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      "body": "<html>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*Pi3wyqWlEVGp89yyLBDe3A.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Personal photograph)</center></p>\n<p><h3><center>*** Listen to the complete audio version of this article <a href=\"https://soundcloud.com/nico-ryan-799428246/audio-article-nico-ryan-do-you-want-to-ghostwrite-for-tech-startups-read-this-first\">right here</a>.\n ***</strong></center></h3></p>\n<p></p>Here's a detailed look at the exact mindset you must develop if you want to land high-value clients and earn substantial income working as a ghostwriter in the tech/startup space.\n<p></p>\n<p>From May 2017 to January 2018 I ghostwrote more than 100,000 words for a number of well-known and highly successful professionals in the tech/startup world.</p>\n<p>With no previous experience working as a ghostwriter or writing about topics like mobile app development, lean startup methodology, the financials of building tech-centred businesses, or the changing nature of workplace collaboration, I had to teach myself about these (and <em>many</em> other) issues from scratch, so to speak.</p>\n<p>Moreover, I didn’t have access to any kind of step-by-step template that taught me how to contact potential clients and effectively convince them to pay me to write content for them.</p>\n<p>There was, thus, <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-earning-big-money-ghostwriting-for-tech-startups-7554fe2a71d5\">a lot of trial and error</a> involved in my early efforts to persuade tech businesses and professionals to hire me as their ghostwriter.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Despite a couple of initial failures, I eventually discovered — or, rather, I successfully <em>created</em> — a system, i.e., <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-transforming-my-life-by-cold-emailing-complete-strangers-4c5eb8ba3e78\"><strong>the Delivery of Free Work Method</strong></a>, that began working extremely well for me.</p>\n<p>Using this system, I managed to land several high-paying clients over the span of a few months.</p>\n<p>(Since that time, tDFW strategy has also worked quite well for various others who have applied it to their own client-based business pursuits.</p>\n<p>One notable example involves the case of <a href=\"https://medium.com/u/2536c1e90f44\">Faith Obafemi</a>, who secured a <a href=\"https://mailchi.mp/759e62f2ead3/one-of-my-blog-posts-just-helped-somebody-earn-49000-dollars\">$49,000 contract</a> after learning about my framework and applying it to her legal work.)</p>\n<p>As I’ve continued to write about my experiences working as a ghostwriter, more and more people have contacted me asking for additional insights into, and more clarification regarding, exactly how to go about finding new clients, landing lucrative projects, and creating top-notch content.</p>\n<p>In response to this demand, <strong>I’ve started developing a premium course on ghostwriting </strong>in the tech/startup domain, which reveals exactly how to 1) locate and contact potential clients, 2) convince people to hire you for paid writing work, and 3) negotiate attractive rates for your services.</p>\n<p>I’ll discuss this upcoming course in more detail another time (but be sure to see the end of this article for an exclusive discount code.)</p>\n<p>What I’d like to explore right now is the specific <strong>mindset</strong> that you ought to embrace before you start trying to apply different tactics for acquiring paid work by writing for others.</p>\n<p>This mindset comprises three core values (or principles or beliefs) that are absolutely essential for positioning yourself — intellectually, emotionally, and morally — for success as a ghostwriter.</p>\n<p>Essentially, today’s article is intended to answer the following key question:</p>\n<p><em>“How must I think and which habits must I cultivate in order to prepare myself to start earning substantial money as a ghostwriter?</em>”</p>\n<p>Before you can begin charging clients hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars per piece of ghostwritten content, you first need to set your mind on the right path by developing a very specific “picture” of what ghostwriting in the tech/startup space involves.</p>\n<p>As a preview, here are the three foundational principles that I’ll be discussing:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Ghostwriting is about problem solving, not ethics</strong>;</li>\n  <li><strong>Successful ghostwriters are driven, self-directed “go-getters”, not passive, lackadaisical laggards</strong>; and</li>\n  <li><strong>Ghostwriters must be comfortable with uncertainty and with not being micromanaged</strong>.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Let’s look at each of these core elements one at a time.</p>\n<h2>1. Ghostwriting is about problem solving, <em>not</em>&nbsp;ethics</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/720/1*PWh3FZ7OoVqp9KL-ligq0g.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/cube-rubik-toy-game-puzzle-2908607/\">@HeyouRelax via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>In order to avoid any potential confusion, I think it important to explicitly note the following:</p>\n<p><em>Everything that I have ever written, and everything that I ever will write, about the art and science of ghostwriting (if we can call it that) applies exclusively to the business world (and, more specifically, to the tech/startup domain), i.e., it is </em><em><strong>not</strong></em><em> meant to inform or guide anybody’s thinking or behaviour in any other realm — period.</em></p>\n<p>The philosophies and techniques that I discuss online are meant to teach you how to ghostwrite for <em>for-profit companies and private business professionals in the startup world</em>, not for entities or individuals operating in fields where ghostwriting is frowned upon or outright proscribed.</p>\n<p>I stress this point because whilst ghostwriting is the <em>norm </em>in the business world today, it remains the exception in many — perhaps most — other areas of contemporary life.</p>\n<p>The fact is that many founders, CEOs, public speakers, authors, marketers, etc. don’t personally research or write the content that’s published under their names.</p>\n<p>Lots do but many others absolutely do not.</p>\n<p>This seems to have become something of an industry standard in recent years; it’s now what’s accepted, expected, and even promoted.</p>\n<p>I know this is so not only because of my own ghostwriting experiences but also because of what I’ve learned by working one-on-one with several “veteran” content marketers who are far more accomplished in, and knowledgeable about, this space than I am.</p>\n<p>Now, why should any of this matter to you if you’re an aspiring ghostwriter looking to work in the tech/startup realm?Because:</p>\n<p><strong>There’s nothing inherently problematic or unethical about for-profit businesses and independent professionals outsourcing their content creation needs.</strong></p>\n<p><strong>There’s a massive demand for high quality content today, and in-house production teams and busy professionals often can’t deliver the first-rate results that experienced and highly driven ghostwriters are able to produce time and again.</strong></p>\n<p>Ghostwriting in business is all about<em> solving client problems</em>, not engaging in debates about the morality of writing for other people:</p>\n<p>Founders, CEOs, and other high-ranking professionals build thriving businesses by hiring effective teams, securing investments, partnering with key advisors, and implementing strategic visions—not by creating online content.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Researching and writing high quality blog posts, eBooks, white papers, etc. is YOUR responsibility as a ghostwriter.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>You make it possible for these folks to publish content on a regular basis — which helps them establish their authority, earn their audiences’ trust, and organically build their brands—without having to take time away from making the executive-level decisions that give rise to successful products/services and high-growth companies.</p>\n<p>Startups, and the people who run them, typically face an overwhelming number of tasks that they must complete and responsibilities that they must meet on daily, weekly, and monthly bases.</p>\n<p>One of these responsibilities involves maintaining regular “contact” with their audiences by consistently publishing high quality content online.</p>\n<p>High-Powered people working in the tech domain are eager to maintain ongoing “conversations” with their audiences because doing so allows them to:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Help their readers by sharing interesting information and teaching valuable tips;</li>\n  <li>Demonstrate their expertise;</li>\n  <li>Build their authority in their relevant market niches; and</li>\n  <li>Gradually earn the “right” to sell premium products/services.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>These dynamics are especially true for individuals who act as the “public faces” of their companies.</p>\n<p><strong>Founders, CEOs, heads of marketing departments, accomplished authors, and the like often have neither the time nor the desire to spend their days painstakingly creating the sort of in-depth, accurate, and up-to-date content that facilitates business growth — but YOU do!</strong></p>\n<p>You represent the <em>solution</em> to a key <em>problem </em>that many executive-level personnel face.</p>\n<p>What’s the problem, again?</p>\n<p>These time-strapped professionals must consistently publish excellent content in order to enhance their online reputations and grow their companies but they aren’t in a position to effectively create this content themselves.</p>\n<p>And what’s the solution?</p>\n<p>You, i.e., a talented ghostwriter who intelligently takes care of all their content creation needs by providing them with high quality, ready-to-publish blog posts, white papers, etc. on a regular basis.</p>\n<p>When a new client hires you as her ghostwriter, her number one goal is to have you effectively eliminate this just-described problem of not having enough time to consistently communicate with her target audience.</p>\n<p><strong>You are, to put the matter metaphorically, the painkiller that effectively quashes one of your client’s many headaches.</strong></p>\n<p>Once she comes to believe that you will deliver exceptional work on time every time, i.e., that you can be trusted to give her exactly what she needs, she will experience a significant reduction in work-related stress.</p>\n<p>This points to a very important dynamic:</p>\n<p><strong>Above all else, ghostwriters “sell” two specific things: </strong><em><strong>freedom </strong></em><strong>and</strong><em><strong> the sensation of relief.</strong></em></p>\n<p>The freedom that your client enjoys comes from not having to personally engage in hours or even days of researching and writing, which opens up space and time to focus on other, more important activities.</p>\n<p>And the sense of relief derives from believing that a professional and dependable writer is now in charge of the content creation process, which represents a huge weight lifted off your client’s shoulders, so to speak.</p>\n<p>So, whilst you are indeed providing a concrete service, i.e., everything that’s involved in creating a piece of ready-to-publish content, what you’re <em>actually</em> selling your clients is “free” time alongside alleviation of stress and greater peace of mind.</p>\n<p>(As I’ve pointed out before: people don’t buy products/services, they buy <a href=\"https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/the-most-important-thing-i-ve-learned-about-business-so-far-e0e12dcb6f14\">anticipated emotional responses</a>.)</p>\n<p>Let me explain this concept again but in slightly different terms.</p>\n<p><strong>Your job as a ghostwriter is to:</strong></p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Provide your clients with the freedom they need to step away from the day-to-day responsibility of having to communicate their ideas, insights, and expertise with their online audiences</strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p><em><strong>So that</strong></em></p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>They can instead focus their attention on the kinds of executive decisions and actions that facilitate the building of successful businesses and strong personal/corporate brands.</strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p>I strongly suggest that you commit to thinking about yourself in these just-described terms; collectively, they form a major part of the key narrative that you need to internalize (i.e., embrace via your self-talk) in order to become a successful ghostwriter.</p>\n<p><em>This “story” — i.e., that what you do is provide others with the freedom to pursue their larger dreams and objectives — is exactly what you should pitch to people whenever you market your services to them (or whenever you negotiate your rates!).</em></p>\n<p>Why is it so important for you to accept and promote this sales story?</p>\n<p>Because such a narrative makes it possible for you to help your potential clients see the “<strong>bigger picture</strong>” of what it is that you do and why.</p>\n<p>As long as you continue to view yourself, and to allow others to depict you, as nothing but a freelance writer — as some sort of faceless, outsourced expense — you’ll very likely continue to miss out on the “big money” you’re hoping to make as a ghostwriter.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>You must convince yourself that you’re not merely a “content generator”.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Rather, your work plays a small but meaningful role in allowing others to pursue truly ambitious goals.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Ultimately, powerful people in tech rely on folks like you to make “magic”&nbsp;happen.</p>\n<p>(Note: by no means am I suggesting that you should try and <em>artificially</em> inflate your sense of self-worth or social significance, or unjustifiably portray yourself as the foundation of other people’s success.</p>\n<p>Instead, I’m seeking to underline the importance of understanding, and effectively illustrating to others, the true <em>value</em> of your researching and writing activities so that you can earn the sorts of recognition and money that your hard work deserves.)</p>\n<p>With this first principle explained, let’s now consider the second.</p>\n<h2>2. Successful ghostwriters are driven, self-directed “go-getters”, not passive, lackadaisical laggards</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/720/1*MEpZtXcaIYc6Fs9KSYqupQ.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/blue-motivation-neon-lights-sign-1845901/\">@Pexels via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Let me make this point as straightforwardly and forcefully as possible:</p>\n<p>You‘ll never become an in-demand and highly-paid ghostwriter in the tech/startup world if you’re the type of person who waits for opportunities to “fall into your lap”.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>You must proactively and tirelessly search out new avenues for success.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Ghostwriting is a highly competitive profession, and the only way to “stand out” is to work harder and smarter than everybody else.