A lot of folks like to tell me that people don’t pay attention to their posts or that the algorithm doesn’t show them.
(and of course if no one reads or sees, they won’t send you a DM that they’re interested in joining your program)
One reason why people don’t pay attention to your posts is that the first few sentences of your post do not tell the reader where you’re headed.
It’s like when you learned to write papers in grade school or secondary school. You had to begin with a paragraph summing up what you were going to talk about.
Then the “body” of the paper was actually talking about that thing.
And then you had to conclude by telling the reader what you just talked about.
Many great speeches follow this general framework too – tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em, then tell ’em, then tell ’em what you told ’em.
In client attraction posts for high-ticket coaching/expert offers, though, I have a particular blueprint for “telling the reader what you’re gonna tell ’em.”
(For long-time fans/followers, this is the beginning part of the “belief-shifting post” framework – but I’ve never taught it in quite the way that I’m about to explain it now.)
Although there are many creative ways to write posts in the Strong Method framework, most of them begin in one of two ways:
1) PROBLEM + YOUR DIAGNOSIS OF THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM
OR
2) MYTH ABOUT THE CAUSE OF A PROBLEM + YOUR DIAGNOSIS OF THE CAUSE OF THAT PROBLEM
For #1, this could sound like:
“A lot of people are struggling with how to get lean without cutting too many calories. One of the reasons for this is because their calories aren’t properly proportioned to protein, fats, and carbs.
“Calories can remain the same while changing the amounts of different nutrients.”
For #2, this could sound like:
“Many women entrepreneurs think that they need more hours in the day, when what they really need is better boundaries.”
Aren’t you interested in reading those posts?
I am!
Even if I’m not in the market to hire somebody to help me to solve those problems.
Know why?
Because the writer is making it SO EASY for me.
I know what the post is going to be about, I know where they’re headed, and I don’t have to work too hard to figure out what’s going on.
I’m just along for the ride.
And this all happens within the first couple of sentences!
Now, there are lots of ways to miss the mark with the Strong Method way of writing posts.
Here are two extremely common ways in which people DON’T do what I just said (i.e. they don’t set the post up with a specific and easily understandable topic within the first couple of sentences):
1) They say “HOW TO SOLVE [PROBLEM]” and then list a million things.
Like, “How to attract high-ticket clients. 1, know what you’re solving for them. 2, create a package. 3, drive traffic…”
This kind of post is throwing a LOT at the reader instead of taking them on a journey to better understanding one specific point.
Listing a million things and barely explaining any of them also doesn’t in any way prove that you’re an expert on those things. Deep-diving into one aspect is much more likely to prove that to the reader.
2) They go on and on about a problem for many paragraphs but don’t give any diagnosis of the cause until way further down.
You’ve already lost the social media reader if you do this.
(It might be a different story if we’re talking about a direct mail letter that’s in somebody’s hands from their mailbox.)
For example:
“I notice that a lot of women business owners have poor boundaries with their employees.
“This is a problem because they can’t ever work on the work that’s going to move the business forward.
“They spend all day fielding interruptions…”
Are you bored yet?
I was even bored writing that!
See how that’s not giving any “thesis statement,” any signpost or direction as to where that post is headed?
“Problem description” by itself does not give the distracted social media user a compelling reason to keep reading. What are you going to say ABOUT the problem? Let them know that before you launch into a lot of words.
In the Strong Method, what you say ABOUT the problem in those first few sentences is almost always the same: it’s what you believe causes it (or, to be more specific, ONE of the things that you believe cause it, since most problems have multiple causes).
3) …I was going to list several more less-than-compelling ways to begin a post, but I think this post is getting long enough. Someday just for fun I might catalogue them. 😉
However, those two above are the most common ways that people would go wrong with trying to implement the advice I’m giving in this particular post.
The hardest part about implementing this advice, though, is the part where you’re stuck in your head trying to figure out how to whittle down those intro sentences to something super concise.
Like, “What is the super-specific problem I’m talking about in this post? How do I get it into one sentence?”
And, “What am I really trying to say about what causes this problem? I can explain it if somebody gives me 5 minutes to ramble, but how can I get it into that concise/precise sentence that tells the reader where I’m headed?”
And, “What’s that ‘myth’ that my ideal reader believes right now about what causes their problem? Again, I can sorta ramble about it for a while but how do I get it into one sentence with their exact wording?”
Those are thorny questions. I don’t mind telling you that I rarely even sit down to write until those questions are ironed out in my mind.
What usually happens is that the idea for a post will bounce around in my head for 24 hours or so (or longer, in some cases) and my mind will almost subconsciously be working on how to narrow down those first few sentences.
This only happens if I give my brain SPACE, though (think showering, walking, or washing dishes – if you’re constantly tethered to a device or staring at a wall stressing out, your brain won’t have the space it needs to work out the wording).
Writing well is a grueling process at times. I don’t think that ever changes (there’s a spoiler alert for ya 😉 ).
But getting it right is so, so rewarding.
One of the most magical parts about getting my coaching on your writing is the part when I help you to narrow down those first few sentences of a post.
Sometimes I’ll question a client for 10 minutes (or more!) about what they’re trying to say before we actually nail down the wording of the post’s opening.
After doing this enough times, after grinding out enough examples, my client usually learns how to wrestle with this part of the writing process alone and come up with the right wording without having me there.
I don’t know if it’s ever easy (although some posts will “flow” more than others, especially if some magical wording just flew out of your mouth on a client call and you go back and re-capture it for a post)…
But you can eventually have a repeatable writing process that works, and you’ll know that you can create the kind of content that stops the scroll AND gets the DM about your program – over and over again.
If you’re interested in this kind of help, send me a DM on FB about my 30-day 1:1 intensive.
A major focus of it is writing client-attracting content for your high-ticket offer.
Though I also do some amazing foundational work helping you to get clear about your actual offer itself and how to pitch it using a different Strong Method framework (the 500-word offer post framework).
And I also help you create a simple DM sales process and an organic audience growth process if you need those things.
In addition to the 30-day 1:1 intensive, I’m about to begin offering a certification program where I’ll teach you my methods for helping clients to get the kind of clarity that I’m describing in this post – about their content, their offers, and their ideal client.
Those who complete all requirements will be certified as Strong Method Practitioners and have a license to use my material and processes with their own clients.
Send a Facebook DM if you’re interested in being on the waitlist for the certification program – and you’ll be the first to know when it’s ready!
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