The Cake Post That Got Zero Likes And Taught Me How To Write
I posted a photo of a beautiful cake last year. Three tiers. Perfect icing. I stayed up till 2am to finish it. I wrote, "We are proud to announce our latest creation. We are the best bakery in town. Contact us for your cakes." Zero messages. Two likes. One was from my sister. The next week, a woman who sells the same cakes as me posted a cake that was not as fine as mine. But she wrote this: "Your child’s birthday is next Saturday and you have not ordered cake yet? I can make it for you. Here are 30 mothers in Port Harcourt who trusted me last month. Send me a message to lock your date." She got 14 orders. I called her and asked what she did. She told me, "I stopped writing for everybody. I stopped writing about myself." That was the day I learnt how to write words that make people act. Most of us write like this: "I will post about my cakes." That is not a plan. That is a wish. Before you write any post, any email, any advert, ask th...