Hello peeps 👋
How’s it going this week?
I’ve been reminiscing the time when I started writing long-form content some 5 years ago.
Back then, I often thought to myself: how hard could it be to write a 5000-word blog post? I mean you’ve to go deep, reaaal deep into a topic — nothing that thorough research can’t solve, right?
Except, I was dead wrong.
Organizing all that in-depth content into a coherent structure takes a ton of work. Plus, deciding what to keep and what to prune is a herculean task.
Over the years though, I’ve learned there’s one BIG secret to creating long-form content that’s read from start to finish: The LOGLINE.
The logline is one sentence that sells your idea.
Every movie, every TV show starts with it. It’s job: to instantly reveal the central idea the content talks about.
So how do you work on your logline? Simple: you sharpen your info-distilling muscle.
First, do your research. Brain dump all the ideas you and your team have. Look for questions people are asking on the topic.
Then, identify the one idea you want to talk about. Put it into one convincing sentence — the logline.
This last part is often the hardest, to be honest.
Because we’ve a hard time picking one idea to talk about, we end up giving showtime to as many ideas as we can (guilty as charged).
We think that sounds smart too. After all, we’re educating the reader — giving them as much information as we can on the topic 🤷♀️
Except that’s not how it works ❌
Talking about too many ideas dilutes their impact. Your message doesn’t stick. And you sound less convincing — even under-confident.
To sharpen your post for maximum impact: Pick one idea.
Have trouble picking one idea?
Condense all the information you want to share in one paragraph.
Review it for logic. Is it surreptitiously presenting two ideas? Distill some more. Now, present your idea in one sentence.
There you have it, your logline (aka your long-form content’s focus) is now reaaddy.
Want to learn more about creating long-form content that’s actually read?
I’m sharing all that I know about writing research-backed, actionable long-form content on May 17th over at The Copywriting Summit 🥳
They’re some 20+ other talks happening live in two days (including how to turn research into useful insights, how to write powerful headlines, building your personal brand, and lots more).
It’s all valued at $1,394 but priced at $9.
BUT *drum rolls, please* you can get it all for only $1 with my code! 🎉
Want to join? Reply to this email and I’ll share my code with you.
See you,
Masooma
Insightful & helpful info.💯
I am struggling with the same problem, so it definitely gives some clarity.🙏🏻