502 Phrases That Magically Transform Forgettable Blog Posts into Irresistible Content
(The Ultimate Blogger's Grease-Slide Cheat Sheet)

It’s a question that drives you nuts.

Why some blogs cast a spell over their readers. Yet nobody wants to know yours.

And you just can’t figure it out.

Well, the answer could be something about your writing. Something that’s missing. Something other writers are doing that you’re not. Something you need to uncover right now.

And that something is grease-slide copy.

What Is Grease-Slide Copy?

Grease-slide copy is a magnetic writing technique that keeps your readers glued to the page.

Copywriters use it in sales letters. Top bloggers use it in their posts. And now you can use it too.

Here are a few examples:

But wait – there’s more	As if that’s not enough	We’re not through yet
How can you beat that?	Yes, you read that right	It gets better

Grease-slide words and phrases create smooth transitions between paragraphs and sentences. They stitch them together, minimise the friction in your copy and make it read just like a greased slide.

So once you get on at the top, you can’t help but keep sliding down.

In other words: Once you start reading, you can’t stop reading. Until you reach the bottom of the page.

Another name for grease-slide copy is the Bucket Brigade.

In the days before modern fire engines, firefighters would pass buckets of water to each other in a human chain. Copywriters later adopted the term for conversational words and phrases that help to “keep it going”.

But there’s another reason why so many bloggers love using grease-slide copy:

It’s also great for SEO.

Just think about it.

People generally spend more time reading content that offers them value. Right?

So the longer visitors spend reading your posts, the stronger the indication of quality.

Well, it’s widely believed search engines think in the same way and use the time readers spend on your website as a ranking signal.

If you want a more detailed explanation then check out this useful article about dwell time by digital marketing authority Neil Patel.

What’s in This Post?

In this post, you’ll find a reference list of more than 500 grease-slide words and phrases.

But note: What works in sales letters doesn’t always necessarily work for bloggers. So, here, you’ll find only examples you can actually use in your posts.

Simply refer to the list whenever you reach a section of your content where readers might lose interest.

To use it:

• Go to the type of Bucket Brigade you want
• Pick a phrase – or make up a similar one of your own
• Insert it into your copy

Then you’re done.

Finally, at the end of this post, you can access the full list as a PDF download – which also includes 67 bonus phrases.

Now let’s get to it:

Grease-Slide Openings

First impressions count.

So you know it makes sense to get your blog post off to the best possible start.

But nearly every writer and every blogger has exactly the same problem.

That is, coming up with a strong opening line or paragraph.

Until now:

  Start with a question

Nothing sucks you into a post quite like an opening question.

Why?

Because, when presented with a question, people can’t let go until they’ve got an answer.

So they keep on reading:

Do you want to learn how to __?	So you want to __?	Want to know more about __?
Have you wondered why __?	Ever noticed how __?	Don’t you just hate it when __?
Do you hate __?	Have you ever found yourself __?	Do you have a __?
Seriously, how do you __?	What if you could __?	Wouldn’t it be great if __?
You know what I’m tired of hearing?	Want to know a secret?	Can I be totally honest with you?
Who else wants to __?	Are you sick and tired of __?	Does this sound familiar?

  Set the scene

Setting the scene fulfils the reader’s need for intrigue and entertainment. It creates a mental picture in their mind and turns the opening of your post into a powerful emotional experience.

So use these techniques, borrowed from fictional writing, to fire up your reader’s imagination right at the start of your post:

Picture this	Imagine this	Just imagine
Imagine what it would be like	Think about this for a moment	It’s a familiar story and it usually goes like this
You know the score	It begins with a feeling of	You start to worry that
You feel you’re banging your head against a wall	You’re in a never-ending battle	You’ve sweated blood to
You’ve tried everything. But	You’re afraid that	You cower in fear
You freeze in your tracks	You drown in	You dream of
You yearn for

  Get inside your reader’s mind

Empathy’s the key to getting inside your reader’s head. It shows you’re on their wavelength. That you feel their pain, anxiety or frustration. And that you’ve been in their situation too.

