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# Don’t confuse space and time.
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/dont-confuse-space-and-time/
- Published: 2026-09-24T15:39:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T15:39:32.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers
- Tags: marketing, content strategy

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/93/30/933059b9-0a90-40a6-8ecc-04cdf152178d/content/images/2026/09/time-is-the-fold-1.png)

How many times have you been told what you should put “above the fold” when creating a landing page or marketing email?

It’s become my #1 annoyance with content strategy advice.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve seen debates over which elements take priority, how much content can be added, whether the navigation should be removed, and where the “fold” is even located.

It all misses the more important point. 

Time matters more than space.

You have precious few seconds to capture ***any*** attention.

Every second that follows is a battle to keep that attention.

A decade ago, I told clients to fight like hell to earn your customers’ next 5 seconds.

These days, it’s more like 1-3 seconds.

Every word, design element, and image choice must advance the action you want your customer to take within those first few seconds.

Benefits, testimonials, and social proof? That’s all for the increasingly rare customer who is intrigued enough to pay attention and focused enough to maintain attention, but not quite ready to take action.

Those people are important. And with big-ticket asks, they’re worth putting in serious effort to convert.

But they should ***never*** come at the cost of customers who are ready to take immediate action.

Stop getting in the way of your best customers. Re-frame your content strategy for their needs first. And spread the truth whenever you hear someone say, “above the fold.”

Time is the fold.

— [CJ](https://cjchilvers.com/?ref=cjchilvers.com)

## P.S.

- PRS launches [the greatest marketing troll of the year](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/greatest-marketing-troll-2026-cj-chilvers-twbze/?ref=cjchilvers.com) against Fender.
- Just in case there’s any doubt about the ROI of email in 2026, [TikTok just launched an email newsletter](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-launches-newsletter-to-share-creator-insights/828666/?ref=cjchilvers.com).
- Dine & Deliver is back! It’s a very generous series of events, gathering diverse groups of newsletter operators to share their challenges and solutions. It’s fun. It’s educational. I highly recommend it. If you have a newsletter, [apply to Dine & Deliver today](https://mediaenthusiast.com/dine-and-deliver?ref=cjchilvers.com).
- Tired of vibe-coded apps? I love using solo-developer, hand-crafted apps, that are hyper-focused on a single purpose. Among my top recommendations for MacOS and iOS are the apps made by Greg Pierce: [Drafts](https://getdrafts.com/?ref=cjchilvers.com) (think Photoshop but for all your text needs) and [Simple Scan](https://agiletortoise.com/simple-scan/?ref=cjchilvers.com) (a super-clear and easy document scanning app that you can actually trust not to spy on you).
- Several back issues of this newsletter were updated in the archive for [VIP supporters](https://www.cjchilvers.com/vip/#/portal/signup). I've started working on updates to add to the books as well. Thanks to all the members and readers who have helped keep this newsletter going for decades!
- Clarify your newsletter strategy and [book a 1:1 strategy call with me](https://calendly.com/cjchilvers/60min?ref=cjchilvers.com&month=2026-09).