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

Dec 31, 2024
I write 5,000 words every day.

How?

By treating writing like a mental sport.

9 simple habits I use to stay mentally fit as a pro writer:🧵 Image
1/ Read 1-2 pages of a thesaurus

This takes me 15 minutes every morning.

It’s a great brain exercise and teaches you a lot about language.

Words are your tools, so keep adding to your toolbox.

Here's how I fit it into my routine:
2/ Journal daily

90% of being a writer is understanding your own journey.

Journaling helps you process life events, see your progress, & visualize your future.

With it, you write from the scar, not the wound.
Read 13 tweets
Dec 27, 2024
I can write a 60,000-word book in 30 days.

Here's how I write a 5,000-word chapter in 90 minutes (in 3 simple steps): Image
Before you start writing, you need to have two items in place:

1. Your title
2. Your outline

If you don't have these, you don't know what you're writing about.

Check the end of the thread—there are 2 extra resources to help you.

Before we dive in, let's do some quick math:
Here's how to break down your 60,000-word book:

• 10 chapters at 5,000 words each
• Each chapter has 5 to 7 sub-questions
• These sections are then only 700 to 1,000 words long

Each section is the length of a blog post or a newsletter.

And this is the biggest takeaway here:
Read 12 tweets
Dec 26, 2024
I asked 195,000 people for the best book they read in 2024.

These 14 turned up the most (so they will make for great reading over the holidays):🧵 Image
1. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

a.co/d/ctaFiPx
2. Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara

a.co/d/aiM5BvO
Read 16 tweets
Dec 16, 2024
I scaled my ghostwriting agency from $0 to $180k/mo in 2 years.

How?

With this Ghostwriting Money-Making Formula.

Here's a quick guide (and how you can use it to land high-paying clients):🧵 Image
The Formula in a nutshell:

• Solve 1 specific problem
• For 1 specific type of person
• In 1 specific way

Use this to get clear on who you serve and the outcomes you deliver.

Let's dive in:
Step 1: Pick A Problem

In Ship 30 for 30, we teach a framework called The 2-Year Test.

Here’s how it works:

• List all the jobs/careers you’ve had
• List all the interests you’ve had

From this list, you'll be able to select an industry you're qualified to ghostwrite in.
Read 11 tweets
Dec 10, 2024
I'm 34.

At 24, I was a Columbia alum, broke copywriter, and a World of Warcraft addict.

But 2 years later, I cracked the code and made $200K as a writer. Just me and my busted Macbook.

Here's my story and 3 ways you can make money writing online in 2025: 🧵 Image
Image
Growing up, I dreamed of going pro in hockey. But life had other plans.

I fractured my spine at 14 and again at 17.

Suddenly, my NHL dreams were shattered. I turned to World of Warcraft for an escape. Image
World of Warcraft had the biggest impact on my life:

• Taught me to fall in love with monotony
• Introduced me to "social networks" at a young age
• Showed me the Internet could be a competitive outlet

At 16, I got my first job writing about World of Warcraft, here's how:
Read 17 tweets
Nov 22, 2024
My paid newsletter Write with AI just crossed $300k/year in revenue.

• It took 578 days
• I ran zero ads
• It takes less than 4 hrs/week

Here’s my 6-Figure Paid Newsletter Blueprint:🧵 Image
In this thread, I'll cover:

• The 2 types of paid newsletters
• The 4 criteria for a successful paid newsletter
• And how long to give your newsletter to see if it has 6-figure potential

Let's dive in!
For context, I've built 2 paid newsletters to 6 figures:

• Category Pirates to $150k/yr
• Write With AI to $300k/yr

These are both "Category Newsletters," not just "regular" newsletters.

Let's look at how to build a successful paid newsletter: Image
Read 15 tweets

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