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Lucrative clients will not magically find their way to you — you must ardently locate them and convince them to hire you.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>This is not a profession for the lazy, self-entitled, or care-free.</p>\n<p>I don’t intend these words to sound harsh or discouraging but I feel that they must be stated as such because it’s vital that people looking to enter this space develop a realistic understanding of what it takes to succeed.</p>\n<p><strong>Ghostwriting is about so much more than merely making yourself available online, e.g., by creating a public profile on this or that job board, and insisting that you’re a talented and experienced writer.</strong></p>\n<p>It takes serious <em>effort</em>, tons of <em>initiative</em>, and—at least in terms of how I teach the process — a willingness to devote many hours to completing <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-transforming-my-life-by-cold-emailing-complete-strangers-4c5eb8ba3e78\"><em>free work</em></a> without knowing whether such effort will ultimately lead to paid offers.</p>\n<p>To be more specific, my experience leads me to believe that the most successful ghostwriters are those who possess the following four key attributes:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>They’re highly driven, self-motivated, and independent “go-getters”</strong>: they require little, if any, external sources of inspiration in order to “get to work” and stay focused on a task, and they don’t wait for, or seek out, permission from others before taking action; they don’t need anybody or anything to “light a fire under their asses” because it’s already burning strong;</li>\n  <li><strong>They don’t rely on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to secure new clients</strong>: they <em>proactively</em> take it upon themselves to personally contact, nurture, and convert potential leads into paying clients rather than <em>passively</em> waiting for leads to find them via “race-to-the-bottom” online job marketplaces;</li>\n  <li><strong>They believe in the validity of “short-term sacrifice for long-term gain”</strong>: they understand that it’s often necessary to complete and give away high quality work for free when trying to land a new client, recognizing that whilst this can be a cumbersome undertaking it’s often a highly effective method for securing a strong “foot in the door” with a potential client and eventually earning paid gigs; and</li>\n  <li><strong>They routinely “swing for the fences” from the get-go rather than do things “half-assed”</strong>: they treat the entire ghostwriting process — from marketing their services to landing new clients to researching and writing polished content — systematically, strategically, and with the care and attention it deserves; they aim to “wow” potential clients with their very first contact rather than rely on generic and impersonal “outreach” that asks for new business but doesn’t offer anything of value first.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>Let me say a few more words about these dynamics before moving on to the third and final principle.</p>\n<p>First, <strong>I absolutely do NOT recommend relying on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to help you find new clients.</strong></p>\n<p>The way that I approach, and teach others about, ghostwriting is to treat the entire process as a take-charge (i.e., <em>proactive</em>) attempt to explicitly target and impress one or more specific individuals with the single goal of convincing them to hire you to write for them.</p>\n<p>It’s the <em>opposite</em> of the “shotgun method”:</p>\n<p>Rather than targeting an entire market or even a particular market niche (i.e., blasting shells in all directions), the objective is to hone in on <em>one</em> specific company or professional in order to learn about their needs and attempt to provide a real solution to one of their problems in the form of a free piece of work that demonstrates your skills.</p>\n<p>In order to land new clients in today’s ultra competitive world, you must consistently do things that “stop people dead in their tracks”, i.e., that make them pay attention to, and seriously consider, whatever it is that you’re showing and telling them.</p>\n<p>This is where the Delivery of Free Work strategy — a highly effective approach to marketing that I’ve written about elsewhere (see <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-transforming-my-life-by-cold-emailing-complete-strangers-4c5eb8ba3e78\">here</a>, <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-earning-big-money-ghostwriting-for-tech-startups-7554fe2a71d5\">here</a>, and <a href=\"http://mailchi.mp/759e62f2ead3/one-of-my-blog-posts-just-helped-somebody-earn-49000-dollars\">here</a>) — becomes extremely important.</p>\n<p><strong>There are simply far too many talented and experienced writers vying for paid gigs today for you to be able to “sit back” and wait for potential clients to find you on sites like Upwork.</strong></p>\n<p>And this is especially true if you’re new to the ghostwriting “game” and you haven’t yet established yourself as a well-known writer.</p>\n<p>Here are a few more reasons why you should <em>not </em>depend on online job marketplaces as your sole, primary, or even steady source of new clients:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>They’re overcrowded</strong>: huge numbers of sellers competing for a small number of contracts necessarily makes it very difficult for all but a select few to make big money on such platforms;</li>\n  <li><strong>They’re unevenly skewed towards those who have been using them the longest</strong>: “small fish”, i.e., those who are new to the platform and/or who have thus far secured little if any paid work, stand very little chance of winning attractive contracts at the expense of the “big fish”, i.e., veterans who have been working on the platform, earning money, and collecting positive feedback from buyers for many months or years;</li>\n  <li><strong>They take a percentage of your earnings</strong>: anywhere from ten to twenty-five percent of your earnings <em>per job </em>is stripped from you and used to “pay for” the “costs” of running such platforms; and</li>\n  <li><strong>They function as a “race to the bottom”</strong>: with so many folks fighting over a limited number of available jobs, sellers inevitably lower their prices in an effort to out-compete their rivals, and this leads to a never-ending cycle of lower and lower prices (coupled, usually, with lower and lower quality results), making it nearly impossible for you to charge what you’re worth <em>and</em> land clients willing to pay those rates.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>If you want to make big money as a ghostwriter then you need to search out, make contact with, impress, and convert your </strong><em><strong>own</strong></em><strong> leads into paying clients — not try and beat out other desperate sellers all vying for the same jobs.</strong></p>\n<p>Whilst you might get lucky “once in a blue moon” by landing a decent contract on a site like Fiverr or Upwork, I have no reason to believe that these mass marketplaces represent a viable means through which the majority of aspiring ghostwriters can consistently earn high-paying jobs.</p>\n<p>To repeat, ghostwriting is not a profession where you can “set up shop” and then simply wait for the masses to flock towards you with cheque books in hand (does anybody even use cheques anymore?).</p>\n<p>You must create opportunities for yourself, especially if you’re just starting out and looking to build your reputation.</p>\n<p>Your marketing and client targeting efforts need to be focused, personalized, and direct rather than scattered, generic, and imprecise.</p>\n<p>You must ask yourself, and answer, the following kinds of questions:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>For which specific types of businesses and/or professionals do you want to write? Why these ones and not others?</li>\n  <li>What are your areas of expertise? About which topics do you feel confident enough to write? Which areas are you willing to learn more about in order to become proficient in writing about them?</li>\n  <li>Who are your ideal clients? Where do they post their content online? Why do they seem to be in need of your services? What are three or four different ways you might be able to contact them?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>(Learning how to answer these questions effectively is the topic for a different article.)</p>\n<p>Ultimately, you don’t need to rely on anything or anybody but yourself in order to become a successful ghostwriter in the tech/startup world.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-transforming-my-life-by-cold-emailing-complete-strangers-4c5eb8ba3e78\">As long as you have access to Internet and email</a>, you have everything you need to get in touch with the right people, impress them, and start earning decent money by writing content for them.</p>\n<p>This, of course, assumes, first, that you’re a talented writer and, second, that there’s a “fire” raging inside you compelling you to do whatever it takes to succeed.</p>\n<p>If you’re not intrinsically motivated to “make things happen” in life then no amount of tutorials or how-to guides will ever allow you to achieve your goals.</p>\n<p>Let’s now address the last core principle, i.e., the ongoing presence of uncertainty.</p>\n<h2>3. Ghostwriters must be comfortable with uncertainty and with not being micromanaged</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/720/1*fPqk1NBlv8L-Lcozy3z1JQ.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://www.pexels.com/photo/alone-animal-bird-clouds-395196/\">Gabriela Palai via Pexels.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>So far we’ve seen that aspiring ghostwriters looking to work in the tech/startup space stand to benefit by developing a mindset rooted in the following two key ideas:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li>Your primary purpose as a ghostwriter is to act as a <em>problem-solver</em> for others, providing them with the freedom they need to pursue larger projects; and</li>\n  <li>You stand the greatest chance of succeeding if you <em>strategically </em>and<em> proactively </em>seek out potential clients in direct and personal ways rather than passively waiting for opportunities to arise on mass job sites like Upwork and Fiverr.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>In addition, it’s essential to point out that <strong>the ghostwriting profession is home to a substantial amount of </strong><em><strong>uncertainty.</strong></em></p>\n<p>To begin, there’s the obvious and well-known uncertainty that’s associated with “freelance” work in general.</p>\n<p>(I try hard to avoid using the term “freelance(r)” but sometimes it can’t be helped).</p>\n<p>Any type of unstructured entrepreneurial endeavour in which you personally take it upon yourself to try and sell a product or service without the backing of an established company or supportive team inevitably involves confronting considerable degrees of uncertainty:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>How are you going to find paying clients?</li>\n  <li>What kind of marketing efforts are you going to use? What will you do if these efforts start to fail?</li>\n  <li>How much money, if any, will you earn this week/month/year?</li>\n  <li>What will happen if one or more of your clients abandons you?</li>\n  <li>Should you operate independently or hire one or more employees? Etc.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>These, and many other related questions, point to one kind of uncertainty with which you’ll surely have to deal whilst working as a ghostwriter.</p>\n<p>However, these dynamics don’t really distinguish ghostwriting from other freelance undertakings, which I think it very important to do.</p>\n<p>Ghostwriting is unique in the sense that ghostwriters are expected to consistently deliver outstanding results <em>without</em> receiving extensive direction or instruction from their clients regarding how exactly such results are to be produced or achieved.</p>\n<p><strong>In many — if not most — instances, the onus is fully on </strong><em><strong>you</strong></em><strong> to envision and execute all aspects of the content creation process</strong>, including:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Coming up with ideas</strong> for individual pieces of content;</li>\n  <li><strong>Determining what kinds of research to undertake</strong> and which areas of research to explore;</li>\n  <li><strong>Deciding which companies and/or individuals to contact</strong> as authorities for comment;</li>\n  <li><strong>Formulating the structure</strong> (outline, organization, length, etc.) of the content; and</li>\n  <li><strong>Writing and editing</strong> (and, in some cases, publishing) the content.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Ghostwriters working in the tech/startup space should </strong><em><strong>not </strong></em><strong>expect to have their “hands held” every step of the way.</strong></p>\n<p>On the contrary, you’re routinely given copious amounts of <em>discretion</em> to figure out:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Which kinds of content to create;</li>\n  <li>How to become proficient in the subjects about which you need to write; and</li>\n  <li>How to present the information you learn to your client’s target audience in the most effective way possible.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>(As always, I’m speaking here from personal experience; others might very well have histories different from my own.)</p>\n<p>I mention these various dynamics because I think it vital for aspiring ghostwriters to recognize that ghostwriting can be a <em>frustrating</em> and <em>anxiety-provoking </em>endeavour at times.</p>\n<p>One of the biggest sources of stress I experienced throughout 2017 whilst working as a ghostwriter was having to deal with situations in which my clients lacked a clear understanding of what, exactly, they wanted in terms of the creation of specific pieces of content.</p>\n<p>They would often describe the <em>general</em> themes, problems, pain points, etc. on which their businesses are based and suggest a few very broad topics about which I could write but then leave it entirely up to me to “nail down” the <em>particular</em> foci of each blog post.</p>\n<p>This might not seem like a grave problem but I assure that you that not knowing whether what you’re writing is actually what your client is hoping or expecting to receive can indeed be an incredibly nerve-racking experience (particularly if it occurs on a semi-regular basis).</p>\n<p>This can be especially upsetting if you’re the type of professional who’s firmly committed to delivering nothing but first-rate client experiences (as I am, or at least try to be).</p>\n<p>Moreover, once you’ve written a handful of articles on “obvious” and “easy” topics for a client, it can become quite difficult to continue generating content that’s as effective and engaging as what’s already been published.</p>\n<p>Whilst some of this anxiety and ambiguity can certainly be quashed by maintaining regular and meaningful communication with each of your clients, it would be wholly inaccurate to suggest that it’s possible to completely eliminate such stress and uncertainty from this kind of work.</p>\n<p>Unpredictability and the challenging emotions associated with it are an intrinsic part of the ghostwriting profession (at least as regards what I’ve discerned thus far in the context of tech/startups).