Using the AIDA Copywriting formula is basically cheating.

Rui Peng, a reader of this newsletter, just used it to get 30,000 eyeballs on his start-up critical plastics from a single LinkedIn post. Paying for that reach would cost at least $400.

The best part about the AIDA copywriting formula is its simplicity. Rui read about it in our LinkedIn guide, then without any further help, applied it and hit a home run with his first swing.

Here's how he did it.

Attention: Grab the reader's attention with something interesting.

An interior designer mate told me she's noticing a leap in demand from her clients for sustainable spaces. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that the spending power of millennials is expected to reach $10 trillion by 2030.

This copy is conversational but also hard-hitting by sharing the buying power of millennials.

Interest: Now, keep them reading by feeding them something interesting.

Sustainable design is no longer a buzzword in the interior and architecture space. Both as customers and employees, we millennials are putting pressure on businesses and governments to deliver sustainable outcomes. We put our money where our values are. It's a crucial step towards building a better future for ourselves and our tamariki, but not only that, by prioritising sustainability, it can even save money in the long run.

So here are 4 Sustainable Design principles I wished I paid more attention to back in architecture school...

He introduces the idea of spending guided by values and then shares his. This is an interesting point; now, we want to know these values.

Desire: Make your reader desire what you are talking about.

Sustainable design isn't just a trend. It's the future. Businesses like Kōkako Organic Coffee and Arup and studios like Unispace, CTRL Space and WARREN AND MAHONEY, just to name a few, are leading the charge. By prioritising sustainability in your practice today, you can one day tell a story that makes your mokopuna proud.

Rui paints a picture here that readers will want for themselves. Who doesn't want to make their youngsters proud? And he shares exactly how to do it with them - desire creates buy-in.

Action: Ask your reader to take action.

Lastly, if you found any of this useful, I run a green building materials company called Critical. and we're passionate about supporting brands, architects, and designers to create beautiful and sustainable spaces using 100% plastic waste. If you would like to request a materials sample box or book a conversation with me, send me a DM!

Now with his reader's buy-in, a simple ask to connect compelled many to take action.

"Re. LinkedIn post . . .the qualified leads game is pretty amazing even from that single post. Best performing post I've ever done on LinkedIn:

• up over 100 new connections requests from target demographics.

• 10+ emails of new connections connecting me with their head of design

• Booked 2-3 architectural office presentations. "

Notes:

Rui won't get those sorta results from every post. Following the formula is actually the easy part; the tricky bit is coming up with interesting ideas to talk about.

The idea, or angle, as storytellers like to call it, draws people in and gets their attention. Skilled content creators and copywriters figure out ways to discuss the same idea in many different ways.

If the idea is 'sustainable design' you can talk about:

Sustainable design principles, sustainable design trends, sustainable design examples, sustainable design impact, sustainable design language

And no, we didn't ask CHATGPT for those suggestions, but we probably should have. It would have saved us 5 minutes of Googling.

How To Plan Like A Champion

Olympic Champions, Prime Ministers, and Instagram's most followed person all have something in common. Yes, they are hard workers and have grit, patience and all that other good stuff. But there's something else many of them don't talk about.

These people didn't wake up one day in their positions by the grace of God and good fortune alone. They set their sights on something and went after it.

They call it their 'dream' on TV, but behind closed doors, they all had a plan.

Many people struggle to see how a goal way off in the future relates to their lives today. How can I possibly map out the next 100 steps from now to becoming a world champion bobsledder? They develop paralysis by analysis and don't bother.

But it doesn't need to be that complicated. The most important part of any plan is the next step.

Illustrated beautifully by Shaan Puri’s ABZ Framework:

A = Where you are now

B = Your next small step

Z = Your end vision

Take starting a business, for example.

Z = A business that provides for my family

A = Sell one product or service

B = Deliver one product or service

FYI - the first step is never to design a logo or hire an accountant.

Notes:

We're not big fans of planning too many steps at a time because life is unpredictable; in an instant, a natural disaster, a resignation notice, or the opportunity to sign Michael Jordan as your shoe ambassador can throw everything out with the wash.

But if you don't have a plan, you'll become part of someone else - and that's how most of us end up where we don't want to be.

We stick to quarterly planning cycles. Most of the time, we can follow through on them or adapt if necessary, and 90 days of work towards a vision can achieve a hell of a lot.

What Business Books Don’t Tell You About Berkshire Hathaway

When one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and investors says, he only has two jobs. Incentivising his staff and allocating capital. We pay attention.

Thousands of pages have been written about how Warren Buffett allocates capital, but there's almost nothing on how he incentivises people.

We've spent years trying all manner of different approaches to figure out Berkshire Hathaway's secret incentive model.

At one point, we even purposefully paid people more than they were worth to incentivise them into becoming more valuable… As you might have guessed, that categorically does not work.

That failure didn't stop us from continuing our experiments, though. And at the moment, inspired by companies like Convertkit, we've settled on various methods of profit share.

But what we missed that's been hiding in plain sight all along is that Warren cares much more about how you create value than how much you create.

On September 4, 1991, as Warren, then CEO of Soloman Brothers, sat before members of Congress and apologised for his staff's rigging of treasury bids, he had this to say:

Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless.

How we create value matters far more than how much we create.

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