We interview successful online writers to unpack how they spread powerful ideas.
Amy Lee Lillard is the author of a new book of short stories, Dig Me Out, from Atelier26 Books. Her characters are “witchy, feral, ready to tear free,” Chanelle Benz writes. But where did Amy draw her inspiration? What drew her to the short story format? Amy's fiction and nonfiction has been published in LitHub, Vox, Barrelhouse, Foglifter, Epiphany, Off Assignment, and Autostraddle (among others). She was shortlisted for the 2017 Berlin Writing Prize and named one of Epiphany's Breakout 8 Writers in 2018. By day, Amy works as a copywriter and marketer (and has for over 20 years). Plus, she's the co-creator and co-host of the funny and feminist podcast, Broads and Books. In this call, Amy walked us through her writing journey, from her experiences crafting unpublished novels to heading back to school for an MFA. She talked about the process of finding the right writing format, the right publisher, and how you, too, can make space for a little more fiction in your life.
For the past two years, Shane Thomas has been writing a weekly newsletter called Upstream Ag Insights, with a tagline of “Essential News and Analysis for Agribusiness Leaders.” Shane has grown his newsletter to thousands of readers, collaborated with many experts in agribusiness, and established himself as a worldwide thought leader in the space.Shane, DJ, and Rhishi did a deep dive into: Research, writing, and editing process: How does Shane research and go deep on complex topics? How does Shane reliably produce high-quality, long-form content? How does he balance writing “Inside Baseball” style, vs. drawing in not-in-the-know readers? Picking what to write about: How does Shane decide what's worth writing about? What role does curiosity play in deciding what to write about? Growth & content strategy: What would Shane do if she was just getting started today building his audience? How does Shane think about his overall distribution strategy? How does Shane approach collaboration with other writers and experts? The business model of writing online: How does Shane use his online presence to monetize, and drive other business opportunities?
Azeem Azhar is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He is the creator of the Exponential View, Britain's leading platform for in-depth tech analysis.His weekly newsletter is read by 200,000 people from around the world, and his chart-topping podcast has featured guests including Yuval Noah Harari, Reid Hoffman, and Tony Blair.His latest book, Exponential, explains how exponential technology is transforming all of our lives. It sketches out how we can harness the power of tech to serve our real needs – fostering new ways of doing business, innovative forms of politics, and fresh approaches to national defence.On this live call, Azeem and Stew had a free-flowing conversation about the intersection of : The Exponential Age and how new technology will fundamentally change society The new platforms powering the Exponential Age Trends that matter for creators How Azeem built and grew Exponential View Azeem's experience writing his first book And plenty more...
Arnab Ray (Great Bong) is a prolific creator, who has been writing online since 2004. Arnab has written 5 novels (some of them are being made into a web-series), technical books, innumerable blogs, and newspaper articles, hosts his own podcast (Attention pliss), and is active on social media. Arnab is a huge fan of Bollywood movies, the game of cricket, and is a keen observer of cultural mores, especially among Indians and the Indian diaspora. Arnab is not afraid to speak (or write) his mind, and he does it with a dose of humor, sarcasm, and literary flourish.*Bong is a person from the state of West Bengal in India or is from Bangladesh and speaks the Bengali language. “Bong” also encompasses a personality style, and a particular type of philosophy. It has nothing to do with smoking artifacts (or does it?)
For the past 18 months, Janette Barnard has been writing a weekly newsletter called Prime Future for innovators in livestock, meat, and dairy. Janette is an entrepreneur, and currently a venture capitalist with Merck Animal Ventures.Her work has evolved alongside her curiosities, which range from innovation history, venture capital, to entrepreneurship in the field of animal agriculture.Janette, DJ, and Rhishi did a deep dive into:- Research, writing, and editing process- Picking what to write about- Growth & content strategy- The business model of writing online
Rajat was born in India but is currently based in San Francisco, California. For the past decade, Rajat has been devoted to addressing sexism in India. He co-founded a tech-ed company called Menstrupedia to help young Indian women learn about their periods in a healthy manner; produced an alphabet book of iconic Indian women to inspire young Indian girls called “She Can You Can”; and he's currently writing a monthly newsletter called “Boyish”, meant to share positive stories of Indian men who defied male stereotypes by choosing their own life path. According to society, talking about sexism and “women's issues” is usually not a position a man should hold. However, Raj has rejected those stereotypes and is writing powerful stories that demonstrate sexism can be hurtful to anyone despite their gender. In this zoom call, Rajat shared his motivations to discuss these topics, how to deal with the expectations others have from you, and how to write about what you find important.