The following openings pave the way to telling your reader you know exactly how they feel:

We’ve all been there	I know the feeling	I’ve been there
We’ve all done it	We all do it	OK, I know what you’re thinking
Let me guess	Let me take a wild guess	Be honest
Admit it	Deep down you know it’s true	Don’t even try to deny it
It’s the question you secretly dread	You’ve heard the advice a million times

  Call them to attention

Safety announcements, public speakers and teachers – they all use signals to command our attention.

Likewise, you can apply this technique to your writing. Attention signals call out “Read me! I have something important to say”.

So people naturally read on to find out what it is:

Look:	Listen:	Get this:
Check this out:	Fact:	Question:
Good news:	News flash:	Big news:

Grease-Slide Transitions

So now you’ve grabbed your reader’s attention, you have to keep hold of it and not let go.

The following phrases will liven up the dullest of blog posts and will have your readers hanging on every word.

Some follow on naturally from the grease-slide openings we covered in the first section. So let’s start with those first:

  Answer your own question

This is a common rhetorical device known as hypophora. First you pose a question. Then you answer it. And it’s especially popular in political speech writing.

The following are Bucket Brigades that exploit this technique:

That’s right	You’re dead right	And you’d be right
Too true	You bet!	You bet it is!
You’ve got it	Good for you	You can say that again
No doubt about it	Yeah, until recently that is	So, yes
Yes, it’s true!	Yeah, I thought so	Thought so
Didn’t think so	Too bad	Not good
You’re out of luck	No pressure there!	Not really, no
Not exactly	Hardly!	You must be joking!
No! No! No!	Wrong!	Nope
Not necessarily	Probably not	Maybe
Fair enough, but

  Describe a moment of insight

We all know the story of Sir Isaac Newton, who formulated his universal theory of gravitation after watching an apple fall from a tree.

This is a famous example of a moment of epiphany – a classic writing technique that helps the storyteller to paint a more vivid picture.

Give your moments of insight added impact by including these grease-slide phrases in your posts:

Wham!	Smack!	Slap!
Boom!	Bang! You’ve been hit with	And boom! You’re there.
Then it hit me	That’s when it hit me	It hit me like a ton of bricks
At this point you realise	I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read	For the first time, it dawns on you
That’s when you know that

  Ask another question

Want to keep the momentum going? Then just ask another question.

You can either pose a rhetorical question or you can repeat the question-and-answer combo above:

Can this really be true?	Still not convinced?	What’s the catch?
So what’s the problem?	The only problem?	How do I know?
Why do I say this?	Why am I doing this?	What makes this so special?
So what am I talking about?	Sound silly? It’s not.	Sounds impressive, right?
Sounds good?	Sounds familiar?	Do you see where we’re going with this?
So have we got that straight?	Get it?	How about you?
What about you?	Does this sound like you?	Think I’m exaggerating?
I know that’s what you’re thinking, right?	No?	Correct?
Or is it?	Isn’t it?	Astonishing, isn’t it?
Annoying isn’t it?	The result?	See the difference?
So what?	And you know what?	But you know what else?
And what’s worse?	And guess what?	So what it’s all about?

  Get down to business

Your introduction sets out the purpose of your post, builds anticipation, sets expectations and makes a promise of what’s to come.

But then you’ll need to get down to business and move onto the nuts and bolts.

The following are typical phrases you can use to signal the end of your intro and shepherd your readers towards the next section:

Let’s get started	So let’s begin	Let’s get this show on the road
Then let’s go	So here we go	So let’s get down to it
Let’s jump right in	Let’s dive in	Let’s get things under way
So let’s get to work	So let’s fire away	So let’s get busy
So let’s get to it	So let’s get down to business	Let’s dig a little deeper
So let’s take a closer look	Let me explain	Let me show you how
Want to see how it works right now?	Ready?	I’ll walk you through the whole process
Keep reading and you’ll find out

  Use a conjunct

Conjuncts sound really complicated. But, honestly, they’re very simple.

