My Favorite Trick to Stronger Ideas & Greater Personal Momentum
Ah, the plight of the majestic hamster on her wheel. There she runs, churning those little legs as fast and furious as she can, working overtime to get nowhere.
All hustle, no progress.
Doesn't that just describe so much of what the online content space looks like today? Even for those of us who show up to teach, inspire, and support our clients and audiences, it can feel like we're working hard to make very little progress. Plenty of motion, but do our ideas create momentum?
Ah, the plight of the majestic expert on the internet. There she writes, churning those little fingers fast and furious as she can, working overtime to get nowhere.
All effort, no impact.
We've all been on the receiving end of a communicator where the opposite is true: they seem to effortlessly connect with others in a very deep way. Their ideas have a huge impact. We smack our foreheads just hearing their words. ("Of course!") We lean forward as they spin up a story, eagerly awaiting the ending, when suddenly we feel like we can run through a wall. ("YES! THIS! LET'S GOOOOO!")
We've all experienced those communicators before.
I believe we can all BE those communicators too.
I believe as much because communication is a skill, storytelling is a craft, and sharing ideas in ways that impart energy in others is a practice.
"You have a real gift," we say to our storytelling heroes.
But do they?
(Speaking of communicators whose ideas make an impact, yesterday, I interviewed Seth Godin for my show. It was one of my very favorite episodes ever, and I'm certain he said a whole bunch of things you haven't heard him say elsewhere. Follow the show, and listen for the episode in October.)
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The trick to communicating in ways that hit home is NOT to wander the earth seeking lightning strike insights or sensational stories. It's not to wait to achieve something so grand, you're bombarded with inbound media inquiries. No, the trick is to do something which neither school nor work are set up to reward: ask the obvious next questions.
Once you get started, I promise you, it's as addicting and fun as it is unglamorous.
Forget "knowing." ASKING is the premium skill if the goal is to push beyond commodity thinking and arrive somewhere more valuable and more original. The knowing is the byproduct of the asking, and unlike school and unlike jobs where your goal is to turn the crank faster than the last person did, nobody is going to tell you what to ask or when to ask it.
Curiosity matters, but curiosity comes from putting yourself all the way onto the hook for what happens next. It does NOT come from the instructions of others. This is on each of us.
Ask the next logical questions.
Chris Silvestri is a copywriter who works with B2B clients. He runs a business called Conversion Alchemy. To hear Chris rant about his space is to nod along with him, not only because what he says feels true at face value, but because HOW he says it feels true to so much of our own internal narration: there's a lot in there, and it's all tangled up.
If you ask Chris what he does and what he sees in his industry, you get a response like this...
(Inhales. Leaps onto the hamster wheel.)
Everyone is obsessed with finding the exact right words when they hire someone to write copy for them, because they think that's what triggers a conversion, but also the UX and design matter, because it’s about how people actually consume the copy on the website so you have to think about writing the text then making it skimmable then all the ways of displaying text plus the imagery and the logo and the color scheme and really a lot goes into conversion copywriting which is not the writing of the words themselves and so I even work on the wireframing of the website more than the words and the writing for many clients, and then there's the issue of AI and why people think it can do the job and they expect me to be cheap because AI is cheap but that doesn't really work, but I'm not really sure what to do with this part of my thinking.
(Exhales. Falls sideways off the hamster wheel.)
This is, as we used to say on the internet, relatable content.
(Remember the era when we said that? We had like 15 memes and Google Reader was a thing. I miss those days...)
But Chris has a real opportunity to bring more power to his ideas when he shares them, not by experiencing a singular moment of brilliance, but by digging deeper and asking the questions which flow logically from where he began.
For example, his business is called Conversion Alchemy. Why?
Well, if you look up the definition of the word, you learn that alchemy was a forerunner of chemistry based on the idea that a seemingly magical process of combining various elements together could turn base metals into gold.
Hmmm. Chris kinda said that to me without literally saying that, didn't he?
Scan the words again. See the elements? See the alchemy?
Everyone is obsessed with finding the exact right words when they hire someone to write copy for them, because they think that's what triggers a conversion, but also the UX and design matter, because it’s about how people actually consume the copy on the website so you have to think about writing the text then making it skimmable then all the ways of displaying text plus the imagery and the logo and the color scheme and really a lot goes into conversion copywriting which is not the writing of the words themselves and so I even work on the wireframing of the website more than the words and the writing for many clients, and then there's the issue of AI and why people think it can do the job and they expect me to be cheap because AI is cheap but that doesn't really work, but I'm not really sure what to do with this part of my thinking.
