Thread by @Nicolascole77

Ryan Holiday is one of the best-selling nonfiction authors of the past decade.

To date, his books have sold more than 3,000,000 copies.

Here's the crazy story of how a digital marketer niched down and created his own category around Stoicism:

Ryan dropped out college at 19 to apprentice under best-selling author, Robert Greene.

This is clearly where his "become known for a niche you own" thinking started.

Each of Robert's books focused on timeless human qualities.

(This early inspiration was critical.)

Ryan then spent several years as the marketing director for American Apparel, before making his name helping launch Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell."

The book sold more than 400,000 copies in 2009 alone, and 1M+ copies to date.

In 2012 is when Ryan published his first book, "Trust Me, I'm Lying."

Some sources say he received a $500k advance for this "tell-all book" about his marketing secrets.

But other sources say that was made up as a marketing ploy.

The book debuted as a WSJ bestseller.

Thinking marketing was "his niche," two years later he published a second book: Growth Hacker Marketing

This was several years before the "growth marketing" trend really caught fire.

Ryan was ahead of his time, but the book wasn't as successful as "Trust Me, I'm Lying."

Then, he wrote a blog post for Tim Ferriss:

"Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs"

The article went viral, and prompted a call from his publisher.

They wanted him to turn it into a book.

He expanded that blog post into The Obstacle Is The Way.

This was the turning point for his career.

After "The Obstacle Is The Way," Ryan doubled-down on this new niche that was catching fire.

He stopped referring to himself as a marketer.

And went all-in on making Stoicism principles accessible to modern-day readers.

Today, Ryan's entire career is built on his position as Category King of the Stoicism niche:

• He has The Daily Stoic podcast
• He sells Memento Mori coins on his website
• His past 5 books have all been centered around Stoicism principles (Ego, Stillness, Courage, etc.)

Whether you like his books or not is sort of irrelevant.

@ryanholiday is a legendary marketer, and a living case study that your niche often reveals itself as you begin the journey of writing.

Today?

Anyone who says the word "Stoicism" is immediately compared to Ryan Holiday.

If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow me @nicolascole77 for more digital writing & category creation content

2. Check out this free resource I put together to help writers get started creating a category of their own

startwritingonline.com