A conjunct is just a word or group of words that provides a connection between the current sentence and a previous one.

Here are some of the simplest and most common ones:

First of all	First off	For starters
To begin with	Next	Likewise
Similarly	Otherwise	Besides
By contrast	Moreover	In any case
What’s more	Beyond that	So
Even so	Or even better	But that’s not all
Yet	However	Nevertheless
Either way	In other words	For example
For instance	Then again	Still
After all	Above all	Most of all
To top it off	And another thing	In addition to that
Finally	Lastly	Also

  Use a disjunct

A disjunct is another sentence component that sounds scarier than it really is.

Essentially it’s just a word or group of words that expresses the tone, attitude or manner of the writer.

Adding a disjunct will make any sentence more conversational and more readable:

Sadly	Unfortunately	Seriously
Honestly	Let’s be honest	Let’s face it
The simple truth is	Frankly	Most importantly
Admittedly	Clearly	Actually
On the face of it	For what it’s worth	You’d have to say
Obviously	Naturally	Quite simply
Basically	In fact	But one thing’s for sure
But don’t get me wrong	Make no mistake about it	Let me say this straight
Believe it or not	Needless to say	If I may say so
Personally	Like everything else	In general
By and large	Usually	Surprisingly enough
Oddly enough	Perhaps unsurprisingly	Remarkably
I tell you what though	Strictly speaking	To make matters worse

  Pause for thought

When you pause for thought, it creates a temporary moment of suspense. Just enough for readers to draw breath before they carry on for more:

Think about it	Think about it this way	And just think
Think about this	But consider this	And get this:
Now get this:	Now:	Look at it this way
Put it this way	Think about it another way	Think about it like this
Put it another way	Now consider it this way	Here’s another way to think about it
In other words	Why?	Ever wondered why?
You may wonder why	Why is this so?	But how?
How’s that?	So what’s going on?	So what’s it all about?
What’s the bottom line?	Bottom line:	And you know what?
By now you’ll be wondering	But you’re probably wondering	Just imagine that
Imagine for a moment	Now hang on	But hang on a minute
Now stop right there!	Now I’m going to stop you right there

  Add supporting information

Supporting information gives your points more legs. And more impact.

The following phrases give you a way to change direction and add more detail – without losing sight of the ultimate goal:

Bear with me, because I’m going to show you how	But just keep reading and I’ll	But before I share it with you
Before we go any further	But before we go into that	But first let’s
So stick with me here	But stay with me	But more about that later
But I’m jumping ahead	Back to what I was saying

  Usher in the point

At various stages in your post you’ll be making important points you don’t want readers to miss.

So use these curtain raisers to make them stand out:

Here’s the point	Here’s the deal	Here’s the kicker
But here’s the rub	But here’s the problem	Here’s the thing
Here’s the big idea	Here’s the scary part	But here’s the interesting thing
But here’s something really interesting	Here’s the most important part	Want to know the best part?
And the best part?	But the truth?	The point?
So what’s the point?	The moral of this story?	So what’s it all mean?
The bottom line is this	My point is this	It all boils down to this
It all comes down to this	What it all boils down to is	What this means is
What it means is this	Let’s get to the point	The point is
But that’s the point	But that’s the key	But there’s one problem
But there’s one small catch

  Issue a warning

We’re all scared of making mistakes. Likewise, we feel vulnerable to threats that could do us or our loved ones harm. And we’ll do anything that helps us to avoid them.

Try these grease-slide alert signals to make your warnings attract more attention:

Be warned:	Warning:	But first a warning:
A word of caution:	But beware:	But remember this:
Remember:	And remember:	Note:
Don’t forget:	Let’s not forget	And don’t forget to

  Offer a solution or revelation

Readers love blog posts that solve their problems or offer them new insight.

