Hey Reader, If you've been spiraling about "doing content right" on LinkedIn, you're playing the wrong game entirely. (It's a game, by the way.) Some people are optimizing for reach, impressions, and audience growth. Others are optimizing for inbound, starting conversations with the right people, and reputation growth. These people should not be creating the same types of content because they have wildly different goals. Different game. Different rules. Different outcomes. (Aside: Follower...
4 days ago • 6 min read
Hey Reader, I record all my calls. Client calls, sales calls, coaching calls, random catch-ups with other solos. Everything. Why? Because the best content comes from real conversations. Not from sitting at your computer trying to reverse-engineer wisdom. And what I say when I'm not trying to say anything is always better than trying to force expertise all over the place. When you force it, we can feel it When you try to manufacture an insight or force an idea, it comes across as blahhhhhh. We...
15 days ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, Sorry to email you twice in one day, but I've gone down an AI analysis hole and this is too cool not to share. My hypothesis: I shift my strategy based on what I see/feel working NOW, now what used to work.My process: This morning, I was like why don't I export all my LinkedIn posts, pop them into Claude, and run a massive analysis. (Had a no-call day. Figured what the hell.) Then I had Claude write me a full report of my activity. IT'S SO COOL. (I'll drop the full report in the...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, I'm slightly obsessed with my friend Jen Allen Knuth's content. Jen posts almost daily on LinkedIn, and every single time I see her name in my feed, I stop scrolling. Not just because she's an awesome human (HI JEN IF YOU'RE READING), but because her hooks are absolutely magnetic. So I decided to analyze a bunch of her recent hooks to figure out what makes them work so damn well. Also, this feels like a good way to show you the hook principles from our course in action with real...
23 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Rob built a new post-writing tool, and I can't stop playing with it. I took the hook "Solo doesn't mean alone: how top creators actually work" and told Rob's new Autowriter tool exactly what I wanted to say in the post: "I want to dig into the fact that even though we're 'alone' we all have to find people to support us, to learn from, to grow with, and also like VAs or freelancers if we need. The point is that the word is an oxymoron." In 3 minutes, I had a complete post that...
25 days ago • 2 min read
Before we dive in, a quick reminder that the new version of Hooked on Writing hooks is available for 6 more days. This new version has massively upgraded AI sparring partners, new principles based on what's working in 2025, and a monster 450+ swipefile of excellent hooks+posts (plus 150+ email subject lines + preview text). Grab Hooked on Writing Hooks: 2025 → Hey Reader, Every time I mention AI in my content, my DMs blow up with some version of: "But Erica, isn't using AI cheating?" Or the...
26 days ago • 6 min read
Today's the day🪝 Two years ago, Rob and I released Hooked on Writing Hooks to combat template-driven drivel on social. 730+ people transformed their content with our principles. Today, we're releasing a completely rebuilt version for the 2025 landscape. Because times are weird. What worked a few years ago doesn't anymore. And we all need a little help and a lot of hugs. This new version has massively upgraded AI sparring partners. I've been using them all week and they're 🔥 Grab Hooked on...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Yo! Wanna see what I'm about to describe in action? Read all the way to the bottom. I'll show you exactly how these principles work when I use one of our new AI bots to write a hook in real time. Hey Reader, I could give you all the principles about what's working in hook writing these days (and I'm about to). But honestly? Knowledge like this is more accessible than ever. What's more valuable are tools that help you implement these insights without feeling like you're slamming your head into...
30 days ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, In April 2022, I posted a thread on Twitter that began: THREAD: Storytelling is becoming a buzzword. "Use storytelling." "Inject storytelling." We need to bring the value behind the word back into focus. It got 6 likes. Ouch. Looking back at it now, I can’t even tell you what I was trying to say. The hook gave "zero motivation to keep reading" energy. Two months later, I rewrote the same thread with this opening: Two million articles are published every day on the web. Almost none...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read