Will is the founder of Big Later, the internet's most entertaining crash course on personal finance, investing, and employee equity.Before starting Big Later he spent 6 years at Salesforce in strategy, growth, enablement, and partnership roles.His free time goes towards practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and doing all the outdoor sh*t you can do in Bend, OR (which is where he calls home).Will and Art did a deep dive into: Text as a Medium for Education: Pros and cons of the written word for teaching Reasons not to create an EBC: Why you definitely should not create an EBC yourself Non-negotiables of an EBC: Basic building blocks of an email-based course Tricks of the Trade: Will's learnings from writing 100,000+ words for email-based courses
Abigail Koffler's 6th grade diary waxes poetic about the terrible food she had on a school field trip. It was only the beginning of her foray into the land of culinary critiques. When Abigail founded This Needs Hot Sauce in 2017, the newsletter was her passion project while she worked for a nonprofit. Soon, she quit the nonprofit scene to pursue writing full time, and her weekly newsletter generated clips to bolster her pitches for other freelance gigs.Since 2017, Koffler has written for traditional media outlets, including food, travel, and culture writing for Food & Wine, Eater, and The Infatuation. Meanwhile, Abigail ships her Substack newsletter twice a week, teaches cooking classes, and explores New York City in search of the perfect meal. In this Zoom call, Abigail walked us through the lessons she's learned after nearly four years of consistent newsletter publication, talk us through her keys to staying productive and creative, and fill us in on her journey to becoming a full-time freelance writer with her own registered corporation.
The seed for Sarah's passion for farming was planted on her family's farm in Wyoming. As it grew, so did her need to find the answer to a critical question: is it possible to farm without exploiting farmers, farmworkers, the environment, or communities? Sarah's search for answers took her around the globe, working in and around agriculture for non-profits, government organizations, Silicon Valley companies, the national news media, and directly with farms.Sarah writes a weekly newsletter (Big Team Farms), occasionally posts provocative essays on Medium on topics related to agriculture and food systems, and engages in vigorous Twitter discussions. She has recently published a bestselling book called “Farm (and other F words).” The sequel is set for publication in late 2021.
Ravynn K. Stringfield is a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at William & Mary. Her dissertation project focuses on Black women and girls in fantasy new media narratives. Ravynn is also an essayist and fiction writer; her creative nonfiction work has appeared in Catapult, midnight & indigo, Shondaland and ZORA. Her novel-length fiction is represented by Leah Pierre of Ladderbird Literary Agency.Ravynn + Chinyere did a deep dive into: Translating scholarship: How does Ravynn transform her scholarship (or expertise) in digital humanities, comic & futuristic narratives, and creative non-fiction into digestible content for her audience? Expanding the conversation: How does one identify gaps in a niche & contribute new information? Pitching to publications: While discovering and staying true to one's voice, what are the keys to finding publications best suited for you?
A model for Black girls who live on the road, Gabrielle Ione Hickmon works as a writer, strategist, and multidisciplinary artist. A cultural critic, Gabrielle's writing is concerned with the intersections and interactions of culture, travel, art, womanism, and Black life. Her essays have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, The Baffler, Zora Magazine, Literary Hub, Complex, and Bitch Media with work forthcoming in The Pudding. In 2018, she self-published a poetry book, “sunny.” Gabrielle is currently based in Ypsilanti, MI but has lived all over the world, most recently in the Galicia region of Spain. When she's online, you can find her @gabbyhickmon on social media.In this call, Gabrielle shared her journey of self-discovery, being a multidisciplinary artist, and creating a career along the way.
Hiten Shah and Marie Prokopets are co-founders of Nira, a real-time access control system to help businesses protect company information from unauthorized access.Hiten is a startup veteran and has written about failing at startups, scaling startups, and everything else in between. Marie is an award-winning comedy writer and currently writes the Nira company blog.In their writing, they've tackled topics such as remote work, pivoting their company, and other topics in an open and transparent way. In this talk, we'll dig into how they approach writing and what role writing plays in their company.Hiten, Marie, and Lyle did a deep dive into: Why do they choose to write and share it publicly? How to write for different audiences (e.g. a personal newsletter vs a company blog post)? How did Marie move from comedy writing to tech co-founder? How the online writing landscape has changed throughout Hiten's career? What is the role of Twitter or a personal newsletter for co-founders of a B2B company?
