DICKIE BUSH & NICOLAS COLE

The 22 Laws Of Digital Writing

Master The Fundamentals, Build Your Audience, and
Scale Yourself Online
 First published by Ship 30 for 30 2021

Copyright © 2021 by Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

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 Contents

Meet Your Captains v

Introduction ix
1 Law #1: Don’t Start A Blog 1
2 Law #2: Volume Wins 4
3 Law #3: Clear, Not Clever 8
4 Law #4: It’s Only Clickbait If You Fail To
Keep Your Promise... 11
5 Law #5: When You Find A Structure
That Works, Exploit It 14
6 Law #6: Skimmability = Readability 17
7 Law #7: Your Subheads Should Tell A Story 20
8 Law #8: Practice In Public 23
9 Law #9: Use Engagement Data To De-
cide What To Write Next 26
10 Law #10: You Are Not The Main Char-
acter (The Reader Is) 28
11 Law #11: The Size Of The Question
Dictates The Size Of The... 31
12 Law #12: Specificity Is The Secret 34
13 Law #13: Don’t Compete In Someone
Else’s Category (Create... 37
14 Law #14: Imperfectly Published Is Better
Than Perfect But... 40
15 Law #15: Don’t Focus On Individual
Pieces. Build Your... 43
16 Law #16: Repeat Your “Core Narratives” 46
17 Law #17: The More You Write, The
More You Write 49
18 Law #18: Word Count Is A Poor Measure
Of Value 51
19 Law #19: Writing For “Everyone” Means
Writing For No One 54
20 Law #20: The Golden Intersection Is
Answering The Reader’s... 57
21 Law #21: Optimize For SPEED! 60
22 Law #22: Time Spent Reading Should
Never Exceed Time Spent... 63
Thank You For Reading 65
 Meet Your Captains

What is Ship 30 for 30?

Ahoy!
Ship 30 for 30 is a cohort-based writing program designed
to help you build your daily writing habit, launch your Social
Blog on Typeshare, and start “scaling yourself” online.
To date, Ship 30 for 30 has helped more than 2,000 writers
get started writing online.

Captain #1: Dickie Bush

Ahoy!
My name is Dickie and I am the creator of Ship 30 for 30.
The idea came as a result of my own struggles learning how
to write online. For months, I churned out blog post after blog
post, only to feel like I was spinning my wheels and not getting
anywhere fast. The problem? No one was reading my work,
which meant it was very hard to know whether or not I was
writing about things people were interested in, and even worse,
a blog post a week felt heavy. I would pour all this time into
writing something that nobody even knew existed.
So, after many months of frustration, I decided to change my
approach.
v
 I challenged myself to stop writing weekly blog posts and
start writing daily “atomic essays”—250 words or less. And
instead of publishing them on my own personal website and
blog, I decided to publish them on Twitter—where there were
already 400 million other users, ready to read.
Almost overnight, everything changed.
My perfectionism? Squashed.
My writing speed? 10x faster.
The number of people reading my work? Exponentially
increasing.
In just 30 days, I saw my audience grow by over 500%. I
made my first dollar on the Internet. And I woke up everyone
morning excited to write, publish, and improve.
I was so blown away by my own results, and so aware of how
flawed my original approach to writing online had been, that I
just knew there had to be thousands of other aspiring writers,
thinkers, educators, and creators out there who were facing the
same creative fiction as me.
So, I decided to create a program teaching people exactly
what I had just figured out for myself.
I called it Ship 30 for 30: publish (“ship”) 30 Atomic Essays in
30 days.
To date, the program has grown to more than 2,000 writers,
evolving from a tiny Slack channel with just me and a handful
of aspiring writers to now being one of the largest and fastest-
growing writing communities on the Internet.

vi
Captain #2: Nicolas Cole
Ahoy!
My name is Nicolas Cole (but everyone calls me Cole), and I
am the co-creator of Ship 30 for 30.
As a teenager, way back in the late 2000s, I had one of the
first e-famous gaming blogs on the Internet. I went on to study
fiction writing & literature in college, but when I graduated I
had no idea how I was going to turn my passion for writing
into a career.
From 2014 to 2016, I challenged myself to write one Quora
answer per day, every day, for a year. And in a very short
amount of time, I went from being a college graduate with
a degree in fiction writing and no portfolio to becoming one
of the most-read writers on the entire Internet. My writing on
Quora accumulated tens of millions of views, was republished
in every major publication on the Internet—TIME, Forbes,
Fortune, CNBC, Business Insider, etc.—and eventually, I landed
my own column with Inc Magazine (where I went on to write
400+ columns and become one of their highest-performing
contributors). From there, I went on to build a multimillion-
dollar ghostwriting agency, called Digital Press, and eventually
wrote a book with everything I had learned after spending
nearly a decade writing online: The Art & Business of Online
Writing.
When I first met Dickie and saw what he was building with
Ship 30 for 30, I immediately understood the value.
Writing every single day on Quora changed the entire trajec-
tory of my life.
My own story was a testament to the power of building a daily
writing habit, and I knew that if Dickie and I joined forces, we
vii
would be able to help thousands of writers get started sharing
their stories, insights, and perspectives online.
Combined with Dickie’s incredible idea for a cohort-based
learning experience for writers, I brought in 10+ years of online
writing insight to create a curriculum for anyone looking to get
started.
It had taken me years to learn many of these lessons on my
own.
But in Ship 30 for 30, we can shorten your growth curve
down to just 30 days.
This book is a compressed version of that curriculum.

Join the next cohort!

Ready to start building your daily writing habit?
Join the next cohort of Ship 30 for 30 here: https://www.shi
p30for30.com/

viii
 Introduction

There are two types of writers in the world today.

The first are Analog Writers. These are people who still
believe in the days of Hemingway, Faulkner, Dostoevsky, and
Bukowski (among others). To become a writer, they believe,
you must wear a chapeau, smoke a corn cob pipe, stare out the
window and wait for inspiration to strike. Better yet, you must
detach yourself from the world, find a cabin in the woods (God
forbid it has Internet), and dedicate the next 10 years of your
life to writing the next Great American Novel. And if you die
doing it, even better. You have lived, and suffered, the life of a
true “writer.”
The second are Digital Writers. These are people who, in
the age of the Internet, have realized the inefficiencies that kept
so many talented writers from being heard 30, 40, 50, 100+
years ago. Digital Writers don’t run away from life and seek
refuge in a cabin—they incorporate their writing into their
daily lives. Digital Writers don’t write by themselves (hiding
away in their apartment)—they Practice In Public using social
publishing platforms like Twitter, Quora, Medium, etc. Digital
Writers don’t guess what readers want to read about—they
gather data, learn what works in real time, and iterate on a daily
basis.
We believe there has never been a better time in human
history to be a writer.
ix
As long as you’re a Digital Writer.

x
 1

Law #1: Don’t Start A Blog

All new online writers make the same mistake.

They start a blog.

The rationale tends to go something like this:

• “I own my own website/blog. It’s mine.”

