People want to follow humans.
They don’t want to follow a search engine with a face on it.
And, with the rise of ChatGPT and future iterations of language AI, authenticity is more important than ever.
Everyone is desperate for human connection, and social media is not delivering that.
You can, and it will lead to more authority than you could imagine.
Authenticity, from my predictions, will be the differentiating factor for the future generation of creators (which is why I talk about philosophy, self-awareness, and other non-business topics that actually make you stand out in business).
I’ve worked directly and indirectly with over 5,000 creators, and this is a problem they encounter time and time again.
This seems to be the most overwhelming problem.
Creators don’t know how to incorporate who they are into their content.
This makes people quit before it starts getting good.
And, even if you stick it out, if you don’t display who you are and where you came from, what separates you from a robot?
Even worse, people that try to incorporate more than one interest don’t know how to write in a way that leads to growth, authority, and engagement.
Before we dive into organizing your topics, writing content, and turning 1 idea into 10, here’s a bit of credibility:
I started as a creator 3 years ago.
I launched a product right when I started, which most people warn against.
I wrote about anything I wanted to, like emotional management and self-improvement, when my product was related to web design.
I incorporated web design tweets here and there (maybe once every 2 days?) because I knew it was important.
The most important thing for those worried about monetization:
Talk about whatever you want, and when you plan to promote, talk about that topic more.
It’s that simple.
Well, kinda.
Experience will teach you more than I can here.
Before we dive in:
The first Solopreneur Sprint starts February 7th.
In 14 days, we will create confidence in your niche of one, create 20+ foundational content pieces, and create a zero-cost growth strategy for your creator brand.
>> Check it out here if interested.
Your Topic Tree
If you don’t know what to write about, read the last letter about turning yourself into the niche.
In that letter, we outlined your life story and turned it into book chapters.
What skills and interests are going to help you create your ideal future?
And for those that are already on the path, what skills, interests, and expertise do you have that have helped you achieve your goals?
Understand that non-money-making interests help you achieve your goals as well.
If your ideal future consists of being at peace and not worrying about money…
It sounds like spirituality is the solution to all of those, not money. So, don’t hesitate to include the things you love talking about.
An added benefit is your passion for that interest will display in your content.
These are what we are going to use for our content.
Choose 2-3 Interests Or Skills You Want To Write About
These should already be at the top of your mind.
I can’t help you much here, as I am not you.
If you don’t have interests you want to write about, you need to set a goal, start pursuing it, and learn what will help you get there.
Broaden & Breakdown
Most people start with hyper-specific interests like “biomechanical movement therapy” and get stressed out because so few people are interested in it.
Even further, they get stressed out again because they feel like if they don’t talk about that specific thing, their entire monetization potential goes down the drain.
Not how it works, my friend. Zoom out.
Let’s say my interests are:
- Web design
- Weight lifting
- Spirituality
From those, I want to broaden them into the overarching market they reside in.
Web design = online business or business in general.
Weight lifting = bodybuilding or health in general.
Spirituality = self-actualization or improvement.
Now that we have 3 broad markets we can move within, we want to break them down into topics and sub-topics.
The beauty in this method:
If you want to make money with an interest like “biomechnical movement therapy,” you can attract people interested in health.
Then, you can slowly raise their awareness around bio movement and educate them on why its important.
You are not supposed to just attract people that know everything about your main interest. Why would they buy from you?
With those 3 interests, grab a notebook and break them down like so:
Your job is to cover this entire domain in 6-12 months with all lengths of content.
That is how your brand perception is formed.
Remember The 3 Pillars Of Social Leverage
Before we start creating content, we want to have a balance of the content style we write.
The 3 pillars of social leverage are growth, authenticity, and authority.
Your content, on a 1-2 month timescale, should hit each of these.
If you aren’t growing, pivot.
If you aren’t making sales, pivot.
If you aren’t gaining loyal fans, pivot.
Iterate as you get more real-world feedback. You have to post, even if it sucks.
How To Write 3 Authoritative Content Pieces
We are going to be writing tweets for this.
Why? Because tweets are the perfect length and structure for high-performing posts on any platform.
My LinkedIn posts, Instagram posts and reels, TikToks, and the rest are all based off of my tweets.
We are going to start by establishing authority in your main interest, the one that makes you money.
We will use “marketing” as an example.
With any of the examples below, you can:
- Turn them into threads or newsletters for more authority
- Repurpose any point of the list into its own post
- Copy and paste them to other platforms
- Use them as scripts for Shorts, Reels, or TikToks
Let’s dig in.
Actionable Principles
Simple, write a list that goes over actionable steps a beginner can take.
