Let’s use X/Twitter in this instance since it’s a great platform for writers to test their ideas without talking in front of a camera. Much like note-making, Twitter forces constraints to 280 words per post which will make you a better writer by being more mindful and concise with communicating your ideas.
Structuring your notes similar to how you’d write a tweet allows you to keep your notes more concise and maximizes their potential value by having them written in a way viral content is presented.
Here’s 3 tips to get you started.
1. Start your notes with a hook.
You have 3 seconds to stop someone from scrolling through a dopamine playground of endless entertainment. Your first sentence is crucial. The way you catch someone’s attention on social platforms is through pattern interrupt, which involves communicating a novel idea that has one of the following elements:
- New/Unique
- Valuable
- Danger
- Confusion
The key is not to be click-baity. Present the most interesting or attention grabbing part of the idea you’re expressing in a way that uses a pattern interrupt.
This is why if you use my daily notes template in Obsidian, it has a writing prompt asking to describe your day like a mini blog article. That’s to get you in the habit of writing attention grabbing hooks and concise descriptions of your day in bite sized form. When you read through the entries your journal index, they should grab your own attention.
2. Determine the value of your ideas with real-time feedback.
Engagements and analytics will determine the value of your ideas. This can be an ego blow because no matter what size your audience is, you’ll have to confront the fact that not all your ideas are going to be well received. But you’ll find that some ideas you didn’t think were that valuable can end up being your most impactful content.
It’s important to not get emotionally invested in this process. Review recurring themes, problems and feedback in your replies as if you are gathering data (as long as they’re not trolls). Even the posts that have little to no engagements are valuable to you because it helps you learn more about what your audience is not interested in.
Now let’s say you finally posted content from one of your notes that is well received, perhaps even viral. Congratulations, you have a high value note in your possession. How can you capitalize on it?
3. Make it evergreen
Take the best performing content of the week to your newsletter and expound upon that single idea. Why a newsletter? Because it allows you to take ownership of your audience.
Nobody owns their social media audience, they are borrowing followers from the platform. Not to mention, you’re dependent on their ever changing algorithms to distribute your content to the right people.
But when you have an email list, nobody can take it from you. This is permission-less leverage. With a newsletter, you can reach your audience directly without depending on a dopamine fueled social media feed to deliver your content.
I like using
Substack. It’s all you need to get started as a digital writer for free. You get a customizable landing page with a simple signup form, public blog so your readers can familiarize themselves with your previous work. You can also host a podcast and upload video content all on the same platform.
The best part about Substack is, you can monetize immediately. This allows you to come up with creative ways to offer exclusive content to paid subscribers and start earning even as a small creator.
Do you want to learn how it’s done? There’s 1 week left to pre-enroll in my upcoming course
Zettel Monetizer to launch an online education business powered by your notes in 42 days.
I hope to see you there! Stay curious, my friend.