Rules

The Newspeak list

These rules cover everything I write, on this site and off it. AI writing has habits, and readers have learned to spot them. When a prospect spots one, they stop reading.

Take them if they’re useful. The scanner at the bottom of the page marks most of them for you.

Voice

Write like a sharp colleague who respects the reader’s time. Use specific facts instead of description. If a sentence would fit in an email to any company, it doesn’t belong in mine.

Newspeak

These show up far more in machine writing than in anything a person writes. One of them in a cold email is enough to lose the reader.

Additionally
Bolstered
Crucial
Delve
Enduring
Enhance
Fostering
Garner
Highlight (verb)
Interplay
Intricate
Key (adjective)
Landscape
Meticulous
Pivotal
Profound
Rich
Robust
Showcase
Tapestry
Testament
Underscore
Valuable
Vibrant
Vital

Sales writing has its own set: leverage, synergy, seamless, streamline, unlock, empower, game changer, utilize, facilitate, circle back, touch base.

Swap these

Instead of	Write
Additionally,	Start the point. Or use “Also.”
I hope this email finds you well	Nothing. Open with why you’re writing.
I wanted to reach out	Nothing. You already reached out.
Just following up	What’s new since your last email.
aligns with, resonates with	What matches what.
boasts a, features a, offers a	has
serves as, stands as	is
It’s important to note that	The fact, on its own.
in the heart of London	in London, or the street name
By using this framework, you can	Use this framework to

Patterns I cut

“Not only X, but Y.” Write two plain statements.
Lists of three out of habit. Use as many items as there are.
A clause on the end of a sentence that adds nothing, like “The update shipped, showcasing the new design.” Write “The update shipped with the new design.”
Transitions like furthermore, moreover and ultimately. If a point matters, the point shows it.
Telling the reader how to feel. Fascinating, remarkable, game changing. State the fact and let them decide.
A neat lesson at the end. Once the point is made, stop.
Dashes of any length. Use a full stop or a comma.

Outreach order

Every cold email and LinkedIn message runs in this order. Under 75 words, three to five sentences.

Observation. Something specific and true about them: a hire, a funding round, an acquisition, a new country.
Implication. The problem that creates for them.
Offer. What you do about that problem.
Ask. One small ask. Price never comes first.

LinkedIn connection requests get no pitch at all. The only goal there is the accept.

Facts and claims

No number goes out unless I measured it or can link to where it came from.
If a model tells me something about a prospect, I check it at the source before it goes in an email.
When I’m not sure, I say so.
Examples on this site are changed so no real person or company can be identified.

The scanner

Paste any text. It marks the words and phrases from this page, plus every dash. It also counts words and sentences against the cold email limits. It runs in your browser, so nothing you paste leaves your computer.

It can’t tell whether a sentence is true or specific. That part is still yours.