This. Changes. Everything.

Hey, Reader!

I’m writing this from week three of an experiment I can’t stop thinking about.

I’ve been working with a founder (a brilliant product strategist building something genuinely good for the world) who has the same problem nearly every founder has: she knows exactly what she wants to say, she just has no time to make it.

Her strategy is sorted. Her content execution is quietly drowning her.

So we’re building her a system. A custom Claude skill, trained on her brand voice, that generates her content on demand, paired with a set of expertly designed Canva templates her small team can run without her in the room. We’ve been doing the whole thing async: me building, her sending voice notes back between investor calls, and me documenting every step as we go.

The goal is simple. Hand her a content engine she never has to think about again, so she can go and do the thing only she can do, raise the money and build the app.

And here’s what’s struck me most. It isn’t the big, clever automation that’s moved the needle. It’s the small things, the tiny tweaks to how a caption is written, how a post opens, how you brief the AI, that change everything.

So that’s what this week is about. Three small things that punch wildly above their weight. ✨

3 social tips to know

1. Adding. A. Period. After. Every. Word.

Using this in your subject line increases open rates by 24%. Why? Because it creates dramatic pacing and forces the eye to slow down.

→ Businesses try this: This. Changes. Everything. Your. Competitors. Know.

→ Consumer retail try this: The. Sale. Starts. Now. This. Won’t. Last.

2. Delete your first line.

Your opening line is almost always a throat-clear: “I’ve been thinking about…”, “So this week…”, “I wanted to share…”. Cut it. Start on the second line. The one with actual tension in it. Nine times out of ten, that’s where the post really begins.

→ Try this: Write the post, then delete the first sentence and read it again. If it still makes sense (and it almost always hits harder), leave it out.

3. Feed the AI your own words before you ask it for anything.

This is the single biggest reason AI content sounds like slop: people ask it to write before they’ve shown it how they write. Paste in three of your own posts, tell it “match this voice,” and only then give it the task. The difference is night and day and it’s the whole reason the systems I build start with voice, not prompts.

→ Try this: Keep a note with the three best things you’ve ever written. Hand them to the AI first, every single time, before you ask for a word.

And, if you’re not sure what your voice even is, then try my ROOT framework, a free, AI-guided session that finds the thread running through everything you’ve done and hands it back to you in words that finally sound like you.

→ Get the ROOT framework​

2 things i'm loving

✦ The dress I keep reaching for

A green jersey midi with a cheeky Fanta graphic. It's the throw-on-and-go kind that looks like you made an effort when you absolutely didn't. 100% cotton, machine washable, and proof that "easy" and "lovely" aren't opposites. And it's just £32.

→ Shop it on Next

✦ Joy Experiments in July

I'm running another creative challenge and I want you to join me! In May, I gave myself a tiny dare: make one small thing every day, just to see what happened. It turned into an inspiring, creative outlet and attracted lots of lovely Substackers into my feed.

→ So I’m doing it again — and this time, I want you to join me.

1 social tip

Check out my latest post for 12 B-roll video ideas to keep in your back pocket.

That's your 3-2-1 for this week. Back next week!
​​
​With love & creativity,
xo, Louise 🫶

P.S. Are you following me @thelouisebartlett on Instagram for new Canva tips every week?

Spread the Love. Share with a Friend.

​​​