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Hey Reader,

Potholes. Endless speed bumps. Your zipper when it gets stuck.

These are frustrating, hair-pulling, “Ughhhh” experiences.

Wordy sentences are the content equivalent.

You know, the ones that ramble on and on and absolutely abuse your patience and breath (if you're reading out loud).

For example:

"The effectiveness of your targeted mailing list in generating ROI and contributing meaningfully to your digital marketing efforts comes down to the specificity and relevance of your content."

What did we just read 😵‍💫

Sentences like this are a gut punch to the seamless reading experience.

They make you dizzy. You have to read them two or three times to understand, and even then, you’re left with questions.

With a bit of rejigging, we get:

Option 1: "The more specific and relevant you make your content, the more effective your emails will be (which contributes to a higher ROI)."

Option 2: "Want to write more effective, ROI-producing emails? Make them specific, relevant, and targeted."

Option 3: "Your email marketing efforts will be 10x more effective when you're writing targeted emails."

I could go on and on. There are a million options that work that aren't wordy, passive, friction monsters.

The big point: If it’s hard to get through a sentence, readers will get frustrated.

If it's hard to get through two sentences?

They’ll probably leave.

To avoid this outcome, when editing, check for these two common buggers:

1. Passive voice: This is when the subject has the action (verb) done to it by something else (e.g., "Content Editing 101 was invested in by me" instead of active voice, "I invested in Content Editing 101").​
2. Continuous tense: This is the tense that uses "ing" at the end of the verb, which means you often have to use a version of the verb 'to be' to introduce it (e.g., "You are sharing too much context", instead of the simple tense, "Share less context").

These two edits are your friction monster kryptonite. Use them early and often.

Cheers,

Erica

PS. Hope you're enjoying your August! I'm still in cloudy England having a whirl of a time. Driving on the wrong side of the road, drinking pints, sweating on the tube, and hitting up all the parks that'll let my kids swing in them. Catch you next week!

Check out my 3 courses that 1700+ people have taken, loved, and gotten meaningful results from:

1. Long to Short: Turn one long-form piece into a month's worth of posts. A step-by-step system to repurpose, remix, and remaster your best ideas.

2. Hooked on Writing Hooks: Turn your ideas into content that actually gets consumed. Learn to write scroll-stopping hooks on social without resorting to clickbait nonsense that feels inauthentic.

3. Content Editing 101. Kill decision fatigue and build confidence as a writer and editor. A look inside a professional editor's workflow & best practices. Packed with lessons, examples, and a roadmap so you can stop second-guessing your writing & editing decisions.

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You can go through them manually or use AI to play, get it done faster, and test your new skills in real time. My friend & prompt genius Rob Lennon wrote all the prompts and bots for the courses.

Want to work with me 1:1?

Check out my Content Sparring 🥊 offer: It's for seasoned solopreneurs who feel like they've hit a content plateau and want an experienced editor to ping-pong ideas and content with.

What'd you think of today's email? Reply and let me know.

Erica Schneider

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