Digital Writing Basics: 10 Lessons I Learned From Writing Online For 30 Days

Do you want to start writing online and build a better future for yourself?

In April, I joined my first Ship30for30 cohort. The experience was transformative.

Here are 10 lessons that stuck for me during this process:

What is obvious to you is mind-blowing to someone else. You have a lot of knowledge. What is self-evident to you might be the missing piece for somebody else. Share!
Double down on what resonates with your audience. Find a good mix of "people enjoy this subject/format" and "I enjoy writing on this topic."
Don't put pressure on yourself. Quantity creates quality over time, so don't expect the quality to come now. Focus on hitting "Publish".
You don't know what people want, so write diversely. The essay you think is mediocre or "evident" will be the one to go viral. Approach many subjects and don't let your mind discriminate against topics.
Write for one person. When you write, picture the one person you address the whole essay. More people will find it interesting that way.
The title and the hook are 80% of the piece. You can have the best content ever, but nobody will give it attention if it is buried under a lousy title/hook because they don't know what they are getting. Be clear about the promise and what the reader gets.
Want to change? Join a community. You are the sum of the 5 people you hang out with. To change, you need to change those people. If you want to be a writer, join a community of writers.
You get proportionally to what you give, so give a lot! People won't engage with you if they see you don't engage with them. Give 10x, then ask for 1x. Chances are you'll receive more.
Make it easy to read. People don't read online like they read books. They skim and then decide if they will stay. Format your text to be skimmable.
"Who am I writing for?"—know your audience. Writing for everyone is writing for nobody. My most viral essay was for "software developers juggle 9-5 and a side-project," but all the readers said, "This applies to me also." The more specific you are, the more people feel connected to your content.