I learned a year ago that no one wants to hire a writer.

So I christened myself a content creator & strategist, selling my marketing talent alongside years of work done in the trenches as a broadcast journalist. There were many lessons during that job search. But perhaps some of my best lessons in the past year have come from TWO cohorts of Ship 30!

All since January 1, 2022...

Here's A Quick Rundown of What I Learned (Maybe Save You Some Pain)

• Blogs are a waste, even if you post daily. Sorry, bloggers. Nicolas Cole is right!

• Twitter and TikTok are the best viral loop for ideas. Khe Hy is right.

• Most of my previous non-journalism writing sucked, probably because it was created in a vacuum, having gone straight from my head to a Squarespace or WordPress site.

• If you're not gaining followers (or audience, or traffic, or sales—whatever), it's because you're not putting in the work to find what people care about in a way that interests them.

• It all gets easier after you realize this and kill your ego. Then you can start seeing outside yourself and deliver to readers what they want—not what YOU think they want.

• Why is writing the BEST way to test ideas? People are less willing to read than anything. If they are willing to read your stuff on Twitter, you've grabbed their time and attention.

• Sharing knowledge you take for granted because it's boring to you now actually helps others and it's your job to pay that forward. You may be "over it" now, but someone out there is struggling with it. Share!

You can't learn all this without consistent shipping, feedback, and networking! LFG!

Be more than a writer.

Be a creator and foster community. Don't talk at people; talk with them! And keep testing, trying, and iterating.

Don't give up.