</p>\n<p>At the same time, this reality isn’t — or at least it shouldn’t be — all that surprising:</p>\n<p>Remember, your job as a ghostwriter is to allow others to “offload” the responsibility of having to consistently publish top-notch content onto you so that they can then pursue different (and often more ambitious) objectives.</p>\n<p>Given this, it would be foolish to expect that, as a ghostwriter, you would be “spoon-fed” all the materials you need to “pump out” article after article or white paper after white paper.</p>\n<p>Similarly, it would be unrealistic to expect your clients to continuously check in with you to make sure that a kind of perfect symmetry always exists between what you’re creating and what your clients are anticipating.</p>\n<p>My experience suggests that this kind of micromanagement simply doesn’t exist in the ghostwriting profession.</p>\n<p>(Unless, of course, you’re working extremely closely with a very small number of clients and you’re creating highly detailed and personalized content such as book-length biographies).</p>\n<p>All of this to say, then, that uncertainty and discretion rest at the “heart” of the ghostwriting vocation.</p>\n<p><strong>You shouldn’t expect to be able to “lean on” others to help you conceptualize, research, or write exceptional content for your clients — that’s your obligation and yours alone.</strong></p>\n<p>Humbly, if you’re not up for such a challenge then this profession likely isn’t for you.</p>\n<p>***</p>\n<p>As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I’ve started developing a premium course designed to teach aspiring ghostwriters (and content creators more generally) how to effectively earn money by writing for businesses and professionals in the tech/startup space.</p>\n<p>The course is based on the experiences I accrued between May 2017 and January 2018, during which time I ghostwrote more than 100,000 words for numerous high-powered individuals in the business world (e.g., CEOs, founders, public speakers, etc.).</p>\n<p>The lessons lay out, in step-by-step detail, the specific strategies you can use to find potential clients and convince them to pay you decent money to ghostwrite their content.</p>\n<p>I intend to make the course available for purchase at some point in April.</p>\n<h4>If you’d like to receive an exclusive 15% off discount code then please <a href=\"https://upscri.be/6b0fcc\">sign up&nbsp;here</a>.</h4>\n<p></p>\n<p>(Note: by filling out the above form you consent to having your address added to my email list.)</p>\n<p>***</p>\n<h4><strong>As always, thank you very much for reading&nbsp;❤</strong></h4>\n<p></p>\n<p>If you find this article helpful and you’d like to make a small donation to show your support, you may do so here:</p>\n<p><strong>Bitcoin: </strong><em>1GTCJzHkgn9NJt7dfcZymh34Vq1g7bjbkk</em></p>\n<p><strong>Ether: </strong><em>0x8e6c6044eabe5b849da4ab55a9c0c18fb9dd7f3f</em></p>\n</html>",
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      "body": "<html>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*G3HiZ9Sah9msfd9yfuGkGg.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://www.pexels.com/photo/computer-desk-electronics-indoors-374074/\">Burst via Pexels.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>It’s 6:57am on one of the last mornings of spring 2017 and the following message arrives on my phone:</p>\n<blockquote>“I’m here whenever you’re ready.”</blockquote>\n<p>Three minutes later, Internet marketing guru <a href=\"https://medium.com/@meseali\">Ali Mese</a> and I begin a 47 minute Skype phone call.</p>\n<blockquote>“Hello Nico, can you hear me?”</blockquote>\n<blockquote>“Hey Ali! How’s it going? I’m sorry if it sounds a bit loud on my end: I’m at my girlfriend’s house sitting outside in the country, so it might be a little noisy.”</blockquote>\n<blockquote>“No problem! I’m doing the same: I’m outside on my balcony.”</blockquote>\n<p>After exchanging another few pleasantries, Ali then surprises me and says:</p>\n<blockquote>“Man, that pitch you sent me, that email, that’s the best pitch anybody has ever sent me!”</blockquote>\n<p>Ali’s remark shocks me (in the best way possible) not only because he’s a highly sought-after and in-demand marketing consultant whose content (<a href=\"https://medium.com/@meseali\">1</a>, <a href=\"http://growthsupply.com/\">2</a>, <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh\">3</a>) has attracted millions of followers and hundreds of clients but also since the pitch to which he referred was, in fact, one of the very first “cold” pitches that I had ever sent anybody.</p>\n<p>Towards the end of our call—in which we discussed different content creation and marketing strategies that I can use to build my brand, increase my following, and land bigger and more lucrative projects as a consultant — Ali enthusiastically says:</p>\n<blockquote>“You need to tell your story! That’s how you’re going to attract readers and get people to care about you. Your followers want honesty so share your personal experiences about how you’re embracing the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I read a quote the other day along the lines of: ‘How can you live an entire life and not have any stories to tell?’ Always keep that in mind. You need to write about what you’re doing, what’s working and what’s not…”.</blockquote>\n<p>So, Ali, I’m taking your advice:</p>\n<p>In this article I’m going to explain how I’m using the practice of cold emailing complete strangers to effectively connect with influential people and create opportunities for myself that never would have materialized otherwise.</p>\n<h2>Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: a Quick Summary</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*4W4srfgZ84um6-6J0_dVrw.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://www.pexels.com/photo/architecture-booth-buildings-commerce-439818/\">Mark Dalton via Pexels.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Cold emailing is a form of outbound marketing.</p>\n<p>Let’s quickly compare and contrast outbound with inbound marketing to make sure we understand our key terms.</p>\n<h3>Outbound marketing:</h3>\n<p>Any marketer-driven process in which party A (e.g., a company or consultant) explicitly “pushes” something — a message, a service, a product, etc. — onto party B (e.g., a potential client).</p>\n<p>Often an intrusive/disruptive approach to marketing insofar as it involves “interrupting” people with attempts to market and/or sell to them.</p>\n<p>Examples: trade shows, direct mail, telemarketing, pay-per-clicks ads, and “cold” phone calls and email.</p>\n<h3>Inbound marketing:</h3>\n<p>Any consumer-driven process in which party B (e.g., a potential client) is naturally/organically “pulled” by party A (e.g., a company or consultant) toward something — a message, a service, a product, etc.</p>\n<p>Virtually always a non-invasive approach insofar as a piece of valuable content — e.g., a blog post, a white paper, a YouTube video, etc. — is used to encourage people to freely seek out additional information from the content’s creator.</p>\n<p>Examples: webinars, eBooks, articles, and infographics (sources: <a href=\"http://mashable.com/2011/10/30/inbound-outbound-marketing/#C8uPivnm1qq3\">1</a>, <a href=\"https://blog.kissmetrics.com/outbound-marketing-2-0/\">2</a>, <a href=\"https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/inbound-marketing-vs-outbound-marketing\">3</a>, <a href=\"https://blog.teamgate.com/inbound-vs-outbound-marketing/\">4</a>).</p>\n<p>Here’s a helpful depiction of the main differences (and similarities) between the two types of marketing:</p>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*RSDQC3_ZXZiE7tPUdXvahg.png</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"http://www.saimgs.com/imglib/other_pages/marketing/Marketing-Funnels.png\">saimgs.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Inbound marketing is receiving lots of attention these days, with the general consensus being that in comparison to outbound tactics inbound approaches are typically:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Cheaper in terms of cost;</li>\n  <li>More effective in terms of conversions;</li>\n  <li>More interactive in terms of facilitating two-way, authentic communication between marketers and potential clients;</li>\n  <li>More value-focused in terms of providing free, high-quality educational resources; and</li>\n  <li>More consensual and inviting in terms of utilizing explicit permission to communicate with potential clients (sources: <a href=\"https://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing\">1</a>, <a href=\"http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/inbound-vs-outbound-marketing/\">2</a>, <a href=\"https://blog.teamgate.com/inbound-vs-outbound-marketing/\">3</a>, <a href=\"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/inbound-vs-outbound-marketing-whats-best-2017/176422/\">4</a>, <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31555/inbound-leads-cost-61-less-than-outbound-new-data.aspx\">5</a>, <a href=\"http://www.ironpaper.com/webintel/articles/outbound-marketing-vs-inbound-marketing-better/\">6</a>).</li>\n</ul>\n<p>This very article, i.e., the post that you’re currently reading, is an example of inbound marketing.</p>\n<p>Why?</p>\n<p>Because I’m seeking to give away a free and highly valuable piece of content — i.e., an experience-based, detailed guide to using cold emails to create beneficial financial and networking opportunities — in the hopes that some of you will organically reach out to me in order to learn more about what I do, including the ghostwriting services I offer.</p>\n<p>Here, therefore, is the new marketing formula for the world in which we presently live:</p>\n<h3>Gift amazing content to your followers → build trust over time as an authoritative figure in your niche → convert leads into paying customers.</h3>\n<p></p>\n<p>Ali himself has <a href=\"https://medium.com/swlh/side-product-marketing-is-the-new-king-a75c4ed0c0c5\">pointed out</a> this dynamic before:</p>\n<p><em>“Instead of setting a selfish goal like, ‘We need 1000 unique visitors in 30 days’, we should ask ourselves, ‘How can we help 1000 people? What can we give away [for free] that is related to our core business?’ Chances are, if [your followers] like what you put out there, some of them might want to know more about your core business [and eventually becoming paying clients]”.</em></p>\n<p>However, if inbound marketing is so important then why am I about to devote a few thousand words to trying to convince you to invest more heavily in cold emailing, i.e., an outbound technique?</p>\n<p>Because:</p>\n<p><strong>When designed carefully and executed with authenticity, cold emailing works extremely well.</strong></p>\n<h2>What Is “Cold” Emailing?</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*wz1dEDrbrHNXZplA9BCijQ.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by <a href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/cKyqdM-xias\">@bkotynsky via Unsplash.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Cold emailing is “a tactic that focuses on sending relevant, personalised emails to prospects [with whom] you’ve previously had no contact” (<a href=\"https://pipetop.com/saas-glossary/sales-terms/cold-emailing/\">source</a>).</p>\n<p>This kind of emailing is “cold” in the sense that no prior work has been done to “warm up” the potential client to the possibility of purchasing a product or service.</p>\n<p>If a person walks into your new car showroom and indicates that she’s in the market for a new vehicle and you respond by describing the award-winning features of, and then taking her for an actual test-drive in, a specific vehicle then you’ve effectively “warmed her up” to the possibility of purchasing and owning the car.</p>\n<p>If you spot the same person far across the street walking in the opposite direction of your showroom and you respond by screaming out at her, “Hey! You want to buy a car?!”, then you’ve approached this (now likely annoyed and/or frightened) woman completely “cold”, having done none of the necessary groundwork to build up a rapport with her.</p>\n<p>Cold emailing is much more like the second of these two scenarios than the first.</p>\n<p>Or rather, really bad cold emailing is equivalent to the second scenario.</p>\n<p>To counter this, I want to establish the following key idea:</p>\n<p><strong>There’s no reason that cold emailing has to be as clunky, invasive, or amateurish as the behaviour of a clueless cars salesperson — or, even worse, as insulting, annoying, or frustrating as a spam emailer insisting that a Nigerian prince is ready to transfer $1 million into your bank account.</strong></p>\n<p>Although there are various types of cold emails — Neil Patel lists 11 different kinds <a href=\"http://neilpatel.com/blog/11-types-of-cold-emails-that-generate-a-response/\">here</a> — I’m going to focus on 2 in specific, which I’m choosing to call the social media share and the delivery of free work.</p>\n<p>Let’s consider each of these in turn.</p>\n<h2>Cold Email Tactic # 1: the Social Media Share (tSMS)</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*On89I0OypvVWYrGNOtjSZw.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/OcW8V83JJwY\">@riciardus via Unsplash.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>This first tactic seeks to achieve one of two specific objectives:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Successfully convince somebody to share a piece of your content on his/her social media site; </strong>or</li>\n  <li><strong>Genuinely convey your appreciation for the fact that somebody has already shared a piece of your content on his/her social media site.</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>This is a tactic that I use every single time I publish a new article, and I strongly suggest you do the same.</p>\n<p>Why?</p>\n<p>Because:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>The more people who share your content, the more potential customers you can reach: more eyes on your content → more followers → more leads → more paying clients</strong>; and</li>\n  <li><strong>The more you show your followers that you honestly care about the time and energy they devote to supporting you, the more trust you can build between yourself and your audience: more trust → more people willing to buy what you’re selling.</strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p>As for whom you should consider targeting with tSMS approach to cold emails, I recommend contacting 1) authoritative influencers who are active in your market niche and 2) all those who have in fact already shared your content.</p>\n<p>There’s no quick-and-dirty hack for finding thought leaders in your industry.</p>\n<p>Rather, you must pay attention to who is making “big moves”, who has a strong social media presence, who is publishing what, who is constantly cited by (and/or who is writing for) big publications, and so on.</p>\n<p>Do some research, find their names, hunt down their email addresses, and prepare your cold email.</p>\n<p>Here’s a template you can use to effectively email influential people who are working in the specific space(s) in which you wish to promote your content.</p>\n<p>This template is based on the exact email I sent to Martin Zwilling of <a href=\"http://www.startupprofessionals.com/\">Startup Professionals</a>, who responded by tweeting out one of my articles to his 1 million Twitter followers back in July 2017:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: I’ve Referenced You in an Article That Was Just Published</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi Martin,</em></p>\n<p><em>My name is Nico Ryan (@nicothewriter).