• “I can design it & customize it the way I want to.”
• “I get to write what I want to write about.”

Notice how these are all “I” statements. Having a blog, for the
vast majority of new online writers, is all about them. Their own
“online home.” Their own words, saying what they want to say.
Almost none of the emphasis is on the reader.
As a result, many new online writers go through the same
painful learning process.
They start a blog. They spend hours (or thousands of dollars)
designing it to their liking. Some even get their own logo
created (hurrah!). Only to publish their first post or two and
1
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

have their words fall on deaf ears. Why? Because nobody knows
their blog exists. In order to drive readers, they have to post a
link to their blog on social platforms—and what many of these
new online writers don’t know (yet) is that social platforms
don’t like external links very much. After all, why would
Twitter, Medium, Facebook, or Quora be excited at readers
leaving their party to go attend yours?
As a result, many external links (to websites & blogs) pub-
lished on social platforms get minimal traction.

Instead, you should start a Social Blog.

A Social Blog means writing where readers already are.
Your Twitter profile is, technically, a Social Blog. So is your
Medium page. So are all your answers on Quora. When you
write where readers already are, you aren’t trying to convince
them to leave one (very raging) party and head to another (much
more quiet) one instead. What you’re doing is showing up
(BYOW: Bring Your Own Words) ready to add to the fun. As
a result, it is exponentially easier for readers to discover your
work.
What you gain in legacy blogging (“ownership”) you lose in
reach, accessibility, and distribution. After all, who cares if you
own 100% of your own website & blog if nobody values it?
That said, there is an argument to be made for having your
own website and blog as a place of curating your entire library
of work, or showing off your “best” posts. So, instead of treating
your Twitter or Medium or Quora as a “Social Blog,” you can
use Typeshare.co to create your own Online Home & Social
Blog, while simultaneously connecting it to the distribution
flywheels of Twitter, Medium, and so on.
2
 LAW #1: DON’T START A BLOG

• See and measure how each piece of content performs across

multiple platforms.
• Gather data validating which topics readers are most
interested in.
• Name & Claim your own category by achieving clarity
around your most popular content areas & topics.
• And sort your favorite, most-read, most-engaged, most-
shared essays, stories, Twitter Threads, and articles on your
Social Blog easily for readers.

Social Blogging is the future of Online Writing.

It’s all the benefits of owning your own blog (design customiza-
tion, domain, library of content, etc.)
And all the benefits of writing on social platforms (reach,
distribution, social proof, and real-time data feedback loops).
Merged together.

3
 2

Law #2: Volume Wins

In the world of digital writing, volume wins.

We now live in an algorithmic culture. Online, you don’t see
the things you want to see—you see the things the algorithm
thinks you want to see. How does the algorithm know?
Because every time you engage with a piece of content, it learns
your preferences and continues to show you relevant, new,
up-and-to-the-right trending content that aligns with those
preferences.
Which means, in order to get people’s attention, you have
two strategies:

• Drive traffic to one asset (one article, one book, one product,
etc.).
• Drive traffic by creating many assets (many articles, many
books, many products, etc.).

4
 LAW #2: VOLUME WINS

The more content you produce, the more times you

get to “play the game.”
Think of the Internet as one big wheel of fortune.
Every time you create a piece of content (whether it’s an
Atomic Essay, a YouTube video, a TikTok, etc.), you are spinning
the Internet’s big wheel of fortune. Sometimes, you spin the
wheel and your content goes viral. A million views! Yay! Other
times, you spin the wheel, and it goes nowhere. 20 views? What
the hell?
Most people do not think about writing in this context.
Instead, they think about writing through the lens of Ernest
Hemingway: you retreat into a cabin for a (long) period of time,
write your masterpiece, and then release your (one) masterpiece
into the world and await critical acclaim.
The Internet laughs at this approach.
On the Internet, one single asset is about as meaningful as a
grain of sand on the coast of California. It is so small. Border-
line insignificant. And the only way it becomes significant is
if, as we said, one of two things happen: you drive significant
traffic to that one asset, which the Internet’s wheel of fortune
determines to be “the winning asset,” or you create many assets
and, over time, more and more people become introduced to
your work, your point of view of the world, your style, and
finally, this one asset within your library of many.

5
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Writers seem to forget even the best-sellers created

in volume.
• Malcolm Gladwell spent 10 years writing for middle-tier
magazines, and then another 4 years as a staff writer for The
New Yorker, before authoring his first “overnight success”
grand-slam bestseller, The Tipping Point.
• Mark Manson spent more than a decade writing obscenity
drenched blog posts on his personal website before taking
his most popular post (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck)
and expanding that proven article into a bright orange book
that now populates most airport bookstores in the United
States.
• James Patterson is the best-selling thriller novelist in
history, not because he is the msot talented writer, but
because he has produced more than 200 novels.
• Benjamin Hardy, the #1 most-read writer on Medium,
wrote hundreds and hundreds of articles on the site. Was
his content good? Yes. But his output was prolific.
• And as many people know, my own story is no different.
In 2015, I became the #1 most-read writer on all of Quora
by following one simple rule: write and publish one Quora
answer per day, every day, for a year.

This idea that popular writers appear out of nowhere is a lie.

The notion that “the winning strategy” is for someone to write
and publish their first book and hope it magically becomes a
best-seller is flawed.
This isn’t how it works. And in the extremely rare cases when
it does, one of two things is at play. Either the writer actually
spent years practicing under a different name, or in a different
6
 LAW #2: VOLUME WINS

context, somewhere else ( John Grisham was a lawyer for 20

years before he became the world’s best-selling legal thriller
writer), or they won the lottery.

A more reliable strategy is to produce a ton of work.

If you want to know the strategy most likely to succeed, least
likely to fail, and with the highest potential upside with the least
downside and disappointment, it’s this.
Write and publish a lot.
A lot, a lot, a lot. More than a lot. So much you don’t even
think about counting it anymore. I have written so many
articles on the Internet, I don’t even know the sum total number.
I also don’t care. I consider it all practice. I think of my master
library as one big giant advertising flywheel that just keeps
introducing more and more readers to my work.
And because I keep writing, and keep feeding the algorithm
new content, digital platforms stay hard at work serving my
words to readers interested in the topics which I write about
most often.
Which is probably how you came across this essay.