Girish is currently deep into a memoir about his decade in journalism. His investigative and multimedia reporting from Venezuela, the Americas, and the Middle East has been published by everyone from Reuters to The New Yorker. He was based primarily in Venezuela for nearly a decade and freelanced for five years before joining Reuters as a Senior Correspondent.His background, though, is not that of a traditional journalist. He was born in Slough, a town scoffed at by anyone who knows England for being the setting for The Office. He then went on to study physics and has a background in programming. But, after university, he wanted to see the world.Girish left journalism three years ago and created a company looking to make economic data more accessible. However, he still cares deeply for the profession and for writing more generally.Girish lives with his wife in San Francisco.Girish and Lyle did a deep dive into: Freelance journalism Memoir writing
When Cyd Notter was writing a nutrition column for the local newspaper and working in ministry at her local church, she wasn't planning to write a book. But an encounter with God in 2013 led to a five-year journey of distilling the principles of plant-based nutrition and Biblical Scripture to create a faith-based book that communicates the importance of healthy eating and bodily stewardship.But why five years? Like many aspiring authors, Cyd struggled with completing the manuscript. It wasn't until the final six months that things really picked up in an unexpected way. Cyd is a graduate of the Center for Nutrition Studies, a certified instructor for several dietary courses (including Dr. McDougall's Starch Solution), a past newspaper columnist, and a Book Excellence Award Winner for The “Plan A” Diet.Cyd and Sam did a deep dive into: The unusual inspiration for Cyd's book: How Cyd went from having no book writing experience to a full manuscript? Learning how to be a published author: What people and resources helped Cyd navigate the complex road to publication? What advice would she give other aspiring authors with no publishing experience? How she overcame roadblocks and procrastination: What methods or advice helped Cyd go from spending 4 ½ years on the first half of her book to finishing the second half in less than 6 months? Securing a publisher for a niche subject: How did Cyd finally land on the right audience for her unique approach to diet and health? Promoting the book: What promotion methods worked best for Cyd? How would she recommend that newsletter writers, bloggers, and aspiring authors leverage similar methods to get the word out?
Eugene Wei is one of the best technology and media bloggers on the Internet. He started writing a personal blog called Remains of the Day in 2001 covering topics across technology, product development, the internet, movies and filmmaking, photography, writing, and sports. Most recently, Eugene was Head of Video at Oculus. Before that, he led product teams at Flipboard, Erly, Hulu, and Amazon. His work distills complicated consumer tech trends not just from a product design standpoint, but also from a user psychology perspective. His essays on Status as a Service (StaaS), Seeing Like an Algorithm, and TikTok creativity network effects serve as guiding mental models for the tech community. In this call, Eugene revealed the lessons he's learned writing long-form essays while building an enthusiastic reader base willing to explore new topics and ideas with him.
Yanyi is a poet and critic. He is the author of Dream of the Divided Field (One World Random House, forthcoming 2022) and The Year of Blue Water (Yale University Press 2019), winner of the 2018 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize, finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Poetry, and named one of 2019's Best Poetry Books by New York Public Library. His work has been featured in NPR's All Things Considered, Tin House, Granta, and A Public Space, and he is the recipient of fellowships from Asian American Writers' Workshop and Poets House. He has taught creative writing at New York University and Dartmouth College. Currently, he is poetry editor at Foundry.In this zoom call, Yanyi shared the structures that have aided his prose and creative practice of his newsletter The Reading.
Natalie is on the content team at On Deck and was previously the Writing Partner for the On Deck Writer Fellowship. She is a freelance journalist and contributes to New York Magazine's The Strategist, Into The Gloss, Toast Magazine, Freunde Von Freunden, T Magazine, Gather, Allure, and other media outlets. She is a veteran of traditional print media and the fashion industry. Natalie holds a profound interest in culinary and olfactive culture, so much of her freelance writing is focused on experiences that indulge the senses and restore our connection with the natural world.She finds the connective tissue between her careers in writing, scent, and visual production to be immersive sensory storytelling. She was born and raised in New York City; a scent memory which she describes as sweltering asphalt under the hot summer sun, bodega roses in crisp cellophane, and sawdust co-mingling with smoked fish at the deli counter.She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn.Natalie and Lyle did a deep dive into: Freelance writing: How did she find her “beat” in scent writing? What tips does she have for navigating the traditional publishing world? Creative writing: How does Natalie harness creativity in her writing? What does her writing process look like from idea to finished product? What kind of exercises does she rely on to keep growing as a writer or counter writing resistance? Longform writing: How being a curious reader and ‘deconstructing great writing' can improve your own editorial fitness and inform one's own process writing longer pieces. Sensory writing: How can writers of all stripes use sensory writing techniques to punch up their writing?