</em></p>\n<p><em>I just published an 8,000 word guide to preventing startup failure, one that explains in detail 6 specific strategies that novice entrepreneurs can use to increase their chances of launching and sustaining successful companies.</em></p>\n<p><em>The article can be found here [link].</em></p>\n<p><em>Under STRATEGY #6: UNDERSTAND THE MEANING AND VALUE OF “PIVOTING”, I reference you directly and link to one of your published articles, saying: “Martin Zwilling, founder and CEO of Startup Professionals, expands on Ries’ ideas by specifying that startups can potentially engage in at least 8 different kinds of pivots, including market segment pivot, product feature pivot, and sales channel pivot.”</em></p>\n<p><em>It’d mean the world to me if you’d consider giving the piece a read and then sharing it with your Twitter/Facebook followers if you think it worthy of their attention.</em></p>\n<p><em>Thanks for your time,</em></p>\n<p><em>Nico.</em></p>\n<p>The social media share approach to cold emailing works because:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>It’s personal</strong>: it’s addressed directly to the specific recipient rather than to some generic “to whom it may concern” [don’t ever use this in an email!];</li>\n  <li><strong>It’s relatively short</strong>: it follows a simple, direct format: here’s who I am and what I do → here’s why I’m contacting you → here’s what I’m politely asking you to do;</li>\n  <li><strong>It’s respectful and humble</strong>: “It’d mean the world to me…”, “if you think it worthy…”, “Thanks for…”;</li>\n  <li><strong>It’s clear</strong>: there’s no doubt as to why it has been sent, i.e., I’ve done x (written something that I think you’ll find interesting) and I’d really like you to do y (share the content with your followers);</li>\n  <li><strong>The subject line is unambiguous</strong>: rather than being spammy, evasive, or over-the-top sensationalistic, the subject line straightforwardly tells the recipient what the message is about; and</li>\n  <li>[BONUS] <strong>It overtly acknowledges something that the recipient has previously written</strong>: because it explicitly notes that the recipient has been quoted directly in the article under consideration, the recipient is much more likely to respond favourably to the request for a social share since he knows that spreading the content will allow his audience to (re)read something that he has previously written.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Another way to encourage influencers in your niche to share your content is to contact them prior to publishing an article in order to politely ask them to provide you with a short quote/remark regarding one or more of the major themes of your upcoming post.</p>\n<p>For example:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: Request for Quote Re: Startup Team-Building</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi [name],</em></p>\n<p><em>My name is Nico Ryan.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m currently working on an article that describes 7 key strategies that tech startups can use to build cohesive, supportive, and talented startup teams and to foster passionate and authentic employee cultures.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m wondering if you’d be willing to provide me with a short quote — no more than 1 to 3 sentences — on the importance of people, teamwork, and/or employee culture to the success of a startup.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’d love to quote you within the article and I’d be sure to let you know as soon as the piece has been published.</em></p>\n<p><em>Thanks for your time,</em></p>\n<p><em>Nico.</em></p>\n<p>Then, once you have completed and published the article you can re-email the influencer, remind her that she previously gave you a quote for your piece, and politely ask her to share the post with her audience if she’s pleased with how the final article reads.</p>\n<p>When it comes to tracking down people who have already shared a piece of your content and thanking them, you can utilize at least 3 online sources:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Google</strong>: type the exact name of your published article into Google, place double quotation marks around both ends of the phrase, and execute the search. One at a time, take note of all the names of, and contact information for, the people who have shared your post anywhere on the web (blogs, Quora, etc.).</li>\n  <li><strong>Facebook</strong>: perform the exact same operation as above but this time search for your content in Facebook’s search bar. Again, try to find the names and contact information (i.e., email addresses) for those who have shared your post. As a last resort, you can consider DMing somebody on Facebook if you cannot locate his/her email address.</li>\n  <li><strong>Twitter</strong>: perform the exact same operation as above but this time search for your content over at search.twitter.com. Again, try and track down the email addresses for those Twitter users who have shared your article. As a last resort, you can consider DMing somebody on Twitter if need be.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Once you have compiled a list of names, send an email (or, less preferably, a DM) to each recipient using the following basic template:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: Thank You for Sharing My Article!</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi [name],</em></p>\n<p><em>I noticed that you [@Twitter handle] recently tweeted out my Medium piece 5 Strategies for Becoming a Better Writer That Actually Work.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m emailing just to say thank you very much for sharing the article! I sincerely appreciate it!</em></p>\n<p><em>Given that the content of that piece resonated with you, I’d just like to quickly mention that I work as a professional writing and editing consultant and that I’d be happy to discuss the possibility of consulting with you on a professional level if that’s something in which you might be interested.</em></p>\n<p><em>Once again, thank you for your tweet.</em></p>\n<p><em>Cheers!</em></p>\n<p><em>Nico.</em></p>\n<p>To all those who respond positively to your message, politely ask each of them if they’d like to receive a notification the next time you post an article.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>If they indicate yes then ask to add them to your email list.</p>\n<p>One more technique you can use as part of your efforts to increase the social shares of your content is to use Google, Facebook, and Twitter to locate and target people who have shared similar articles to what you have just written.</p>\n<p>For instance, perform another search on search.twitter.com (again, using double quotation marks) but this time search for particular words or phrases that are very similar to those used in your article.</p>\n<p>If your post is titled, 5 Strategies for Becoming a Better Writer That Actually Work, then run searches for phrases like “become a better writer”, “improve your writing”, “writing mistakes”, “writing guide”, and so on.</p>\n<p>Again, compile a list of names of, and email addresses for, people who have shared content similar to what you have just published and then contact them with the following type of message:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: An Article That Might Interest You</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi [name],</em></p>\n<p><em>I noticed that you [@Twitter handle] recently tweeted [or re-tweeted] an article discussing various ways for becoming a better writer, titled: “………”.</em></p>\n<p><em>I actually just published an article on this very topic myself but my post is longer, much more detailed, and contains some expert insights from [A], [B], and [C].</em></p>\n<p><em>I really think you might find the article interesting.</em></p>\n<p><em>Here’s the link: …</em></p>\n<p><em>Perhaps if you enjoy the piece you could share it with your friends/colleagues on your social media pages.</em></p>\n<p><em>Have a great day,</em></p>\n<p><em>Nico.</em></p>\n<p>Again, be sure to send a follow-up message to all those who respond positively to your email in order to thank them and ask whether they’d be interested in hearing from you the next time you publish something.</p>\n<p>As with the first template outlined above, these various approaches to cold emailing work well because they’re personal, concise, kind and courteous, professional, clearly worded, and unambiguous in their calls-to-action (CTA).</p>\n<p>Don’t ever forget that your followers are people: you’ll be hard-pressed to find somebody who responds negatively to a sincere email that simply tries to express gratitude for something kind or helpful that he/she did for you.</p>\n<h2>Cold Email Tactic # 2: the Delivery of Free Work (tDFW)</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*_vVufWfVZlcUtbrI8tf8Lw.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/RbRWDUyDEWQ\">@sickle via Unsplash.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>This alternative approach to cold emails requires far more time and effort on your part but, for that very reason, it also offers a considerably more significant potential payoff.</p>\n<p>The essence of tDFW strategy is simple yet powerful:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Complete an outstanding piece of work and deliver it to your cold email recipient for free, i.e., with no expectations of, or requests for, reward.</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Let the work “speak for itself”, i.e., use it as proof of your professionalism, technical skills, and sincere interest in helping your recipient achieve his/her business goals.</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>End the email by noting that you’d love an opportunity to work together one day when the timing is right.</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>My experience suggests that this approach is by far the most effective way to think about, design, and deliver cold emails that convert in the Age of the Internet and digital media.</p>\n<p>This method requires a serious amount of effort on your part: not only must you complete free, high-calibre work but you also have to thoroughly research your potential client and his/her business in order to determine what kind of work would benefit (and, thus, impress) him/her the most.</p>\n<p>In order to execute tDFW strategy properly, you must a) <strong>identify a meaningful problem</strong> that appears to be harming your potential client’s business and b) <strong>provide a fantastic example of what your solution</strong> to that problem would look like.</p>\n<p>This model, of course, is an application and extension of Fred Wilson’s famous “Freemium Business Model”, which consists of:</p>\n<p><em>“Giv[ing] your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquir[ing] a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc, [and] then offer[ing] premium priced value added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base”.</em></p>\n<p>In this context, then, tDFW is all about showcasing to your potential client not only the quality of the work you can do but also the value that you could bring to his/her company were he/she to hire you in the future.</p>\n<p>Completing free and amazing work for someone with whom you’d like to develop a business relationship conveys the following message:</p>\n<p><strong>This is exactly what you could expect me to deliver every single time if we were to work together, and here are the reasons why this should interest you.</strong></p>\n<p>The delivery of free work strategy is the technique I used to convince Ali Mese to hire me as an editor at The Startup last year.</p>\n<p>Here’s the email I sent to Ali back in June 2017:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: I’ve Re-Written an Article by [name] on The Startup</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi Ali,</em></p>\n<p><em>My name is Nico Ryan.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m a content writer and editor.</em></p>\n<p><em>Yesterday, I read the following story written by [name] posted on The Startup Medium page: [link].</em></p>\n<p><em>I found the article quite interesting and the author’s bold speech refreshing.</em></p>\n<p><em>However, I also found the article rather difficult to read as it contains a number of awkward sentences, difficult-to-grasp phrases, incomplete ideas, missing words, and instances of problematic grammar/syntax.</em></p>\n<p><em>I mean no disrespect or unkindness by pointing this out. On the contrary, given the importance of the content of the article, I felt that it was crucial that the technical/writing aspects of the document be as polished as possible.</em></p>\n<p><em>I have, thus, re-written the entire article for you. Please find the edited piece attached to this email.</em></p>\n<p><em>I have done this work purely to show you my writing/editing abilities. I am not seeking any form of compensation or reward whatsoever. It’s free — period.</em></p>\n<p><em>All I ask is that if you’re pleased with the re-write then perhaps you could consider working with me at some point in the future by having me edit articles for The Startup and/or for another one of your content platforms.</em></p>\n<p><em>Best wishes and thanks sincerely for your time,</em></p>\n<p><em>Nico.</em></p>\n<p>So there it is: the “best pitch” that Internet marketing guru Ali Mese says he has ever received.</p>\n<p>Pretty simple stuff, right?</p>\n<p>Approximately half a day later, Ali sent me the following reply:</p>\n<p><em>\"Hey Nico,</em></p>\n<p><em>You couldn’t have approached at a better time :) Thank you so much for what you did, really appreciate the effort.</em></p>\n<p><em>We were just discussing how to handle rewriting [some of our] posts.</em></p>\n<p><em>How much would you charge for…”</em></p>\n<p>At that point it was virtually assured that we’d be working together as it was merely a matter of negotiating prices.</p>\n<p>The delivery of free work approach to cold emailing works so well because:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>It has the same winning features</strong> as those belonging to the first cold email tactic (i.e., tSMS): it’s personal, to-the-point, respectful and humble, professional, easy-to-understand, and perfectly clear in its message/purpose;</li>\n  <li><strong>It shows initiative, hard work, and a willingness to “go the extra mile”</strong>: the vast majority of people would never take an entire day (or longer) to complete a piece of top-notch work for free and deliver it to a total stranger who might not even acknowledge an attempt to contact him/her. This, however, is precisely how you can differentiate yourself from everybody else trying to score paid gigs, i.e., by taking the initiative to uncover what your potential client needs (even if he/she doesn’t yet know what this is) and presenting a world-class solution to the problem, all without ever “bothering” him/her with unwanted sales pitches or other un-asked-for interruptions.