7
 3

Law #3: Clear, Not Clever

“Laughing All The Way To The Bank”

Imagine you came across this title in your newsfeed.
It could be an article. It could be the beginning of a Twitter
Thread. It could be a long-form blog post. It could be a news
update. It could even be the title of a book, a product, or
YouTube video. Before you click, somewhere deep inside your
mind, you (as the reader) are asking yourself one very specific
question:
“What is this about?”
Unfortunately, nothing presents itself as a suitable, rapid-fire
answer. “I’m not sure,” your inner dialogue whispers. And
before you can even register the decision, you’re already onto
the next headline—asking yourself the same question, again
and again.
Now, read this:

8
 LAW #3: CLEAR, NOT CLEVER

“Laughing All The Way To The Bank: How 2 Savvy

Internet Entrepreneurs Turned Their Stupid Idea
Into A Multimillion Dollar eCommerce Business.”
WOAH!
The first headline was clever. Laughing all the way to the bank.
That’s a phrase that has been popularized in modern society.
“That’s something that will make people laugh,” the first author
says to themselves. “That’s clever,” which they think means
people will pay attention.
The second headline is clear. In fact, the first part of the
headline, “Laughing all the way to the bank,” isn’t even the most
important part. The reader’s eyes skim right over it. The author
could delete it and it wouldn’t make a difference. But it’s the
second part, “How 2 Savvy Internet Entrepreneurs Turned
Their Stupid Idea Into A Multmillion Dollar eCommerce
Business” that says it all.
• Here’s what this piece is about (turning stupid ideas into
millions of dollars)
• Here’s who this piece is for (anyone interested in en-
trepreneurship)
• And here’s what the reader gets in exchange for reading
(you can learn how to turn stupid ideas into millions of dollars
too)

Writers who try to be clever, fail.

They think they are being cheeky.
In reality, they are executing a cheap gimmick—like an
outdated, unprofitable, small town magic shop.
Meanwhile, it’s the writers who aim to be clear who end up
9
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

getting the reader’s attention.

10
 4

Law #4: It’s Only Clickbait If You Fail

To Keep Your Promise To The Reader

“I don’t want to write clickbait.”

When new writers are introduced to headline structures, for-
mats, and styles that effectively capture the reader’s attention,
many will clench their fists and say they don’t want to write
that way. They don’t want to their headline to sound like a
Buzzfeed article. They don’t want to “pick a side.”
As a result, the promise they make to their reader in the
headline comes across as weak.

This strategy is more about hedging your risk

opposed to “swinging for the fences.”
And that’s a mistake.
The best headlines on the internet are polarizing by design.
Some are more polarizing, more political, more outlandish
than others. But even simple, non-controversial headlines can
be polarizing in a way that exclusively speaks to one group of
people and ignores everyone else. Again, new digital writers
11
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

don’t like to do this. They like to “write something everyone will

like.” But the best digital writers know this is a losing strategy.
When you write something for everyone, you write some-
thing for no one.

Instead, you want to make a strong promise to the

reader in your headline.
“How To Ask A Girl On A Date” is a clear headline, but it’s weak.
Who cares?
“3 Proven Phrases That Will Get Any Girl To Go Out With
You” is strong. That’s a big promise!
Nothing about that first headline is visceral. It says what it
needs to say, and that’s it. But chances are, you read that second
headline and felt it in your body. You either got excited, or you
got really upset and started yelling at the computer. Either of
those reactions is a win. It means the language is striking a
nerve.
Here’s the big secret:

It’s only clickbait if you don’t keep the promise in

the headline.
“These 5 Sales Scripts Will Make You A Millionaire In A Year.”
The average person sees a headline like this and thinks, “Oh,
that’s stupid clickbait.” But if the content lives up to that
promise, if the essay or article or book gives you 5 insanely
valuable sales scripts, walkthrough examples, testimonials from
people who have used these (and made millions of dollars), and
other actionable frameworks that immediately have an impact
on your life, guess what? You don’t think of that headline
12
 LAW #4: IT’S ONLY CLICKBAIT IF YOU FAIL TO KEEP YOUR PROMISE...

as clickbait anymore. In fact, you’ve stopped thinking about

the headline altogether. You’re too busy sharing it with your
friends.
A headline is only clickbait if the content fails to deliver on
the promise.
Because if you deliver on the promise, the reader doesn’t
think, “Hey! You tricked me!”
The reader thinks, “Wow, this was so incredibly valuable. I’m
so glad I clicked on this.”

13
 5

Law #5: When You Find A Structure

That Works, Exploit It

Writing online is a game.

The game goes like this:

• Write 10 things
• See which 1-2 perform the best
• Take the structure/tone/topic from those 1-2 and write 10
more new things (variations)
• See which 1-2 perform the best
• Repeat forever

If you study any writer or creator online who has grown quickly
over a short period of time, this is what they did. They created a
bunch of stuff. They studied which pieces of content performed
the best. Then they cut their losers and doubled-down on their
winners, over and over again.

14
 LAW #5: WHEN YOU FIND A STRUCTURE THAT WORKS, EXPLOIT IT

For example: The 101 Structure

Let’s say you wrote an essay, an article, a Social Blog post, or
a Twitter thread titled: “Freelance Writing 101.” And out of
everything you’ve written over the past 30, 60, 90+ days, that
piece outperformed everything else by a factor of ten.
Newer digital writers and creators will look at a breakout hit
like this in their library and think, “Wow, that’s cool.” And then
that’s it. They’ll stare at their dashboard, they’ll feel proud for a
few days, and then they’ll move on and think nothing of it.
This is wrong.
When you see something in your library catching fire, you
should stop everything you’re doing and think deeply about
why this specific piece is performing so well. What’s it saying?
What structure did you use? What’s the tone? Why do you
think it’s resonating with so many people?
Most importantly: how can you do it again?

When you find a structure that works, exploit it.

After some reflecting, you might come to the conclusion, “I
think a lot of people enjoyed this piece because it was a 101
introduction and very easy to understand.”
OK, great.
What other topics can you do 101 introductions on?

• Sales Copywriting 101

• Editing 101
• Formatting 101
• Word Choice 101
• Book Marketing 101
15
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

When you find something that works, do it again.

And again. And again. And again.
Exploit it to the point where you feel like you’ve exhausted
every possible option, every alternative, every variation. Be-
cause clearly readers enjoyed something about the first piece.
So why not give them more of what they want, just a little bit
different?
Writing online is all about increasing your batting average.
And the best way to do that is by doubling-down on your
winners.

16
 6

Law #6: Skimmability = Readability

Digital readers don’t read linearly.

They skim.
They decide whether or not this piece is for them. They
make a snap judgement as to whether or not it’ll be worth their
time. They scroll around looking for a section that grabs their
attention, speaks to their interests. And then, and only then, do
they start reading.

Analog Writers don’t write for these digital readers.

Which is why so many struggle to gain traction on the Internet.

Analog Writers like to believe that readers sit down with a
nice cup of coffee and, starting with the first word, make their
way linearly through their piece. They like to believe they are
the most important thing in the whole wide world to each and
every reader, and worst of all, that they are owed a reader’s
attention.
But when was the last time you gave a dense piece of writing
your undivided attention?
17
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Maybe there’s one or two writers on the planet you care

enough about to read their writing straight through, linearly.
But for everyone else, you are most likely bouncing around,
scrolling, making snap judgements about where to direct your
attention and spend the next 30 seconds of your life.

Digital Writers know they have to earn each and every

reader’s attention.
Which is why Digital Writers use subheads, section dividers,
bullets, and lists.
Digital Writers know if they don’t make it easy for readers to
find what they’re looking for, or something that catches their
eye and is compelling, they’re gone. The reader is right back to
watching cat videos on YouTube or fast-paced cooking recipes
on TikTok.
They are writing with their audience in mind.

