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Hey Reader,

People are overloaded with information online.

If they don't feel like you're speaking directly to them and can't picture how you'll help, they'll click away.

The more specific you get, the more people can picture doing what you’re describing in their own lives.

And it's one of the easiest edits you can make.

Check this out:

❌ “Learn to write better emails” = generalized, hard to imagine

✅ “Learn to overcome low opens” = a specific problem they're facing, easy to imagine

❌ “Want to get more opens?” = generalized and uncompelling

✅ “Want to 2x open rates?” = a specific, strong potential outcome they’ll reach if they follow your advice

Specific outcomes help people connect the dots from current to desired states. This is the secret to persuasive content because it helps people:

• Picture getting from A to B
• Understand the next steps to take
• Change their mindset from “I don’t know” to “Let’s go”

​I discussed this on Louis Grenier's podcast Everyone Hates Marketers a few months back. ​

He made this point: "Accounts or websites or authors that bore me to death use very vague terms and talk about very wide topics. It's too big. I can't visualize it in my head. I can't see it."

I replied, "Yes, if you struggle with specificity, you need to play the four-level deeper game."

Here's how it works.

Pick a topic. We'll stick with the above:

"How to write better emails"

1 level deeper: How to get more opens

2 levels deeper: 2x open rates

3 levels deeper: 2x open rates in 3 months

4 levels deeper: 2x open rates in 3 months (without spending your entire budget)

The deeper you go, the more specific your reader can picture completing the action or mindset shift you're teaching/discussing.

Now, going this deep isn't always necessary. If you're trying to capture a broad audience and stay general, you may want to pull back. It all depends on your goal.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.

Cheers,

Erica

PS. 143 people have snagged Long to Short since the launch 2 days ago. If you're one of them, thanks so much! I hope you're loving it.

​If you haven't checked it out yet, take a look. The launch sale ends in 2 days. ​

Any questions? Hit reply :)

Erica Schneider

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