A few days ago, I checked my Mailchimp…

It said I had 10,004 email subscribers. 

Nice. 

I told Kelsey. 

“Eddie!” she smiled.

I opened some wine. Kels ordered a pizza. 

Later on, I reflected. 

I thought about my path to 10K emails, the ebbs and flows, lessons, etc. Then I wrote down some advice for younger-me, things I wish I’d known sooner, things I’ll probably, eventually, tell my kids (if they wanna do creative work). 

In no particular order:

1. Writing in public goes from feeling “terrifying” to “uncomfortable” to “natural” very quickly (if you publish often).

2. It’s healthier to be competitive with yourself — like a runner working to beat her best time — than with other creators in your niche. 

3. Entertain yourself first. If your writing bores you, it’ll bore The Reader. 

4. New things are born when you put old things together. 

“A better word for creativity is connectivity.” 
~ Eugene Schwartz, copywriting master

5. If you want people to join your community, you must ASK them to do so, again and again.

6. Give generously and ask loudly. 

7. You can stand out with a twist. (I don’t write articles, I write MICRO-articles.)

8. Be nice. Or nobody will like you — and that doesn’t make selling your ideas any easier.

9. Stay humble by staying grateful. 

10. Limitless possibilities are paralyzing. Creativity starts with restriction. 

11. Passion drives consistency.

12. Consistency bolsters credibility.

13. You can edit your words forever, if you let yourself. Practice letting go sooner rather than later. 

14. “The secret to being good at anything is to approach it like a curious idiot, rather than a know-it-all genius.” ~ Mike Monteiro

Can’t decide what you should write about next? 

Maybe you’re putting undue pressure on yourself to be an expert, a “know-it-all genius.” But you don’t need to be an expert to write in a helpful, inspiring way. Just be curious. And write as you learn. 

That’s what I did. 

Last thing: 

Thank you. None of this is possible without your support. 

Please keep reading and I’ll be sure to keep it coming. 🙂

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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

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Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founder

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