So if you can do that you’ll leave a much stronger impression.

Here are a few ways to tee up your problem-solving ideas:

So what’s the answer?	The answer?	So what’s the secret?
What’s the magic formula?	So how do you __?	So what can you do about it?
How?	How’s that?	Don’t worry. There’s a solution.
Let me explain	Allow me to explain	Here’s a clue:
Here’s the secret	The truth is	Fact is
The fact of the matter is	Reality is	But the silver lining is
The good news is	The cool thing is	Odds are that
It turns out	Chances are that	The answer might surprise you
The solution is	The secret is	The trick is to
The key to	There’s a way for you to	There’s only one way to
Sometimes all you need to do is	This calls for	That means
This requires	This demands	This involves
That’s how you	That’s where __ fits in

  Make it sound simple

People lead busy, complicated lives. And they’ll lay their hands on anything that’ll make things quicker and easier.

So don’t make anything sound harder than it need be. Unless it really is:

It’s simple	It’s that simple	It really is that simple
It sounds simple. And it is.	It’s a no-brainer	It couldn’t be easier
It’s easy isn’t it?	It’s easier than you think	It’s pretty obvious once you think about it
Here’s how ridiculously easy it is	Here’s all you have to do	This part is easy
It sounds simple. But it isn’t.	Sounds easy enough. But

  Reach a milestone

Signalling achievement milestones in your blog posts are another way of making actions and accomplishments sound simpler.

When readers visualise a breakthrough or successful outcome it appears all the more attainable. So they have more incentive to read on:

This is the point where	This is the part where	By now you’ll have realised
But by then you’ll	Then you’ll hit the sweet spot	And you’re set!
And you’re good to go	Now you’re ready to	Done!
Once you’ve cracked it	Once you’ve got it taped	Once you’ve nailed one
Once you’ve got it licked

  Issue a command

Commands, instructions and calls to action, which we’ll deal with later, are the psychological triggers that inspire readers to get out there and get something done.

These common action prompts come straight out of the classic blogging phrase book:

You start by	The first thing to do is	All you have to do is
Make a list of all the things you	Figure out what	Give yourself a
Walk away from	Don’t get left behind	Don’t do it
Don’t worry	Don’t go there	So stop thinking that
Stop now!	Stop it, all of you	Stop right there
It’s time to stop	Keep doing it until	And so on until
Lather, rinse, repeat

  Write a platform statement

Action points and instructions often come in the form of bullet points or a numbered list.

To introduce them, we usually use a lead-in or platform statement.

The following make ideal platform statements for introducing lists – or anything else you want to set out differently from the rest of your post:

For example:	For instance:	Let me give you some examples:
Let’s look at another example:	Let’s look at it in detail:	Let see exactly how this works:
Here’s how it goes:	So here it is:	Here’s how:
Here’s why:	Like so:	You’d do it like this:
This could be:	Things to check are:	Things to consider are:
Here are the details:	So check these out:	Take a look:
Let’s find out:	Here are a few ways:	Here’s one company’s story:
Ask yourself these questions:

Grease-Slide Endings

In a previous post I wrote about crafting bullet points I talked about how the first and last items in a list generally grab the most attention.

Well, the same principle applies to your blog post as a whole. That is, openings and endings make a stronger impact than the middle.

Your closing words shape the reader’s parting impression of your post. So use the following blogging devices to round off in style:

  Sum up

There’s an age-old formula used by direct marketers and public speakers that goes right back to ancient Greek times. Yet it’s still as valid today as it was back then. And it goes like this:

• Tell them what you’re going to tell them
• Tell them
• Tell them what you just told them

It’s also one sure way to get your message across in blog posts. So once you’ve finished what you have to say, say it again in a closing summary:

In short	In all	All in all
In truth	In essence	Let’s recap
Let’s rewind and	To sum up	So what does all this mean?
But the bottom line is this	So it all adds up to this	In a nutshell

  Call them to action

The last few words of your blog post shouldn’t be the end, but just the beginning.

