Nicolas Cole πŸš’πŸ‘» Profile picture
Sep 24, 2021 β€’ 27 tweets β€’ 7 min read β€’ Read on X
Attention Writing Twitter πŸ“’

Only 7 days left to join the LAST Ship 30 for 30 cohort of the year.

...and it's looking to be our BIGGEST cohort yet.

In celebration, let's play a game.

1 RT = 1 digital writing tip we share inside the course.

Ready, go.
You can join the last Ship 30 for 30 cohort of the year here πŸ‘‡

ship30for30.com
Digital Writing Tip #1: It's your content. You can do anything you want with it.

Atomic Essays can become:

β€’ Newsletters
β€’ Landing page copy
β€’ eBooks
β€’ Digital Products
β€’ Course material
β€’ Scripts for podcast episodes
β€’ Etc.
Digital Writing Tip #2: You make your headlines more compelling by increasing the voltage ⚑️⚑️⚑️

You can do this to your:

β€’ WHAT?
β€’ WHO?
β€’ FEELING
β€’ PROMISE

More description in any one of these parts of your headline = ⚑️⚑️⚑️⚑️⚑️ Image
Digital Writing Tip #3: You are not the main character. Your reader is.

This means, even if you're telling "your story" or sharing "your insights," you have to find a way for it to relate to the reader's wants, needs, questions, and desires.

They should see themselves in you.
Digital Writing Tip #4: All content can be reverse-engineered in 4 buckets.

β€’ Actionable
β€’ Analytical
β€’ Aspirational
β€’ Anthropological

We call this The 4A Framework.

Start here, and your writing will have 10x more clarity. Image
Digital Writing Tip #5: DO NOT START A BLOG.

A huge reason we started #Ship30for30 was to help writers avoid making the BIGGEST mistake when writing online.

Your blog has zero distribution.

Instead, we help writers start their own Social Blog.

typeshare.co
Digital Writing Tip #6: Write for the version of yourself 6+ months ago.

So many people want to write, but aren't sure what to write ABOUT.

Here's an easy framework:

Write for the version of you who didn't know what you know today.

Help that person.
Digital Writing Tip #7: Not sure how to structure your writing? Use a proven approach.

"Lists" have a bad reputation, but they're a terrific way to organize ideas.

You can organize just about anything into a list. Image
Digital Writing Tip #8: It's only clickbait if you fail to keep your promise to the reader.

If you write an amazing headline but the content is sub-par, you "tricked" the reader.

They call that clickbait.

But if DELIVER on the promise, guess what?

*Bookmarked*
Digital Writing Tip #9: Credibility can come in many forms.

Don't feel like you're "the expert" on anything?

Go out and curate what experts have to say about X.

Congrats!

You're now "the expert of curating experts on X." Image
Digital Writing Tip #10: Volume wins.

What makes a successful writer in 2021+ is not one single piece.

It's their body of work.

Their LIBRARY.

Don't obsess over the performance of any one piece.

Focus on building a library of assets.

πŸ“ˆπŸ“ˆπŸ“ˆπŸ“ˆπŸ“ˆ
Digital Writing Tip #11: Don't compete in someone else's category. Create your own.

The book, "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" was the first self-help book with a "IDGAF" voice.

And it has sold millions of copies.

What happened next?

Lots of sub-par copycats. Image
Digital Writing Tip #12: The cost of reading your writing is TIME off someone's life.

Think about that.

When you write something, you're asking someone to *pay* with 30 seconds or 3 minutes of their LIFE.

Keep that urgency in mind when writing.

Make every word matter.
Digital Writing Tip #13: The easiest way to stand out? Use languaging.

Languaging = the strategic use of language to change thinking.

It's not a book. It's an e-book.

It's not art. It's digital art.

The word you pick to MODIFY the existing word changes how people *see* it.
Digital Writing Tip #14: The more you write, the more you write.

You'll only have so many ideas before you begin the journey of writing online.

But once you start, your flywheel will spin.

Everything you write gives you data on what ELSE you can write.

And so on, and so on.
Digital Writing Tip #15: When you find something that works, repeat it.

For example, I've written dozens of "101" threads.

Why? Because they get 10x more engagement than anything else I write.

Find patterns & repeat them.

Digital Writing Tip #16: Feel like you've run out of ideas? Use our Endless Idea Generator

β€’ What topic do you want to write about?
β€’ Choose a proven approach
β€’ Tell the reader why they should trust you

This is how you turn 1 topic into 100 different variations. Image
Digital Writing Tip #17: You can't know what your niche is until you start publishing.

Every writer begins their journey with assumptions.

"I assume readers want X."

It's not until they hit PUBLISH that they realize what they thought readers wanted, readers didn't want.
Digital Writing Tip #18: The most important thing you will ever write on Twitter is your Lead-In tweet.