With over half a million subscribers to his daily newsletter Axios Sports, Kendall Baker is a go-to source for sports information.He started writing a daily newsletter called Sports Internet in 2017, which Axios acquired in 2019.Before writing his daily newsletter, Kendall was a Columnist at Bleacher Report, worked in Production at ESPN, and was the Head of Content for The Hustle. In his time at these companies, he found that his passion for sports and creating could be turned into a successful business.In this call, Kendall did break down the skills needed to create a newsletter, what makes a newsletter stand out, and how to grow your audience.
Writer and host of both the Unthinkable and 3 Clips podcasts, Jay helps mission-driven brands, authors, and entrepreneurs make stuff that matters. His work with companies like Google and ESPN, combined with 15+ years of public performance and creative projects, has taught him what it takes to create things that resonate and make an impact.In this conversation with Stew, we learned about: Demystifying the creative process Cutting through conventional thinking Finding your voice to make work that matters Letting go of “best practices” to find the best approaches that work for you
Julie Trelstad has published over a hundred books and worked with countless authors, publishers, and agents. After a career in traditional publishing at Taunton Press and John Wiley & Sons, as well as the literary agency Writers House, Julie launched 82 Stories, a digital marketing agency for authors. In this call, Julie shared what she has learned by helping hundreds of writers successfully publish their ideas and stories.
Matt is an NYC-based comedian, writer, and startup veteran. When he's not performing live comedy, he writes his weekly newsletter, The Rubesletter, and co-hosts the Hell & Wellness podcast. In his writing, he dives deep into topics such as comedy, tech, politics, art, spirituality, pop culture, and more. You can watch his stand-up comedy in his "Feels Like Matt Ruby" comedy special on YouTube (album version).In this conversation with Lyle, we learned about: Comedy writing for the stage vs his newsletter Hot takes vs nuance in online discourse The state of online content and how it has changed throughout his career How he generates and workshops his writing ideas and jokes His recent move to a paid Substack publication We did a Q&A during the Zoom chat and Matt answered any questions that came up.
Sasha Chapin has had an unusual writing career. He's gone from being an award-winning magazine writer to publishing a memoir about a worldwide chess career with Doubleday. Now, he's publishing a serial novel about a depressed vampire on Substack.In this Zoom call, Sasha detailed the insights he's gleaned from his adventures in writing and reporting, as well as sharing some of the finer points of writing improvement that he imparts in his coaching practice.More about Sasha Chapin: https://www.imsashachapin.com/In Foster, writers elevate their craft by receiving feedback from fellow writers and professional editors. Apply here: https://www.foster.co/apply
Morning Brew is a media start-up with a suite of business and lifestyle content. Zoë Gibson leads Growth & Audience Development for Morning Brew's industry newsletters: Marketing Brew (https://bit.ly/2ShMZXo), Retail Brew (https://bit.ly/2RCTmEN), and Emerging Tech Brew (https://bit.ly/3oDcajp). She started her career at The Atlantic's events division and later moved to Government Executive (a publication targeting those in the federal, defense, and state and local government), where she learned the ropes of “niche audience” content. In this call, Zoë joined Foster's David Burt and did a deep dive on: How Morning Brew approaches niche audience growth How a community is different from an audience Tactics to grow newsletter subscriptions (no matter your resources) Why acquisition is only half the battle In Foster, writers elevate their craft by receiving feedback from fellow writers and professional editors. Apply here: https://www.foster.co/apply
With bylines in Shopify, CoSchedule, and CXL, Elise Dopson has cracked the code on landing well-known companies as clients.In this zoom call, Elise joined Foster's Eva Gutierrez to talk about her transition from amateur to professional writer. Elise laid out a roadmap for writers who want to turn their passion into a career.Elise and Eva did a deep dive into: Writing content that businesses will pay for: Differences between a content writer who can charge for their articles and a writer who needs more practice. Using your newsletter to turn subscribers into paying clients: Email strategies for landing clients. Reaching out to established companies: Tips for writers who want to knock on the doors of bigger companies, but don't know how to start the conversation. Making yourself referrable: How writers can strategically use referrals from their current clients to help them get new clients.
