Nicolas Cole 🚢👻 Profile picture
Aug 30, 2021 23 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Today is The Art & Business of Online Writing 1 Year Anniversary

• Self-published
• Sold 4,000+ copies to date
• Still selling ~300 copies/mo
• 5 Stars on Amazon

Thank you to everyone who grabbed a copy!

Here are my favorite 20 quotes from the book, visualized:

👇📗
Give away 99% of your best writing for free. Monetize the last 1%. Image
In the game of Online Writing, volume wins. Image
The Golden Intersection of great writing is:

Answering The Reader’s Question

&

Telling Them An Entertaining Story Image
You are not the main character in your story. The reader is. Image
If the “sweet spot” of an online article is 800 to 1,200 words, then your job as a writer is to pack as much value into your Main Points as possible—without inflating the piece’s word count. Image
The size of your audience is a direct reflection of the size of the question you’re answering. Image
The Curiosity Gap in your headline tells the reader what this piece of writing is about, who it’s for, and what it’s promising—all without revealing the answer. Image
It’s only “clickbait” if you fail to keep your promise to the reader. Image
Anytime you fail to deliver on your promise to a reader, you’ve lost them. Image
Consistent output is the secret to every growth metric on the internet: views, comments, Likes, shares, etc. Image
Data doesn’t lie. But data is also a reflection of the external crowd, and not necessarily your internal compass. Image
If your goal is to be a successful writer, then social platforms are for publishing first, and consuming second. Image
When it comes to writing online, platforms will always change, but the rules will stay (pretty much) the same. Image
Categories are created at unlikely intersections, spotted by writers with an intimate understanding of one or multiple sub-categories. Image
What makes a badge of credibility valuable isn’t really the badge itself. It’s how the writer chooses to wear it. Image
The inverse rule of “Specificity Is The Secret,” is “The Broader You Are, The More Confusing You Are.” Image
When I was in college, one of my teachers used to say all the time, “If your story is reliant on the reader making it past the first few pages, then chances are, your story doesn’t need those pages.” Image
Categories are how we organize information in our minds. Define your category and you’ll know where readers “fit” you into their minds. Image
Successful writers play the game of Online Writing consciously. Unsuccessful writers play the game unconsciously—and then wonder why they aren’t succeeding. Image
There are 2 types of writers today: those who use data to inform and improve their writing, and those who fail. Image
If you haven't read The Art & Business of Online Writing yet, you can grab a copy here:

amzn.to/2Yf1tKR
Special thanks to @SACHIN_RAMJE for doing an amazing job visualizing all these quotes from the book.

If you are looking for someone to help you visualize your own content, I can't recommend Sachin enough. Such a joy to collaborate with. Hit him up!

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More from @Nicolascole77

Jun 5
You want financial freedom?

Become a ghostwriter.

At 26, I was a broke copywriter addicted to World of Warcraft.

18 months later, I hit $180K/month writing for founders.

Most people overthink. I just started.

Here’s the story:🧵 Image
I was sick growing up. I didn't know I had celiac disease until I was 18.

I fractured my spine at 14 playing hockey. Then broke it again at 17.

My NHL dreams died.

I turned to World of Warcraft, becoming one of the highest-ranked players in North America.
Then I pivoted to my other passion: writing.

I studied Fiction Writing at college.

My college writing professor Joe Meno (author of "Hairstyles of the Damned") told us success meant:

"Write for a year, mail manuscripts in manila envelopes, stack rejection letters for 30 years."
Read 26 tweets
May 29
In 1884, Mark Twain gambled everything on a dying President.

Everyone said to walk away.
He offered Ulysses S. Grant 7x the standard publishing royalty.

Together, they created a $12M bestseller and America's greatest military memoir.

This story changed publishing forever:🧵 Image
In 1884, former President Ulysses S. Grant was utterly broken.

• His Wall Street firm collapsed in a Ponzi scheme
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His family faced poverty after his imminent death. Image
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Grant's only hope was his memoir.

Publishers hoped to profit from the American hero.

So, Century Magazine offered him the standard 10% royalty.

But Mark Twain, sensed a historic opportunity (which the publishing world missed):
Read 15 tweets
May 15
This is Pharrell Williams.

13 Grammys. An Oscar-nominated film. Creative director at Louis Vuitton.

He doesn’t read sheet music—and sees colors when he hears sound.

His creative formula built a $250M empire.

Here’s his philosophy:🧵 Image
Pharrell once said:

“I’m always just curious. That’s what keeps me going.”

That mindset led him from the studio to fashion runways, films, and LEGO partnerships.

Here's how he sees curiosity (so you can boost your creativity): Image
Image
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Curiosity is the engine of Pharrell’s creativity.

He sees creativity as an adventure.

Every project starts with a feeling, a question, or an exploration into the unknown.

Curiosity keeps him playful, open, and always evolving.
Read 16 tweets
May 14
You can't beat Writer's Block by:

• Reading more books on writing
• Watching another YouTube video
• Bookmarking motivational quotes on IG

Instead, try this:

7 dead-simple tips to overcome your fear of staring at a blank page:🧵 Image
For context, I have:

• Been writing online since 2007
• Ghostwritten over 2,000 articles for 300+ industry leaders
• Written 10 books & 50+ mini-books

I have overcome the fear of staring at a blank page.

Here's how:
Tip 1: Prep The Page

The fastest way to overcome your fear of the blank page is to make it not-blank!

• Put a working title at the top
• List your Main points
• Make notes of sub-points beneath each Main Point

Voila!
Read 11 tweets
Apr 25
In the last 5 years, I've made $15,000,000 writing online.

Most people overcomplicate wealth building.

Here's my step-by-step system to turn any idea into a 7-figure business:🧵 Image
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@dickiebush and I have multiple digital businesses:

• PGA → $10M
• Ship 30 → $3M
• Paid Newsletter → $800K
• Writing Software → $1M

For simplicity, let's dissect @ship30for30. The fundamentals are universal across all our businesses.

Let's begin:
We built Ship 30 from a free Slack channel to $2.5M+ in revenue in 12 months.

• 10,000+ writers
• Daily publishing
• Gamified learning
• A global community

The writing course became the industry standard. Here's what made it work:
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Apr 7
I've journaled for 30 minutes every morning for 15 years straight.

No fancy journal. No complex rules.

Just a pen, paper, and 4 simple prompts to help focus my mind and find clarity.

Here's the dead-simple system I use every single day:🧵 Image
I started journaling deliberately like this when I was 19 years old.

I'd just gotten back from a rehab trip, and felt extremely lost & confused.

I didn't know what I wanted out of life, or whether I would amount to much.

So I wrote to myself about it.
Today, I use my journal practice to reflect AND "warm up" my writing.

Here's how it works:
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