On the Internet, if your writing is not skimmable, it’s not

readable.
Period. End of story.
Writers who don’t believe this is the case are egotistical. They
think they’re the center of the universe, and (whether they
realize it or not) write with the assumption that they don’t
have to cater to readers. They don’t have to help them find an
entry-point into their writing. Readers will just show up, start
reading, and stick around until the piece is done.
Instead, you want to put the reader’s wants, needs, and best
interests at the forefront of your writing.
How can you make it easy for them to understand what you’re
18
 LAW #6: SKIMMABILITY = READABILITY

writing about as quickly as possible? How can you help their

eyes notice “the good part?” How can you help them get the
maximum amount of value in the shortest amount of time?

The more skimmable your writing, the more likely

readers are to actually give you their attention and read.

But if your writing isn’t skimmable, good luck.

Remember: TikTok is just a swipe away.

19
 7

Law #7: Your Subheads Should Tell A

Story

The easiest way to make your writing more skimmable is to

organize and separate your ideas with subheads.
Subheads are big, bolded sentences or section titles that
subtly tell the reader where one idea starts and the next idea
ends. Subheads are also what the reader’s eye gravitates
to first—because subheads are usually larger font and bold,
indicating emphasis.

This is a subhead.
And chances are, you “skimmed” this subhead before you even
read anything else here. This the first step to making your
writing more skimmable.
But the next step is to have your subheads tell a story.
If you are writing a list, for example, each subhead should
be the main point of whatever it is you are “listing.” If you are
writing an essay titled, “5 Proven Strategies For Overcoming
Procrastination,” then your 5 subheads should be each of the “5
20
 LAW #7: YOUR SUBHEADS SHOULD TELL A STORY

proven strategies.”
Why?

1. It makes the piece more organized. And once you list

out what the 5 proven strategies are, the piece sort of writes
itself. You know what 5 things you want to say—now you
just have to color in the lines.
2. It makes the most valuable content immediately
accessible to the reader. The promise you are making in
the headline is: “5 Proven Strategies.” Which means when
a reader clicks on your piece, they are signing up for an
answer to that promise. They are there for the “5 Proven
Strategies.” So, give them the 5 Proven Strategies, right
away, in bold. If they skim the 5 Proven Strategies (the 5
subheads) and find them valuable, they will read the entire
piece start to finish. And if they don’t find them valuable,
they will click away and move on with their day. Either
way, you are saving them time—and they appreciate you
for it.

The other way for your subheads to tell a story is to

separate core ideas.
Don’t think of subheads as “clever, creative” section titles.
Think of them as powerful sentences.
Whenever you want to move into a new idea, make the
opening sentence a subhead. Whenever you want to move
out of giving actionable advice and into telling a personal
story, make the transition sentence a subhead. Use big, bolded
sentences (like the one above) to tell the reader, “We are
exiting one highway and about to head in a different direction.”
21
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Again, this makes it easy for readers to follow your line of

thinking—and gives you clarity on where you are taking the
reader next and why.

The best Digital Writers use subheads religiously in

their writing.
Because they know digital readers skim first, and read second.

22
 8

Law #8: Practice In Public

Analog Writers love practicing in hiding.

There is this belief in the “old” world of writing and publish-
ing that in order to produce your best work, you must be alone.
You must have peace and quiet. You must sit in your room, let
your imagination marinate in the moonlight, and if you are able
to connect to the magic of The Word Gods for long enough,
then maybe, just maybe, you will write something brilliant.
(If you want to know why so many Analog Writers become
alcoholics, this is why.)

Digital Writers, on the other hand, don’t believe in such

wizardry.

Their writing process is far more practical—for better or worse.

Digital Writers understand that they have no idea what their
“best” work is or isn’t. That’s for their readers to decide. And
Digital Writers know they will learn what’s resonating (and
what’s not) exponentially faster if they let their readers in on
the process with them.
23
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

As a result, they:

• Never experience writer’s block

• Never run out of ideas
• Never have to “put all their eggs in one basket”
• Never go crazy wondering what’s worth writing, next

These are just a few of the benefits of Practicing In

Public.
For Analog Writers, a typical feedback loop is anywhere from a
few months to a few years.
For Digital Writers, feedback loops can be as short as a few
minutes.
The beauty of writing online, Social Blogging, and practicing
in public is the amount of friction it removes. No longer do
you have to sit in your room, alone, and wonder whether you
are working on a masterpiece or a giant pile of garbage. No
more do you have to come up with ideas all on your own. When
you practice in public, when you write on social platforms and
share pieces and snippets of your unrefined ideas, the writing
process transforms from being one of solitary confinement into
a collaborative effort between you and the readers you claim to
want to serve most.

24
 LAW #8: PRACTICE IN PUBLIC

Unfortunately, Analog Writers have a hard time making

the switch.
After all: it’s much easier to hide away in your room, declaring
yourself a genius.
Practicing in public is scary because it means facing the
harshest reality you can face as a writer: “Do people care about
what I’m writing? Am I any good?”
But facing this reality is also where all the growth is.
The sooner you confront what’s not working, the faster you’ll
learn what does.

25
 9

Law #9: Use Engagement Data To

Decide What To Write Next

Your number one goal as a Digital Writer is to build a publishing

flywheel.
A flywheel is a mechanism that generates more tomorrow
than it did yesterday. Every time you hit publish on the Internet,
you are creating a data point. The more you publish, the more
readers you engage, the more data points you generate. The
more data points you generate, the easier it becomes to spot
overarching patterns. And the more patterns you notice, the
more you will know what’s worth writing before you write it.
All you have to do is follow the data.

Data points can be:

• Out of 10 essays, which one got the most likes?

• Out of 10 essays, which one got the most comments?
• Out of 10 essays, which one got the most views?
• Out of 10 essays, which one got the most shares?
• Out of 10 essays, which topic performed the best?
26
 LAW #9: USE ENGAGEMENT DATA TO DECIDE WHAT TO WRITE NEXT

Writers who are new to publishing online tend to think the

entire purpose of “digital writing” is to build an audience or
expand your reach. And yes, that’s certainly true. But the real
benefit of writing and publishing online is the data flywheel you
can create for yourself. Everything you publish is a feedback
signal revealing what’s worth writing next. Which means, if you
pay close attention and continue to double-down on “what’s
working,” your success as a writer is no longer an “if.”
It’s a “when.”

The more ideas you share, the more new ideas you’ll
have.
The hardest part of the digital writing journey is Day 1. Because
at the very beginning, you have no library, no flywheel, no data
telling you what’s resonating with readers and what’s falling
flat.
But every time you hit publish, every essay, article, or Twitter
thread you write online, you are creating a new data point. You
are building your library. Most importantly, you are spinning
your flywheel.
The more you write, the more data points you gather, the
faster your flywheel spins, the more apparent it becomes what
you should write next.
Said differently: the more you write, the more you write.

