Writing Isn't Dying, It's Going Digital | #CoffeeWithCole Episode 2
I knew this year was going to be busy, but it's always a different ball game when you step into the journey itself.
Last week I was in Atlanta with the behind-the-scenes star on the team here, Drew Reggie (he makes a cameo appearance in this episode). Drew and I have been friends since Freshman year of college (so... 9 years) and we create just about everything together. He's the one who takes all the pictures you see on Instagram, who shoots all the videos, and honestly is one of the very few people I think through my ideas with (a process I keep very hidden from most people). As time goes on, you'll get to know him and his work more and more, and the things we put out, just remember, are the result of our creative tag-team.
I spent the week in my second-home (ATL) working with Drew to shoot an online course around something I have been getting asked constantly about: How I Went From 0 to 20,000,000 Readers Online.
But before we launch the course, I want to give you some backstory as to how I even started down this path to begin with.
I tell the story in the video, but this knowledge of how to build yourself into a thought leader, specifically a writer, by using digital tools is something I have spent years and years studying and figuring out. There is a huge disconnect between the older generations (especially in the world of formal journalism and writing) who are talented wordsmiths but have no idea how to use the Internet to their advantage, and the younger writers who have many more years of honing their craft to go, but are more digitally savvy.
And this isn't just valuable to people who want to become professional writers. The vast majority of content online is text. If you want to be a food blogger, or a travel blogger, or write for an online publication as a thought leader in digital marketing, or even if you just want to share your thoughts and your story with the world, then you need to understand a few things about the ecosystem as a whole—specifically how and why content gets shared and viewed.
Nobody in a million years thought that four years out of college I would be traveling the world as a full-time writer (booked tickets to Europe last night for February, and am headed to LA next week record a podcast with a columnist from Forbes). I am still extremely young. And yet, I have figured out how to write content, and where to write it, in a way that attracts an audience.
Course will be launched in the next week or two. I will keep you posted.
As always, if you have a question and would like your question answered, Tweet me, Instagram me, or ask the question on Quora by using #CoffeeWithCole, and I will answer your question!
Now, here's all the content you missed:
Inc Magazine
1. 12 Negative Habits You Should Give Up If You Want To Be Successful
2. Why Millennials Would Rather Make Less Money Working A Job They Love
3. The Ultimate Poker Showdown: Professionals Versus Artificial Intelligence
5. 3 Unconventional Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs To Hear (To Succeed For The Right Reasons)
6. 5 Signs Someone Has True Emotional Intelligence
7. 7 Ways To Not Fall Back Into Bad Habits In February 2017
8. The 1 Word That Gets Every Single Millennial In Trouble (VIRAL HIT)
9. Your 2017 Instagram Strategy: Let Influencers Tell Your Brand Story
10. 2017 Is The Year Social Media Platforms Become Social Marketplaces (Here's What That Means)
11. 3 Critical Reasons Employees Become Unmotivated In The Workplace
12. What Do You Do Once You've Hit $100M In Sales? This CEO Is Building His Personal Brand
13. 5 Investment Rules Millennials Should Follow (To Build Long-Term Wealth)
Quora
1. Do I have to get my book professionally edited?
2. I'm 17 and I'd like to write a book on a serious subject with a long plot. Is this too ambitious?
3. How long will it take for me to get my unique writing style?
5. What made you into such a great writer?
6. What life advice would you give to a 17 year old?
THINK by MSTQ
1. The Golden Question Every Great Leader Should Welcome From A Millennial
The Huffington Post
What I'm Currently Reading
Right now, I am reading Why We Write About Ourselves.
It took me a really long time to write my first memoir, Confessions of a Teenage Gamer. Not necessarily because the story was difficult to construct (although I did rewrite the thing in a million different forms) but because writing about yourself, your life, the people in it, and taking time to really understand the emotions behind the story is no easy task.
This book was a gift to me after I put out my first book. Before I dive into Book II (for those that read COATG and were left hanging off a cliff), I feel like it's important that I take some time to ruminate on the experience and look for what I can improve for the next one.
What's Next?
1. Flying to LA on Wednesday, January 25th to see the guys from LVLUP Dojo.
2. Recording a podcast with Forbes contributor Winnie Sun in LA on Friday, talking about how I have been able to climb the ladder and write for some of the biggest publications on the Internet.
3. Friday night heading to San Francisco for the weekend (explore the city a bit, maybe say hey to Quora Legend and friend Dushka Zapata).
4. Back in Chicago on Monday.
5. Launching the video course somewhere amidst all that: How I Went From 0 to 20,000,000+ Readers Online.
Stay tuned...