You don’t edit three million words without learning a few things along the way. Erica Schneider, Founder of Cut the Fluff, is committed to sharing her hard-earned wisdom with anyone who wants to become a better writer or launch a new product or service.
A prime example is “The Editing Library,” Erica’s free resource aimed at the vast majority of writers who can’t hire editors to discover how they can improve their writing. Self-editing can be notoriously challenging, and writers typically have to cobble together tips and tricks on their own.
“The Editing Library” serves as a peek behind the curtain and a starting point for writers. The table displays an original excerpt of 2-3 sentences, followed by the problem with that text, an explanation of why that’s an issue and, finally, an edited version.
For example:
Seeing the before-and-after highlights how you can strengthen your own writing. Plus, it normalizes the writing process! Final results are achieved via edits across multiple drafts and very rarely during your first sit-down session.
All in all, there are 62 total examples in the library, encompassing a wide range of common writing “problems” like filler words, lack of specificity and more.
And if you’d like more holistic editing tips, Erica’s got those, too.
Tell Readers What, Why and How
If improving your editing skills is one of your New Year’s resolutions, Erica recommends the “what-why-how” framework as an accessible place to start.
When you read your content, be sure that anytime you’ve made a claim, asserted that something is important or recommended that your reader take an action, you have also backed it up afterward and shown people how to make it happen.
“Otherwise, you’re creating this logical gap where you expect the reader to just trust you blindly,” she emphasizes. “It’s so much more powerful if you actually come and back that up, either with a really strong opinion or evidence that what you just said is true. Then, once you say ‘why,’ show people ‘how’ to do it.”
That doesn’t mean you have to spill all the beans, of course. Perhaps you give three tips on how to get started and let readers reach out to you if they’ve got more questions or want to go deeper. Or maybe you do tell it all and outline exactly how to do what you’re proposing. Totally up to you!
Help Readers Cross the Finish Line
Another tip? Work on your copy’s “finish line.” Having a strong hook or lead-in is great and will get eyes on your copy, but many writers follow that up with an argument and then seemingly forget how to wrap things up.
“Synthesize your argument,” Erica encourages, “or have a really strong final line that empowers people and moves them to action. There are studies that show people remember the first and last lines more than the middle, so remove any friction that exists and make your first and last lines cohesive.”
The fact that people more readily recall the first and last lines is called the “serial position effect,” and you can use it to your advantage. In one study, ads in the front and back of magazines led to substantially higher recall rates than ads in the middle — and that directly correlated with more revenue. Front-cover ads had 40% higher sales numbers than middle ads, and back ads came in at 30% over the middle.
(Psst: If this type of stuff interests you, check out our interview with Nancy Harhut, which is all about behavioral science in marketing!)
No Failure to Launch Here
In addition to 1:1 and group coaching services, Erica offers four courses. The first three are around actionable writing strategies, like what we’ve discussed already (writing hooks, moving from long- to short-form content, and becoming a better content editor).
Her newest course, on the other hand, is a bit different. It’s called the “Launch Content Playbook,” and it’s all about how to sell without feeling pushy — plus, readers get a custom launch plan based on the information they provide about themselves and their offering.
“A lot of people struggle to get attention for whatever they’re launching,” Erica says. “They don’t know how to manufacture the attention or create the demand. I like to think of it like a movie preview. You hear that a movie’s coming out a year beforehand, and then you just get bombarded with previews and billboards. For some reason, people don’t apply this to what they’re launching.”
Marketing your offering like a big movie can feel weird — like you’re in everyone’s face. The Launch Content Playbook is meant to make it feel less icky, based on roughly 16 successful launches achieved by Erica and her collaborator, Rob.
“We deconstructed our launches and created 60 total plays from them,” Erica explains. The plays fall into pre-launch, launch and post-launch categories — and they’re all important. Many people think they should live in the launch phase, pushing people to buy whatever they’ve just unveiled. However, if you didn’t prime folks or get them excited to buy, that demand likely isn’t there.
“The plays come with templates that walk you through how to create anticipation and how to get people to sign up once it’s live, plus what to do afterward. After a launch, you have all this opportunity to do a retrospective and build more credibility and share social proof. There’s nothing else like this on the market right now that will help you analyze, plan and then show you how to do it.”