This helps you build authority in one interest. And, even advanced people will follow you, because they understand the importance of the fundamental principles.
For all of these, please keep in mind that you should follow a hook > body > conclusion structure.
Your content sucks because you don’t:
– Hook in the reader
– Agitate their problem
– Relate to their problem
– Give them a valuable solution
Human psychology will always beat what you think will work.
Clear, not clever.
I’m writing these on the spot, so these won’t be perfect, but do this along with me.
Pick one of your main interests, craft a hook, give actionable value, and wrap it up nicely.
Practice makes perfect.
Importance Of A Topic
Most people don’t care about what you are writing about because they don’t understand its importance.
So, instead of packing up your bags and blaming the system…
Teach them why it’s important.
This is how you make your interests interesting to other people.
Make them aware of how it can impact their life.
Marketing is the greatest skill you can learn.
Why?
– It pairs with any other skill
– It teaches you human psychology
– It helps you monetize a niche interest
Only a fool expects to make an income without learning the skill that turns scrollers into customers.
Here’s a great example I swiped from Taylin Simmonds on Twitter:
Try it out.
Why is your main topic important?
How has it impacted your life?
Why should other people care?
Self-reflect and write a post on it.
Calling Out Common Mistakes Or Problems
A great way to establish authority in your topic is to call out bad advice, common mistakes, or problems.
This shows that you have experience and that you want to help your readers.
Stop writing hyper-specific content.
As a beginner, you should be focused on growth.
– Make your writing relatable
– Focus on a common problem
– Talk about the topic from a high level
Don’t expect to grow if only a few people would share your content.
This leads into my next advice.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Writing
Beginner creators struggle with seeing the big picture of content creation.
You aren’t aiming for an immediate sale with every post.
Your posts are not sales pages (but knowing how to write sales pages can help with your posts).
When you look at your writing, it should be obvious whether or not it would be shared by the average person scrolling on social media.
If it’s not, and you don’t have a growth strategy in your niche, how do you expect to grow?
Shares are the engine for organic brand growth.
Zoom out and realize that your content, over time, will introduce people to what you have to offer.
When the time comes, and if you have the skill, they will buy from you.
Broaden Your Content
From the tweets I wrote above, are they authoritative?
Yes.
Will they attract a potential customer (assuming I have more value they can find outside of my content)?
Yes.
Are they so specific that they won’t get shared?
No.
This is the balance you have to strike on top-of-funnel social media.
Then, when you bring them to your newsletter, lead magnet, and product sales pages – that’s where you get as specific as necessary.
If your content seems like it wouldn’t be shared by a beginner, zoom out one layer and rewrite it.
Study The Best Content Structures
Before we start writing content other than lists, I would recommend you study what good content looks like.
I personally use TweetHunter (a software) and Twemex (a chrome plugin) to quickly see my favorite accounts’ top content.
You can also use Twitter’s advanced search to do this by typing in:
from:thedankoe min_faves:1000
To your Twitter search bar.
Just replace my username with someone else’s and change the minimum likes to anything you’d like.
Immerse yourself in that content and use it as training wheels for your own.
What topics do you use to practice with this?
Repurpose Your List Style Content
The lists you wrote above have multiple bullet points that can be turned into it’s own content.
These lists can also be turned into the outline of a thread, carousel, or newsletter.
(I would highly recommend doing this to establish authority even more).
For now, let’s focus on writing another short post.
From the first tweet we wrote above, the first bullet point is “hook in your reader.”
And if I take one of my high-performing tweet structures like this one with 9,000 likes:
Then I can write a new tweet:
The greatest digital skill is the ability to capture, hold, and deliver value on attention.
That could be better, but I know that one will do well.
You can see how simple all of this content writing stuff is if you follow these exact steps with all of your interests.
To recap:
- You can, and should, incorporate your interests to make your brand authentic
- Create a topic tree that you can master in 6-12 months through writing
- Write multiple list-style content pieces to establish authority in your main interest
- Broaden your writing if you don’t think it will be shared
- Study the best content structures, use them as training wheels, and branch off of what you’ve already written
This is all you need to get started with content creation.
In the next letter, we will discuss how you can get that content shared without spending a penny.
Hope you enjoyed this one, my friends.
Talk soon.
– DK
How I Can Help You When You Are Ready
Solopreneur Sprints starts on February 7th. We will create your niche of one, write 20+ content pieces together, and craft a growth strategy so you can eventually do this full time.
2 Hour Writer teaches you high impact creative writing in a practical setting. I help you build out your content ecosystem and stand out from the sea of other creators.
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