After all, it’s what readers do afterwards that counts.

So if you want people to follow your action points then say so.

Likewise don’t forget to ask readers share your post, sign up to your newsletter, make a comment or whatever else you want them to do:

Now do it	Just get it done	Go solve it
So give it a go	Now go out there and	Now go out and do it
Now make it happen	Now it’s your turn	So go ahead
So take the next step	Best get started with it	Now let’s take it somewhere awesome
Here’s to [an action]	Leave a comment	Share the love
Let us know	Good luck and let me know	I’d love to know your thoughts

  Leave them thinking

Ask your reader a question, issue a warning, put the ball in their court or leave them in suspense. That way, you’ll leave them thinking. So they won’t forget your post in a hurry:

I’m ready. Are you?	Are you ready to __?	Do you want it?
Can you handle it?	What’s stopping you?	So what are you waiting for?
What have you got to lose?	Can you really afford not to?	What could be more important?
What could be better?	How can you resist?	And isn’t that what you want?
It’s easier than you think	It’s up to you	The choice is yours
It’s down to you	It’s your decision	It’s your call
It’s your money	It’s your business	It’s all in your pitch
You’re just leaving money on the table	You’re robbing yourself of	That’s quite a challenge
Now that’s a problem	And that’s just sad	Don’t let this be you
The good news is that this doesn’t have to be you	But don’t just take my word for it	Soon you’ll have it figured
Soon you’ll have them eating out your pocket	Do that and you’ll live happily ever after	Trust me. You’ll be glad you did.
Trust me. It’ll all be worth it.	Should make interesting reading	But that’s for another post
But that’s another story	And that was just the beginning	But that’s just the tip of the iceberg
That’s all that really matters

Don’t forget: The above list barely scratches the surface. There are loads more Bucket Brigades and tons of other ways you can incorporate them into your posts.

And there’s nothing to stop you creating grease-slide phrases of your own.

OK, I Get it. But Where Can I See These in Action?

Whenever direct mail comes through the letterbox, study it carefully before you throw it away.

Don’t just look for Bucket Brigades. Try to spot any other copywriting techniques you can use in your own content.

But it’s not just copywriters who love Bucket Brigades. As we said, bloggers love using them too. So, to finish, here are three examples of online marketing blogs that grease-slide their content to brilliant effect:

Smart Blogger

Jon Morrow’s blog Smart Blogger undoubtedly ranks among the best places to learn about blogging. But it’s also a gold mine of Bucket Brigades. What’s more, every post is a blog writing masterpiece.

SEO Copywriting: Success Works

Success Works is run by SEO copywriting trailblazer Heather Lloyd-Martin. Here you’ll often find grease-slide gems you rarely see anywhere else.

Backlinko

Brian Dean of Backlinko is an internet marketing blogger who understands the SEO value of Bucket Brigades. You only have to look at his posts. They’re jam-packed full of them.

So there you have it.

You now know the secret to transforming forgettable posts into irresistible content.

You know what Bucket Brigades are. You know where to find them. And you know how to use them.

Now put them into practice.

Have Your Say

Do you have any grease-slide phrases of your own? Tell us in the comment section below. And if you enjoyed this post then don’t forget to share it.

If you like this, you’ll also like:

5 Tips for Getting the Lead Out of Your Stiff Prose | Make a Living Writing
Help! No-one ever comments on my blog. What should I do? | Write Online

In our next post: Everything writers need to know about cloud computing – the mega-bucks business that pays writers big.

About the Author

Kevin Carlton is an IT copywriter and blogger based in Stafford in the UK. He is owner of freelance copywriting service Write Online, which helps technology companies get the most out of their online presence.

You can follow him on X or connect with him on LinkedIn.