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independence2 unconnected · 1 more author in those circles
standing

contested · 4 claims against 2

applies to

b2b and consumer, no audience needed

confidence

high

evidence

6 claims · 6 articles · 4 receipts

window

2013-02-01 → 2024-04-20

2 builders who never spoke to each other · contested

Decide how loud the pitch inside the content is

A mention that arrives as a quiet line at the end converts through sheer volume of readers and costs no goodwill, while a full argument for the thing converts a smaller audience much harder. Both are working tactics, and the choice is really about whether you are optimising for the relationship or for this month. Either way the piece has to be worth the reader's time if nobody buys.

Where this splits

Welsh keeps the product mention small and never issues an instruction to buy, while Barry argues that when the pitch comes it must be a full case rather than a passing mention.

  1. side 01 · 4 claims

    Keep the product mention small and never instruct

    Cory Zue · Justin Welsh

    1. 1Place the product mention quietly at the end of every long piece instead of asking anyone to buy, so the whole thing runs as arithmetic: impressions, then visitors, then product views, then revenue.
    2. 2Word the ask as an invitation to consider the product rather than an instruction to buy it.
    3. 3Inside that article, link the product and say in a line why it fixes the problem the article just described, or leave a light reminder at the end.
    4. 4Write sale announcements in a voice that puts the reader's interest first and gives them explicit permission to ignore it, rather than pressing.

  2. side 02 · 2 claims

    When the pitch comes, make it a full argument

    Nathan Barry

    1. 1When the pitch finally comes, make it a full argument, what is inside, who is interviewed, what difference it makes, not a passing mention
    2. 2Make the sales email useful on its own, with stories and examples and a narrative that is not just an instruction to buy.

What it returned

  • 3,600

    Of the 3,600 readers who arrived from that single post, 73 bought something, worth $4,527.

  • Welsh learned this recommendation style building sales teams in tech.

  • Welsh's argument is that the reader has just finished reading about the problem, so an action step reads as a progression rather than a pitch.

  • A reader replied that he found himself wanting the product before noticing it was a pitch

Sources

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

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More in copy

all copy plays

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

963 corroborated plays to draw from · 3 a week

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.