27
 10

Law #10: You Are Not The Main

Character (The Reader Is)

Here is a summary of a writer’s journey:

• Beginner writers think they are the main character of

the story. It’s all about them. They’re the writer, they’re
the one in the spotlight, and everything they have to say is
important. Readers should feel lucky to be in the presence
of such greatness.
• Advanced writers learn it’s really about the reader.
After several months or years (or decades) of falling on deaf
earns, these writers come to the realization that in order to
be successful, they need to speak to the wants and needs of
the reader. But to compensate for their years of selfishness,
they usually end up over-tilting in this new direction.
• Expert writers master the art of doing both. These
writers have internalized the fact that the reader is the
main character of the story (not them), and learn how to
use personal stories, perspectives, and insights in service of
the wants and needs of the reader. The mastery they have
28
 LAW #10: YOU ARE NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER (THE READER IS)

over their craft is seen in their ability to balance these two

opposing forces: what the writer wants to write about, and
what the reader wants to read about.

In order to become a successful writer, you must put the

reader first.
You are not the main character.
Imagine you are at a dinner party, and someone corners you
by the table of shrimp appetizers. For ten minutes they go on
and on about themselves, how they built a real estate empire,
have rental properties all across California’s coastline, and how
it took them three decades to crawl out of debt and build one
of the most successful real estate firms in history.
Well, that’s all fine and great, but to you (the listener) you
don’t really care.
Because as fascinating as their story is, it’s all about them.
You are irrelevant.

However, your interest in the conversation changes

dramatically when you become focal point of the story.

Now imagine this same person had started by asking a bit about
you.
What do you enjoy? What are you working on these days?
What are your goals, dreams, and aspirations in life?
You share that you are in the process of buying your first
rental property—to which this real estate mogul says, “Ah, I
remember buying my first rental property. I was 26 years old,
broke as could be, trying to learn everything I could about real
estate while working a full-time job as a cashier at a grocery
29
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

store. Can I tell you some of the mistakes I made to help you
be more successful with your first rental property than I was
with mine?”
WOAH!

Now, the person talking isn’t the main character. You are.

Everything being shared is in service of your own interests.

And yet, the storyteller, narrator, and author is still part of it.
They can still tell you personal stories and meaningful details
from their own experiences. But you find these stories valuable
because you can see how they connect to your story as well.

30
 11

Law #11: The Size Of The Question

Dictates The Size Of The Audience

Here’s how most writers begin:

They sit down. They think, “Hmmm, what should I write
about today?” They brainstorm a few ideas. They pick one.
Dig in. Write. Edit. Publish. And then, after they’ve done the
hard work of assembling a piece of writing, they ask themselves,
“Now how do I get this in front of a million readers?”
There’s just one problem:
A million readers might not be interested in the topic you
just chose to write about.

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 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

The size of the question dictates the size of the

audience.
Everything you write is answering a question for the reader.

• If you are writing about real estate, what question are you
answering? How to buy your first rental property? How to
finance a condo? How to remodel a duplex?
• If you are writing about finance, what question are you
answering? The secret to making money on the Internet?
The best strategy for picking stocks? The reason Bitcoin is
a terrific long-term store of value?
• Even if you are writing a fiction story, what question are
you answering? What’s it like to fall in love with a werewolf?
How do you rob a heavily guarded bank? Who-killed-who
in the library with the candlestick?

Every single piece of writing on planet earth is, in some way or

another, answering a question.
Which means if your writing answers a super niche, teeny-
tiny, hyper-specific question, then your writing is only going
to be read by a super niche, teeny-tiny, hyper-specific audience.
Conversely, if your writing answers a universal, widely accessi-
ble, highly relatable question, your writing is going to be read
by a universal audience.

32
 LAW #11: THE SIZE OF THE QUESTION DICTATES THE SIZE OF THE...

If you want to reach more readers, go broad. If you

want to engage more readers, go niche.
There’s a reason the vast majority of nonfiction books that
reach the New York Times best-seller list are about universal
topics: health, wealth, happiness, love, etc.
There’s a reason why the articles, essays, and Twitter threads
that go viral tend to give “life advice” and not “biotech engineer-
ing advice.”
Big, broad questions have the highest likelihood to reach the
most people. Why? Because everyone can relate to questions
like, “How can I live a happy life?” or “How can I make more
money?” But not very many people can relate to questions like,
“How do I plant tomatoes in my backyard?” or “What’s the root
cause of my fear of spiders?”
Small questions attract smaller audiences (but are more
potent, more specific, and tend to yield higher engagement).
Big questions attract bigger audiences (but are less potent,
less specific, and tend to yield less loyalty and long-term
engagement).

So the next time you sit down to write, start with

the end in mind.
What question are you answering?
And is the size of the question going to attract the size of the
audience you desire?

33
 12

Law #12: Specificity Is The Secret

Originality is overrated.
The advice to “be original” is just a different way of saying “be
authentic,” which are both vague ways of saying “be yourself,”
which is akin to giving the guidance of breathing. “Just breathe,”
says an inspirational quote on Instagram, somewhere.
This advice is meaningless.

When writers give this advice, they don’t actually

know what they’re saying.
They’re just waving their arms around in the air, hoping to get
your attention.
Instead of thinking “How can I be original?” or “How can be
authentic?” it’s much more productive to ask, “How can I be more
specific?” Specificity means having a deeper understanding of
what the reader really wants. Specificity means being explicit
about why you’re saying what you’re saying—and what outcome
can or should be generated as a result.

34
 LAW #12: SPECIFICITY IS THE SECRET

Specificity is clarity, and clarity is all that matters.

For example:
• “You should write every day” is vague advice. More
specificity here would be, “When you write every day, you
are actively practicing the habit of keeping promises to
yourself. The more promises you keep, the more trust you
build, the more consistent you become, the more prolific
you get.”
• “Confidence is about being happy” is vague advice.
More specificity here would be, “Confidence is about
accepting all the things within yourself that make you feel
uncomfortable—because as you become comfortable stand-
ing in what makes you different, you become comfortable
with ‘not fitting in.’ And in our society, we perceive people
who are OK with ‘not fitting in’ as confident.”
• “Relationships take work” is vague advice. More
specificity here would be, “Lasting relationships require
both parties to give up many of their own selfish wants
and needs for the good of the unit—while simultaneously
making their own selfish wants and needs known so they
feel heard, understood, appreciated, and accepted in that
letting-go process.”

35
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Stop trying to be original. Start trying to be more

specific.
Too often, writers obsess with being “the first” or “the only one.”
In reality, having a 100% completely original idea requires a
lifetime of work aimed in a *specific* direction. The original
idea is the end-end-result of being more specific, and more
specific, and more specific—to the point where your under-
standing of the topic/problem/solution/story is so incredibly
fine-tuned, it’s “different.”
So, how do you get there?
Not by “being authentic” or “being yourself.”
But by being specific.

36
 13

Law #13: Don’t Compete In Someone

Else’s Category (Create Your Own)

From an early age, writers are taught to want to write like

someone else.

