15 Lessons I Learned From Writing Online For 6 Months

Today I celebrate 6 Months of writing online.

It started October 23, 2023 sitting poolside in Playa Del Carmen, MX.

Reading Nicolas Cole’s The Art and Business of Online Writing where a single quote started me down this path.

He wrote: 

“In your first six months of writing online, you should be less concerned with “establishing” yourself and more focused on “discovering” yourself.”

Highlighted and underlined, twice, I set the goal right there.

I would write at least 1 article per week for the next 6 Months.

I’ve now written 24 articles on Substack for a total of 30,887 words.

I opened my Substack account on Oct. 1 and started writing.

I have always enjoyed writing but it was never something that “stuck.” It was more of an on-again-off-again relationship.

This time felt different as I began to think more deeply about my career, and my future, and that’s when I first discovered Nicolas Cole.

Since then:

• I’ve read his book The Art and Business of Online Writing 3 times.

• I’ve read his book The Art and Business of Ghostwriting 2 times.

• Wrote consistently for 6 Months.

• Developed a daily writing habit.

Today, I will share the 15 lessons that I’ve learned along the way.

Lesson 1: Consistency Is Key.

Consistency is priority number one. In my 4th (and most popular) letter The Consistency Threshold I wrote how we can only be consistent with a few things at once. Find a cadence you can stick to, make it a priority, and stick to it. I choose weekly and everything over and above would be a bonus.

Lesson: 2: Create Rituals & Environments.

Saturday mornings, Grande Nitro Cold Brew, binaural beats, and 2 hours dedicated to writing. That’s my weekly ritual. Create a ritual, and do it in an environment that supports it. (Not surrounded by screaming children fighting for your attention) If you want to be consistent you must build the environment to support it.

Lesson 3: Quickly Capture Ideas.

Never stare at a blank page or blinking cursor. Capture ideas as soon as they drop in. Schedule time to brainstorm ideas if needed. The more you think about it, the more the ideas will flow. This allows you to sit down, pull a topic, and start typing.

Lesson 4: Writing Alone Doesn’t Equal Growth.

I’ve gained 31 Substack subscribers since starting. (I’ve gained more on my primary social platform of LinkedIn). Writing alone does not mean you’re going to grow. I don’t recommend starting if your sole intention is to build a following to monetize. Misaligned priorities come at the expense of consistency, people quit when the results don’t come fast. Focus first on consistency, and build complementary skillsets later.

Lesson 5: Be Passionate About Creating.

I love writing. If you don’t, maybe try video, or podcasting. I knew I liked writing and this has relit my passion for it. For me, I process thoughts much better through writing than on camera. It’s the way my brain naturally works. I can ship “words” faster and cheaper than TikToks, YouTube videos, or podcasts. Whatever you choose? Consistency builds off your passion.

Lesson 6: Radical Incrementalism.

A lovely lesson from the author of Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman. My process and writing gradually improved over time but not through worrying about it. At first, I just wrote. Eventually, I started to work more on headlines. Then I paid more attention to structure. Nothing can improve if you don’t start or you stop. Improvement of anything takes a lot of time and I believe you’ll improve as a byproduct if you do it for long enough.

Lesson 7: Focus.

I narrowed my focus to the written word. I realized trying to focus on everything made me inconsistent and shitty at it all. Now, I only schedule and track my writing. I committed to not posting to YouTube or podcasts. I am only reading “business” books on writing. I chose writing and shifted my focus to only writing. I’ll revisit every 3 months.

Lesson 8: Impatience = Failure.

In my personal experience, committing to too much leads to stress and overwhelm which leads to a lack of motivation and a decrease in creativity which leads to burnout, and you (read: I) eventually stop. Narrowing my focus combined with radical incrementalism shifted my intentions to patience. Be patient and trust in the path you're on.

Lesson 9: The Byproducts Of Mindset Work.

I don’t believe I would have been consistent for 6 Months if I was not also focusing on mindset, personal development, and going to therapy. My pattern is to quit when I don’t see results, when I am not “great”, and I struggle to stick with new things beyond 3 months. I knew I needed support to commit to this – mindset work has become a core focus of mine. Living in a society fueled by striving and instant gratification we need resilience to keep moving forward.

Lesson 10: Simplicity Is Your Friend.

Perfectionism leads to procrastination. The simpler you can make the process the more likely you are to create. I do not use fancy tools, use fancy photos, etc. This is partly why I enjoy writing because it’s “simpler” than video. I don’t need to edit, have a studio, capture b-roll, or create thumbnails. Keep it simple and hit publish.

Lesson 11: Don’t Stress About “Niching” Down At The Start.

“Niching” down is a controversial topic. As Nicolas Cole wrote, the first six months are about discovering yourself. In the beginning, just focus on creating. Often, you’ll naturally discover what you enjoy, and what people like, and other times you use the data to tell the story.

I’ve written articles on closing my gym, ChatGPT, content creation, consistency and productivity, Facebook ads, life lessons, perfectionism, and more. Over time I got more focused but in the beginning, the focus was writing. (Note: You can change anytime so my advice is to not worry as much)

Lesson 12: My Development Process.

Volume wins. You should be seeing a theme here. As I revisited my writing I witnessed progression but it was not intentional, it was natural. I wrote, then I started doing headlines, and then I worked on structure. As I narrowed my focus not only to writing but learning I am slowly (incrementally) improving. When I see the people “winning” on social media, podcasts, or YouTube? They are the ones that have been doing it the longest. So for me, my development largely stems from writing, a lot.

Lesson 13: Creating Creates Clarity.

Teaching is known to solidify knowledge. Writing allows me to process my thoughts. It’s often therapeutic. Writing about personal stories has allowed me to process them. Writing about frameworks has allowed me to solidify them. Writing about what I do has allowed me to clarify my frameworks. And writing about my journey has allowed people to relate to me. For this reason alone, I would write regardless of if it had anything to do with business.

Lesson 14: Creating Creates Opportunities.

Writing has opened my eyes to new business models such as ghostwriting, email courses, newsletter business, scriptwriting, and more. The more I write, the more I network with other writers and content creators. I’ve had people reach out to me and inquiries flow in. It’s created opportunities I didn’t know existed that will influence the direction my business grows.

Lesson 15: Be Good “Enough.”

Being good enough is enough. Not every article or post will win awards. You’re not always going to be in a flow state. You’re not always going to be motivated and oozing creativity. Some days, you’ll produce good enough work. That’s OK. Realize that good enough is enough. You are enough. Perfection is never the goal.

And, that’s a wrap.

15 lessons I’ve learned and I truly hope this was valuable.

Since starting with my goal of writing weekly I’ve developed a daily writing habit. I am on a 70-day streak, but I’ve been doing it longer. I have no intention of stopping.

Every day I center myself around trusting in the path that I am on, and being patient.

Radical incrementalism has become my mantra.

In reality,

6 Months in and I’ve realized I am just getting started.

Landon

P.S.

You can find my library of writing on Substack:

Here are my 3 most popular articles:

• The Consistency Threshold

• This Is Not What I Thought My Life Would Look Like At 35.

• What Are You Willing To Sacrifice In Your Pursuit Of Success In Business

And, I actively write every day on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.