How to get better at everything you do

Hey 👋

Welcome to Neighbourhood Post issue #45 - easy to implement digital marketing ideas straight through your metaphorical letterbox.

I hope you’ve had a good week.

Let’s get to it.

👉 By the way, if you’ve missed previous newsletters you’ll find them here.

📩 And if you’ve been forwarded this email you can subscribe here.

Are YOU a writer?

Answer: yes.

If you work in comms/marketing/fundraising you spend 90% of your life writing:

Copy.

Messages.

Strategies.

Reports.

Emails.

It all adds up, and when you spend that long writing it matters how good you are.

You might have heard me talk about how it’s the most important skill for any marketer, or watched the 76 minute masterclass I shared. (If you haven’t yet, you definitely should.)

I wasn’t exaggerating in the subject line - everything you do is underpinned by your ability to communicate.

Persuading your boss to give you more budget, sharing project info with your team, writing a valentines day card to your spouse, sending an appeal letter for a parking fine because you accidentally entered your postcode into the registration number field. 🫠

If you want to get better at everything, learn to write

If you don’t have 76 minutes, let me share something valuable in just three:

The two ageless lessons that made me a better writer.

#1 - A blog post from 2007.

Have you heard of the cartoon ‘Dilbert’?

In 2007 its creator, Scott Adams, wrote the best lesson in copywriting.

It’s only 264 words.

You should read it, it’ll take you 60 seconds.

Here are the key takeaways:

• Write for clarity

• Keep things simple

• Cut extra words

• Focus on your first sentence

• Write short sentences

#2 - A tip from 1985

Good copywriting is timeless.

Whether it’s gold from Scott Adams in 2007 or this beauty from writer Gary Provost from 1985, I love how the best advice decades ago is the best advice today.

It’s brilliantly simple: vary your sentence length.

I have nothing to add.

—

If you go back through previous editions, you’ll see how heavily those two sources influence this newsletter.

Most sentences are short.

Useless words are cut.

Its primary goal is to be understood.

Ultimately the human brain craves simplicity, so why would we push against the history of human behavioural psychology by making everything complex?

The next time you type, think about them.

They’re easy to copy and the impact is huge.

Bye.

✌️

What we’re looking at 👀 and listening to 👂

🎧 Indi enjoyed Miranda Hart’s appearance on Elizabeth Day’s “How To Fail” Podcast. It’s an uplifting lesson in how our seemingly worst failures can lead to our biggest successes.

📚 What do you mean you didn’t read Scott Adam’s 264 words on copywriting? Get back there and read it now! Or read it again.

Before you go - we’ll never use these newsletters to directly sell you our services, but we’re always here if you need any expertise or support 👍