I’ve been writing for 10+ years now. I started with long-form writing on my blog. I’d write whenever I felt like it, on topics related to business, entrepreneurship and investing. I’d probably only post something 3-4 times a year, and had virtually zero audience.
But around 3 years ago, I started taking writing much more seriously. I committed to a consistent cadence of writing. I expanded from just writing blog posts (long form), to Tweets/threads (short form) and, more recently, a weekly newsletter (medium form). My audience has since exploded, and I’ve experienced career benefits that I never imagined I would.
The platforms may change and evolve over time, but after seeing the power of regular writing, I have committed to ALWAYS keeping a habit of writing.
If you’re an entrepreneur and or investor, I believe writing is one of the best things you can do.
Let me explain why.
Clarity of Thinking
We get paid to make decisions. Often, the key information or logic required to make great decisions is in our heads. And when it’s in our heads, it’s never clear or completely obvious. Not to mention, in many cases, it adds stress, anxiety and makes you feel overwhelmed.
It’s surprised me on several occasions, how ideas can flourish and solutions can emerge as I start writing. Writing has helped me think through investment/business ideas, operational solutions and other important decisions. So if you’re seeking answers, write.
Get Better Feedback
When you get your ideas/solutions/philosophies out of your head and onto paper, it’s much easier to share and communicate them with people. You will get much better feedback which will enable you to iterate or improve accordingly (or avoid dumb ideas).
Even if you don’t have an audience (discussed further below), you can still share your writing with people you know personally. Put it in a blog post, tweet thread or whatever you’d like and just share the link with friends/colleagues/family to get feedback.
Information Retaining
All those books you read, podcasts you listen to and articles you consume – probably a lot of valuable information, but how much of it are you really retaining?
A simple hack for retaining what you read is writing about it. There have been studies that prove you are a lot more likely to retain/remember something if you write it down.
After consuming a piece of content that you found useful and informative, write up a quick summary or jot down the key takeaways. And for a bonus: share it publicly (people love summaries/key takeaways type content).
Audience Building
Writing regularly is the key to building an engaged audience. There are so many benefits to having your own audience that I will do an entire post dedicated to it. It’s been a significant unlock for my career and businesses.
So much so that this year I’ve decided to double down on audience building via Deal Bridge Media. A former employee of mine (Matt Ross) pitched me on a business that would help busy founders/execs like myself grow an audience. Basically, we took my learnings from building my audience and systematized the process to help other founders and executives do the same.
I’ve been using the process for months now and the results have been incredible. It’s been a fantastic way to augment my writing and amplify my output.
Matt is now accepting clients for his 2nd cohort, if interested in building an audience, reach out asap.
Selling at Scale
The ability to sell is such a critical skill to develop for any entrepreneur/business owner and writing is a form of selling. It’s an effective way to communicate your business’s value proposition to customers (or to employees and investors). If you feel like you are great at selling 1:1, translate that ability into writing and now you’ve enabled yourself to sell 1:1000 (or more).
Build trust and attract high-quality customers by sharing your expertise in the form of writing.
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So now that you’ve learned about some of the major benefits of writing, here are some tips that will help you become a better writer.
Consistency > Intensity
Form a writing habit that you can stick to. It’s better to write something short every week than to randomly write a long, deep, piece every few months.
I can tell you from my own journey, everything changed for the better once I started writing consistently. The more frequently you write, the better you get at it, and the quicker you build an audience. Keep a notepad list of topics, and just have a pipeline ready to write about on a cadence you can keep up with.
Don’t Fear Judgement
Many people don’t write (or at least publish their writing) because they are scared of what people might think of them or their writing. I have a harsh truth for you:
Nobody is thinking about you.
Life is short, we will all be dead soon, so put your ideas out there. You will write great pieces, you will also write garbage pieces – who cares? Don’t sacrifice all the amazing benefits of writing I’ve described above because you’re scared of judgement.
Share Candid Experiences
Not only will it help you better reflect on your personal experiences (as I’ve already said, life is short, so reflect more often), people generally love reading about candid experiences.
Write about your successes, failures, lessons, regrets, processes, outcomes, etc. Publish it, start a discussion, learn and grow.
Write Like You Talk
Write exactly how you would talk to a friend. Don’t use complex jargon or sound overly edited/professional. Be concise and to the point to convey your message more effectively.
Don’t get too caught up on grammar, proper writing styles, etc… just write as if you were explaining the topic to a friend.
Topics That You Enjoy
Writing should be fun, it shouldn’t feel like work. Part of making that happen is writing about topics you enjoy or are passionate about.
Even if you feel the topics may not be appealing to an audience, you’d be surprised. Some of my most popular posts have been about topics that I was convinced were way too boring/mundane to perform well.
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Hope this post inspires you to write and write consistently. Feel free to contact me with any Qs, comments or interesting info!
