3 Ways to Become a Better Writer
In 2011 I finally got fed up with a job I hated for 12 years. I had always loved to write, but didn’t think I could make any money with it. That August I said, “Screw it” and self-published my first book.
That book flopped; it sold five copies in the first six months. I only had ten people a day visiting my website. I was frustrated so I turned to the Internet for help, I quickly got information overload.
I followed all the advice out there and created niche websites, worked on SEO, created a membership site, created a private mastermind, spent hundred of dollars on social media advertising, and a bunch of other stuff. I tried everything they told me.
I even tried the strategy of connecting with those at the top, the A-Listers. I tried hard, but never got past the friendly “way to go” and “I’m so happy for you” emails.
I quickly realized that strategy was pointless. The only way I was going to connect with an A-Listers was by buying one of their courses or programs. Since I couldn’t afford them, I had to move on.
In the end the thing that helped this business support my family was my writing. Once I stopped following all the advice, and focused on my writing, people responded.
As they responded, I got the confidence to approach large blogs, and now large websites. I stopped listening to the haters, and just focused on those I was trying to help.
Now I’m living my dream, and many of you have asked about a course that lays out how I got here, and how I write for the places you see on the side bar. I’ve resisted creating a course because I didn’t want to create something that produced a bunch of people that looked the same.
If you look at a lot of the programs out there, you’ll notice that the content may be wonderful, but a lot of the people taking the courses end up looking the same. It’s the same themes, the same style; it may even be the same words on their websites pages. I didn’t want to create a bunch of the same.
There are over 900 million websites and a lot of people talking about the same things. The way you stand out isn’t to look like everyone else, it’s to be completely different, to be YOU!
After taking some time to think about this, I’m happy to report I have a solution. I have teamed up with one of the managing editors at the Good Men Project, my friend Dixie Gillaspie. We have created a course that’s unique.
Before I tell you about it, let me give you three writings tips that she taught me. These tips have helped me land articles on these really large websites.
1. Don’t edit while you write
I used to spend hours on an article because I would keep going back and editing every sentence as I wrote. Writing is not editing. Your job is to get the thoughts out of your head, and onto the page, after you do that, you can go back and edit. This is a HUGE time saver and will help you write more, faster.
2. Write your own truth
For too long I tried to write what was popular, or current events, or what was working for the A-Listers. Once I stopped, and embraced the message I had in my heart, I wrote something worth reading. Embrace YOU, and the message you have to share, not what you think people want to hear or what’s worked for someone else. Your truth will speak volumes for those that are meant to hear it.
3. Write a lot, I mean a whole lot!
If you want to be a good writer, it’s not going to come from constantly studying writing, it’s going to come from writing, and developing your style and voice. The best teacher in life isn’t books, it’s experience.
I now write two blog posts a week for my blog, once a week for the Huffington Post, the Good Men Project, Mind Body Green, and Entrepreneur Magazine, I’m also co-writing a book with Jared Easley. To write this much content means I’m writing 3,000 words a day.
As I’ve written this much, I’ve learned more about writing than any book could have taught me. I’m learning how to get straight to the point in an effective way. You learn how to be a better writer from writing more. So get writing!
The course
The course that Dixie and I created is for writers. It teaches you how to embrace your voice. Once you find that, we give you tips on how to craft your voice in a way that gets people to respond.
As an editor, Dixie is a master at this. Her editing skills help her cut through the fluff, she’s also an expert at headlines and decks. Once you craft your message, I come in with where to write, I.E. the large websites and blogs. I teach you where to pitch, how to pitch, and then how to leverage the traffic and email subscribers, and turn it into income.
This is a group class that meets every Tuesday for the next four weeks, starting September 30th. If you can’t make the live class, don’t worry, they’re recorded. You can ask questions, and get specific strategies to leverage your writing. There is also a private Facebook group to share progress, and bounce ideas around.
Coaching can be expensive so we wanted to make this affordable for everyone. The cost for these four one-hour classes, the private group, homework each week, and an evaluation on your writing and pitches is only $97. This is our beta class, which is why you can get a steal on the price. Details are here.
We hope to see you in the course, but if you’re not, be YOU. Stop chasing influencers, and focus on building your audience under your unique message. Registration for the class closes Monday, September 29th! Sign up here
What have you learned chasing your online dream??
