- Tim at Penfriend
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- The guy that writes like he's texting... is a millionaire
The guy that writes like he's texting... is a millionaire
Meanwhile I've written emails my mum didn't even open.

Day 245/100
Hey—It's Tim.
You ever notice how we have all these rules about professional writing? Like, you gotta write a certain way or people won't take you seriously.
"Don't start sentences with And.
Don't use contractions.
Make sure you synergize your value proposition."
And then you meet the guy who writes emails like he's texting you about grabbing nachos later... and he's a millionaire.
He's over there writing "Hey, quick thing..." and getting 40% open rates. Meanwhile, everyone else spent four hours on "We are pleased to announce our Q4 strategic initiatives," and their own mom didn't open it.
So I Tried Something
I'm watching this, and I'm thinking... what if I just tried that? What if I wrote like I'm talking to someone at a bar?
And I did it. I sent an email that sounded like me. Like actual me. Not business me, not "professional communicator" me. Just... me talking.
People replied. Like, immediately.
Saying stuff like "Finally, someone who doesn't sound like a robot." "This is the first email I've actually read all week."

I got more clicks than any of my other emails.
More signups to my software, my courses, my paid calls.
I made more money. From writing worse. Or... better? I don't even know what to call it anymore.
The Imaginary Council of Professionals
Because we're all terrified to write like normal people, right? Like somewhere, there's a council of professionals judging us. "He used a sentence fragment. Unacceptable. Revoke his business license."
But that council doesn't exist.
You know who exists? People on their phone at 7 AM, half awake, scrolling through 47 emails that all sound the same. And then they see one that goes "Quick thing—you know how this is annoying?" And they're like "Oh thank God, a human being."
The Hard Part Nobody Talks About
So after this kept working, I'm like... why doesn't everyone do this?
And I realized—it's because it's actually hard. Not the writing part. That's easy. It's the unlearning part. We've been trained our whole lives to sound professional, which really means "sound like everyone else."
So We Built Something
We built software to help with this. It's called Echo. We just re-released it this week.
Basically, it helps you write like you actually talk. Like a normal person. Because apparently, that's a skill we all forgot we had.
Go check it out. Or don't. I'm not gonna say "We invite you to explore our innovative solution."
I'm just gonna say it's there if you want it.

✌️ Tim "One does not simple synergize value" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai
Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.
P.S. I’m adding this to the list of emails I actually think sounds like me

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