If I were an entrepreneurial writer and wanted to stop selling my time…

Here's how I would build my business to make $100,000/year without ghostwriting.

(In 10 simple steps) Follow the rule of one.

The mistake most writers make is spreading themselves too thin. Like Jack Butcher says, "Early diversification costs later compounding."

The fastest way to six figures is focus.

Follow the Rule of One:

• One problem
• One solution
• One platform

Over the past 3 years, I’ve grown my email list to 35,000 readers.

It’s the most important part of my business.

But my biggest mistake? Wasting so much time on a ‘value’ newsletter.

If you want to grow your brand and business in 2024 and beyond, here’s why you need to avoid this trap: When I started writing online, I spent almost two years sharing a ‘value’ newsletter.

Each week, I’d spend hours crafting an information-dense emails rich in steps, frameworks, and blueprints.

They felt great because they got plenty of compliments.

But they suck for your brand and business.

Why?

David Olgivy was one of the world’s best copywriters.

He once said:

“I am a lousy copywriter, but I am a good editor.”

The secret to great writing is rewriting. Steal my simple 3 step editing system to do it well: First: never publish a first draft.

2 reasons:

1. Your first draft is never a complete thought
2. Writing is thinking on paper. Your best ideas emerge the more you revisit them

Instead:

Yesterday was the third year anniversary of me quitting the rat race.

When I went all in, I hadn’t made any money and had a tiny audience.

Since then:

- Grossed $875,964
- Attracted 241,000 followers
- Built a 35,000 subscriber email list

Here’s the most important lesson I learned about success: I’d spent ten years and over 6 figures becoming a dentist.

I was terrified of throwing away all that effort. But it felt like an anchor slowly dragging me down.

Why?

Because I wasn’t happy.

On paper, I was doing well. I specialised in cosmetics and worked 6 days a week to ‘achieve success’.

But I couldn’t shake this feeling I was making a massive mistake.

That I was climbing the wrong mountain.

That there was something more to life.

My favourite resource on understanding human behaviour:

“The Psychology of Human Misjudgement” by Charlie Munger.

There’s a reason Warren Buffett called his business partner the smartest man he knew.

Here’s a breakdown of the 25 psychological biases he shares: 1) Reward and Punishment Superresponse Tendency

Never underestimate the power of incentives. People will do crazy things to avoid pain or achieve gain.

“If you want ants to come, you put sugar on the floor.”

A philosophy that changed my life:

Stoicism.

I discovered it when I was diagnosed with a neurological tumour and a broken neck. Since then, every great outcome in my life has stemmed from the Stoic’s ideas.

Here are the 7 most powerful: Don’t aim for happiness.

Most people are unhappy because they base their happiness on externalities. The Stoics instead for ‘Eudaimonia’—a deep-seated joy when living according to virtue:

• Justice
• Wisdom
• Courage
• Temperance

4 years ago I couldn’t make a single dollar online.

But my business took off when I started studying the master of modern marketing:

Seth Godin.

Here’re 10 ideas that helped me the most (and how to apply them in your biz): Narrow your focus.

Most creators cast their net wide to catch attention. But if you try to write to everyone, you write to no one.

Instead, get clear on your ‘One True Fan’.

Their:
• Pains
• Problems
• Desires
• Dreams

The smaller your aim the bigger the result.

I just finished re-reading Mastery by Robert Greene.

It’s one of the best books I’ve read.

There’re so many excellent ideas it’s almost impossible to summarise. But here are 10 of my favourite: Mastery is an outcome within your control:

"Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.”

A habit that changed my life:

Journaling.

But most journaling routines are boring and repetitive. A year ago, I started a new system.

100x more fun.
100x more impactful.

Here’s how to journal right: Here's the usual journal routine:

· Goal for the day
· 3x daily gratitude
· Nightly reflections

But this stuff just becomes a tickbox exercise...

Today's my 32nd birthday.

Always incredibly grateful to be here—writing to you for the past 4 years has been so fun and fulfilling.