Luke writes the popular Welcome to Hell World newsletter where he writes about issues from a leftist perspective typically in stream-of-consciousness style essays. He previously wrote about music, cocktails, and culture in Boston and later moved to bigger publications such as Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Guardian, Playboy, and many more. His newsletter writing is darkly funny and he's not afraid to broach charged topics with his strong opinions. In this conversation with Lyle, we learned about: Luke's move from traditional journalism to independent newsletter writing How he developed his unique writing style How he generates writing ideas Running a paid, independent newsletter -His book publishing experience with a small indie publisher for his books Welcome to Hell World and Lockdown in Hell World Afterward, we did a Q&A with the group where Luke answered questions that came up.
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the creator and lead writer for the 1619 Project, a NYT initiative that aims to reframe U.S. history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of our national narrative. Nikole's reporting on civil rights, specifically segregation in housing and schools, earned her a National Magazine Award, a Peabody, and a Polk Award. In 2016, she co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a training and mentorship organization dedicated to increasing the ranks of investigative reporters of color. She's currently working on a book titled, "The Problem We All Live With", which will explore Black America's centuries-long struggle to obtain quality education, and why integrated schools are the heart of our democracy.On the call we discussed: Nikole's journey from growing up in Waterloo, Iowa to creating one of the most ambitious and impactful pieces of journalism of the century Nikole's inspiration for the 1619 Project and its significance in the current media and political landscape Her 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning piece, which traces the central role Black Americans have played in the nation, including its vast material success and democracy itself The critical role investigative journalism plays in holding truth to power The planning and coordination behind the 1619 Project, and Nikole's advice for ambitious writers who want to do important work
Sean Blanda has built a prolific career in content. For the last decade, he has shaped the editorial direction of well-regarded content producers like Invison, Adobe's 99U, Growth Lab and I Will Teach You to Be Rich.Currently, Sean is the Director of Content for Crossbeam and runs Pilcrow House, an event series in Philadelphia. We did a deep dive on:- Building an editorial voice: How he does this for himself and for the companies he represents.- Owning your own platform: Why Sean thinks it's important and what it means for writers.- Adopting a media company mindset: How individuals and companies should think about building content and engaging audiences- Building a career in content: Advice to those who want to make content a core part of their career.Afterward, we did a Q&A with the group where Sean answered questions that came up.
Scott writes the popular Action Cookbook newsletter where he publishes three times per week. He spent time as a freelance sports writer in traditional media where he cut his teeth on producing writing quickly and built a loyal audience on Twitter. Scott is based in Kentucky where he works as an architect and regularly has to convince his kids to eat the dinner he cooked them.In this conversation with Lyle, we learned about: Scott's transition from freelance writer to independent newsletter writer Why he wrote pseudonymously in the past and now doesn't How he writes so prolifically while working full-time and spending time with his family How he generates writing ideas Tips for running a paid newsletter on the side Afterward, we did a Q&A with the group.
Jack Cheng is a Shanghai-born, Detroit-based author of critically acclaimed fiction for young readers. His debut children's novel, See You in the Cosmos, is winner of the 2017 Golden Kite and Great Lakes, Great Reads awards for Best Middle Grade Fiction. Jack volunteers with 826michigan to facilitate in-class writing projects in Detroit public schools.In this conversation, we learned about: Jack's transition from founder to full-time writer Writing fiction that's grounded in truth Finding a niche in young adult fiction Jack's writing process for his novels and his weekly newsletter
Li Jin shared how she's leveraged writing to accelerate her career and the passion economy more generally.
After graduating from business school, Dan began blogging for fun about the intersection of business and hip hop. Inspired by a Harvard case study on Beyonce, he started writing his own case studies on the industry.Combining his passion for business and music evolved into his now-successful media company, Trapital. Today, Trapital's readers include music executives, media moguls, and venture capitalists, including fans like Translation CEO Steve Stoute and SoundCloud CEO Mike Weissman. On this call with Dan, we talked about how he turned his passions into a must-read newsletter. Dan shared advice on how he iterated his way to a writing niche, some lessons he learned taking Trapital paid (then back), and how he's leveraged his writing to help him elsewhere in his career. On the second half of the call, we invited attendees to unmute and participate in a Q&A.
