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Hey Reader,

This goes against conventional advice, but I don’t write with my readers in mind.

Not at first.

Before you spit out your coffee, tea, wine, or whatever you’re drinking as you read this, allow me to explain.

We all know (or we should) that if your content doesn’t appeal to your ideal reader, match their intent & awareness levels, and help them in one way or another, it’ll fall flat.

BUT.

Content is changing.

Let me be more specific:

The way readers prefer to consume content is changing.

Especially on social.

Wikipedia-style content is so 2022. AI can generate a how-to post faster than you can type, “Here’s how to…”

But even without help from our robot friends, as a society, we’re craving the story behind content just as much (or sometimes more) than the actual message the content delivers.

We don’t want to know how to do something. That’s so boring. Or BOO-ring, if you’re in a dad joke mood.

We want to know how YOU do something and why. And if that resonates? Then and only then do we want to know how to do it, too.

For example, don’t tell me how I can improve my editing skills.

Tell me about the mistakes you’ve made when editing and the lessons you learned from them. Pull me in. Let me see your story, your journey, and your failures. Then, tell me how you overcame them with a teachable moment.

Now, let’s back up a second.

Your content needs to matter to your reader. It can’t be more about you than them. Otherwise, you’re publishing a diary, not a content strategy.

This is why I specified I don’t think about my reader at first.

But I damn sure do think about them every other minute of my ideation and writing process.

Let me walk you through how I ideate content for social:

I start with me.

• I think about what I’ve learned recently.
• A revelation I’ve had.
• A tactic I keep returning to.
• Ideas I’m pondering.
• Questions I’ve been asked.
• Questions I keep asking myself.
• Friction points my students are struggling with.
• A quote I wrote down that made me feel a type of way.

You get the idea.

Next, I think about my ideal reader.

• If I share it, will my reader learn an important lesson?
• Have a much-needed aha! moment?
• Overcome a sticking point?
• Think about something in a new way?
• Take meaningful action?
• Smash through a hurdle that’s been blocking their growth?

If the answer is yes to any of those questions, I proceed.

If not, I shelve it.

This creates the perfect blend of me + you content.

I’m not writing you a post you can learn from anywhere else.

I’m writing about something I’ve experienced, have a point of view on, care deeply about, or have a strong opinion on.

AND

I’m writing about something you’ll learn from, resonate with, likely also have an opinion on, and are keen to ponder.

To get meta, this is exactly how today's issue came to life.

I critiqued a student's social post the other day, and it read like a How to blog post. I didn't see my student's personality anywhere in the content. Once they saw it, they couldn't unsee it. Suddenly, they realized why their content wasn't hitting like it should. It was missing its most important ingredient—them.

I wanted to write about it, so I asked myself, "Will my newsletter readers care?"

You all want to improve your writing and editing and care deeply about communicating well. And, most of you have personal platforms (my word for brand), so yes, I believe this will help you or give you something to ponder.

So here I am, and here you are, intermingled in this topic.

This is the way forward for social media in 2024.

People want to see you in every post you write.

But they want to feel it was written for them.

(This isn’t relegated to social only. How-to SEO content will never die, but including experience-based insights in your articles is table stakes.)

As for where editing fits into this lesson, it’s quite simple:

Step 1. Review your content after you write it.

Step 2. Ask yourself: “Does this have enough ME in it?”

If the answer is no, add more phrases like, “The way I see it,” or “This drives me crazy,” or “I was thinking about this the other day.”

If the answer is yes, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Ask yourself: “Does this have enough of my reader in it?”

If the answer is no, literally count how many times you wrote the word “I” vs “You.” Generally, you want more You’s.

Watch this Loom I made for a student, where I explain this concept in more detail. And, read his original post and edited post to see its glow up (his updated post performed 5x better!)

If the answer is yes, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: Post away!

This is guaranteed to cure BOO-ring content.

Cheers,

Erica

PS. If you’re watching the Superbowl today, enjoy the dips, chips, and Taylor Swift! I mean, the game. Football. Yay.

PPS. Tomorrow, I'm opening up the doors to join my next cohort, which runs from February 19th to March 22nd. Read more if you like the idea of your social media problems disappearing.

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What'd you think of today's issue? Reply here and I'll reply back :)

Erica Schneider

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