• “Who do you like to read?”

• “Whose writing do you enjoy the most?”
• “Who do you look up to as a writer?”

Of course, we all have idols and people who inspire us. But the
problem with these questions is they train the mind to think the
secret to becoming successful is to do what others before you have
done. If you want to be the next Hemingway, learn to write like
Hemingway. If you want to be the next Faulkner, learn to write
like Faulkner. If you want to be the next Malcolm Gladwell,
learn to write like Malcolm Gladwell.
There’s just one problem:

37
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

No legendary writer becomes legendary by trying to

write like someone else.
Hemingway was a polarizing writer. You either loved his
minimalist, terse style, or you hated it.
Faulkner was a polarizing writer. You either loved his overly
descriptive run-on sentences or made it your life’s mission to
warn others about the boredom of reading Faulkner.
Gladwell was, and still is, a polarizing writer. You either love
his “pop science” stories or you pound your fists on the dinner
table shouting, “Correlation does not imply causation!”
The writers who become known in the world do not write
like someone else before them.

Instead, legendary writers become known for a

niche they own.
The writing world teaches writers that the way you succeed is
you look at another writer, someone you admire, and then ask
yourself, “How do I write something betterthan them?”
But this is a misleading question.
It trains the mind into believing that what readers care about
is how you assemble words on the page in comparison to
someone else. But that’s not how readers decide who to read.
For example, there are a lot of writers who are “better” than
J.K. Rowling. Do you know their names? Of course not. J.K.
Rowling is known for a niche she owns: teenage wizardry.
Your goal is not to pick another writer out in the world and
then ask, “How can I do what they do, but better?” That’s a
proven path to becoming Pepsi (the next-best alternative to
Coke).
38
 LAW #13: DON’T COMPETE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CATEGORY (CREATE...

Instead, your goal is to write something DIFFERENT. Some-

thing that hasn’t been written (or written in that way) yet.
You want to move yourself out of a comparison conversa-
tion—“Should I read this mystery writer or that mystery
writer?”—and force the reader to make a choice: “Should I
read horror mystery, or comedy mystery?”
Your goal is to become known for a niche you own.

39
 14

Law #14: Imperfectly Published Is

Better Than Perfect But Unpublished

In the digital world, visibility trumps ability.

Legacy, Analog Writers can’t stand this. It drives them crazy.
They kick their feet and scream and shout (all by themselves in
their cabin, somewhere in the woods), “That writer isn’t even
good! How can the world read that garbage!” Meanwhile, days,
months, years go by and they share nothing at all. They would
rather not-publish in pursuit of perfection than hit “publish.”
But 99% of the time, this is a defense mechanism.
It’s not perfection they’re in search of—it’s an avoidance of
having to confront, out in the world, whether they’re as talented
as they think they are.

Digital Writers don’t take themselves this seriously.

They might be perfectionists too, but they’ve learned nothing
good comes from hiding away.
All it does is make the perfectionism worse.
Instead, they approach the writing process with radical
40
 LAW #14: IMPERFECTLY PUBLISHED IS BETTER THAN PERFECT BUT...

generosity. They want readers to know they’re figuring things

out as they go, just like everyone else. They want to gather
feedback, and understand that they’re not the smartest person
in the room (and would benefit from incorporating other
people’s ideas into their work as well). Most of all, they know
how the Internet works: it doesn’t matter how “perfect” the
work is. The Internet rewards consistency. The Internet
rewards people who build audiences. The Internet rewards
writers who produce something small once per day more than
writers who produce something large once every five years.
Digital Writers have an end goal in mind, but generously
share their work along the way.

Imperfectly Published is better than Perfectly

Unpublished.
The literary world hates on writers like E.L James (Fifty Shades
of Grey).
Or writers like Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).
But guess what?
Whether you like those writers or not is irrelevant. Whether
you think their work is any good doesn’t matter. They hit
publish. The world voted (with their attention and with their
dollars). And they sold millions of copies (and made millions
of dollars).
Anytime you find yourself pointing at another writer saying,
“They aren’t even that talented,” pause and ask yourself whether
you are writing and publishing as often as they are. If you’re
not, you’re just another Analog Writer hiding in a log cabin
trying to convince yourself you’re a genius without ever having
to confront whether that’s true or not out in the world.
41
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

In the digital world, visibility trumps ability.

And talent comes second to consistency.

42
 15

Law #15: Don’t Focus On Individual

Pieces. Build Your Library

There are two types of content on the Internet:

Timely and Timeless.

Timely content is all about capitalizing on the

moment.
Something just happened in the news. A new company just
went public. A big movie is about to hit theaters. Elon Musk
just Tweeted a meme and it’s going viral.
Writers who want to go viral are obsessed with chasing
“timely” content opportunities. They look for trending topics,
they ride the wave of popular for a day, and then they wake up
the next day and do it all over again. And in the short term, this
looks like a terrific strategy. You see them racking up views
left and right—because they are attaching themselves to the
conversation of the moment.
The problem is: it’s exhausting.
And very few “timely writers” can stay on the hamster wheel
43
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

longer than a few years.

Timeless content is about remaining relevant long

into the future.
While timely writers chase fireworks, timeless writers build
constellations.
Timeless content doesn’t always go viral in the moment. But
it maintains its value much, much longer into the future. While
a timely response piece to a celebrity saying something stupid
at The Met Gala might get 100,000 views in a day, a timeless
piece about the impact celebrity has had on American culture
might get 10,000 views per year, every year, for the next 20
years.
Everyone thinks they want the former, but the more desirable
outcome is the latter.

When your focus is on writing “hits,” you are forever

chasing short-term popularity.
You want attention now.
The problem, however, is that attention now has a cost. And
the cost is two-fold: first, it trains your brain to become
obsessed with clicks and views over substance and building
relationships with your readers, and second, it deprives you of
ever experiencing the benefits of compounding in your writing.
Timeless content lasts a lifetime. Which means you aren’t just
capturing attention now, but you are increasing the likelihood
of capturing attention in the future as well. The more you write,
the larger your library grows, the wider your web stretches on
the Internet, the easier it becomes to attract the readers you
44
 LAW #15: DON’T FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL PIECES. BUILD YOUR...

desire. Until eventually, your timeless library of content grows

so large that the moment a reader steps into your domain, it’s
impossible for them to not see your work and fall down your
rabbit hole.

Don’t focus on the performance of any individual

piece.
It doesn’t matter.
Your measure for success should be how many timeless pieces
you are able to add to your library each week, month, year.
Who cares if any of your pieces “go viral?”
A much better metric is how many readers your entire library
attracts each year, year after year.

45
 16

Law #16: Repeat Your “Core

Narratives”

The secret to becoming a successful writer is to become known

for a niche you own.
However, what helps make your “niche” stick are core
narratives the reader can hold onto. Think of these as definitive
characteristics that give the reader language to use when talking
about who you are and what you write about to other people.
After all, the best form of marketing is, and will always be, word-
of-mouth marketing.