Is it harder to write for yourself, or for someone else? There are different challenges to each, but today, we talked with someone who writes, edits, and publishes in the styles of dozens of different individuals and brands. Heather Leith, VP of Content for Growth Machine, talked about how she and her team do this at scale. Join us for a conversation where we dived into: Effective ways to provide feedback and establishing trust between writers and editors How voice and tone differ across industries and audiences What internet writers should know about SEO ...and what Taylor Swift has taught us about SEO
Christene Browne is no stranger to ambitious creative projects.She's an award-winning novelist and filmmaker who tells stories that celebrate culture, give a voice to the voiceless, and bring social inequalities to the forefront of her audience's mind. One of Christene's most ambitious projects was Speaking in Tongues: The History of Language, where she recounted the history of language from prehistoric times to the present day. Her groundbreaking series covered many of the most pressing facts and controversies about language and featured interviews with Noam Chomsky and many other notable linguists.On this live call, Christene shared how making Speaking in Tongues has impacted her own relationship with writing and language. She also shared her experience building a successful career telling stories — both on the page and on the screen. In the second half of the call, we hosted a Q&A.
Liz Fosslien has incorporated creativity throughout her entire career.It all started 2012 when she published “14 Ways an Economist Says I Love You” and has continued to this day with he Wall Street Journal best-seller No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work. She's somehow managed to do all this while leading content at Humu.In this conversation we delved into: How she integrates creativity in her professional life Why she decided to publish a book How she views audience building And a whole lot more.
Three years ago, while working as a data scientist in San Francisco, Ginny Hogan started a blog analyzing data from her online dating profile.The blog was meant to be a sort of academic exercise, but the bizarre and absurd nature of being young and single in San Francisco slowly morphed her stories into something more human -- and funny. As her writing began to gain traction, she shifted her ambitions in the tech industry to focus entirely on writing and comedy. Her blog evolved into an incredibly successful comedy-writing career. In addition to regularly contributing to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, The Observer, and McSweeney's, she published her first book: Toxic Femininity in the Workplace, founded the daily humor site Little Old Lady Comedy, and was profiled by Forbes as a rising satire star.Ginny's story proves what's possible when you trust your gut and write about what's authentic for you.On the call, Ginny shared her process for honing a distinct voice in comedy, share tips for pitching to major publications, and teach us how to be funnier on Twitter. She also walked through how she took one of her most popular pieces and got a book deal out of it. On the second half of the call, we invited attendees to unmute and participate in a Q&A.
Blogger, analyst, and marketing expert Byrne Hobart relies on his multifaceted background and wide network to create reliable, relevant, and insightful writing. He tells engaging narratives – following the business of finance and tech – backed by data and tied together with compelling storytelling. With one of the most popular newsletters on Substack, The Diff, he reaches an audience of 19,000+ industry experts and novices alike. Byrne employs a broad array of research and tools to provide an easily digestible but elevated analysis of industry events.In this live call, Byrne explained how he discovers and researches new ideas for The Diff. He shared some advice on how to develop storytelling abilities that can tie a piece of news into a broader, compelling narrative. On the second half of the call, we hosted a Q&A.
Nicolas Cole is no stranger to using his writing as an influential driving force. Today, Nicolas's voice is behind some of the top talent worldwide: his ghostwriting agency – Digital Press is just one of the forms it takes. He's helped hundreds of founders, executives, best-selling authors, Grammy-winning musicians, Olympians, and public speakers – find the right words to forward their missions.At just 17, Nicolas launched one of the first e-gaming blogs, drawing in over 10,000 daily readers.The ability to leverage a data-driven approach to writing online has helped Nicolas rank as a Top Writer on Quora and frequently land his work on the front page of Reddit – with some of his most viral hits accumulating over a million views. His work has appeared in nearly all of the world's top publications like TIME, Forbes, Fortune, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Observer, Slate, Apple News, and more.On our call, Nicolas gave advice on finding your own unique voice online to establish a personal brand, plus offer insights on how to gain – and keep up with – a loyal following. He also shed light on how he leverages data and analytics as a writer, and how to craft high-performing, viral digital content. On the second half of the call, we invited attendees to unmute and participate in a Q&A.
