New Intel On How People Read Online
And how to write to get the attention you need to grow.
Okay, let’s get one thing out of the way.
All solopreneurs must learn writing because:
It’s the essence of all online communication. Whatever type of content you want to create, it involves writing at its core.
It’s the most versatile type of content. You can publish writing in multiple platforms and in multiple ways.
Many people still prefer reading to anything else.
Reading is actually faster than listening/watching a video. You can skim through and focus on what’s most valuable to you.
That being said, statistics on how people read online cannot be ignored.
Do people read online (and what)?
The good news? Young people read.
The bad news? It seems like they prefer reading on paper—everything but the news and song lyrics, that is. (Is everyone else also thinking of starting a song lyrics newsletter??)
Here’s a graph from a Statista research into how young people in the UK read.
You can see the same trend with books. According to a 2023 study, most Americans who read still prefer reading on paper.
To add insult to injury, even the people who do read online aren’t great at finishing what they started. This is a heat map of how people read your online articles (the red being where they eyes linger the most).
So if we want to be online writers or build a solo business around writing, how do we increase our chances of success in a noisy world of paper-lovers?
Let’s look at successful online writers.
I separate online writers into two categories:
Writers publishing informational content, like Lenny Rachitsky, Dan Koe and Kristina God.
Writers publishing entertaining content, like Anna Vatuone and Elle Griffin
While most of these solopreneurs are writers above else, if you dig into the way they create & share content online, you’ll notice:
They have podcasts (Lenny Rachitsky & Kristina God)
They’re active on YouTube, TikTok and/or other visual platforms (Dan Koe and Anna Vatuone)
They include a lot of visuals in their writing (Elle Griffin)
Could it be that the secret to online writing success isn’t only rooted in the quality of writing but also in the media we use to communicate our messages? I think so.
Pricing also speaks volumes.
What do you think the price of ebooks is, on average? Currently, new releases from large publishers retail around $12.99 on Amazon.
Even if you’re a great marketer with a big audience, the maximum I’ve heard being asked for an ebook is $100.
Now, take that same content, put it into a video course plus a work-book, and people consider pricing from $200 to $2000 acceptable (relevant to your credibility.)
So what can you do?
As an online writer, you have to understand not just the craft, but also the business of writing. What can you do to stay relevant, spread your ideas far and wide and build a business in a short attention span society?
Obviously, good writing is the first step. I’ve made about $500K online by just writing. I have 16K followers on Medium, almost 3K subscribers on Substack, and I’m “just” writing.
So if you’re a beginner and you feel overwhelmed reading this advice, I want you to step away from the computer, pat yourself on the back for showing up and keep “just” writing. For now.
But after a while, when you feel your message resonates and you’re ready to speed up growth—here are a few quick & dirty hacks for adapting your online writing to a bigger audience.
Here are a few suggestions:
Include voiceover in your newsletters. This way, you give people the chance to listen to your writing while driving or exercising.
Start a full-on podcast. The difference between a mere audio recording and a podcast is that a podcast is an entirely new medium. It’s something you can download on your phone, browse episodes and listen to, anytime you want.
Start a YouTube and/or TikTok account where you can create simple text videos/presentations with your writing. You can also read your writing in front of a camera, as Dan Koe does. You can use Canva video templates for this—I’ll show you how below.
Create promotional videos of your content: just an excerpt from your newsletter in a video. You can do this automatically on Substack or use Canva video templates.
Include more visuals in your writing, as I’ve done here. You can use Canva for creating infographics, or you can screenshot graphs you find during your research.
Also, please format your writing the right way. Paragraphs shouldn’t be longer than 3-5 rows. Use subheadings to start a new thought. Use bullet points where applicable. Yes, some Substack writers completely ignore the rules and make it anyway. It’s worth mentioning that they’re usually former journalists and/or have creative writing education.
Let me help you do it.
I’ve recorded 3 short video tutorials to show you how to create some visual and audio elements for your writing, including:
How to create infographics using Canva (available even for free Canva users)
How to create simple text videos using Canva (available even for free Canva users)
How to upload a voiceover to your Substack newsletter so people can listen to it
Paid subscribers can access the links to the videos below.
If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, please, consider becoming one. My goal for you is to build a 6-figure business as fast as possible, and I can offer a lot more help if you join our community of paid subscribers.
In any case, I’m happy you’re here & keep at it! Believe me, you have all it takes to succeed.
Paid subs will find the link to the video tutorials below. ↓
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