</li>\n  <li><strong>It conveys sincerity</strong>: there’s literally no better way to show a potential client how much you care about the possibility of working with him/her than delivering high quality, relevant, and valuable work for free alongside no expectation or request for reward. Virtually nobody is going to turn down exceptional work presented with “no strings attached”;</li>\n  <li><strong>It identifies and solves a real problem</strong>: businesses hire consultants because the former need the latter to effectively fix concrete problems. This approach to cold emailing takes all the guesswork out of the burdensome process of identifying a problem, finding a qualified professional to solve the problem, and figuring out the specifics of what the solution would look like; and</li>\n  <li><strong>It’s completely pressure-free</strong>: it explicitly notes that the recipient is free to do whatever he/she likes with the work you’ve completed and that he/she is under no obligation to take any action in any form.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Utilizing tDFW strategy is a big “gamble” because 1) it represents a bold first contact with a potential client and 2) it forces you to show your potential client exactly what you’re capable of doing in terms of your technical skills and abilities.</p>\n<p><strong>You get only one chance to make a good first impression so don’t ever sacrifice it by under-researching your potential client’s business and/or delivering sub-par work.</strong></p>\n<p>A less ambitious although still potentially effective approach to cold email is to utilize tDFW method but not actually deliver any free work.</p>\n<p>Essentially, you complete the entire process of learning about your potential client’s business, identifying a problem that needs fixing, coming up with a detailed solution, and emailing over a clear outline of your findings and what you propose but you don’t send your potential client a concrete demonstration of your work (i.e., your fix) — at least not at first.</p>\n<p>This is a less impressive and elaborate attempt to “woo” a possible client; I recommend it only as a second best strategy to the full DFW method.</p>\n<p>Nevertheless, it can be useful in certain situations.</p>\n<p>I once elected for this option as part of an effort to work as an editor at a very popular blogging website.</p>\n<p>Here’s a truncated version of the cold email I sent to the owner of the site:</p>\n<p><em>SUBJECT: Your Website’s Content Deserves Better Editing</em></p>\n<p><em>Hi [name],</em></p>\n<p><em>My name is Nico Ryan.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m a content writer and editor.</em></p>\n<p><em>I have been reading [your site] for several years now. I’m grateful for all the useful content you and your team consistently put out.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’m emailing you because, in my humble opinion, the content on your blog deserves to be subjected to a much more thorough and effective editing process prior to being published online.</em></p>\n<p><em>A blog with your extreme popularity and large readership has every right to expect nothing but the highest quality articles.</em></p>\n<p><em>Unfortunately, much of your content curently reflects problematic writing, especially in terms of: spelling, grammar, and syntax errors; incomplete sentences; improper formatting; and lack of clarity and intelligibility.</em></p>\n<p><em>I would like to politely suggest to you the possibility of hiring me as the Head Editor at [your site].</em></p>\n<p><em>I currently work for … and in this role I am responsible for …</em></p>\n<p><em>Here are 5 examples of recent articles that I researched and edited for one of my top clients …</em></p>\n<p><em>I believe there’s an amazing opportunity here for the two of us to work together to help build your site into even more of an authoritative and highly respected platform in your niche.</em></p>\n<p><em>I’d love to talk more about moving ahead if you’re interested.</em></p>\n<p><em>Thank you,<br>\nNico.</em></p>\n<p>The outcome of this email was twofold:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li>The owner of the website responded positively to my message and asked me to conduct a trial edit of a piece of content; and</li>\n  <li>After completing and delivering the free work, the owner and I scheduled a real-time interview for a potential job offer.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>In this case, then, I still ended up having to work for free but doing so was a direct response to my potential client’s request for a demonstration of my expertise and, in fact, the work eventually led to a job interview.</p>\n<p>***</p>\n<p>To sum up, I’ve established meaningful professional connections with countless people simply by emailing them in order to:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Politely ask that they share a piece of my content;</li>\n  <li>Graciously thank them for circulating my content; and/or</li>\n  <li>Humbly demonstrate, through the delivery of free work, the value that I could bring to their companies.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I’m living proof that cold email — <em>when designed and delivered with proper care, foresight, and respect</em> — can facilitate the emergence of lucrative networking and freelancing opportunities that simply would not exist otherwise.</p>\n<p>I encourage you, thus, to likewise harness the power of cold email in order to grow your audience, connect with influential thought leaders, and effectively build your brand!&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n<h2>Thank you very much for reading&nbsp;❤</h2>\n<p></p>\n<p>If you find this article helpful and you’d like to make a small donation to show your support, you may do so here:</p>\n<p><strong>Bitcoin:</strong> <em>1GTCJzHkgn9NJt7dfcZymh34Vq1g7bjbkk</em></p>\n<p><strong>Ether:</strong> <em>0x8e6c6044eabe5b849da4ab55a9c0c18fb9dd7f3f</em></p>\n</html>",
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      "author": "nicoryan",
      "body": "<html>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*OtyTUX95Ukng5ExdY8W4tA.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/startup-business-businessman-594127/\">@StartupStockPhotos via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<h2>Writing is absolutely essential to modern life. From news stories, social media posts, and art to politics, academics, and business, few other skills (if any) are as important or influential as the capacity to express oneself clearly, intelligently, and convincingly via the written word. It’s no wonder, then, that the search phrase “How do I become a better writer?” currently fetches more than <a href=\"http://bit.ly/2h2sURZ\">51,000,000 results on Google</a>. Unfortunately, much of the existing advice for improving one’s writing is either far too <em>generic</em> (e.g., “Write with your heart!”), too simplistic (e.g., “You need to write everyday!”), and/or flat-out mistaken (e.g., “Never write in the first person!”). In reaction to this, I’d like to humbly offer a detailed discussion of 5 specific strategies for becoming a better writer that actually&nbsp;work.</h2>\n<h3>---</h3>\n<h2>The State of Modern&nbsp;Writing</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/880/1*zwdaEl4SesejQXkW_AdVHg.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/startup-start-up-notebooks-creative-593324/\">@StartupStockPhotos via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p><strong>I’ve been writing professionally for more than 15 years now.</strong></p>\n<p>Much of that time has been dedicated to academic and technical writing, including university essays, research papers, funding applications, and graduate school submissions.</p>\n<p>More recently, I’ve been writing and editing web-based content for businesses operating in the corporate world, with a particular focus on content marketing, internet marketing, entrepreneurship, and startups.</p>\n<p>From academic authors, post-secondary students, and administrative bureaucrats to corporate clients, self-proclaimed content marketers, and everyday bloggers, I’ve come across <em>a lot</em> of writing over the past one and a half decades.</p>\n<p>And whilst I’ve had the pleasure of reading and learning from the brilliant insights of countless exceptional writers — many of whom are exceedingly more talented than I am—I’ve also come to realize that <em>there’s a huge amount of awful writing to be found in both print and digital media.</em></p>\n<p>Especially within today’s unprecedented and <a href=\"http://www.smartinsights.com/internet-marketing-statistics/happens-online-60-seconds/attachment/what-happens-online-in-60-seconds/\">exponentially increasing rates of content creation</a> (giving rise to what Mark Shaefer calls “<a href=\"https://www.businessesgrow.com/2014/01/06/content-shock/\">content shock</a>”), there really is no shortage of seriously bad writing.</p>\n<p>By “bad writing” I mean problems such as:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Spelling, grammar, and syntax errors;</li>\n  <li>Incomplete sentences;</li>\n  <li>Improper formatting;</li>\n  <li>Logical fallacies;</li>\n  <li>Poor organization; and</li>\n  <li>Lack of clarity and intelligibility.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Mounting data suggest that the writing skills of many Americans are inadequate at present and worsening over time.</p>\n<p>For both school-age children (from grade school all the way up to college/university) and working-age adults, deficiency in written communication is becoming both more common and more pronounced (sources: <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-americans-cant-write/2015/09/24/6e7f420a-6088-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html?utm_term=.f7dafc5aea9e\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-english-major.html?_r=3\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/08/why-johnny-cant-write-and-why-employers-are-mad.html\">3</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/if-students-cant-write-how-can-they-learn/2013/11/01/48165da0-36ab-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html?utm_term=.793d83856ece\">4</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://www.inc.com/kaleigh-moore/study-poor-writing-skills-are-costing-businesses-billions.html\">5</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/writing-proficiency-naep_n_1884541\">6</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-graham/fixing-our-national-writi_b_5708625.html\">7</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/great-writing-comes-out-of-great-ideas/262653/\">8</ins></a>).</p>\n<p>Reflecting on his experiences teaching undergraduate and graduate-level students at schools like Harvard, Yale, and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-english-major.html?_r=3\">Verlyn Klinkenborg</ins></a> insists:</p>\n<blockquote><em>“[Students] can assemble strings of jargon and generate clots of ventriloquistic syntax.&nbsp;… But as for writing clearly, simply, with attention and openness to their own thoughts and emotions and the world around them — no. That kind of writing — clear, direct, humane — and the reading on which it is based [are absent]”.</em></blockquote>\n<p>A <a href=\"https://www.inc.com/kaleigh-moore/study-poor-writing-skills-are-costing-businesses-billions.html\">2016 article on inc.com</ins></a> reports that “blue chip businesses are spending as much as $3.1 billion on remedial writing training — annually. Of this budget, $2.9 billion [i]s spent on current employees — not new hires”.</p>\n<p>Clearly, then, poor writing is not only intellectually impoverishing but also economically burdensome.</p>\n<p>By no means am I the first to try and offer some potential solutions to the crisis of contemporary writing.</p>\n<p>In fact, proposing one or more all-encompassing fixes is not actually what I hope to accomplish with this article (nor could I do so even if I were to try).</p>\n<p>Rather, I wish to humbly discuss 5 specific strategies that I’ve used over the past 15 years to gradually cultivate and refine a set of writing skills that has allowed me to achieve success in academia and more recently in business.</p>\n<p>Some of these methods are rather practical, straightforward, and likely to improve your writing relatively quickly; others are more conceptual or theoretical in nature.</p>\n<p>The latter will require considerable effort on your part to learn and utilize, and might require many months if not years to give birth to noticeable changes in your writing.</p>\n<p>(Note: I have laid out the different strategies in order of <em>less to more practical</em>, i.e., strategies 3, 4, and 5 are more practical and straightforward to apply than are strategies 1 and 2. Feel free to “jump around” the article as you see fit).</p>\n<p>The 5 key strategies I’ll be discussing are:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Studying philosophy to revolutionize your thinking;</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Creating comprehensive and highly detailed outlines for your projects;</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Emulating your favourite writers;</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Upgrading your vocabulary; and</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Enhancing your practical mastery of grammar, spelling, syntax, and citation systems.</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>Learning how to become a top-tier writer involves a tremendous amount of time, energy, work, and dedication.</p>\n<p>Don’t let anybody try and convince you that a fountain of quick-and-easy shortcuts to perfecting your writing can be found.</p>\n<p>Yes, there are minor tips and tricks that you can implement to slightly refine and enhance your skills here and there.</p>\n<p>However, the <em>real gains</em> come after months and even years of dedicating yourself to practicing the kinds of intricate and experience-based strategies that I’m about to review.</p>\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n<h2>Strategy # 1: Study Philosophy to Revolutionize Your&nbsp;Thinking</h2>\n<p>https://get.pxhere.com/photo/greek-human-body-sculpture-art-philosophy-head-organ-carving-knowledge-greeks-ancient-history-bustos-filsofia-aristotle-philosophers-731496.jpg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pxhere.com/en/photo/731496\">unknown via pxhere.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Here is perhaps the single most important idea I wish to emphasize in this entire article:</p>\n<p><em><strong>Exceptional</strong></em><strong> </strong><em><strong>writing</strong></em><strong> </strong><em><strong>is fundamentally grounded in exceptional</strong></em><strong> </strong><em><strong>thinking.</strong></em></p>\n<p>World-Class writing is the product of world-class thinking — period.</p>\n<p>Without the ability to think systematically, logically, and clearly you will <em>never</em> master the art of exceptional writing.</p>\n<p>In essence, writing is the act of putting your thoughts to paper, so-to-speak.</p>\n<p>It’s one of the main ways through which we record our ideas, especially so that they can be shared with (and criticized by) others.</p>\n<p><strong>So</strong> <strong>many people today experience such great difficulty trying to express themselves via their writing because they have not yet learned</strong> <strong>how to properly organize, structure, and</strong> <em><strong>work through</strong></em> <strong>their thoughts.</strong></p>\n<p>Careful, methodical, and analytical thinking is not something with which human beings are naturally born.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Rather, it’s a capacity that must be developed, practiced, and refined.</p>\n<p>Sophisticated thinking is a kind of <em>skill</em>, i.e., it’s something that one must learn how to do and at which one must become more proficient over time.