The Larkspur Letter

One short email every other Tuesday with what we learned that fortnight about writing posts people find, read and trust. It takes five minutes to read, and every email has a link to leave.

No tracking pixels: we never see who opened what. We send it from Bristol, and we never share your address.

Read a recent issue

Why AI search quoted the smaller blog

A client asked us why an AI answer quoted a tiny competitor instead of their long guide. The answer was one sentence: the competitor stated the fact plainly, near the top, with its source beside it.

The lesson

Write the answer first, in one sentence a tool can lift as it is. Then explain. Our post on how AI search picks which pages to quote shows the pattern with examples.

Read the whole issue

Past issues

  1. Why AI search quoted the smaller blog

    A client asked us why an AI answer quoted a tiny competitor instead of their long guide.

  2. Refresh before you write anything new

    Most blogs we read have one old post that used to bring in readers and has slipped.

  3. Titles that earn the click

    A title is a promise. This fortnight we rewrote titles for a client's ten best posts, and the ones that named the reader's problem did best.