Last updated: 2026-04

# Aesthetic Writing System for Social Media

Source: Stijn Noorman's writing-simplified framework, adapted for X/Twitter.

---

## Two Core Principles

1. **Look good** — Aesthetic Writing (visual structure that stops the scroll)
2. **Be useful** — Content goals (Education, Inspiration, Entertainment)

Every post must satisfy both. A beautiful post with no substance gets ignored. A useful post that looks like a wall of text gets skipped.

---

## The 9 Aesthetic Writing Rules

### 1. Rule of 3

Three items are more persuasive and memorable than two or four-plus. The human brain finds patterns in threes — they feel complete without being overwhelming.

**Before:**
> Consistency, patience, strategy, networking, and authenticity are the keys to growth.

**After:**
> Three keys to growth:
> - Consistency
> - Strategy
> - Patience

**When to use:** Lists, arguments, frameworks, thread structures. Whenever you catch yourself listing more than three things, cut or combine.

---

### 2. Simplicity

Fewer words. More punch. Cut every word that doesn't earn its place.

**Before:**
> In order to effectively grow your audience on social media platforms, it is absolutely essential that you consistently provide value to the people who follow you.

**After:**
> Want to grow? Provide value. Every single day.

**When to use:** Always. Default to simple. Every draft should go through at least one round of cutting.

---

### 3. Stairways

Arrange sentences from short to long. This creates a visual rhythm that guides the eye down the post — like steps.

**Before:**
> Building an audience takes consistent effort over many months. It's hard. Most people quit before they see results because they don't understand compounding.

**After:**
> It's hard.
> Most people quit early.
> But the ones who stay long enough to see compounding win everything.

**When to use:** Opening hooks, thread openers, inspirational posts. Especially effective for building momentum within a single post.

---

### 4. Polarizing

Self-assured statements attract like-minded people and repel others. This is a feature, not a bug. Tribes form around strong opinions.

**Before:**
> I think that maybe posting every day could potentially be a good strategy for some people, though it depends on many factors.

**After:**
> Post every day or don't bother building an audience.

**When to use:** Hot takes, opinion posts, thread hooks. Use when you genuinely believe something and want to attract people who share that belief. Don't manufacture controversy — be honest and direct.

---

### 5. Repetition

Repeating a word or phrase creates rhythm and emphasis. It makes your writing feel intentional.

**Before:**
> You need to show up regularly. Being present matters. Don't skip days if you want to grow.

**After:**
> Show up Monday. Show up Tuesday. Show up when nobody's watching. Show up when you don't feel like it.

**When to use:** Emphasis posts, motivational content, driving a single point home. Works especially well in threads where each item in a list starts with the same word.

---

### 6. Bullet Points

Lists are easier to scan than paragraphs. Bullets break information into digestible pieces.

**Before:**
> To write better tweets, you should study copywriting, read more books, analyze viral posts, practice daily, and get feedback from other creators.

**After:**
> How to write better tweets:
>
> - Study copywriting
> - Read more books
> - Analyze viral posts
> - Practice daily
> - Get feedback from creators

**When to use:** Educational content, how-to posts, listicles, any post with three or more items. Combine with Rule of 3 when possible.

---

### 7. White Space

One sentence per line. White space reduces perceived reading effort. A post that looks short gets read; a post that looks dense gets skipped.

**Before:**
> Most people overthink their content strategy. They spend hours planning and zero hours posting. The algorithm rewards consistency, not perfection. Just start.

**After:**
> Most people overthink their content strategy.
>
> They spend hours planning and zero hours posting.
>
> The algorithm rewards consistency, not perfection.
>
> Just start.

**When to use:** Every post. This is the single highest-leverage formatting rule on X/Twitter. Line breaks are free — use them.

---

### 8. Write As You Speak

If you wouldn't say it in conversation, don't write it. Formal language creates distance. Conversational language creates connection.

**Before:**
> It is my professional opinion that leveraging synergistic content strategies will facilitate optimal audience acquisition and retention.

**After:**
> Here's what actually works: talk to people like a human. That's the whole strategy.

**When to use:** Always. Read your post out loud before publishing. If it sounds like a corporate memo, rewrite it.

---

### 9. Vary Sentence Length

Mix short, medium, and long sentences. Monotone length puts people to sleep. Variation creates music.

**Before:**
> I write every day. I post every day. I engage every day. I learn every day. I grow every day.

**After:**
> I write every day.
> Some days, the words come easy and the ideas flow faster than I can type.
> Other days? Nothing.
> But I show up anyway, because that's what separates creators who make it from the ones who disappear.

**When to use:** Longer posts, threads, storytelling. After using a string of short punchy sentences (rules 2, 4), follow up with a longer one to create contrast and depth.

---

## Content Types

### Inspirational (builds trust, growth narrative, likeability)
- **Empathy** — "I've been there too"
- **Milestones** — share wins transparently
- **Transformation** — before/after of your journey

### Educational (builds trust, social proof, authority)
- **Proof** — data, screenshots, results
- **Insights** — non-obvious observations
- **Strategies** — step-by-step methods

### Entertainment (builds likeability, memorability)
- **Jokes** — relatable humor
- **Anecdotes** — short personal stories
- **Polarizing takes** — strong opinions that spark discussion

---

## Viral Thread Formula

```
Virality = (Benefit x Relevance x Hook) / (Perceived Effort x Reach)
```

- **Benefit** — what the reader gains
- **Relevance** — how closely it matches the audience's current needs
- **Hook** — first line that stops the scroll
- **Perceived Effort** — how hard the post looks to read (white space, bullets, short lines reduce this)
- **Reach** — existing distribution (followers, retweets, algorithm favor)

Maximize the numerator. Minimize the denominator.

**"Create once, post twice"** — repurpose and improve threads later. High-performing threads can be reposted with refinements after 3-6 months.

---

## Weekly Content Schedule (Example)

| Day       | 9:00 AM        | 1:00 PM              | 5:00 PM         |
|-----------|----------------|-----------------------|-----------------|
| Mon-Fri   | Inspiration    | Thread / Long-form    | Entertainment   |
| Sat-Sun   | Inspiration    | Education             | Entertainment   |

Adjust times to your audience's active hours. The structure matters more than the exact schedule.
