- The Profit and Play Letter
- Posts
- A breakdown of 330k impression post.
Hello, champ.
Today, we will tear down a viral post I published a few months ago.
I’m inviting you into my mind, so you understand my thought process behind this post’s success.
Why It worked.
Hook
Lead
Body
Conclusion
CTA
(This is the 3rd letter in the Sorry Series.)
Here we go:
Why did this post succeed:
It worked because it’s a listicle.
Like all listicles, it gives the consumer a quick dopamine hit.
“12 archetypes to choose from” implies minimal effort.
These posts are excellent for reach but bad for revenue, so I advise you to only use them once in 6 months (or more).
Hook
The hook is the most essential part.
With that in mind, I used a modified Attention-Interest-Desire-Action hook and nailed the keywords on the hook.
On X, keywords like "marketing", "followers", and "Elon Musk" are important for getting more reach.
This explains why I used names like “Apple”, “Microsoft”, and Nike.
Here is a list of keywords that you can use to boost your posts:
Lead
The lead acts as a welcome mat to the main piece.
Here, I used it to answer what I believed was on the reader’s mind:
“What is an archetype“
I believe the thread would have flopped if I had just gone straight into the body.
Why?
Confused people don’t read.
Body
The body is the thing your reader stopped their scroll for.
This part of your thread is directly proportional to your number of reposts. So make it good.
Most people skim before reading.
If they like it, they say. If not, they’re back to TikTok.
What separates the desired from the discarded pieces is the formatting; aka how aesthetic your work is.
Here’s how I nailed it:
Each block started with a headline.
I used a bunch of white space to make reading easier.
I used the WHAT-WHY-HOW framework to make each body piece valuable.
Conclusion
The hook welcomes the reader.
The body entertains the reader.
And then… the end.
This is how most writers write — and it’s awkward.
The conclusion serves as an escort for the reader.
I always end my pieces with an actionable tip, insight, summary, or motivation for the message to make sense to the reader.
Here, I ended with an insight and actionable tip.
CTA
After reading, your reader is gone.
Writing anything good takes hours, so don’t spend all that time grabbing attention without keeping it.
At the end, redirect your readers to:
follow you
an email list
another post
share the piece
download your lead magnet
BONUS POINT:
I didn’t create the images in this thread.
They were from a website called Iconic Fox.
It made sense to credit them, so I did.
This is how you prevent legal battles and cement your reputation as an honest human.
WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE TO IMPROVE THE THREAD?
Good question.
Even the greats could have been greater.
(1) I had many other opportunities to use white spaces to make the post easier to read.
Example:
If I had done that, I would’ve probably had 50k+ more impressions.
(2) The hook could’ve been better
A shorter first-line
Removing “Here are the“ and going straight into the action
Painting the thread as a portal to helping the reader be the best
Ex:
One secret behind magnetic brands:
Archetypes.
This is what Apple, Lego, Microsoft, and Nike use to build irresistible brands.
12 Brand Archetypes to help you become your niche’s favourite creator:
(3) Single CTA at the end
The thread might’ve performed better if I told the reader to do one thing, instead of two.
The most important thing I wanted them to do was repost the thread.
Next time, that’s the sole call to action I’d go for.
That’s it.
In the next letter, I’ll share 5 X growth tips with you (from a 98,600+ following account).
Look out for it.