🌊 Power Writing
🌊 Power Writing
#1 habit to 10x your writing, a framework to review web3 landing pages, top 3 web3 news, 6 startup deals and 10 quality growth jobs.
Hi! I’m Ivan Landabaso, VC at JME.vc. Join >2.94K entrepreneurs getting smarter about startups. Easily digestible, twice per month. From Spain to the 🌍.
Summary
Gm startup riders! This week’s good stuff for your startup brain includes:
✍️ Power Writing: #1 habit to improve your writing, a framework to level up and a few web3 landing page examples, deconstructed.
🧱 Web3’s Top 3: new EU KYC regulation for non-custodian wallets, a $625M hack, and OpenSea integrates Solana.
💵 Deals & Jobs: 6 startup deals in Spain (>€30M) and 10 quality growth jobs.
✍️ Power Writing
My friendSunny(early employee at Gong) takes us down a copywriting rabbit hole - sharing tactical advice onthe art of written persuasion. Here we go👇:
I was a decent writer. My college essays landed me 8 acceptances at top US universities, with 3 of them being full scholarships. I have a collection of 10-page college papers that I’d put up against anyone’s.
8 years of working in consulting and tech startups since graduating made me realize 2 things:
We all write as part of our jobs (PowerPoints, emails, Slack), but I was missing a big career acceleration lever by not making writing publicly a habit.
Writing in public these days = writing online. And being good at writing online requires a different approach and skillset
I took Shaan Puri’s (from My First Million) 2 week Power Writing course and became a better writer and thinker. The course covered all forms of writing online, but I’ll be focusing on 2 that matter the most to you all:
The #1 habit to make you a better writer
The 3 question framework to create landing pages that drive action
1. “Copy” writing. Literally.
There is no secret to getting better at writing. Like with anything else, there is no avoiding practice. I knew that, but I didn’t do it. I didn’t know how.
And that’s where the secret is, and it’s so obvious it seems silly.
Copy great writing. Literally. Find examples of writing you admire. Start with a blank Google doc or piece of paper, and copy it word-for-word.
This is what you’ll experience:
By the 4th sentence, you’ll begin to feel the rhythm of the writer in a way you can’t access from just dissecting by reading
At the end, the next thoughts you form will be crafted in the way the piece was written. You’ll begin channeling the writer
(Hand cramps. Chances are, you haven’t written that much at a time since middle school. It’s worth it though)
This method beats the exercise of deconstructing and analyzing writing. Especially when you’re not even sure what exactly makes a great piece of writing great yet.
Do this exercise before you write next time. You will be amazed at how much you improve, and end up transmitting the essence of the great pieces of writing into your own work.
Here are some great examples that you can practice on before you write next:
How to use words to get people to do what you want them to do - Sam Parr (from the My First Million Podcast)
The Day You Became a Better Writer - Scott Adams (creator of ‘Dilbert’)
The Boron Letters - Gary Halbert
Some other very important tips:
Write at a 5th to 8th grade reading level
Write like you talk, and not how you think you should write
Use visual language
Every sentence should make your reader want to read the next. And write for as long as it is interesting.
2. Framework: Build Landing Pages That Convert
Most landing pages suck. They’re hard to get right. Think about it - they have to be eye-catching, provide enough context without being boring / overwhelming, and somehow convince a stranger on the Internet to take an action - all on one page, in a very short amount of time.
Instead of nerding out on all the hacks, tips, and tricks of landing page optimization, we’ll be focusing on principles.
Here are 3 questions to run your landing page against to quickly identify points of improvement.
Overall, you’re striving to make sure the reader feel 3 things -
Gets it
Believes it
Takes Action
Gets it: Is what you offer immediately understandable?
This is probably the most common mistake.
Don’t talk about your company, your vision, or your features. Instead, talk about what your company does, specifically in the way it’s going to help the reader.
Your reader should immediately understand “what’s in it for me?”
Pro-tip - Make sure you’re aware of the “buts” the reader might have, and side-step the objections:
“Acing the SAT? But it seems so hard, I’ll probably have to study for a very long time. Wait, I only need 10 minutes a day?!
Web3 Examples
Let’s look at some examples from Web3, this one’s from So-Col:
Gets it
Do I get it? Partly. I get what the company aims to do, but I’m missing the “what’s in it for me”-type value.
Believes it
This is all about building trust, and there’s no substitute for social proof. Types of social proof include:
Logos
Before / After Pics (case studies)
Reviews
Testimonials / Quotes
Social media love
This one is easy and straightforward. Do not pass Go if no social proof.
Takes Action
OK, so the reader gets it, and they believe it - how do I get them to take action?
The key is to make the action as simple and frictionless as possible. This is achieved through having a call to action, not calls to action.
Notion’s landing page is well-known for their high conversion rate. This is because they kept the CTA very simple:
Vast difference in the 2 sets of experiences. Doing a quick search through Web3 projects, this one hits the mark:
There’s a big debate on above the fold and below the fold:
“First screen”
In five seconds customers try to establish whether or not you can help them. Make their life easy. Clarity over creativity.
Explain the value you provide (title)
Explain how you'll create it (subtitle)
Let the user visualise it (visual)
Make it believable (social proof)
Make taking the next step easy (CTA)
“Scroll-down screen”
Above the fold you earn the customer's attention. Below the fold you earn the sale. Here's the last five steps:
Make the value concrete (features and objections)
Inspire action (social proof)
Tie up loose ends (FAQ)
Repeat your call to action (2nd CTA)
Make yourself memorable (Founder's note)
🐇 Follow the White Rabbit
🧱 Web3’s Top 3
Investments in crypto-assets are not regulated. They may not be appropriate for retail investors & the full amount invested may be lost.The 3 biggest news in crypto in <1 min? Sure thing!
A $625M Hack: The gaming-focused Ronin network announced a hack of >$625 million in USDC and ether (ETH). The exploit affected Ronin validator nodes for Sky Mavis, the publishers behind the Axie Infinity game.
NFT Marketplace OpenSea integrates Solana: MagicEden is about to face some serious competition from OpenSea, opening up to Solana this April.
EU Parliament passed a bill forcing crypto firms to KYC non-custodial wallets: They are forcing companies like Coinbase to collect & report data on all crypto transactions (initially thought to be 1K+, now likely all sizes).
💵 Startup Deals & Jobs
Deals
You love startups and want to enjoy a Spanish lifestyle? Come join the Spanish startup ecosystem. Here’s a list of recently funded startups:
Vivla (proptech) raised 26M
Taxdown (fintech) raised 5.5M (from yours truly)
Civitfun (traveltech) raised 2M.
WeAnalyze (OpenData) raised 1.7M
Kleta (mobility) raised 2M
Meetopics (photonics) raised 1M
Jobs
I just launched a job board + talent collective. Basically, I hand pick Growth Jobs (Product & Sales - focused on Growth) from our portfolio companies and other great startups I think would be fun, high-upside places to work. Check it out and hit me up!
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