The present tense is where all the action is (Nike’s Secret)
Making old-school English fun with clear, concise and compelling words (& Michael Jordan).
Want your online stories to pop?
Sick of your fantastic stories growing cobwebs?
Struggling to get readers past the 30-second mark?
You’re not alone.
The solution?
Take your readers on an active journey…
… It’s the best way to guide them to the end.
Grab your sneakers, and let’s dive in…
Make your Title and Subtitle count
Hook your readers with a catchy Title + intriguing Subtitle.
Biz tip: Be sure to click on the small ‘T’ to make your subheader count (Google spiders need to recognise your subtitle as a H2).
Write a compelling intro
The trick is to make your introductions…
… Short. Sweet. Punchy.
In the words of Gandalf the Grey,
“ Keep it secret. Keep it safe.”
What do I mean?
Hint at what the story contains. And safeguard its secrets for later.
You increase curiosity by taking your readers on a micro-adventure.
Use the KISS Formula
Keep It Simple & Sprintable — Ellie Kingswell
Why is it important to make stories Sprintable?
Active language and short sentences make your stories more Sprintable (readers can consume them quickly).
What’s the big deal?
If you’re lucky enough for readers to click on your stories…
… Most will skim the first few words and ‘bounce’ to the next shiny thumbnail.
Some might stick around and scroll to the bottom if you're lucky.
Biz talk: In terms of Google Analytics, the ‘bounce rate’ determines how many people ‘Click & Dash’ (it’s bad for business when people ‘bounce’ to a competitor).
Write in the present tense to keep things moving
Good news: You don’t need to be a sprinter or copywriter to implement this principle.
You just need a little help from our friends at Nike.
What’s Nike’s Boardroom Secret?
CEO: “Let’s hook the world into thinking it is possible to get fit.”
Yes! They are mocking us.
Supervisor: “How, boss?”
Copywriter: “Use the present tense to make ‘em buy.”
Sales bloke: “What’s the easiest way to sell Air Jordans that nobody actually needs?”
Copywriter: “Use active verbs, governor, it’s more compelling.”
In case you missed the Michael Jordan craze, he was a basketball player from the '80s & '90s (he was so cool Nike still promotes him).
Okay, back to verbs.
Nike wants you to take action.
Nike wants you to believe running is the bees-knees.
“Poppycock! Running simultaneously ruins your precious joints and make you ‘bend the knee’ in agony while your lungs are on fire like when Daenerys Targaryen loses the plot in Games of Thrones”.
I digress!
The brilliance of Nike’s logo
It’s very simple and makes you believe you can dunk like MJ with three simple words…
… Just do it!
(This is the present tense in action).
Don’t believe me? Okay, let’s play around with the tenses.
Would you buy from Nike if their Call to Action looked like any of these?
The conditional tense?
You would just do it.
How about the future tense?
You will just do it.
Or past-perfect continuous tense?
I have been just doing it since Michael Jordan was the best free-throw line dunker.
The words are less compelling when you change the tense, right?
Final thoughts
Words written in the present tense are more active and compelling.
Yes, we cheated a little with the MJ analysis, and you’re welcome to throw the Fully Revised Practical English Usage book at me.
To stop the grammar police from chasing me…
Verbs come in three sizes in the English language (“Sizes are tenses, darling! But this is a story about shoes”).
These are the past, present and future kings (their function is to tell you what has happened, what is happening and what will happen).
If the grammar police are still angry that I dared to ‘play’ with tenses, “Jog on Kitty!” 🙏🏼
Want to know my sources?
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan for comedic effect only (“You think I’d read that snoozefest?”)
Story was inspired by Chapter 36 in Everybody Writes by Ann Handley (Chapter called ‘Default to the Present Tense’).
Disclaimer: I have not worked for Nike; the Boardroom conversation was 100% fictional.
