The Art and Business of Online Writing: How to Beat the Game of Capturing and Keeping Attention

by Nicolas Cole

There are a handful of ways you can make your Actionable Guide “better” than the competition: “Better” Quality: If everyone else writes short guides that don’t go into very much detail, you can be the one to write long, insightful, walkthrough-style guides. Conversely, if everyone else writes long, boring, walkthrough-style guides, you can be the one to condense them into shorter, more digestible bites. “Better” Voice: If everyone else’s How To guides are dense and overwhelming, you can show up to the party and be fast, full of personality, and overly casual. Conversely, if everyone else’s How To guides are so casual you feel as though you aren’t being given professional insight, you can be the one to write in a more formal way. “Better” Organization: If everyone else writes really great material, but it’s organized poorly and full of huge paragraphs and no subheads or page breaks for the reader, you can win simply by organizing your writing more visually and “appearing” easier to read and understand. “Better” Positioned: If everyone else is writing about the same problem, you can flip the problem on its head to be seen as something radically different. For example, if there are a million guides all titled “How To Get Your First Client As A Freelance Photographer,” you can position yourself differently by reframing the problem: “Freelance Photographers, Here’s Why You Don’t Want To Charge Your First Client Any Money At All.” “Better” For The Audience: If everyone else is w...