Yesterday, I wrote a newsletter about the merits of running a paid newsletter on Kit and Substack. A reader asked why I’m using Substack if I already run this newsletter on Kit. They also wanted to know why I’m creating a Telegram group, which I teased in that newsletter. I started my email list on MailChimp back in 2015. I moved to ConvertKit in 2016 as it’s a better fit for creators. I use ConvertKit (now Kit) because it’s connected to Become a Writer Today via landing pages and forms. I spent a few years building that website with a team of writers. When people visit my site, I offer them a book to join my newsletter. It still gets traffic today, but it’s not my primary focus (more on why in a moment). I sometimes run Facebook Ad campaigns and send traffic to a landing page connected to Kit. They also hook me up with sponsors, and I attract subscribers organically via the Kit Creator network. I also use Kit to email students of my courses. Except for organic growth, none of this is possible on Substack. In 2020, I experimented with Substack. Then, I turned off my paid publication, exported my subscribers, and moved them to this email list. I’m using Substack again because I like how the platform is evolving. Many creators are active on it, and it’s a friendlier place than other networks, like X. You can also take your audience by exporting your list. I’ve done this at least twice. I’m publishing and syndicating content from my list to Substack. It only takes an extra five minutes per newsletter. In other words, it’s not either/or. It’s both! So why I am I creating a Telegram group for creators? I’ve gone viral a few times since I started creating online. It’s fun, but I’m suspicious of algos. I invested heavily in SEO for years. Then, in 2023–4, Google changed its algo and killed the web traffic of smaller publishers. I watch 80% of my web traffic disappear. Like hundreds of other publishers, I let a team of writers go because of Google’s changes. SEO today is nothing more than an algo, and algos are unreliable. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’m more interested in building an algo-proof audience. Today, that’s an email list and, potentially, a private Telegram group. It’s my form of digital insurance. My goal for Telegram is to share snackable insider content that helps creators earn a living. It’s also a nice way to get feedback from readers via polls, quizzes, and other content types. Write on, |
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You don’t need to write multi-thousand-word prompts to get a usable output from ChatGPT. Most creators overcomplicate writing AI prompts. They write paragraphs of instructions and still get mediocre outputs. A good ChatGPT prompt has four parts, and you can cover them in a few sentences. First, describe the Persona. This is where you tell the AI tool who it is. “You’re a master storyteller” or “You’re Steve Jobs.” This puts GPT in the right mindset. Next comes the Task. Be specific about what...
Writing and creating online has never been easier. I’m a big tools guy. Here are 15 tools any creator can use to get started: 1) SEMRush or AHREFS—for keyword research 2) ChatGPT or Claude—for content ideation 3) Canva—for creating images quickly and easily 4) Grammarly—as an AI-powered writing assistant. 5) Hemingway App—for improving the readability of a piece of writing 6) Ulysses or IA Writer—for writing and formatting articles for the web 7) Workflowy—for creating outlines. Tutorial here...
Hey Reader, I’m working on something for you and want to make sure it’s exactly what you need. Can you take 10 seconds to answer this quick poll? 👇 Which product would you be most interested in? Newsletter Monetization Playbook – How to get sponsors, ads, and recurring revenue from your email list. Content Repurposing and Strategy System – A step-by-step system to turn one piece of content into multiple high-performing formats across platforms. Advanced LinkedIn for B2B Leads – A proven...