Found 17 topics tagged ‘Gaining Attention’

Consider the moment before your supporter decides whether to open your email. They must sacrifice something in order to give you their attention. Either, they’ll need to delay the thing they were about to do next, or...

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead people to act against their own best interests. If you understand them, you can...

SPOILER: it’s not good. Sure—you know you’re writing an email to 5,000 people. But your task is to make your reader feel like you’re writing only to them. When ‘broadcasting’ language slips into our writing,...

Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers into subject-matter experts. Mostly, we’re in the business of motivating people to action. If...

To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices but it applies anywhere we’re competing for our audience’s attention (so, the entire Internet)...

Imagine you’re at a party. There are plenty of new people you could meet and talk to. There’s a guy talking himself up. You know—all the work he has to do; his accomplishments; how great everyone thinks...