</p>\n<p>Even though it might sound obscure or even a bit ridiculous to suggest, <em>you must practice learning how to think properly if you truly wish to develop excellent writing abilities.</em></p>\n<p>This is the point at which <strong>philosophy</strong> comes into the picture.</p>\n<p>Philosophy, at its core, is fundamentally concerned with cultivating <em>critical thinking.</em></p>\n<p>Yes, the individual topics of philosophical discourse — What exists? What can we know? What is/isn’t moral? Do we have free will? Etc. — are important in their own regard.</p>\n<p>However, what’s far more important in my opinion is the unique ways in which philosophy teaches us how to think about, or rather how to <em>think through</em>, these topics and all other areas of human concern.</p>\n<p>As John Campbell <a href=\"https://books.google.ca/books?dq=%22Philosophy+is+thinking+in+slow+motion.+It+breaks+down%2C+describes+and+assesses+moves+we+ordinarily+make+at+great+speed%22&amp;hl=en&amp;id=WnKuDQAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT56&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiZ7uaJy4vVAhXJ64MKHdEYD2QQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=%22Philosophy%20is%20thinking%20in%20slow%20motion.%20It%20breaks%20down%2C%20describes%20and%20assesses%20moves%20we%20ordinarily%20make%20at%20great%20speed%22&amp;f=false\">famously put it</ins></a>:</p>\n<blockquote><em>“Philosophy is thinking in slow motion.</em> <em>It breaks down, describes and assesses [intellectual] moves we ordinarily make at great&nbsp;speed”.</em></blockquote>\n<p><strong>At its core,</strong> <strong>philosophy is concerned with two main tasks:</strong></p>\n<ol>\n  <li><em><strong>Thoroughly and relentlessly questioning everything</strong></em><strong>; and</strong></li>\n  <li><em><strong>Learning how to effectively develop and defend arguments</strong></em><strong>.</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>Studying something philosophically consists of “excavating” and methodically progressing through each relevant assumption, hypothesis, and piece of evidence of which one can think as regards the specific topic or issue under consideration.</p>\n<p>These intellectual activities are carried out precisely for the purpose of understanding more clearly, and cultivating a more informed and defensible position on, the particular concepts, theories, or subjects under examination.</p>\n<p>Philosophy teaches <strong>analytical thinking</strong>, which can be described as the process of deconstructing, breaking down, challenging, extending, refining, and/or rejecting one or more ideas, theories, or findings.</p>\n<p><strong>Philosophical analysis involves “taking apart” an idea in order to trace out its history, show its assumptions and implications, and test its validity.</strong></p>\n<p>Analytical thinking involves asking the question: <em>Does x (i.e., some concept, theory, or finding) make sense?</em></p>\n<p><em>Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, virtually every aspect of writing involves asking whether some given thing “makes&nbsp;sense”.</em></p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Technical</strong> <strong>matters</strong>: does it make sense to use two different tenses in this sentence? Should I use single or double quotations when I quote a verbal remark within a written text? Should these sentences be moved to a new paragraph? Does this phrase make sense grammatically?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>Logical matters</strong>: does my conclusion follow from the major arguments I’ve made in this paper? Has the author of this study used the theory under consideration in a consistent way? Does person <em>x</em>’s commitment to <em>y</em> (e.g., tough-on-crime initiatives) undermine her promise to do <em>z</em>(e.g., implement only evidence-based policy)?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>Ethical matters</strong>: does it make sense for me to quote this source if doing so means compromising the source’s identity? How should I phrase my concerns about my supervisor’s lack of input on my studies within my letter to my department head? Does it make sense to discuss certain medical evidence in my article whilst purposely ignoring other, contrary findings?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Here’s the key point I’m trying to make:</p>\n<p><strong>The only way to write clearly, coherently, and in such a manner that one idea naturally flows into and supports the next is to develop the capacity to do all this </strong><em><strong>intellectual</strong></em> <strong>work “inside your head” before trying to commit the ideas to paper</strong>. <strong>And philosophical analysis — when taught properly and executed carefully — can teach you how to do just this.</strong></p>\n<p>It’s not as if something utterly magical happens just as you begin making marks with a pen or typing on a keyboard.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>To put the matter rather philosophically: <em>writing is the externalization of thinking</em>.</p>\n<p>What kind of philosophy should you study if you’re looking to enhance the clarity and intelligibility of your writing?</p>\n<p>If you’re completely unfamiliar with philosophy as a discipline then I recommend completing one or more (college/university or online) introductory philosophy courses, so long as they’re intelligently designed and effectively delivered by reputable and knowledgeable authorities.</p>\n<p>My personal experience suggests that enrolling in an introductory philosophy course can be a truly transformative undertaking for somebody with little-to-no existing knowledge of philosophical examination.</p>\n<p>Why?</p>\n<p>Because such a course, when structured insightfully and delivered properly, has the potential to fundamentally change, i.e., expand and refine, not only <em>the things about which you think</em> but also <em>the very ways in which you think</em>.</p>\n<p>An introductory philosophy course ought to focus on <em>the core essentials of philosophy as an exercise in thinking.</em></p>\n<p>Consequently, it will (i.e., should) allow enrollees to think seriously about important questions like:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>What is philosophy?</li>\n  <li>What can we do with philosophy? and</li>\n  <li>What is “ontology”, “epistemology”, “logic”, “argumentation”, “fallacies”, “knowledge”, “reality”, “essence”, “cause”, “meaning”, “evidence”, etc.?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Whether you’re brand new to philosophy or somebody who has already spent some time studying the subject, I recommend examining the works of the Ancient Greeks tracing back to the very beginnings of Western philosophy.</p>\n<p>Starting with Thales and the Pre-Socratics and then moving onto Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle represents an excellent strategy for studying the (beginnings of the) <em>vast</em> <em>majority</em> of the main ideas, questions, and problems that philosophers (and “everyday people” for that matter) have been investigating for more than 2 millenia.</p>\n<p>The focal issues that the Ancient Greeks examined and the “solutions” that they offered serve as the foundations of virtually all of Western philosophy up until the present day.</p>\n<p>Studying not only <em>what</em> these thinkers examined but also <em>how</em> they thought about the puzzles under investigation will almost certainly provide you with powerful tools to enhance your own thinking and processing of information, thereby allowing you to apply a new level of sophistication and insight to all your writing henceforth.</p>\n<p>If you’re looking for a fantastic and <em>free</em> resource with which to study philosophy then I recommend checking out the <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/index.html\"><strong>Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</strong></ins></a><strong>.</strong></p>\n<p>The SEoP is Stanford University’s online learning hub for philosophical studies, featuring more than 1500 peer-reviewed published entries on virtually every topic imaginable.</p>\n<p>Here are some helpful links:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html\">Table of Contents</ins></a>: alphabetical listing of every entry on the SEoP</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presocratics/\">Presocratic Philosophy</ins></a>: main entry for philosophers who came before Socrates (including Thales, the “founder” of Western philosophy)</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/\">Socrates</ins></a>: main entry for Socratic philosophy</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/\">Plato</ins></a> (<a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics/\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics-politics/\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-sophstate/\">3</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-theaetetus/\">4</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-parmenides/\">5</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-timaeus/\">6</ins></a>): key entries for Platonic philosophy</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/\">Artistotle</ins></a> (<a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-categories/\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-logic/\">3</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/\">4</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-psychology/\">5</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-causality/\">6</ins></a>): key entries for Aristotelian philosophy</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I recognize that this first strategy isn’t exactly a quick or easy way to “hack” your writing but I sincerely believe that “doing philosophy” has the potential to drastically improve one’s writing capacities — it certainly has done so for me.</p>\n<h2>Strategy # 2: Create Comprehensive and Highly Detailed Outlines for (Nearly) All Your&nbsp;Projects</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/880/1*XkNlj0Jw049z5Y53mgwnMA.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/office-startup-business-home-office-594132/\">@StartupStockPhoto via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Let’s move on and consider a much more practical strategy for developing more sophisticated and engaging writing, i.e., the practice of constructing comprehensive, detailed outlines.</p>\n<p><strong>I strongly recommend creating highly specific and complete outlines whenever you write medium-length or long-form pieces</strong>.</p>\n<p>Short texts, such as a 300-word blog post, might not need any sort of elaborate outline.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>However:</p>\n<p><em>Trying to write long-form content without first constructing a detailed outline is typically a mistake, especially because doing so is almost certain to produce a disorganized, disconnected, repetitive, and incomplete piece of&nbsp;text.</em></p>\n<p>Yes, <em>some</em> folks can get away with avoiding outlines altogether.</p>\n<p>However, the majority of writers — especially those looking for ways to cultivate technically stronger, optimally organized, and intellectually refined writing — would benefit significantly were they to commit to constructing high quality outlines prior to writing final drafts.</p>\n<p><strong>A detailed outline serves two crucial functions</strong>:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>It forces you to think about, and think through, the different elements of the various ideas, questions, and arguments you will have to explore in your text.</strong><br>\n<br>\nAn outline allows you to make sense of the basics of everything your piece will have to address. It’s simply impossible to write an exceptional book, article, blog post, etc. without taking the time to think carefully about the main ideas, objectives, and organization of your text — and this is exactly where the outline comes in.<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li>From a practical standpoint, <strong>it functions as an indispensable roadmap</strong> <strong>providing guidance on what you will write about, how you will write about it, in which order, and why</strong>.</li>\n</ol>\n<p>How, exactly, should you go about putting together a solid outline that forms the basis of an exceptional blog post, article, book, etc.?</p>\n<p>I recommend organizing your outline in accordance with the following 7 key questions such that your completed outline contains detailed notes on all 7 of these main focal points:</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>What, exactly, am I being asked to do in this text?</strong> Explain, describe, and/or explore something? Reflect on a given topic? Critically assess a particular position or statement? Compare two or more specified things? Review extant literature? Something else?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>What are each of the different parts or elements of the questions that I must address?</strong> Am I being asked to answer a number of different questions? If so then in what order should I address them? Or am I required to address only one, central question for this piece?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>What will my thesis statement, i.e., my fundamental argument, be?</strong> Will my thesis have multiple components to it? Or is it admissible to restrict my text to a defence of one core assertion or argument?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>What are the specific ideas, issues, and relevant bits of information that I must explore?</strong> What are the “must examine” versus “could examine” ideas, problems, or topics?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>What are the relevant sections of text and pieces of data from external sources that I should incorporate into my writing?</strong> Which quotations, statistics, and/or figures should I reference and analytically examine?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>How, exactly, am I going to organize my text?</strong> Now that I have my thesis statement, i.e., my “final destination”, sorted out, how can I structure my writing so that I successfully arrive at that specific endpoint by the time my piece reaches its conclusion?<br>\n</li>\n<p></p>\n  <li><strong>Which objections, if any, ought I to consider?</strong> Can I think of one or more criticisms of the position(s) I’ve offered? If so then how, exactly, can I address and defeat those objections?</li>\n</ol>\n<p></p>\n<p>If you take the time to write out comprehensive responses to each of these defining questions then you will complete, via your outline, the vast majority of the work you need to do by the time you’re ready to write the final piece.</p>\n<p>At that point it’ll basically just be a matter of transferring, extending, and polishing what you’ve written in your outline by writing a slightly more professional and elaborate text that’s well-referenced throughout and free of incomplete sentences, grammatical errors, and so on.</p>\n<p>I regularly spend 60–70% of my time writing the outline and 30–40% transforming the outline into polished prose.</p>\n<p>I can do this precisely because my outline is both highly detailed and organized exactly as I intend the final text to be — as opposed to being “skeletal”, incomplete, and designed haphazardly.</p>\n<h2>Strategy # 3: Emulate Your Favourite Writers</h2>\n<p>http://falmouthjewish.