I Wrote For 300 Hours In 12 Months - Here's What's I Got In Return
Last year I posted 279 times on LinkedIn and wrote 30 longer-from articles for Medium and this Newsletter. Summing all of that up, I estimate I spent 300 hours writing or editing content. That's 7.5 fourty-hour weeks that I worked for no pay.
When I first realized that, I was a little horrified (especially after multiplying my hourly rate by 300).
A Newsletter subscriber asked me “so what did you get out of it?”
That question prompted the reflections below.
Real, Actual Networking
This was the most tangible benefit.
Since joining LinkedIn in 2007, I had done a whole lot of fake networking. Meeting someone at a conference and connecting. Accepting a random inbound connection. I can't remember if any of those activities turned into anything, so it's clear it was low leverage. Low value. Fake networking.
The last 12 months were entirely different.
I met talented founders, like-minded creators, solopreneurs building products, financial services execs, storytelling coaches…and the list goes on.
The odds I would have met these folks is zero had I not been writing consistently.
I hope to build on these relationships and turn them into productive business and creative collaborations.
Invisible Relationships
Many of my “visible” relationships I made came from the “invisible relationships” that preceded them.
These came in two groups. The first group was folks I hadn’t spoken with in over a decade (that had probably forgotten I existed). My writing motivated some of them to contact me to catch up. Many of these folks write content on LinkedIn and now we keep in contact digitally.
The second group was folks I’d never met that had been following along online. Out of the blue, they'd asked me to discuss a topic I’d been writing about.
After observing this, now I know I’m building “invisible relationships” as I write.
If you’re one of those folks, I’m looking forward to meeting you (when you’re ready)!
2nd Order Digital Leverage
Naval Ravikant talks a lot about how digital writing is a form of permissionless leverage. In his words:
Coding, writing books, recording podcasts, tweeting, YouTubing—these kinds of things are permissionless. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do them, and that’s why they are very egalitarian. They’re great equalizers of leverage. Every great software developer, for example, now has an army of robots working for him at nighttime while he or she sleeps, after they’ve written the code, and it’s cranking away.
I used to think about digital writing mainly as 1st order leverage. Meaning, I publish something and the LinkedIn or Medium algorithms put the content in front of the people it thinks might like it.
But, I’ve started experiencing 2nd order leverage. The most basic form is a LinkedIn reshare. Someone reshares your content to their audience with their take layered on top.
More interesting versions include speaking on Podcasts, getting featured in someone else’s content, and collaborations with other writers (where the content gets distributed to the audiences of both creators).
In theory, I could conceptualize 2nd order leverage. But, experiencing it is something else. Now it's easier to imagine how a content platform could start to create a big multiplier on all the work I might ever do.
It’s a powerful insight, and it's a big motivator for me to continue writing online for a very long time.
300 Hours Of Practice Writing
This one seems self-evident.
But, here's the unobvious part: There is close to zero chance I would have put my head down to write for 300 hours without the feedback loop imbedded in digital writing.
With each create-feedback-reflect iteration, my commitment to keep going strengthens.
I also would like to think my writing has a improved a little with all the reps, too.
The Ability To Spot Good and Bad Writing Advice
After being in the game for a little while (and having my fair share of content flop), I’m starting to calibrate on what content works and what doesn't.
So, when I bump into digital writing advice online, I categorize it quickly as good or bad.
If I had to suggest one title for a novice on the topic, I’d recommend The Art and Business Of Online Writing, by Nicolas Cole.
In a future newsletter edition, I'll breakdown some of the best and worst advice I've seen on digital writing in the past year.
Learned About What Drives Consistency
If you know me well, you’ve probably noticed I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t like rigid schedules. I flip quickly between one of ten books I might be reading. When I travel, I prefer to improvise versus plan a set agenda.
I value my freedom.
That makes consistency a big challenge for me. I get bored quickly. I find the next shiny object. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s true.
What I learned about consistency this year is that I wouldn’t have stuck with writing if I didn’t enjoy it. But, the scary part is I didn't know how much I enjoyed it before I got started.
To become more consistent in my life (and work), I need to lean into the things I enjoy most. And, I need to be willing to go out of my comfort zone to try new things that might be good for me.
Closing Thoughts
These days, it's hard to go a day on LinkedIn without hearing someone say that writing daily will make you a great income, help you escape the corporate grind, and reduce your workday to 4 hours.
After writing online for a year, I can see how that's possible. There's no question that digital leverage (through writing) is real. However, monetizing it requires treating it like a business. It involves conducting market research, building a product, promoting it, optimizing the conversion funnel, and many other mechanics.
I’m not opposed to heading down that path, but I'm not sure I’m ready for that yet.
In year two, if all get out of my writing more is more & deeper relationships, stronger writing skills, and increased discipline and consistency, I'll be happy to have invested another 300 hours in the process.
I'm trying to build a strong foundation and it's a long game.
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