I've gathered thousands of ideas to help me build my writing business.

Here are 32 of the best: • The most beautiful word in your reader's mind is 'you'. You should use it often ;)

• Even if you share a story about yourself, it’s never about you. It’s always about the reader.

How to find your core values in 4 simple steps (the most life-changing exercise you can do): What are Core Values?

Most people don’t get what they want from life because they don’t define what that is.

Values aren’t goals. They’re a compass. They’re what motivate you. They’re what makes you feel great. They’re what’s most important.

You find them in 4 steps:

Today’s my second year anniversary as an entrepreneur.

Here are 10 of the most important ideas I’ve learned (these are principles to follow every day): Never sacrifice reputation for short-term gain.

Reputation is like the engine of your car. You don’t see it, but it’s the power behind your business — you must care for it deeply.

It takes decades to build and moments to destroy.

How to sell anything with a simple 6-step storytelling framework:

(a thread with examples) 1) Begin in the action

Selling with storytelling requires emotion and excitement to get people reading to the end (and clicking buy).

The first few moments are most important.

Open the loop.

Let’s sell a pen:

Einstein called it the 8th wonder of the world:

Compounding.

But few people understand how important it is.

Here’s a 2-minute breakdown of the most powerful force in the world: Compounding is where the value of an investment grows because you earn interest on the interest.

Picture a snowball rolling downhill. It starts slow, but it quickly grows in speed and size if uninterrupted.

Take money for example…

Over the past 20 months, I’ve grown my audience by over 160,000 people.

Trust me:

Having a following is the biggest cheat code for your life and business (if you do it right).

If I had to start again, here’re the 10 steps I’d take: Narrow your focus.

The biggest risk to success is spreading too thin. Try to grow everywhere and you grow nowhere.

Instead:

Commit to one platform. Master it. Become an authority in the space.

Leverage the reputation to diversify later.

I hate boring annual reviews.

The best progress I've made as an entrepreneur comes from asking interesting questions.

Here're 10 of my favourite: What is my north star?

Working hard is dumb if you’re working on the wrong thing. Working hard is dumb if you're working on too many things.

One big goal. Define it and nail it.

Naval Ravikant once said you will never get rich renting out your time.

The secret?

Leverage.

If you want to earn with your mind and not your time, follow this 5 step blueprint: Before we begin:

Naval's advice is to own a piece of a business. There're many ways to do that. The path I'm going to give you is the one I took.

It takes a bit of time, but there're next to no costs.

And it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Let's dive in.

Email is THE best way to grow your business.

• More sales
• Better relationships
• No algorithm problems

Here are the 11 most popular email subject lines I sent during my recent 6 figure launches (swipe for inspiration): Topical and controversial: Is Elon Musk ruining Twitter?

People love controversial current events. Keep an eye out for what’s happening in the world - even better if it’s in your niche - then use it as the hook to share your idea.

Example: If Donald Trump wins again…

I have 206,000 social media followers and 26,000 email subscribers.

But 3 years ago, I had ZERO writing experience. Want to know how I did it?

Storytelling.

Here're the only 5 storytelling tips you need to attract an audience: Drop details

People don’t care about stories they can’t see. Use:
· Times
· Senses
· Colours
· Emotions

Transport them to your tale.

2 days ago, I released a copywriting course breaking down the salespage behind two six-figure launches.

2,000 people requested it.

Unfortunately I couldn't send it to everyone - so here's the entire course direct to 𝕏:

(10 copywriting strategies, first video below👇) Video 1

The big mistake people make in their copy… and the one thing you need to decide before you write a single word:

(& the sales page for you to follow along ) highimpactwriting.co

Over the past 20 months I’ve grown my audience by over 160,000 people.

Trust me:

A following is like miracle grow for your business.

If I had to start again, here’re the 10 steps I’d take to do it right: Narrow your focus.

The biggest risk to success is spreading too thin - try to grow everywhere and you grow nowhere.

Commit to one platform. Master it. Become an authority in the space.

Use the reputation to diversify later.