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Mark_Twain.jpg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by:<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Twain_by_AF_Bradley.jpg\"> A.F. Bradley via Wikimedia Commons</a>)</center></p>\n<p>If somebody were to ask you to name 3 or 4 people whose writing you wish you could authentically replicate, would you have any serious difficulty coming up with an answer?&nbsp;</p>\n<p>I suspect not.</p>\n<p>However, what matters in this thought experiment is not whether you could list a few names nor even which specific names you’d list.</p>\n<p>Instead, the most important dynamic here would be to develop an <strong>understanding of, first,</strong> <em><strong>why</strong></em> <strong>you’re attracted to the writing styles of these specific authors and, second, what exactly it is that makes these wordsmiths such talented, effective writers</strong>.</p>\n<p>One of the tricky things about trying to improve your writing by mimicking the habits of exceptional authors — i.e., the third key strategy that I recommend aspiring writers practice — is the fact that these writers must actually be genuinely talented in order for you to successfully enhance your own capacities by studying them.</p>\n<p>Otherwise, you run the risk of copying their bad habits and thereby harming, rather than elevating, your own skills.</p>\n<p><em><strong>Just because an author’s writing impresses you doesn’t necessarily mean that his/her style ought to be replicated.</strong></em></p>\n<p>You may, for instance, like the writing of somebody who never capitalizes any of her words, who uses little if any punctuation, and who never puts more than 7 or 8 words in a single sentence.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>To follow her habits would, of course, be a mistake.</p>\n<p>If you’re unsure about whether the particular writers to whom you look up are actually revered as talented and exemplary authors then be sure to conduct some research in order to educate yourself about:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Their reputations and qualifications;</li>\n  <li>Their publication and citation numbers (if they’re academics); and</li>\n  <li>The amount of people who visit and link to their websites (if they’re popular on the Internet).</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Assuming that your favourite authors’ works are indeed excellent representations of quality writing, here are a few key questions you should investigate in an effort to successfully extract effective writing habits from their texts:</p>\n<p><strong>How does the author</strong> <em><strong>organize</strong></em> <strong>her writing?</strong></p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Pay particular attention to the ways in which she lays out and structures introductory paragraphs and conclusions.</li>\n  <li>Does the author begin the piece by explicitly stating the major takeaway point of which she wishes to convince her audience? Or does she provide a bit of context and background first before then moving onto revealing her thesis (main argument)?</li>\n  <li>Where does she place her quotations, data figures, graphs and so on? Why do you think she does it this way rather than another?</li>\n  <li>How often and in what ways does she remind the reader of the primary ideas she’s trying to get across?</li>\n  <li>How does the author link different ideas? Is it easy or difficult to anticipate which ideas follow each other? Why do you think she embraces one approach instead of the other?</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>What</strong> <em><strong>kind of language</strong></em> <strong>does the author use?</strong></p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Does he write in the 1st or the 3rd person? Does he ever address the reader directly by using the 2nd person? Why do you suspect he uses one instead of the others? How would his writing change if he switched from one to another?</li>\n  <li>What about tenses (past, present, future and each of their different variations)? Which tense(s) does he use in his writing? Why?</li>\n  <li>Is his prose “witty”, entertaining, fast-paced, highly descriptive, and engaging? Or does he steer more toward a straight-forward approach, writing in a measured and patient way, taking his time and staying very focused on one detailed point at a time?</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>What kinds of</strong> <em><strong>stylistic choices</strong></em> <strong>are evident in the author’s works?</strong></p>\n<ul>\n  <li>How does she stress her most important points to the reader?</li>\n  <li>Does she italicize words? Does she use bold font? Does she write in very short sentences for added effect? Are these techniques effective in your opinion?</li>\n  <li>Is she light or heavy on the use of quotations?</li>\n  <li>How do these different stylistic choices impact her writing? How do they make her key points more or less obscure?</li>\n  <li>Would her texts be easier and/or more enjoyable to read and understand if she were to use a different stylistic method?</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>What is the nature of the author’s</strong> <em><strong>sentence structure</strong></em><strong>?</strong></p>\n<ul>\n  <li>One of my favourite authors writes extremely long sentences that comprise many different ideas “in the same breath”, so-to-speak.</li>\n  <li>He writes very long texts, uses extremely technical terms, and regularly discusses ideas in ways far more complicated than necessary.</li>\n  <li>At the same time, he is one of the most influential thinkers of the entire 20th century, having massively impacted sociology and many other areas of social science.</li>\n  <li>Why does this author write in such obscure and tricky ways? Because his entire sociology is dedicated to exploring the complex intricacies of social life.</li>\n  <li>For him, it would make no sense to use very simple language and short sentences in order to try and describe an extremely complicated, inter-connected, and multi-dimensional world.</li>\n  <li>How do your favourite authors structure their sentences?</li>\n  <li>If they use long and multi-faceted sentences, how does this impact the clarity and influence of their ideas?</li>\n  <li>If they restrict their sentences to a single idea at a time, what is the apparent purpose of doing so?</li>\n  <li>Are their paragraphs generally short, focused, and complete on their own? Or do they use half- or three quarter-page paragraphs that address many different but related ideas?</li>\n  <li>Again, why do you think this is so?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Asking yourself these kinds of reflexive questions will make it possible for you to analytically deconstruct (i.e., critically assess) what you’re reading, thus allowing you to “go behind the text” and gain valuable insight into <em>why</em> the author writes as he/she does<em>.</em></p>\n<h2>Strategy # 4: Upgrade Your Vocabulary</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/880/1*g2ufgS_k_NXz9O7pzvGMhQ.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/dictionary-book-reading-698538/\">@StockSnap via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>Certain aspects of improving one’s writing aren’t all that exciting or glamorous: they require lots of time spent studying not-so-interesting but nevertheless crucial parts of the English language and of writing more generally.</p>\n<p>The final two strategies I’m going to discuss definitely belong to this class.</p>\n<p><em><strong>You must dedicate yourself to developing a more elaborate and expansive vocabulary if you truly want to become a more talented&nbsp;writer</strong></em><em>.</em></p>\n<p>A writer’s vocabularly is essential not only to what he/she can write about (i.e., the content) but also to the ways in which he/she can write (i.e., the style and prose).</p>\n<p><strong>Interesting, engaging, and sophisticated writing that organically “breathes with life” ultimately flows from an author’s ability to express his/her ideas in</strong> <em><strong>different, unique, and captivating</strong></em> <strong>ways.</strong></p>\n<p>Exceptional writing is, thus, directly <em>opposed to</em> repetitive, monotonous, and predictable text.</p>\n<p>The more ways you can think to express yourself, the more multi-dimensional, elaborate, and inviting your writing will become.</p>\n<p>There are (at least) two specific techniques you can use to effectively boost your mastery of the English language.</p>\n<p>First, <strong>increase the number of adjectives and adverbs in your arsenal</strong>.</p>\n<p><a href=\"http://dictionary.com/\">Dictionary.com</ins></a> defines “<a href=\"http://www.dictionary.com/browse/adjective?s=t\">adjectives</ins></a>” and “<a href=\"http://www.dictionary.com/browse/adverb?s=t\">adverbs</ins></a>”, respectively, as:</p>\n<blockquote><em>\"Words that modify nouns and pronouns, primarily by describing a particular quality of the word they are modifying.\"</em></blockquote>\n<p>and</p>\n<blockquote><em>\"Words that function as modifiers of verbs or clauses, and in some languages, as Latin and English, as modifiers of adjectives, other adverbs, or adverbial phrases.\"</em></blockquote>\n<p>(If you find it difficult to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs — which isn’t really the point I’m trying to make here — then take a look at <a href=\"http://www.dictionary.com/browse/adverb?s=t\">this helpful explanation</ins></a>).</p>\n<p>Examples of adjectives and adverbs are:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>The <em>tall</em> tree reached into the <em>bright</em> sky.</li>\n  <li><em>Hungry</em> children often cry <em>tremendously</em> loud.</li>\n  <li><em>Unintelligible</em> writing <em>deeply</em> upsets <em>perfectionistic</em> people.</li>\n  <li>Don’t talk to me so <em>disrespectfully</em>, you’ll regret it <em>greatly</em>!</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Adjectives and adverbs help bring writing to life by adding further detail to the subject matter being discussed. In other words:</p>\n<p><em><strong>The effective use of adjectives and adverbs is fundamental to effective writing because</strong></em> <em><strong>these two parts of speech enhance your content via the act of description.</strong></em></p>\n<p>Consider the following two sentences and ask yourself which one is more complete, accurate, and engaging:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>My friend’s dog bit my neighbour’s foot.</li>\n  <li>My friend’s <em>massive</em> Rottweiler puppy <em>ferociously</em> lunged at my <em>elderly </em>neighbour, biting her <em>small</em>, <em>weak </em>foot and causing <em>dangerous</em> injuries to her body.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Arguably, the second of these two sentences is far superior to the first as it provides the reader with a lot more detail regarding exactly what happened concerning the event in question.</p>\n<p>A second technique for effectively increasing your understanding of the technical aspects of English writing involves <strong>spending more time reading difficult authors whose works challenge you</strong>.</p>\n<p><em>If you never reach for a dictionary whilst reading then you’re absolutely</em> <em>not</em> <em>reading sufficiently challenging content.</em> <em>You can’t expect your writing to become more sophisticated if you never force yourself to read difficult texts that require you to expand your vocabulary.</em></p>\n<p>Everyday you should aim to read several texts that contain unfamiliar words and phrases that demand that you look up their definitions, grasp their origins, and so on.</p>\n<p><strong>Just like a boxer whose skills never improve because he refuses to fight anybody to whom he might lose, an aspiring writer who stays in her comfort zone by never allowing (i.e., forcing) herself to read challenging texts is destined to see the quality of her writing plateau.</strong></p>\n<p>If you dedicate yourself to reading texts of a more stimulating and demanding character that require familiarizing yourself with less commonly used words and phrases then you’re bound to become both a stronger reader <em>and</em> a more capable writer.</p>\n<h2>Strategy # 5: Improve Your Technical Skills in Grammar, Syntax, Spelling, and&nbsp;Citation</h2>\n<p>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/880/1*oQ-6SV-GqnlaT4_43ySFbA.jpeg</p>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://pixabay.com/en/student-typing-keyboard-text-woman-849825/\">@StartupStockPhotos via Pixabay.com</a>)</center></p>\n<p>The final strategy for becoming a stronger writer requires that you explicitly sharpen your understanding of, and technical capacities in, grammar, syntax, spelling, and — assuming that you’re engaged in academic writing from time-to-time — citation (reference) systems.</p>\n<p><em><strong>Yes, writing is an art that’s open to interpretation, creativity, and the application of individual style.</strong></em>&nbsp;</p>\n<p><em><strong>Factually speaking, however, there</strong></em> <em><strong>are some explicitly</strong></em> <em><strong>right versus wrong ways of doing certain things</strong></em><em>.</em>&nbsp;</p>\n<p><em>As a writer, it’s your responsibility to familiarize yourself with and apply these formal&nbsp;rules.</em></p>\n<p>Although their specifics will differ by language, reference system, and/or country, the following kinds of questions <em>do</em>have definitive answers, i.e., they are (usually) <em>not</em> a matter of interpretation or debate:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li>How do I spell this word?</li>\n  <li>Am I permitted to use a semi-colon here?</li>\n  <li>Must I use the singular or plural version of this word here?</li>\n  <li>Should I single-space and indent this quotation or double-space it and keep it within the main body of the text?</li>\n  <li>Am I permitted to use both footnotes and endnotes in this document?</li>\n  <li>When should I write out numbers as words as compared to their numerical forms?</li>\n  <li>Which specific format must I use for my in-text citations?</li>\n  <li>Which words, if any, must I capitalize in the titles listed on my references page?</li>\n</ul>\n<p>These questions, and a whole host of similar ones, have correct and incorrect answers that you simply must learn (and memorize).</p>\n<p>As a straightforward example: it’s <em>wrong</em> to spell the word “colour” as “color” in Canada and Britain but not in the United States (sources: <a href=\"https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/british-and-spelling\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.lukemastin.com/testing/spelling/cgi-bin/database.cgi?action=rules\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://www.grammarly.com/blog/color-colour/\">3</ins></a>).</p>\n<p>This matter is not open to legitimate debate: the rules of the dominant systems in each of the three countries determine what is correct and incorrect in this case.</p>\n<p>There’s no shortcut to developing comprehensive and intimate knowledge of the formal rules of the English language and of the various academic citation systems (A.P.A., Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, M.L.A., and so on) as they relate to written communication.</p>\n<p>You must take the time to study and carefully investigate these matters, gradually building up a more extensive understanding of the various principles, rules, and systems in place.</p>\n<p><strong>To help you sharpen your comprehension of grammar, syntax, spelling, and academic citation systems, here’s a list of some excellent references worth examining</strong>:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/\">Purdue Online Writing Lab</ins></a>: An extensive, multi-faceted website dedicated to helping people better understand many different aspects of language in general and of writing in specific.