Related Articles
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
That sentence wrecked me the first time I read it. I was in a college creative writing class, and the professor used it to show us how much a few simple words can hold. It’s often attributed to Hemingway, though no one really knows for sure.
What I do know: it changed the way I write.
That six-word story taught me the power of implication. The impact of what’s not said. The idea that less is more—and that trusting your audience to connect the dots is one of the most respectful things a storyteller can do.
That sentence still sticks with me, though I read it differently now. I used to find it unbearably tragic. But as a parent? It just sounds like life. I’ve got a pile of unworn baby shoes at home. Babies don’t wear shoes—they just kick them off and launch them from strollers.
So yeah, the meaning changed. But the lesson didn’t.
The best writing isn’t long. It’s clear.
That’s especially true in the work we do at Distractive. We’re not just marketing Web3. We’re translating complex, high-stakes innovation into messaging that has to resonate across audiences, use cases, and entire ecosystems. And often, the clearer and tighter we make it, the more powerful it becomes.
In Web3 marketing, everyone's trying to explain everything all at once. Blockchain this, tokenomics that, paradigm-shifting blah blah blah.
(Side note: a manager in my past life actually told me to say “paradigm shift” more in my crypto writing once. I think about that a lot.)
Meanwhile, your audience scrolled past three seconds ago to watch bunnies jump on a trampoline (did anyone else fall for that AI video?).
I get it. You've built something incredible. You want to share every brilliant detail, every innovative feature, every mind-blowing capability.
But here's what I’ve learned: less really is more. You don’t need to explain everything. You need to make people feel something, remember something, want to know more.
The magic lives in what you don't say.
Take DeFi. You could write a dissertation about automated market makers, liquidity pools, and yield farming strategies. Or you could say: "Banks are broken. We rebuilt money."
Six words. Maximum impact.
During a recent team session, I led an exercise based on that original six-word story. The prompt was simple: write a six-word sentence that captures a key Web3 concept.
Here are a few examples we came up with:
Each one is tight. Focused. Intriguing. That’s what makes them work.
Constraints breed clarity. This kind of exercise sharpens our ability to write great tweets, headlines, hero copy, and CTAs. It helps us find the core message.
This isn’t just a fun prompt. It’s one of the ways we sharpen our thinking—and clarify the message behind the tech.
At Distractive, we're not just culture hackers throwing around writing tips for fun. This is strategic warfare against eight-second attention spans and the endless scroll of digital noise.
In Web3, we're translating complex tech into powerful messaging that actually resonates. We're building movements, not just explaining products. And movements start with words that stick.
When someone can repeat your message perfectly after hearing it once? That's when you know you've got something that spreads.
.png)
Some teams try to explain every feature. Every roadmap detail. Every acronym.
But we’ve found a different kind of power in restraint.
Start with what it means for the user.
Lead with the why.
Make them feel something before you make them think about the technology.
Because here's the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to admit: most users aren’t buying your whitepaper.
They’re buying into the future you’re inviting them into.
And futures aren’t explained, they’re imagined.
So the next time you're working on a headline, an ad, a script, try this:
Write everything you want to say. Then cut it in half. Then cut it again. Keep slicing until you hit something that makes you slightly uncomfortable with how little you're saying.
That edge of discomfort? That’s where the clarity lives.
That’s where technical complexity turns into cultural currency.
Where your message stops blending in and starts standing out.
Six words that change everything:
Less is more. Trust your audience.
Ready to transform your Web3 messaging from complex to contagious? Contact Distractive.