What if Chris said something like the message below instead?
(Kicks hamster wheel to the side. Dons sunglasses. Casually slides into driver's seat of shiny red convertible.)
I called this business Conversion Alchemy for a reason. Alchemy is about combining the right elements to turn base metals into gold. Conversion copy does the same thing for products and services.
This is not about magic words that trigger outcomes. This is about the careful and strategic combination of great copywriting AND the right website wireframing, design, imagery, and branding.
When you’re in B2B, it feels like everyone is selling the same dull offers, but you need to make yours shine. You’re competing against base metals: you’re in a category, with competitors, all of whom claim the same features and benefits. Just writing about those things or saying it in more sensational ways won’t make you shine like gold, and you won’t command the price of it either.
Magic words don’t exist, clever copy isn’t enough, and AI can’t do it because AI creates content, and this work is entirely about context: the strategic combination of the right elements which cause others to take an action.
If you want to increase conversions, you don’t need copy. You need alchemy.
(Whips off sunglasses. Winks. Keeps cruising.)
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I'm guessing you have created plenty of content. You know what it feels like when something connects. But maybe it's not happening consistently enough. How do you have an impact consistently? By consistently asking the next questions.
Why did Chris name his business the way he did? Pull that thread.
Why is your tagline say THAT phrase specifically? See where that leads.
Why do you dislike a certain popular tactic so much? Interrogate your feelings.
If you're looking for a simple way to start, here's my suggestion: start with your greatest or most recent hits, then write out all the questions which follow from them.
First, gather up all these elements in one place:
the strong opinion(s) you have about your space
recent pieces or posts of yours that got at least some replies
things you find yourself repeating over and over
frustrations with your industry right now
something common or trending in your space that you either don’t understand or can’t stand
popular people in your space whose ideas or style you disagree with or dislike (or a type of person)
Then, ask the next logical questions.
In my case, if I started with the first prompt (my strong opinions), I might write down, You should prioritize resonance over reach to grow your business or cause.
What logical next questions flow from that? Those are things worth exploring through my content and conversations.
Let's go to my notebook:
This led to lots of content, but arguably the most important piece was an essay wherein I looked into the science of resonance, then emerged with a greater understanding and even a revised definition for OUR purposes. (You can read that essay here.) Few things are more important to my cause and my business today than having the definition of resonance in my back pocket, everywhere I go.
Resonance is the urge to act we feel when a message or moment aligns so closely with us, our thoughts, emotions, and even abilities feel amplified.
As for why, well, that comes from my curiosity taking me into the sciences. (Because writing is thinking, you get to experience much of that journey in that essay too.)
Moving down the list of prompts I shared above, I arrive here: frustrations with your industry right now.
Oh, I know: advice content is getting weirdly aggressive.
Ever notice that? "99% of people do this wrong! STEAL my secrets!" The list goes on. People who supposedly want to help you by sharing useful things are tipping towards shouting, pushing, and spamming.
That led to this very important LinkedIn post where I tried to make sense of this for the very first time. In turn, that led to signal and additional questions—some in my head, many from readers.
Stronger thinking leads to ideas that make a deeper impact. It's the difference between chucking pebbles into a pond from a mossy bank and rolling a boulder off the bridge.
But for something to connect deeper externally, you have to turn deeper internally. This is the central tension at the core of any storyteller's career.
You don't need better ideas. You need to ask better questions.
Today, Chris Silvestri doesn't just share his expertise. He asks the next logical question and goes exploring. As he told me this week, although he's been teaching conversion copywriting for years, only recently does it feel like his ideas are strong enough to leave a mark, an imprint, a dent. The last podcast where Chris was a guest reveals that progress. They didn't title the episode "How to Write More Effective Copy with Some Guy Chris." Instead, they said this:
"How Copy, UX, and Psychology Turn Words into Gold."
Because it's not just words on a page. It's alchemy.
What questions flow from YOUR existing platform and your past, proven work?
Pursuing those questions is now the purpose of your next wave of content. Don't publish just anything. If you shrug and go, "Whatever I can muster today is fine to fill a feed," then others will shrug when they encounter those ideas. That type of thinking isn't strong enough. It doesn't go deep enough. Ask the next logical question. Pull the threads already popping up across your platform.
Very few others in your space are willing to do this kind of investigative work, and that's great news.
Turns out deeper thinking resonates deeper.