Cover Photo by Jaroslav Devia on Unsplash (adapted)
There’s so much more to being the best than the surface-level stuff
Yesterday, I shared my analysis of some of the best articles written. There’s a lot you can use to learn and apply, but there’s something not immediately obvious from it: copying those articles and their writers will lead you nowhere.
You might write 66 articles in a month about money or Keanu Reeves, or both, but that won’t lead you to riches. To truly succeed, there are other important factors you can’t really steal from others.
In this article, I’ll cover what I consider the most important.
Your ability to get in flow
Tim Denning, arguably the most successful writer of the hour, keeps preaching for that and I second him. You can’t steal someone’s flow, you have to get it for yourself. And, to no one’s surprise, it’s not easy!
I shared my process on how to get into flow in this article. Here are the highlights:
Get into a state of no emotions — emotions pull your focus away.
Have a routine that doesn’t change — the less you have to worry about, the more you can focus on what matters.
Block absolutely every distraction — you have to get into your own world.
Put loud music on repeat — for a lot of people, this is the catalyst.
Have an alter-ego and summon him/her/it — who is the better version of yourself? What would they do in your situation?
Confront yourself (or have someone confront you) — channel your inner anger.
Building and sustaining momentum
In my analysis of the top-performing articles, results showed that they came from writers who had built a large following over the course of multiple years.
And when I dug deeper into their habits, I noticed that all of them had been consistent in publishing. They persisted even when it seemed to have stopped working for them.
That’s the key. It takes 28 published articles on average for a top writer to get a “hit” article. If you don’t build momentum and publish quality content regularly, you’ll never reach there.
A unique style
You can’t copy someone’s style and hope to have the same level of success. Besides, good luck copying Sean Kernan, Jessica Wildfire, John Gorman, Shannon Ashley or Michael Thompson, just to name a few.
The more people read from you, the more they crave your style. When they see a new article from you, they check it out right away. This doesn’t happen when you’re just like everybody else.
Take time to reflect on your style. Publish a few articles in different styles and see what sticks. What’s more natural to you? What tone do you enjoy writing the most?
For me, I love to keep it conversational. I like to ask questions to my reader and make them reflect. I love to write in an inspirational tone.
What is your unique style?
Novel ideas
In 2020, we’ve seen everything. The truly successful articles are those that feel novel to the reader. Sean Kernan and Jessica Wildfire ace this.
And the thing with novel ideas is that you can’t steal them, they wouldn’t be novel anymore. That’s where you have to get creative and draw inspiration from your environment and life experiences.
Here are two examples I love from Dan Moore:
A Sad Story About a Good Dog, Adopted in a Pandemic
I Feel Like a Bad Person for Not Wanting Kids
Here’s one from Michael Thompson:
I Asked A Bunch of ‘Self-Help Haters’ to Rip Apart My Articles
What do most people write about? Do the opposite.
Quantity AND quality
Tim Denning published 66 articles in August. So what? If you think his success comes from quantity, you’re wrong. Success comes to those who can sustain both quality and quantity. And again, you can’t copy that.
Now that I’m a full-time writer, I’ve set up a process to make this possible. I share my experience in this article. Here are the highlights:
My daily habits:
Write 10 headlines
Write 10,000 words (I have not succeeded yet)
Self-publish at least one article
Workout
Record a win
My daily schedule:
Write [5 am to 8:45 am]
Workout [8:45 am to 9:00 am]
Practice unrelated skills [9:00 am to 11:30 am]
Admin tasks [11:30 am to 12:00 pm]
Writing [3 pm to 5 pm]
This system helps me sustain both quality and quantity. What’s your system to make it possible?
Everything you need to know
To become a great writer, you can’t just steal from the best writers. Here are five things that are more important, in my opinion:
Your ability to get in flow
Building and sustaining momentum
A unique style
Novel ideas
Quantity AND quality
If you can do all that, there’s a chance you might stand side-to-side with writers you consider the best.
You can do this!
— Danny