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Feelings<>Action

Story99.com is a Branding & Storytelling Consultancy for B2B, Tech & Deeptech

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Basics that Apply to All Kinds of Writing

Have a great opening hook (tight, punchy, non-gimmicky) - if you can’t catch attention, the rest of the copy / content hardly matters
- come up with 4 to 5 options before finalizing one
Don’t bury the lead - write it for those who may read just the hook or the first few lines - they should still be able to get away with something and not left hanging (so get to the point right away, offer value, and then for those who will have the time to read the whole thing, create a new gap and then write more to fill that gap; you can keep doing it endlessly).
And → but → therefore pattern is always better than and, and, and. When a ‘but’ (or ‘however’ or something like that) shows up, it creates a gap. We want to know how it got resolved. We read more (or if it’s a video, we watch more).
Write visually → maximize the use of words and phrases that are more visual (eg: ”concrete”, “under the sun” - than abstract like “service delivery”) // using visual metaphors to illustrate something makes it easier to follow the writing (or spoken words)
Your writing should clearly speak to a real person (just read what you have written and tell yourself how it makes you feel / connected when you read it as a reader; now go back and fix the way you wrote)
Write - rewrite - iterate a few times (automatically improves the writing; this applies even if there is AI in your workflow, just make sure AI is early on in the iteration step, not later)
Be original, fresh, cheeky, opinionated - the copy shouldn’t read clinical / AI
- avoid ‘it’s not just X, it’s Y’ framing
- avoid common AI phrases / language constructions
5 Hacks for Pleasurable Reading: Focus on the rhythm, pace, musicality, imagery, and surprise of your writing

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https://www.jeravalue.com/en/text-music?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email - cool website which visually shows you if you the variety in sentence length.

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- Apply "moderate syntactic surprise" (unexpected word arrangements) to capture attention effectively.
For brand-content
- use brand-phrases, keywords & messaging pillars (know what they are, make a list and bookmark it somewhere) - so that ultimately consistent brand-meaning is getting reinforced (association by vicinity)
- know the brand-affect (feelings) you are going for
- if mentioned brand-expectation, make sure brand-name comes before the expectation line / phrase
- ensure the the tone and angle of the message is aligned with the brand-personality and the brand-DNA

Writing Scripts for Engaging Video

Beyond just a great opening hook, you also need to have multiple re-hooks after every couple of sentences.
Loop Openers & Contrast Words: Insert phrases like "most people stop here, but actually..." to reset the reader's attention clock. Use contrast words like "but," "instead," and "except" to pivot expectations and sustain curiosity.
Term-Branding: Instead of just explaining a new concept, you can try giving it a specific, memorable name (like "Story Locks" or "The Value Equation"). This utilizes the "labeling effect" to make the idea feel highly important.
Embedded Truths: Speak in absolute certainties. Replace wishy-washy words like "if" or "maybe" with authoritative phrases like "when you try this" or "the reason this works," which removes the reader's subconscious doubt.