This is what *hooks* readers.

And if your Lead-In tweet doesn't share a Story, Framework, or hint at the Actionable Advice to come, nobody is going to click and read. Image
Digital Writing Tip #19: Don't delete past work.

All writers have this fear:

"What if someone sees my early work and thinks it's bad!"

But guess what?

Your old work gets more valuable as time goes on.

It becomes your origin story.
Digital Writing Tip #20: Everything you write that performs well gives you the OPTION to explore new territory.

This is the best part about being a data-driven writer.

As things perform well, you now have a choice:

β€’ "Do I want to write more of this?"
β€’ "Or don't I?"
Digital Writing Tip #21: Write where people already are.

Our favorite platforms are:

β€’ Twitter
β€’ Quora
β€’ Medium
β€’ Reddit
β€’ (sometimes) LinkedIn
β€’ Anywhere with an EXISTING userbase
Digital Writing Tip #22: Don't worry about editing.

In your first year of writing online, there's 0 point in editing your work beyond checking for spelling errors.

Because you don't know what to edit FOR yet.

Instead, ship as many ideas as you can.

Learn what readers want.
Digital Writing Tip #23: The size of the question dictates the size of the audience.

Most writers think, "I want to write about X," and THEN, "How do I get X in front of millions of people?"

Instead, start in reverse.

"What question do millions of people have?"

Answer that. Image
Digital Writing Tip #24: You can't steer a stationary ship.

There is very little to be gained strategizing about hypotheticals.

The truth is, you don't know what is going to resonate.

You don't know what readers are going to grab onto.

So, just start.

And pivot as you go.
Digital Writing Tip #25: When writing for niche audiences, GET SPECIFIC.

The more specific you are about WHO the piece is for and what outcome they can unlock, the more readers will see themselves in your writing.

If you're not specific, they won't know it's for them. Image

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More from @Nicolascole77

Jun 30
One of the most prolific writers of the last 30 years:

John Grisham.

His books have been made into movies starring Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, and Samuel L. Jackson.

10 of his timeless writing insights on talent, routine, and dealing with criticism:🧡 Image
1. Grisham sets himself tough creative constraints:

β€’ Start a novel on Jan 1st
β€’ Write daily for 3 hours
β€’ Finish it by July 1st

The key?

His tightly controlled writing environment (down to the coffee he drinks):
2. Grisham pumps out one novel every year.

But he can only do this by avoiding a huge mistake a lot of writers make:
Read 13 tweets
Jun 26
This skill generated $3 MILLION for me in 2024:

β€’ No degree required
β€’ No experience needed
β€’ Under 5 hours to deliver (with AI)

We taught it to over 1,400 studentsβ€”who can charge $5,000+ for it.

If you have a laptop and wifi, this is the most lucrative WFH job in 2025:🧡 Image
Something most writers miss:

Educational Email Courses (EECs) are one of the most lucrative writing services.

I use them in all my businesses.

The EEC I wrote for Ship 30 for 30 has generated over $3 MILLION in lifetime revenue: Image
That's not a typo.

These email sequences are the most profitable piece of content I've ever created.

Here's why:
Read 17 tweets
Jun 13
I wasted years as a horrible writer.

But then I found Tim Ferriss's writing routine and the mental models behind his 5 New York Times best-selling books.

4 mental models you can steal today:🧡 Image
As a senior at Princeton, Tim almost died writing his thesis. He vowed never to pen anything longer than an email again.

Fast forward to 2004. A cheeky student in Tim's entrepreneurship class says he should "write the book" on his lecture.

Here's a snippet: ↓
Ideas for optimizing life and work flooded Tim's brain. Tim couldn't sleep. So he scribbled to quieten his mind.

The title of his scribbly notes?

"Drug Dealing for Fun and Profit."
Read 14 tweets
Jun 12
I generate $400,000/year with a paid newsletter on Substack:

β€’ I don't run ads
β€’ It took 578 days
β€’ It has 65,000+ subscribers

This is the most scalable (and profitable) business I've ever seen.

Here’s how you can copy meβ€”5 steps (bookmark this): 🧡 Image
Most writers are stuck in a toxic relationship with their craft.

They think beautiful words = $$$ in their bank account.

Reality check: Writing is just the first step.

Great writing is a start.
Systems turn it into a business.

Here's the blueprint↓
1. Substack notes = free subscribers growth

Most creators are sleeping on Substack Notes.

β€’ We post 2–4x/day.
β€’ Over 35% of our total subs now come from Notes.

If you're only posting on X or LI, you're leaving one of the best ways to attract subs on the table.
Read 15 tweets
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.

β€’ His Wall Street firm collapsed in a Ponzi scheme
β€’ He lost his entire life savings
β€’ At 62, he was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer

His family faced poverty after his imminent death. Image
Image
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

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