Core Narratives are signature stories that add

credibility to your category.
For example, say you are writing about cryptocurrencies.
A few Core Narratives you might want to share about yourself
would be:

• “I used to work as a bank teller. One day, this 40-year-

old man came in and wanted to withdraw his entire life’s
46
 LAW #16: REPEAT YOUR “CORE NARRATIVES”

savings: $125,000. When I asked him why, he said, ‘To

buy Bitcoin.’ That day changed my life, and is how I got
introduced to cryptocurrencies.”
• “In 2008, I watched my family lose everything in the
mortgage crisis. My mom was a real estate agent in Detroit
at the time, and I saw how unfair the system was to hard-
working people like her. I’ve been fascinated by economics
since.”
• “After I quit my job as a bank teller, I poured everything
I had into Bitcoin in 2014. A few years later, I was a
multimillionaire and had bought my mom a house. My
life’s goal now is to educate the world on Bitcoin, and one
day buy the Detroit Red Wings hockey team.”

The nuance here is: these stories aren’t just “stories for the sake
of telling stories.” You can see how they add credibility, context,
and descriptive characteristics to the writer.
In turn, these stories give you (the reader) language to
introduce your friends and family members to this writer—who
you now feel like you know and love. “You have to read his
work! He used to work as a bank teller, quit his job, went all
in on Bitcoin, became a multimillionaire, and then bought his
mom a house—the same house their family lost in the 2008
mortgage crisis. Insane!”

Most people think they have no Core Narratives.

But they do. You do. Everyone does.
Your Core Narratives are just 3-5 relevant stories/details that
reinforce WHY you are writing whatever it is you’re writing
about. Do you like to write about health and wellness? Then
47
 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

one of your Core Narratives might be about how you went

years undiagnosed with Celiac Disease. Or maybe you like to
write about meditation and mindfulness? One of your Core
Narratives might be that your introduction to meditation was
through a college professor who gave you a book that changed
your life.
Your Core Narratives don’t have to be outlandish or overly
revealing (you don’t have to air out your dirty laundry). They
just have to be personal, descriptive, and give the reader
something to hold onto. Why does this topic matter so much to
you? Why are you taking the time to write about it? How did
this information change your life—and how might it change
the reader’s life too?

Then, once you have your 3-5 Core Narratives,

repeat them.
Write about them over and over again.
Don’t just say, “I went years undiagnosed with Celiac Disease”
once. Say it 1,000 times across 1,000 different pieces.
The more you repeat your Core Narratives, the more they will
stick with readers, the more these details will come to represent
you “at scale,” the more likely people are to talk about you and
your work to their friends.
Core Narratives are what you remember about your favorite
writers.
So, create your own—and that’s what people will remember
about you.

48
 17

Law #17: The More You Write, The

More You Write

We have a saying in Ship 30 for 30:

“The more you write, the more you writing.”

Digital writing is a game of compounding effort.

The more you write, the bigger your library gets. The bigger
your library gets, the more data you gather about what readers
are most interested in reading. The more data you gather, the
easier it is to spot overarching patterns and figure out what’s
resonating (and what’s not). The easier it becomes to figure
out what’s resonating, the more likely you are to write things
people want to read more often. The more you write things
people want to read, the more of your content people share and
the bigger your audience becomes. The bigger your audience,
the easier it is for the next thing you write to gain traction.
And on and on your flywheel spins.

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 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Which is why the hardest part of the entire digital

writing journey is the very beginning.
In the beginning, you have no content in your library.
Which means you have zero momentum.
This is why so many writers stay stuck “thinking” about what
they’re going to write. “Thinking” about all the ideas they have.
“Thinking” about how great of a writer they are (or one-day-will-
be). Unfortunately, they mistake “thinking” as momentum in
itself, and it’s not. It’s wasted energy. It’s mental masturbation.
It’s not until you hit publish and begin to build your library
of work online that your flywheel begins to spin. Because as
soon as you hit publish, now your work is searchable. Now,
you exist.
People can find you.

The more you write, the more you write.

And the more you publish, the easier it gets.

50
 18

Law #18: Word Count Is A Poor

Measure Of Value

The biggest mistake writers make is measuring their value by

word count.

• Authors do this. “My publisher says I need to write 65,000

words.”
• Freelance writers do this. “I charge 25 cents per word.”
• Content writers do this. “500 words on this subject? You
got it.”
• Columnists do this. “The article has to be 1,200 words!”

The problem is, word count is a poor measure of value.

And here’s proof:
“Giant elephants are the ones who swim but really did anyone
think differently about the fact keys unlock what Florida never knew
we could and so that’s the real reason we all decide to be the ones to
drive ourselves mad Galapagos Islands!”
There’s a bunch of words.
Are any of them valuable?
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 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Word count is irrelevant if what you are saying isn’t

valuable.
Legendary writers don’t care if they write 500 words or 50
words or 5 words.
The only thing they care about is saying what needs to be
said.
(And if it takes 500 words to say it, then fine. But if it can
be said in 5 words instead, why not save the reader the trouble
and just get to the point?)
There’s a famous quote in the writing world (although no
one really knows who to attribute the quote to—Mark Twain?
Benjamin Franklin? Winston Churchill?) that says: “If I had
more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.”

Great writing isn’t long, it’s short.

It’s concise.
It says what it needs to say and then it moves on.
Any writer who measures his or her value by how many
more words are placed on the page isn’t actually in the business
of getting to the point. Instead, they’re competing for The
Guinness Book Of World Records’ award for who can talk the
longest. Their measure for success is making the reader slog
through more than they have to, not less.
You do not want to be this type of writer.

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 LAW #18: WORD COUNT IS A POOR MEASURE OF VALUE

Instead, measure your success by the degree of new

& different thinking you provide readers.
How much new information can you reveal to the reader in the
shortest amount of time possible?
How do they see the world right now, and how differently
will they see the world after they’ve read what you’ve read?
(Remember, the entire Declaration of Independence is only
1,320 words, and that is the manifesto for America.)
How many words it takes you to provide new & different
thinking is, at best, an interesting tidbit of information at the
end of the project. But the same way no one would set out to
buy and house and tell the contractor, “You must only use 500
beams of lumber,” don’t be a writer who sets out to write “500
words.”
Be the writer who is determined to provide readers with new
and different ways of thinking.
That is your true value.

53
 19

Law #19: Writing For “Everyone”

Means Writing For No One

“We tell human stories for people who want to connect with
each other.”
Who is this for? Who is the target reader?
The fact you can’t tell is the problem. The fact that it could be
for “anyone” reveals how it’s actually for no one. And yet, the
vast majority of writers, publishers, and even some of the most
successful companies on the planet make this mistake time and
time again their messaging.
Conversely, who is this for?