For the past few years, David Perell has produced some of the most popular writing on the internet.On this private call, David and Stew Fortier talked about: David's system for picking winning ideas How David writes things that resonate Some key lessons that David teaches during Write of Passage What David would do if he was starting over today
The new economy is ripe with opportunities to publish premium independent writing. But without a sustainable workflow, it's easy to succumb to overwhelm, confusion and frustration. This expert session will remove the guesswork for aspiring and practicing essayists, journalists and bloggers who want to design a consistent writing practice and connect their ideas with the people who need them the most.By the end of the experience, attendees will know how to:- Generate sharp story ideas from news events, cultural trends and personal experiences- Outline your raw material — research, reporting, etc. — into logical narratives that hook readers from start to finish- Experiment with different formats — from op-eds and essays to profiles and service journalism — like a pro- Craft headlines, deks and captions that get noticed, add context and preview the value your work deliversThe craft of writing can lead you to the best work of your career and unlock the personal freedom to live on your own terms. And whether you're starting out, starting over, burned out or leveling up, From Idea to Inbox will set you on the path to realizing what's possible for you and the people you've chosen to serve.
Sophia Benoit has tweeted her way to a successful writing career.She's amassed nearly 120,000 devoted Twitter followers who tune in daily for her musings on pop culture, politics, and everything in between.Her comical, offbeat writing style has earned her bylines in The Guardian, Allure, Refinery29, Reductress, and The Cut. Since 2017, she's written regularly for GQ, where she brings her hilarious and oft very personal takes to the sex and relationships vertical.She also writes an advice newsletter called Here's The Thing and has a book of humorous essays coming out this summer.On the call, Sophia shared advice on how to build a strong social presence and what implications it can have for your longer-form writing and general presence as a writer. She also shared tips on how to hone your voice and not fall victim to the inauthentic, watered-down content that plagues much of the internet. On the second half of the call, we invited attendees to unmute and participate in a Q&A.
For the past quarter-century, Scott Dikkers has served as The Onion's owner and editor-in-chief.He led The Onion's rise from a small, unknown college humor publication to an internationally respected comedy brand. In 1996, he brought The Onion online by launching TheOnion.com, the world's first humor website. He later co-wrote and edited The Onion's first original books, Our Dumb Century and Our Dumb World -- both New York Times bestsellers.In the mid-2000's, Scott headed up the creation of the legendary "Onion News Network" web series, serving as a director and executive producer, which won a Peabody Award in 2008.On this live call, Scott shared the process he developed for generating award-winning satire. He revealed some lessons on developing a distinct voice that he learned while building one of America's most iconic media companies. On the second half of the call, we invited attendees to unmute and participate in a Q&A.
Marie Poulin has proven what's possible when you share your expertise online generously.Over the past year, she's produced some of the best content on how to leverage Notion to organize your life and business. It's a niche topic where she's been able to carve out a monopoly of one.The quality of her work has helped create momentum for her popular Notion Mastery course, where she's managed to productize her expertise and build a meaningful business.On this private call, Marie shared how she's leveraged the internet to establish her credibility as a no-code expert. She shared her experience building Notion Mastery, along with some of her other successful ventures that have spawned from building a loyal audience. In the second half of the call, we'll host a Q&A where everybody is welcome to ask any questions they'd like.
Josh Spector has helped thousands of online writers and creators product, promote, and profit from their work.Each week, Josh sends his For The Interested newsletter to over 25,000 creators. He also runs the popular Newsletter Creators community with over 3,000 newsletter writers. On top of that, he consults for individuals and companies who want to build an audience and a business around their creative work.Very few people have seen such a wide range of writers and creators passionate about making a living around their work.On this private call, Josh shared a few of the lessons he's learned helping writers succeed online -- including how to successfully pick a niche and position your work, how to write content that will help drive specific outcomes, and how to produce quality work on a regular schedule. In the second half of the call, we hosted a Q&A where everybody is welcome to ask any questions they'd like.
