One-Pager 101: The Ultimate Guide
This is the seventh post in One-Pager 101: The Ultimate Guide, a step-by-step series on how to create a compelling one-pager for any initiative—whether you’re running a business, leading a nonprofit, or planning an event. At The Riparian, we keep it high-yield and low-fluff because your time is better spent doing the work, not reading about it. Browse the full series here →

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The Right Few Words

Usually, I start these posts with a little vignette from my life that ties into the week’s theme. This time, as I sat down to write about the how important a solid edit is for a one-pager, I kept thinking about the political moment we’re in (and don’t worry, this isn’t a soapbox).

When we think about condensed messaging, we often jump to taglines and jingles. You probably know exactly who said, “Just do it” or “Taste the rainbow.” Even a local ad from my childhood still lives rent-free in my head: “If you have a water damage, call Alpine.”

But it’s not just marketers who understand the power of a few good words. Movements, ideologies, and even old proverbs have been using them for centuries– not to sell you a product, but to deliver a deeper belief, truth, opinion, or story. Think about phrases like:

• Actions speak louder than words
• Love is Love
• Don’t tread on me
• It takes a village
• Me Too
• Make America Great Again
• Black Lives Matter
• You reap what you sow
• Make love, not war

And one from this past weekend: No Kings

Regardless of political affiliation, these phrases hit. In just a few words you’re nodding, fuming, cheering, or rolling your eyes. They’re powerful because they’re distilling a much larger story into something short and sticky. They inspire. They provoke. They mobilize. Sometimes, they even radicalize.

There is power in words. 

There is a huge power in the right words. 

There is immense power in the right few words.

Today, we’re going to explore how to find those few right words for your one-pager by editing the banging story you wrote in the last step.

So, without further ado, here are some of my go-to strategies for a first pass at condensing my story but keeping its heart.

Twelve Ways to Cut Your Word Count Without Losing Your Message

1. Trim redundancy

Only repeat yourself if it’s really, really important. (See what I did there?) Check to see if you’ve already expressed an idea elsewhere or if there’s a way to combine two sentences into one with a small tweak.

Ask yourself:

• Have I said this already?
• Can I combine or tighten these ideas without losing meaning?

2. Remove filler words and qualifiers

Words like “really,” “incredible,” “actually” are like the “ums” and “likes” of verbal speech. They can, at best, fill up your one-pager with useless jabber, and, at worst, hurt your credibility. Don’t be afraid to let the data, quotes, or results speak for themselves.

Ask yourself:

• Would this sentence be stronger without this word?
• Am I using this word to sound impressive—or be clear?

3. Make sure your content is relevant

Every element should support your core story. A great stat about international site traffic might look flashy, but it won’t help if your goal is to fund a local vehicle. Good content isn’t always relevant content. Edit accordingly.

Ask yourself:

• Will this matter to my audience—or just to me?
• Does this support the message or CTA?

4. Shorten quotes

Don’t be afraid to use the magical ellipses to bring down the word count of your quotes. See if you can pinpoint the most powerful part(s) of the quote and edit around that.

Ask yourself:

• What’s the emotional core of this quote?
• Can I shorten it without losing meaning?

5. Use formatting to improve clarity

Text formatting like bullet points, italics, and bold can make it a lot easier for your reader to keep up with your story without you having to rewrite anything at all. You may find that if you format a section, you can edit out a few words along the way too.

Ask yourself:

• Am I visually guiding my reader or making them work?
• Would this be clearer in bullets or headings?

6. Order and format your bullet points

Strategic ordering makes your point clearer and more persuasive, and might show you things to cut. Bonus Tip: Make sure to edit your bullet points so they’re all in the same format.

Ask yourself:

• What’s my strongest point—and does it come first?
• Are all my bullets following the same structure?

7. Do a second-round cut in visual form

Once you move your content into a layout (even a rough Canva mockup), you’ll often find more to cut. You’ll see where the eye naturally lands—and what’s getting skimmed. For me, transitioning to the graphic creation is a big part of the cutting process (you’ll see it on clear display in our final step: Create). Even if you’re handing off your copy to another team member for the final graphic, it’s worthwhile to mock something up for editing purposes.

Ask yourself:

• Could I say this more simply now that I see how it looks?
• Does the layout feel dense or overwhelming?

Too many words, not enough punch? I can help. If trimming your story feels overwhelming—or if you’re too close to it to see what’s essential—I’m just a message away. Whether you need a fast editing eye or a full one-pager that’s clear, compelling, and clean, I’ve got your back. Work with me →

8-12. Last Pass Magic

To round things out, here are a few more editing strategies that don’t need much exposition (but are still highly effective).

• Read it out loud. If it sounds too long, it probably is.
• See if you can take it “too far.” Keep a reference draft, of course. But, you might just find that you don’t need half your words after all.
• Take a break. No, seriously! I often take a full 24 hours between drafts. It’s amazing what fresh eyes can see.
• Ask ChatGPT. While it’s known for unnecessarily wordy drafts, ChatGPT can help make things shorter too, especially when it comes to identifying redundancies.

Editing in Action

Here’s a short example of how I think about a first pass of edits. I’m using part of the text from my Tree Frog Solutions story example in the last post.

Not only do these edits cut down on the word count, they also tighten the message and make the story more compelling. Win-win!

What’s Next

With the condensing step complete, you’re pretty darn close to a finished one-pager. Only two steps to go!

Next up: a deceptively simple one—making sure your message is clear to the people it needs to reach, not just to you.

It might sound redundant, but trust me: this step is super important. It makes sure all this hard work lands for the right people.

See you soon for Step 6: Clarify!

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