# X (Twitter) Writer Skill Use this skill when writing X posts. This guide builds on the root copywriting skill and is based on successful long-form and short-form posts. --- ## Two Formats: Know Which You're Writing ### Short-Form Posts (Single tweet or brief thread) - Hook + value + CTA - Under 280 characters for the hook - Gets to the point immediately - Often announces something or shares a quick insight ### Long-Form Posts (Essays, guides, breakdowns) - Deep dives on a single topic - Structured with clear sections - Teaches something specific and actionable - Often 1,000-5,000+ words --- ## The Hook Is Everything The first line determines whether anyone reads the rest. Study these patterns from successful posts: ### Pain Point Hook Lead with a problem people feel: > "Motion graphics were always the hardest part of making videos for me. Hours in After Effects for 10 seconds of movement." ### Contrarian/Surprising Hook Challenge what people assume: > "I'm a Carnegie Mellon trained engineer, but I still chose to use Lovable to build this." ### Scale/Numbers Hook Concrete numbers grab attention: > "I cut our spend by 98%." > "216x difference. Same app. Same demo. Different hook." ### "Wait, what?" Hook Create confusion that demands explanation: > "how is this legal" = 10.2M views ### Bold Claim Hook State something big, then back it up: > "The Swarm Has Arrived" > "We've been talking about agent swarms for years. This is the first time I've seen the architecture actually work in practice." --- ## Short-Form Structure ### The Announcement Post ``` [Pain point or context - 1-2 sentences] [Solution or news - 1 sentence] [What's in it / what you get - bullet list] [Who it's for - 1 sentence] [CTA - comment/DM/link] ``` Example: > Motion graphics were always the hardest part... > Now I can do them 10x faster... > @Remotion released a skill... > What's in the guide: [bullets] > This is for content creators, marketers... > 👇 Comment "GUIDE" and I'll DM you ### The Insight Post ``` [Observation or data point] [Why it matters] [What to do about it] ``` ### The Breakdown Post ``` [Thing that happened / thing you noticed] [The formula or pattern behind it] [Specific numbers or proof] [Takeaway] ``` Example (viral hook breakdown): > same creator tested 4 hooks on same app: > - "this AI builds apps" = 47k views > - "I built an app in 10 minutes" = 89k views > - "how is this legal" = 10.2M views > **216x difference**. same app. same demo. different hook. --- ## Long-Form Structure ### The Guide/Tutorial ``` [Hook: problem you're solving] [Credibility: why you can speak to this] [Overview: what you'll cover] [Section 1: Problem context] [Section 2: Solution overview] [Section 3-N: Step-by-step with specifics] [Results/Numbers] [Caveats/Edge cases] [TL;DR] [CTA] ``` ### The Analysis/Breakdown ``` [Hook: what happened] [Context: why it matters] [The thing everyone gets wrong] [How it actually works - with specifics] [What this means] [Where this is going] [What to do about it] ``` ### The Personal Story + Lesson ``` [Hook: situation or decision] [Background: how you got here] [What you did - with specifics] [Results - with numbers] [What you learned] [What it means for the reader] ``` --- ## Voice & Tone for X ### Be Direct Cut the preamble. Get to it. Bad: "I've been thinking a lot lately about how AI is changing the way we work, and I wanted to share some thoughts..." Good: "AI is changing how we work. Here's what I'm seeing." ### Use Lowercase for Casual Authority Notice how successful posts often drop capitalization for a more conversational feel: > "the formula is **stupid simple**" > "no explanation. no tutorial voice. just pure demo." This works for insights and breakdowns. Use proper capitalization for professional/credibility pieces. ### Bold for Emphasis Use **bold** to highlight key phrases readers should remember: > "**216x difference**. same app. same demo. different hook." > "the reason it works is the **implied illegality**" ### Short Paragraphs, Lots of Line Breaks On X, white space = readability. One idea per line. Break often. ### Specificity = Credibility Don't say "saved money" — say "cut spend by 98%" Don't say "it took a while" — say "~15 hours across a weekend" Don't say "it worked well" — say "37.8% membership qualification rate" --- ## CTAs That Work on X ### The Comment Trigger > 👇 Comment "GUIDE" and I'll DM you the repo ### The Connection Ask > (Make sure we're connected so I can DM you) ### The Link Drop > Check it out: [link] ### The Soft Invite > If you're building in this space, I'd love to hear from you. Reply to this. --- ## Formatting Best Practices ### For Readability - Use line breaks liberally - Bold key phrases - Bullet lists for multiple items - Code blocks for technical content (in long-form) ### For Engagement - Ask questions that invite responses - Leave some things unsaid (creates curiosity) - End sections with implications, not just facts ### For Technical Content - Show the prompt/code you used - Include specific numbers and results - Explain what you learned, not just what you did - Acknowledge limitations and edge cases --- ## What to Avoid From the root copywriting skill, plus X-specific issues: - **Thread bait without substance** — Don't promise "10 things" then deliver fluff - **Humble bragging** — Either brag or don't, but pick one - **Vague promises** — "This changed everything" means nothing without specifics - **Over-explaining** — X readers are smart; don't patronize - **Repetitive parallel structure** — Avoid "No X. Just Y." patterns repeated multiple times (feels AI-generated) - **Generic CTAs** — "Like and retweet" is weak; give them something specific to do - **Burying the value** — Put the good stuff up top, not after 500 words of context --- ## Reference Examples See `/X/Successful Posts/` for full examples: - `cj-hess-swarm-has-arrived.md` — Long-form technical breakdown - `lovable-replace-saas-subscriptions.md` — Long-form guide with step-by-step builds - `viral-hook-10m-views-coding-app.md` — Short breakdown with specific numbers - `remotion-motion-graphics-guide.md` — Short announcement with CTA