Before you write another blog post, read this

January 03, 2023

Hey 👋

Copywriting is the most valuable skill in marketing. But most marketers suck at it.

Failing to speak your ideas clearly can lead to customer confusion and poor conversion rates. And it can even hurt your chances of getting a raise if you struggle to communicate your ideas internally.

But don't worry, we're going to tell you a powerful copywriting trick so you don't have to spend years making the same copywriting mistakes we've made.

The only way you'll become a better writer is if you learn how to think clearly.

Writing is thinking.

Think clear, simple thoughts and your writing will improve.

Simple is persuasive.

The moment you confuse someone is the moment they bounce.

You need to make sure that each sentence has a purpose.

Because the goal of copywriting is to get the reader to read one more sentence. Then another one. And so on.

One of our favorite ways to get people to keep reading is to start a piece of content using the PAS copywriting framework.

PAS stands for Problem, Agitate, Solution.

Go back to the beginning of this newsletter and read the first line — that's the problem.

Read the second paragraph — that's the agitation.

Then read the third paragraph — that's proposing a solution.

It's a super effective way to hook your readers into wanting to learn more.

But the PAS formula is just one of many.

If you want to learn more about copywriting tricks and techniques be sure to check out the link on headline formulas in the content section of this newsletter.

With that, let's get into what we have in store this week (lots of good stuff):

  • Marketing news from the past week

  • Airtable's path to product-market-fit

  • 12 formulas for writing engaging headlines

  • Growing a niche website with SEO

  • Increasing funnel conversion with psych

  • Ad from the past

  • Website of the week

  • Cool marketing jobs

  • And much more

🗞 In the news

🚀 All things growth & product

Airtable's path to PMF, how to accelerate revenue growth without compromising PLG, the tricky part of building community, and 4 ways to measure CAC.

Airtable's Path to Product-Market Fit

In the first post for our new series, "Paths to Product-Market Fit," Airtable co-founder Andrew Ofstad sits down with First Round partner Todd Jackson to share the inside story of the no-code platform's long journey and the challenges they came across while building a horizontal product.

https://review.firstround.com/airtables-path-to-product-market-fit-lessons-for-building-horizontal-products?ref=marketermilk

Your Guide To Outbound & PLG

Kyle Poyar gives tactical advice about going outbound without compromising PLG roots. Also, ClickUp and Trustpage share their outbound best practices.

https://openviewpartners.com/blog/your-guide-to-outbound-plg-how-to-accelerate-revenue-growth-without-compromising-plg/?ref=marketermilk

Building Community is Tricky

https://www.elenaverna.com/building-community-is-tricky?ref=marketermilk

314. Budgeting, Part One (CAC) 💰

Four ways to measure Customer Acquisition Cost

https://kevanlee.substack.com/p/314-budgeting-part-one-cac-?s=r?ref=marketermilk

💭 Guess the riddle

Why did the spider get a job in I.T.?

Answer is at the bottom of this email

✍️ Content, email, and social media

Content strategy for horizontal SaaS, 12 formulas for writing engaging headlines, how the TikTok algorithm works, and 14 influencer marketing campaign examples.

Content Strategy for Horizontal SaaS - Animalz

Templates are the atomic unit of your content strategy. Blog posts are the organization layer.

https://www.animalz.co/blog/horizontal-saas-content-marketing/?ref=marketermilk

12 Formulas To Write Engaging Headlines

80% of your website visitors will never make it past your headlines. This case study will make sure that the 20% that do, are hooked.

https://marketingexamined.com/blog/formulas-to-write-engaging-headlines?ref=marketermilk

How the TikTok algorithm works: Everything you need to know

We read TikTok’s creator guidelines and newsroom documentation, so you don’t have to. Learn the lowdown on TikTok and how brands can use it.

https://searchengineland.com/how-tiktok-algorithm-works-390229?ref=marketermilk

14 Influencer Marketing Campaign Examples [+ Key Takeaways]

Struggling to find an idea for your next influencer marketing campaign? We've got you covered. Check out these 14 examples of hugely successful campaigns!

https://www.modash.io/blog/influencer-marketing-campaign-examples?ref=marketermilk

⚙️ SEO

Lessons learned from growing a niche website with SEO, 3 metrics for thriving despite lower organic traffic, and unpopular SEO productivity tools.

Growing A Niche Website With SEO | Lasse Rosendahl Ravn

At the beginning of 2022, I started using some of my free time on building a small niche website and experiment with search engine optimization (SEO). Here’s how it’s going.

https://lssrvn.com/growing-a-niche-website-with-seo/?ref=marketermilk

3 metrics for thriving despite lower organic traffic

Google keeps more traffic in the search results instead of sending it to websites. By optimizing for these 3 metrics, you can still thrive.

https://www.kevin-indig.com/3-metrics-for-thriving-despite-lower-organic-traffic/?ref=marketermilk

📊 Paid ads

7 strategies to make Facebook Ads work in 2023 and a Twitter thread about a Google Ads hack.

7 Strategies to Make Facebook Ads Work in 2023 | Triple Whale

Do Facebook Ads work? Without a doubt. You just have to know which buttons to push. Here’s a breakdown of the core elements we are focusing on at ATTN Agency to drive sustainable improvements within Facebook and Instagram ads to hit our clients big picture goals, and how you can apply them to your own strategy. | Dec 28, 2022

https://www.triplewhale.com/blog/do-facebook-ads-work?ref=marketermilk

🧠 Extra stuff

Increasing funnel conversion with psych, using perceptions in marketing, and how to approach your ecommerce marketing automation strategy.

Increase funnel conversion with Psych

Have you ever wondered why people are bouncing from your nearly-frictionless onboarding flow? Why the same change can result in a lift on…

https://darius.com/increase-funnel-conversion-with-psych-7378d51c4caf?ref=marketermilk

Perceptions: Our favorite marketing strategy exercise

(Plus, the launch of our marketing job board.) Perceptions are a key ingredient in your brand story and marketing strategy, in fact we think defining perceptions is a more clarifying and actionable exercise than writing a positioning statement or developing brand values

https://mkt1.substack.com/p/perceptions-our-favorite-marketing/?ref=marketermilk

Ecommerce Marketing Automation Strategy 101 | Alloy Automation

Your introduction to ecommerce marketing automation: what it is, why it's beneficial, best practices, and tools to get started with. | Alloy Automation

https://runalloy.com/guides/ecommerce-marketing-automation-strategy/introduction/?ref=marketermilk

📣 Ad from the past

Crayon ad from 1979

First sentence grabs a caretaker's attention. Second sentence is a CTA. Third sentence rationalizes the CTA.

So simple, yet so effective.

(Crayola ad from 1979)

💻 Website of the week

Semrush Sensor - Google's rank and algorithm tracking tool | Semrush

Semrush Sensor measures volatility in search results, tracking down 20+ categories on mobile and desktop and highlighting possible Google Updates

https://www.semrush.com/sensor/

🏝 Cool remote marketing jobs

Okay, that's it for now 💛. See you next Tuesday!

See ya later GIF

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“No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination." — Edward Hopper

Riddle answer: He was a great web designer.