method and trained my direct reports in this approach. When you risk losing the reader’s gnat-short attention span with every unnecessary or boring word, you learn to think of the pieces of an email or an article as powerfully stacked. See if you can tell the first part of your story or message in a headline and subhead. And then trim those first two intro sentences or slim down your email body copy to a single line. 

Step #4: Put a Bow on It

As a sweet finishing touch (this is that zing I’m talking about, people), tie back to your opening hook or revisit a theme woven through the piece. Call it flair; call it finesse. It’s a chance to tug at heartstrings, to give goosebumps, and to simply close the circle. In this story about the Cincinnati Rollergirls, the intro juxtaposes the playful elements of the sport of roller derby against the serious nature of the athletes. In the end, there’s a similar juxtaposition, this time calling forth the Queen City’s quirkiness in contrast to the city’s strait-laced façade. It’s more of a rhythm than a rule, a last step that takes content from fine to favorite. 

Olympic Content that Takes the Gold 

From commercials and ads to organic social, the Olympics has been a real storytelling treasure trove. Here are some of my faves — what sticks with you?

Ad Campaign: Microsoft CoPilot

Microsoft CoPilot’s “They Say” campaign features a badass senior runner, a badass super-pregnant weightlifter, a badass surfer girl and a badass dad leveraging AI so he has more time to help his kid reach her dream. It’s a real feel-good message and a masterclass in storytelling — showing that this is technology that empowers in real life, for real dreams. Plus it’s set to a version of Dreams by The Cranberries, always a personal fave of this chick.

Watch this badass pregnant mama lift a lot of weight.

Ad Campaign: Nike

Nike’s “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” campaign hits all the right notes, at least for me. “Am I a bad person?” the narrator (Willem Dafoe) repeatedly asks, his words juxtaposed over moments of greatness from our greatest athletes in all their gritty glory. These people want to win, and BAD. Their drive, their single-mindedness, their naked ambition are on full, unmitigated display. Personally, I’m a huge fan of revealing the harder side of what it truly takes to take home the top prize. It isn’t pretty or soft, rather real and human. This series made me laugh AND brought pricks of tears to my eyes.

What does it really take to win? It isn’t always rainbows and butterflies.

Ad Campaign: Toyota

Toyota’s Start Your Impossible campaign plays on one of my personal favorite storylines from the Olympics — the families and friends standing behind these amazing athletes, supporting and holding them up along every step of the way.

Olympic athletes may stand alone on the starting line, but they have a village cheering them on.

Organic Social: Navy

Along those lines, I saw this bit of winning social content on LinkedIn – showcasing the moment Navy football player Chreign Lafond found out his sister Thea Lafond won a gold medal in the triple jump. If you don’t get a teeny bit choked up watching all these big dudes get super pumped for their teammate’s sister’s win, you may not have a heart. 

The level of celebration on behalf of a player’s sister really gets you right in the solar plexus.

Hype Video: NBC + Beyonce Collab

Team USA turned to Queen Bey to introduce some of our country’s Olympic competitors. I mean, of course they did. It’s a bit of good fun with high production value.

My 3-year-old daughter could not get enough of this vid.

Ad Campaign: The BBC

The BBC created this gorgeous animated double love letter to the love of sport and the City of Love. So thoughtful, so beautifully rendered and such a delightful conceit that filled me, for one, with a sweet warmth reminiscent of well, the flush of love.

L’amour, am-I-right?

Content “Series”: NBC

Why do Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg make such a lovable duo? I don’t know the answer to this question, I only know what I feel, and I feel that I honestly can’t get enough. To me, it’s a genius bit of content to experience bits of the Olympics and French culture through the lens of their yin-and-yang relationship.

Yes, you should watch Martha & Snoop check out dressage. So worth it.