In partnership with
{{rh_onboarding_line}}
You've written headlines, tested hooks, and engineered emotion. But here's a wilder question: What if the next breakthrough isn't about adding more, it's about removing everything that doesn't matter?
This Saturday, we're running The Subtraction Test: a 10-minute experiment that reveals what your message actually needs by stripping away what it doesn't.
More than 50,000 AI marketers are reading AIM this Saturday!
Mission Objective
Goal: Discover your message's essential core through systematic removal.
Time: 10 minutes.
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Medium (requires brutal honesty).
Outcome: One razor-sharp message + a reusable editing framework.
In Partnership With Roku: Find Customers on this Black Friday.
Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
✨ Want to advertise in AIM?
Reach engaged 30k+ marketers with 80% open rates
Trusted by marketers at companies like GoDaddy, WPP Media, Sky, Adidas & more
The Play
Most marketing dies from unnecessary addition. Another benefit. Another feature. Another adjective. We layer until the message collapses under its own weight.
But what if you worked backward? Start with everything you want to say, then remove one element at a time until the message breaks. The last thing standing before it breaks?
That's your core. That's what actually matters.
Step-by-Step Play
Write a 50-word product description for [your product/service]. Include every benefit, feature, and emotional appeal you can think of. Don't hold back - pile it all in.
You'll get something dense and overwhelming. Perfect. That's the raw material.
Step 2: Start to run the subtraction sequence. Copy this:
Take the description above and remove 20% of the words - but only the words that add the LEAST value to the message. The result must still make sense and be persuasive. Show me the edited version.
Read what remains. Does it feel clearer or weaker?
Step 3: It’s time to go deeper. Copy this again (using the new version):
Remove another 20% - again, only words that add the least value. Make every remaining word count. Show me this version.
Step 4: Now it’s time to find the breaking point. Let’s go one more time:
Remove another 20%. At what point does the message lose its power? Tell me what element, if removed, would break this message completely.
Step 5: Do some reverse engineering. Here’s the final prompt:
Based on what couldn't be removed, what is the irreducible core of this message? Write it in one sentence.
In Partnership With Gethookd: Replicate your top FB ads FTW!
Stop guessing. Start scaling.
See the top-performing Facebook ads in your niche and replicate them using AI. Gethookd shows you what’s actually working so you can increase ROI and scale ad spend with confidence.
Behind the Tech
The Subtraction Test works because clarity emerges from constraint, not addition. When you force systematic removal, you're not just editing; you're revealing priority.
The last elements standing are the ones doing the actual persuasive work. Everything else was decoration. AI excels at this because it can run the experiment dispassionately, removing based on impact rather than attachment. You wrote it, but AI can tell you what's actually dead weight.
Field Tip
The Inverse Power Law: In marketing, power often increases as word count decreases, but only if you remove the right things. Great messages aren't minimal by accident.
They're minimal because everything weak was systematically hunted down and cut.
Prompt Playground
The Comparison Audit:
Compare the 50-word version to the final core message. What did removing 60%+ of the copy do to clarity, memorability, and persuasive impact?
The Single-Benefit Challenge:
Take the core message and force it to focus on only ONE benefit. What happens when you remove even more?
The Reversal Test:
Start with the irreducible core. Now add back elements one at a time. At what point does adding MORE start making the message weaker?
The Speed Read:
Which version (the original 50-word version or the final core) would someone remember 5 minutes after reading? Why?
Challenge Within the Challenge
Once you've found your core message, run The Subtraction Test on your call-to-action. Strip your CTA down word by word until it breaks.
Most CTAs are bloated with politeness and qualification. "Click here to learn more about how we might be able to help you" vs. "See how it works."
Subtraction reveals urgency.
Playbook Debrief
The best messages aren't built, they're excavated.
The Subtraction Test doesn't just make copy tighter; it teaches you to recognize what's actually doing the persuasive work versus what's just taking up space.
When you know what can't be removed, you know what your marketing is really built on.
👋 Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Subscribe to get your weekly winning guides on AI Marketing.
Questions? Just write a comment below. I read all the comments and respond to them.