</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://www.duolingo.com/\">Duolingo</ins></a>: “Learn a language for free. Forever”.</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://www.grammarly.com/\">Grammarly</ins></a>: “Grammarly corrects over 400 types of grammatical mistakes while also catching contextual spelling errors and poor vocabulary usage”.</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://elt.oup.com/student/oxfordenglishgrammar/?cc=ca&amp;selLanguage=en\">Supplement to Oxford English Grammar Course</ins></a>: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced grammar mini-tests that allow you to interactively “learn as you go”; intended to supplement Oxford’s full course <a href=\"https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/grammar_vocabulary/oxford_english_grammar_course/?cc=ca&amp;mode=hub&amp;selLanguage=en\">here</ins></a>.</li>\n  <li>Reddit’s main <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/\">grammar sub-reddit</ins></a>: A very active sub-forum (with numerous grammar enthusiasts and specialists) dedicated to answering all sorts of questions about English grammar.</li>\n  <li>Reddit’s <a href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/\">main writing sub-reddit</ins></a>: A 260,000+ person community devoted to all things writing, including opportunities to provide and receive feedback on user writing.</li>\n  <li><a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=9VCJW3PRT5PD1GWMSBQ5\">Elements of Style</ins></a> (book): “The Elements of Style, commonly known as ‘Strunk and White’, is a classic style guide every American student is familiar with. It helped shape how the English language is used in the United States, for better or for worse, and as such is a required read for English language learners” (<a href=\"https://www.grammarly.com/blog/10-best-grammar-resources-english-language-learners/\">Grammarly.com write-up</ins></a>).</li>\n  <li><a href=\"http://www.grammar-monster.com/\">Grammar Monster</ins></a>: An easy-to-use, no frills website dedicated to quick, accurate explanations of all things English grammar; straightforward categories and listings allow for a hassle-free website experience.</li>\n  <li><a href=\"http://www.dailygrammar.com/glossary.html\">Daily Grammar</ins></a>: A lesson-/test-based approach to teaching grammar, offering definitions and descriptions of many different areas and aspects of grammar alongside hundreds of practical tests designed to assess and improve your understanding; not the most aesthetically pleasing site but absolutely worth your time and attention given how comprehensive and in-depth the content is.</li>\n  <li>A.P.A. citation guides: <a href=\"http://www.apastyle.org/\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://www.uvic.ca/library/research/citation/documents/APA%20Style%20Guide%2024_Sept_%202014_8%20pages.pdf\">3</ins></a></li>\n  <li>Chicago/Turabian citation guides: <a href=\"http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/cite-write/citation-style-guides/chicago\">3</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html\">4</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/chicago-turabian/\">5</ins></a></li>\n  <li>Harvard citation guides: <a href=\"https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/library/public/harvard.pdf\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"https://library.sydney.edu.au/subjects/downloads/citation/Harvard_Complete.pdf\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://guides.lib.monash.edu/ld.php?content_id=8481587\">3</ins></a></li>\n  <li>M.L.A. citation guides: <a href=\"https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/\">1</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://library.concordia.ca/help/citing/mla.php\">2</ins></a>, <a href=\"http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-format/\">3</ins></a></li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Thank you very much for reading&nbsp;❤</h3>\n<p><br></p>\n<p>If you find this article helpful and you’d like to make a small donation to show your support, you may do so here:</p>\n<p><strong>Bitcoin:</strong> <em>1GTCJzHkgn9NJt7dfcZymh34Vq1g7bjbkk</em></p>\n<p><strong>Ether:</strong> <em>0x8e6c6044eabe5b849da4ab55a9c0c18fb9dd7f3f</em></p>\n</html>",
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      "body": "<html>\n<p><center>https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4609/39387882255_be797b3ee7_h.jpg</p></center>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/hKbNSRzUMhg\">@jonflobrant via Unsplash.com</a>)</center></p>\n<h1><strong>Three key questions to ask yourself </strong><em><strong>before</strong></em><strong> you publish something online.</strong> &nbsp;</h1>\n<p></p>\n<p>Do you publish lots of content—e.g., stories on Medium, videos on YouTube, podcasts on iTunes, etc.—but fail to attract the kind of attention and engagement that you feel your content deserves?</p>\n<p>If so, I'm fairly confident that you're not asking yourself, or you're not thinking seriously enough about, the three fundamental questions that reside at the heart of <em>all</em> effective content marketing strategies: &nbsp;</p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Why do I want to create this piece of content? (OBJECTIVE)</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Who I am writing this content for? (AUDIENCE)</strong></li>\n  <li><strong>Why do I believe people will actually read, watch, or listen to this content? (EVIDENCE)</strong></li>\n</ol>\n<p>If your content seems to consistently vanish into the \"ether\" of the Internet, if nobody appears to take any notice whenever you publish something new, it's likely because you're not spending enough time and energy explicitly thinking about, planning for, and executing on these three vital questions.</p>\n<p>If you can't effectively explain to yourself why you're creating a piece of content, who you're creating it for, and why you believe people will care enough to read, view, or listen to it then why should you expect others to devote any of their precious time to it?&nbsp;</p>\n<p>The short answer is that you shouldn't!</p>\n<p>Let's now look at each of these three elements in more detail.&nbsp;</p>\n<h3><strong>1. OBJECTIVE: Why am I creating this?</strong>&nbsp;</h3>\n<p></p>\n<p>Every piece of content you publish online should have an objective (aim, goal, purpose, etc.).&nbsp;</p>\n<p>What is the <em>reason </em>you want to share this piece of content with others?&nbsp;</p>\n<p>You need to be specific!&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Objectives like \"get more followers\", \"increase Facebook likes\", or \"grow a business\" are too <em>broad</em> and <em>imprecise</em> to be effective in this context.</p>\n<p>Much more appropriate goals include: &nbsp;</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Informing people about an upcoming change to your business</strong> (e.g., the launch of an agency, the introduction of a new partnership, a soon-to-be-executed pivot, etc.);</li>\n  <li><strong>Building your audience's trust in you as a knowledgeable and experienced authority figure</strong> by teaching your followers how to do something specific and meaningful (e.g., code a feature for a mobile app, pass an exam, develop a better morning routine, buy and sell Bitcoin in a specific country, etc.);</li>\n  <li><strong>Practically demonstrating your services in order to encourage people to hire you</strong> (e.g., providing a detailed case study showing, in a step-by-step fashion, how you applied a specific content marketing strategy to successfully drive leads to a startup's new landing page); or</li>\n  <li><strong>Inspiring people to feel one or more identifiable emotions</strong> (e.g., hopeful, curious, capable, empowered, self-confident, motivated, etc.).</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Once you've determined <em>why </em>you want to create something, it's time to consider <em>the people for whom</em> you will design your content.</p>\n<h3><strong>2. AUDIENCE: Who am I creating this for?</strong> &nbsp;</h3>\n<p></p>\n<p>Just as every piece of content requires a particular aim or goal to give it shape and purpose, everything you publish online must also be directed to a specific audience.</p>\n<p>Trying to create for <em>everybody</em> is one of the easiest ways to ensure that <em>nobody</em> will engage with, or care about, your content.</p>\n<p>As with objectives, you need to be precise when it comes to audiences.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>\"18-35 year-olds\", \"middle-class women\", and \"millennials\" are all poor choices because they're far too general to be of use.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Much better audience descriptions include: &nbsp;</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>U.S.-Based beta testers</strong> with at least two years previous experience testing in-development Android apps;</li>\n  <li><strong>The editors of these five top-ranked Medium publications</strong>;</li>\n  <li><strong>People who belong to this particular Facebook group </strong>and who currently live in one of these four locations;</li>\n  <li><strong>CEOs of North American-based SaaS startups whose businesses currently earn less than seven figures</strong> in yearly revenue;</li>\n  <li><strong>Online followers of these three particular business blogs</strong>; and</li>\n  <li><strong>Software designers in Germany, France, or The Netherlands who work in this specific niche</strong>.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>The important dynamic to keep in mind here is not whether you can effectively target these exact sorts people with your content every time you publish something (in some sort of Facebook ads-like way) but rather that:</p>\n<p><em>By thinking about who, exactly, you're creating for, you'll be much more able to focus the message of your content, write or record with a specific audience in mind, and target your post-publication marketing efforts accordingly.</em></p>\n<p>Once you work your way through this second question, you finally need to ask yourself whether you have any proof that people will actually care to read, watch, or listen to what you're about to publish.&nbsp;</p>\n<p><center>https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4670/39387968855_56a83eeb97_h.jpg</p></center>\n<p><center>(Image by: <a href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/FMiczIq8orU\">@paullywooten via Unsplash.com</a>)</center></p>\n<h3><strong>3. EVIDENCE: Why will people care?</strong>&nbsp;</h3>\n<p></p>\n<p>Even if your new article, video, or podcast episode has a strong objective and it's targeted to a specific group of people, it can still fail to produce the kind of meaningful impact that you're hoping for <em>if</em> it's not concerned with one or more specific issues that people genuinely care about, i.e., topics that really <em>mean something</em> to them.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>You must come up with one or more solid reasons to explain why people will take time out of their busy schedules to engage with something you're set to publish.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>If, for example, you're an established writer with a great reputation then many of your fans will unhesitatingly read any email or article you send their way.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>However, if you're not lucky enough to have achieved this highly sought-after status just yet, you need to seriously consider whether there's real evidence to suggest that what you're writing about or recording will resonate with those likely to come across it.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Here are some important questions you should ask yourself as you try and make this determination:</p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Are you creating content that's concerned with a timely topic?</strong> Virtually nobody cared about net neutrality ten years ago but now that the FCC seems to be paving the way, so to speak, for American ISPs to charge people more money to use \"premium\" services, you can be fairly certain that articles, videos, and podcasts about net neutrality will attracts tons of attention right now (and into the future). The exact same dynamics apply, perhaps even more so, about cryptocurrency and blockchain;</li>\n  <li><strong>Will your content genuinely help people?</strong><em> </em>This certainly doesn't guarantee a successful or \"viral\" piece of content but, in general, blog posts and audio- and video-based content that give away lots of <em>useful</em> information for free tend to do much better than content that tries to extract value from readers;</li>\n  <li><strong>Are you discussing one or more issues that successful writers, vloggers, podcasters, etc. are also addressing?</strong><em> </em>Your chances of convincing people to pay attention to your content increase when you tackle issues that other, more popular creators are also exploring in their own content. Having said that, be sure to differentiate yourself from others by adding something truly unique or special to your perspective on the matter (or your solution to the problem); and</li>\n  <li><strong>Have your followers already asked you to create content about a particular topic?</strong><em> </em>If your audience has explicitly asked you to put together an essay, eBook, video, or podcast episode on a specific topic then it's quite likely that your followers will \"eat up\" your content if you respond in kind by giving them exactly what they want.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>If you commit to asking yourself, and thinking seriously about, these three questions <em>every time</em> you publish a piece of content then your odds of releasing blogs, videos, and podcasts that resonate with your target audience will increase significantly!</h3>\n<p></p>\n<p>Please let me know your thoughts on these ideas ❤</p>\n<p>Which principles, tactics, or strategies do you personally follow or apply in order to create content that truly connects with your audience?</p>\n<p>What changes, if any, have you made to your content marketing strategy that have increased the reach and/or impact of what you publish?</p>\n<p>What advice would you give aspiring bloggers, vloggers, or podcasters who are eager to create material that positively impacts others but who aren't quite sure how to best achieve this?</p>\n<p>---</p>\n<p>If you find this article helpful and you’d like to make a small donation to show your support, you may do so here:</p>\n<p><strong>Bitcoin:</strong> <em>1GTCJzHkgn9NJt7dfcZymh34Vq1g7bjbkk</em></p>\n<p><strong>Ether:</strong> <em>0x8e6c6044eabe5b849da4ab55a9c0c18fb9dd7f3f</em></p>\n</html>",
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      "body": "That's good to keep in mind! Thank you! I think progressive change for me works best as I've slowly been making shifts and I'm not completely shutting down or relapsing.  As far as my phone goes I'm pretty on top of that and spend very little time on it. The main distraction is honestly games as well entertainment-based media and that I feel I can control over time. I still want to indulge a little, but I can definitely reduce it over time on my own. I still appreciate the help though. :)",
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