Write music, not words.
Announcement 📣
I’m changing the name of this newsletter soon (goodbye, Brand First!) — to correspond with the title of my upcoming book.
Same content for you, same focus for you, new name for me.
I'm also considering a shift to one weekly newsletter (a round-up of topics on Friday) vs. emailing you each topic individually as a daily newsletter.
Which do you prefer: weekly or daily?
Fundraising is a dance.
↳ But your writing lacks rhythm.
And donors want stories that move them.
↳ But your messaging echoes in empty halls.
So embrace the music in writing, make your sentences swing, invite your funders to a brand ballad of change, and write not just with ink — but with melody. Like this infographic.
Need help?
Here are the five best (and free!) writing tools:
✏️ Hemingway Editor
✏️ Grammarly
✏️ QuillBot
✏️ Wordtune
✏️ BlaBlaMeter
Let each word sing.
Then funding will harmonize.
💪🏽💛
The daily bonus
I just returned from my final book writing retreat.
This v5 manuscript is now off to the copy editor for any remaining, smaller bits of polishing to the style. Otherwise, the book is materially finished. 👏🏽
Like the retreats before, I holed up in an historic Chinese shophouse in Georgetown, Malaysia (a few km from our home). Morning writing on this patio was an excellent way to start each day.
Plus, as a guilty pleasure, I always love renting a scooter in Georgetown. Quicker access to coffee and meals during writing breaks.
In my birthplace of America, scooters are rare. And my former homes in Uganda and South Africa, motorcycles (or boda bodas) were the thing. But in some parts of Southeast Asia (like Vietnam), scooters make up 95% of vehicles on the road.
P.S. — I picked a book title this weekend! That's why I'll change this Substack newsletter's name soon.
Stay tuned.
Need my help?
If this advice is useful — but you're ready to get even more fundable and findable — check out Brand Bootcamp.
It's our self-paced, online course to maximize your funding. In just 15 minutes a day.