In 2015, Khe Hy quit his lucrative Wall Street career. Despite being the youngest managing director at one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms, he realized something: more money wasn't making him any happier.He quit without an exact plan of what he'd do next. This didn't bode well with his parents, both immigrants to the U.S., nor his former co-workers -- both of whom thought he may have lost his mind walking away from an enviable amount of money and prestige.Thankfully for the rest of us, Khe stayed the course. He began writing online about his journey to live a more fulfilled life. He blogs about transforming your relationship with time, work, money – and ultimately yourself.His newsletter RadReads now goes out to 20,000 readers and Khe has joined the ranks of creators who have built a successful business around content and courses.On this private call, we talked with Khe about his journey into blogging and internet entrepreneurship. More specifically, we discussed the inner game of creating and how he's kept writing and creating in the face of uncertainty. In the second half of the call, we hosted a Q&A where everybody is welcome to ask any questions they'd like.
About 6 months ago, Nathan Baschez and Dan Shipper began to work full-time on their newsletters Divinations and Superorganizers.Since then, they've combined their lists to launch the Everything bundle: a productivity and business strategy email with over 16,000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual recurring revenue.In this private call for Foster members and Everything subscribers, Nathan and Dan shared all they've learned growing their list the past 6 months.
Michell Clark has figured out how to use Twitter.He's grown his account to over 55,000 enthusiastic followers, but what's more impressive is how he's done it. He regularly posts ideas, affirmations, and jokes that genuinely speak to him -- no growth “hacks” or being somebody he's not.The Twitter community that he's built has given him leverage to get a publishing deal for his first book and helped him to meet editors who would go on to commission him for recurring content series.On this private call, Michell shared how he's succeeded on Twitter while not compromising on his voice. He broke down how he maintains a wellspring of fresh ideas to post, what makes Twitter unique as a platform, and how anybody can leverage Twitter to get their ideas in front of a bigger audience.
Over the past few years, Jennifer Kim has helped some of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley build more inclusive workplaces.Thankfully, she hasn't just reserved her expertise for the startups she personally helps. Instead, she's leveraged Twitter and Medium to broadcast her ideas around hiring, culture, diversity, and inclusion to a much larger audience.On this private call, Jennifer shared how she's leveraged writing online to help push forward a meaningful cause. She explained how she's communicated ideas that are often misunderstood in a way that invites in the people who need to hear them most. In the second half of the call, we hosted a Q&A where everybody is welcome to ask any questions they'd like.
April Dunford has spent years as a startup executive, launching over a dozen products and helping her clients launch countless more as a consultant.In each case, she's learned that success isn't about following trends, trying to make something for everybody, or comparing yourself to the competition. Instead, she's found that brilliant positioning can make the difference between success and failure.So... what does that have to do with writing?A lot, it turns out.Online writers face similar challenges to startups: they have to stand out in a sea of noise and offer something differentiated and valuable to a specific subset of a market. To succeed, they need clever positioning.On this private call, April gave a masterclass on positioning. We discussed the key ideas from her book Obviously Awesome to help inspire and clarify how online writers differentiate their work and find their most enthusiastic fans.
What if you love to write, but don't want to do it full-time?Sari Azout has some ideas.She has used her newsletter Check Your Pulse as an invaluable lever for her day job in venture capital. Her writing has opened up career opportunities that would have been impossible otherwise.On this private call, Sari shared some unconventional lessons she's learned writing over 50 issues of her newsletter -- including why going paid is often a bad strategy and why consistency is overrated.Sari also revealed some opportunities that writing online has generated for her and how she's thought about turning her passion for writing into an invaluable lever for her career.
When Gemma Milne is curious about something, chances are she'll write about it and get other people interested too.Gemma has built a successful writing career around her various curiosities, which range from science and technology to politics and culture.On this private call, Gemma shared how she has used her wide range of interests as a competitive advantage in her writing career. She revealed:- How she identifies ideas that are worth writing about- How to communicate in a way that interests and inspires other people- The lessons she's learned tackling and break down intimidating topics
As the former Director of Newsletters at BuzzFeed, then The New Yorker, Dan Oshinsky has learned how to write and grow winning newsletters.In three years, Dan grew BuzzFeed's subscriber base from 20,000 readers to over 2 million -- making it one of the largest traffic sources for BuzzFeed.com and one of the most popular newsletters in history. He did similar work at The New Yorker, where he led the launch and growth of ten new newsletters.Today, Dan runs Inbox Collective, an agency that helps grow audiences, build relationships, and get results by using email effectively. He also writes the popular Not a Newsletter, a monthly, in-depth guide to sending better emails.On this private call, Dan shared all that he's learned helping companies harness the power of email into a core competitive advantage. He shared lessons that apply to anybody trying to write and grow newsletters backed by enthusiastic readers.
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