I was writing to the founder of 4by6.com to let him know again how much I love his service. I realize, time and again, I tend to write the way I think. Which is to get straight to the point. So in my email to him, I jumped in and blurted out why I was writing. At the very end, I tossed in an ‘I hope you’re well!’
When I reread it, I realized I had it backward. So I cut out that sentiment and pasted it at the very beginning. Duh.
This happens to me a lot. I do this when I’m writing copy for Sendline, an email to someone, even notes to myself. I’ll write a bunch of stuff to try and make a point, and when I go back to reread it, realize I’ve put the most important thing at the end. So same drill: I cut it and paste it to the beginning.
For an example, last year I came across this letter from Adam, the CEO of Innovex, to Steve, the CEO of VF Corp. Not wanting to get into the debate it kicked off, I couldn’t help notice how the letter began. A bunch of facts. A page-and-a-half of them, in fact. Fast-forward to the middle of page two, the second paragraph from the end, where Adam writes, ‘At this point, you may wonder why I am directing this letter to you… ’ Boom! That seems to be the most important piece, yet just like me, he put it at the end.
Like using the word ‘but,’ or ‘just,’ I’ve become hyper-aware of this little fault of mine. The good thing? After catching it and giving myself a facepalm, I correct it.
