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Letters From the Desk of Bryan Collins

Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.

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Featured Post

Cursed, Soulless Garbage?

Hi Reader, AI creates cursed, soulless garbage. That’s according to Daniel José Older. He’s an American fantasy author and the lead story architect behind Star Wars: The High Republic. A Slate journalist asked Older for his take on a messy controversy surrounding NaNoWriMo. That writing non-profit released a weird statement about AI being “a useful tool” for those who are disabled or from marginalized communities. Cue a social media firestorm, clarifications, and resignations from the...

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Hi Reader, I turn 43 today (yikes). I started writing online about 15 years ago. Over the years, I’ve earned a living by writing and selling books, blogging, creating courses, coaching, affiliate marketing, and more. I’m bundling up some of my most recent training for pro writers and creators to mark the occasion. Usually, I run these workshops live. Tickets cost $97, and I don’t release the recordings. Because it’s my birthday this week, I changed my mind. You can pick up a bundle of my best...

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Hi Reader, One of my favorite business books of all time? How to Get Rich: One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Denis. Crass title. The author admits as much. If you haven’t heard of Felix, he was one of the UK’s richest and most successful publishers from the 1990s to the early 2000s. His company, Denis Publishing was behind some of the biggest magazines in the United Kingdom, including computer publications Personal Computing World and lad mags like Maxim. A...

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Hi Reader, A few months ago, I geeked on Notion. I learn how things work by using them. So, I built a custom Notion dashboard for myself. I use it to track my writing, online projects, content, and stats. A former geek, I’m big into self-quantification. I recorded a tutorial about how my Notion system works. And I created a sales page using Caard. Total time spent? 3-4 hours. I didn’t plan a big launch or promotional campaign. I wrote a few emails about The Digital Writer’s Command Center and...

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Hi Reader, My worst days start with X notifications, swiping on Instagram, and doomscrolling. Before I know it, it’s 10.27, and I’ve wasted the most valuable part of my day. My best days start with opening up Ulysses and writing a few hundred words. Or turning on a camera and recording a video. If I get into a good rhythm, I can knock out a few daily emails for my newsletter before launch, an article for my site, or a week’s worth of social media content. My worst afternoons start when I...

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Hi Reader David Mamet changed how I think about creating and running an online business. He’s spent a lifetime writing plays, films, and books, but his insights translate nearly to the creator economy. He offers two rules for success: “You’ve got to do one thing for your art every day, and you’ve got to do one thing for your business every day.” Perhaps you want to earn a living from writing or creating? Or you’re busy running a business and you need content to grow it faster? Tomorrow,...

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Hi Reader, Creating content is a great way of growing your business. But balancing creating and publishing is stressful. Enter the concept of repurposing content. I repurpose content regularly with Buffer. And it’s a pretty affordable social media tool for creators and small business owners. In my video, I show you my repurposing strategy: How to connect and customize posting schedules for different networks Creating and scheduling posts across multiple channels Using the content calendar and...

Hi Reader, In my late 20s, I took up short story writing. I wanted someone to publish my stories to call myself a writer. I signed up for some intensive creative writing classes at the Irish Writer’s Centre in Dublin city center to learn the craft. We met on Monday and Wednesday evenings in an airy room overlooking the River Liffey in Dublin. Our instructor, a balding man from Texas, was a hardcore literary writer. He tasked us with writing “one true sentence”. He didn’t have much time for...

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Hi Reader, I wrote a book called The Power Of Creativity a few years ago. I discovered a big lesson about creativity while writing my book. Creativity thrives under constraints. One of Ernest Hemingway’s most creative stories? It’s six words long. For sale: Baby shoes, never worn. More creators should employ constraints in their businesses. They’re the type of pressure cooker every creator needs if they value speed and impact. Want to write and publish a book? Set a three-month deadline....

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Hi Reader, Pro Creators Only is now closed. Would you like me to add you to the waitlist? Waitlist members get notified 24 hours before the rest of my list. That way, you can take your spot next time before it’s gone. Reply “waitlist”, and I’ll add you for the next time. Write on,Bryan Collins