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 LAW #19: WRITING FOR “EVERYONE” MEANS WRITING FOR NO ONE

“Moms who have run out of ways to entertain their

kids while trying to work from home.”
Does a mother with a house full of screaming kids come to
mind? Can you imagine her on a company Zoom call while
simultaneously swatting at one of her kids underneath the table?
Can you hear her yelling across the room, “Don’t steal your
sister’s iPad!”
The fact you can see very clearly who this message is for (and
who it isn’t for) is why it works. If you are a mom who has run
out of ways to entertain her kids while trying to work from
home, you feel like you just stumbled across the only person
on the Internet who truly understands you. And if you aren’t a
mom, or aren’t a mom who works from home, you probably
don’t care.
But that’s a good thing.

Writing for “everyone” means writing for no one.

In order to write for “everyone,” you have to be broad. You have
to be all inclusive. And as a result, you are vague and forgettable.
You have as much flavor as a rice cake: “Anyone can eat it!”
But as soon as you stop trying to write for “everyone” and
start writing for someone, one person, a brother or sister or
neighbor or coworker you know inside and out, all of a sudden
your writing has specificity. It has personality, and voice, and
meaning. It’s dripping in description.

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 THE 22 LAWS OF DIGITAL WRITING

Conventional wisdom says you should write for the

biggest audience possible.
But this is terrible advice.
Instead, you should write for the most specific audience
possible.
Because if one person resonates with what you’ve written in
a life-changing way, you will start to attract all the other people
who are just like them.

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 20

Law #20: The Golden Intersection Is

Answering The Reader’s Question &
Telling Them A Story

The reason people read is because they want an answer to their

question:

• “How do I grow tomatoes in my backyard?”

• “Are there techniques I can use to negotiate a better salary?”
• “What is life like for teenagers who want to learn wizardry
at Hogwarts?”

Which means your job as a writer is to a) consciously decide

what (specific) question you are answering for the reader, and
b) give them the answer.

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But how you make the answer stick is by telling the

reader a story.
For example, let’s say the reader’s question is, “What’s it like to
be an entrepreneur?”
One way of answering this question would be to provide
the reader with the formal definition of entrepreneurship. Be
professional, right? “Entrepreneurship is the activity of setting
up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the
hope of profit.” But how likely is the reader to remember what
you’ve just told them? More importantly, how likely are they
to be impacted and transformed by your words?
They’re not.

Now, imagine answering the question with a story:

“The day I knew I was an entrepreneur, I lost $125,000 in 5
minutes.”
Before you’ve even decided whether or not you want to keep
reading, you’re emotionally invested. Your eyes are flying down
the page—“What happened?” And the reason is because now
you aren’t just being given an answer, but an opportunity to
discover the answer for yourself.
Even though all readers are in search of answers to their
questions, it’s actually not “the answers” they remember most.
What readers remember is the story that allowed them to learn,
understand, and internalize the answer—and it’s the story they
go on to tell their friends, family members, and coworkers.

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 LAW #20: THE GOLDEN INTERSECTION IS ANSWERING THE READER’S...

The Golden Intersection is answering the reader’s

question & telling them a story.
Don’t just give them the answer.
Tell them how you learned the very thing you are now
explaining to them.
Take them on the journey.

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 21

Law #21: Optimize For SPEED!

Every second on the Internet, readers are making decisions.

They are thinking about whether they should continue
reading your essay or keep scrolling to look at more memes.
They are weighing the pros and cons of reading your entire
article or trying to find something more entertaining on
YouTube. They are debating, within themselves, whether you
are worth their time.
Which means your competition is not “other writers.”
Your competition is every single piece of content on the entire
World Wide Web.

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 LAW #21: OPTIMIZE FOR SPEED!

If your writing is dependent upon readers “making

it to the third paragraph,” delete the first two
paragraphs.
Anytime you start rationalizing with yourself saying, “If they
make it a little bit further it gets really good!” just stop.
Cut everything up to the part you think is “the good part.”
Start there.
Digital writing is 100% a game of understanding how readers
consume content on the Internet opposed to other mediums.
Because the context Digital Writers have is “every single second,
every single sentence, readers are thinking about scrolling
away,” which forces them to work hard to keep their attention.
Digital Writers also understand that Digital Readers don’t
read. They skim. They jump around. They bounce between
sections, weigh the pros & cons of reading your entire piece in
their head (even if your piece is a measly 50 words) and then
either dive in or swipe away. Digital Readers do not consume
content linearly.

Which means all of your decisions should optimize

for SPEED!
When choosing between “more description” and “less descrip-
tion,” go with less.
When choosing between “shorter, faster” sentences and
“longer, slower” sentences, go with shorter and faster.
When choosing between “less subheads, more paragraphs”
and “more subheads, fewer paragraphs,” go with more sub-
heads—easier to skim.
Your craft as a Digital Writer is not just about writing great
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words, but assembling and organizing them in a way Digital

Readers find approachable, easy to consume, and with a very
high Rate of Revelation. Every section, every paragraph, every
sentence should reveal new information. Every word should
pull the reader along.

5 seconds on the Internet feels like 5 long minutes

in real life.
Keep this in mind when you write.
Digital Readers wait for no one.

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 22

Law #22: Time Spent Reading Should

Never Exceed Time Spent Writing

Reading doesn’t make you a better writer.

Only writing makes you a better writer.

This is polarizing advice, and yet it’s always the

aspiring writers who seem to disagree.
Aspiring writers like to believe reading makes them a better
writer—because reading is more comfortable than writing.
But notice how those are the people who, as a result, spend
exponentially more time reading. And they get quite good at it.
But then years, decades, a lifetime goes by and what have they
written? Not very much.
Professional writers, on the other hand, always agree. Some
advocate for reading more than others, but one hundred percent
of successful writers agree that what made them successful
wasn’t hundreds (or thousands) of hours spent just reading. It
was hundreds (or thousands, or tens of thousands) of hours
spent writing.
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If you want to be a writer, does reading help?

Sure. Just like watching reruns of games helped Michael Jordan
become a better basketball player.
But watching reruns of games isn’t how Michael Jordan
became Michael Jordan.
Reading should be an addition to your writing practice,
just like stretching is to physical exercise. But under no
circumstances should reading be a replacement for your daily
writing habit.
Which is why your mantra should be this:

“Time spent reading will never exceed time spent

writing.”
The moment consumption overtakes creation, you’re done.
You’ve stopped making progress, pulled off the side of the
road and decided to take a break. And every once in a while,
that’s fine. Just remember that in order to get to where you
want to go, you have to keep driving.
Reading makes you a better reader—and as a tangential
benefit, can make you a more self-aware writer.
But only writing can make you a better writer.
(So start writing!)

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 Thank You For Reading

Thank you for reading The 22 Laws Of Digital Writing!

Looking for more digital writing resources?

Here are a few we think you’ll enjoy:

1. Start Writing Online: https://startwritingonline.com/

2. Ship 30 for 30: https://www.ship30for30.com/
3. Ship 30 for 30 Office Hours Recordings: https://www.yo
utube.com/c/Ship30for30

You can also follow Dickie and Cole on Twitter:

1. Dickie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dickiebush

2. Cole’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolascole77

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