There's only one "secret" to making it big.

And I'll prove it.

Making it big as a one-person business means different things to different people.

Some of us want to be famous, get a call from Oprah’s team, and receive an invitation to submit a book proposal.

Some want to make six figures and take two months off every year.

Some want to quit their jobs and never have to work again.

The good news is you can use the same path to get to all those things.

The path is free & simple. Anyone can walk it.

It’s called content creation.

Marie Forleo became big with Marie TV.

Susie Moore became big by sending articles to Mind Body Green, Business Insider & The Huffington Post.

Tim Denning became big by posting 10+ articles per week across LinkedIn and Medium.

Sure, you can buy attention with ads.

The problem is, by definition, ads are content people don’t want to see. That’s why businesses have to pay for exposure.

Why pay to say something when you can say it for free?

I keep telling people; marketing is easy. Just say what you have to say, and you’ll get there.

And they ask me, if it’s so easy, how come we’re not all driving Porches to the beach, showing the middle finger to our bosses?

Because content creation, as simple as it is, is also difficult as f***.

There are two big problems:

1. Knowing what to write about.

2. Writing & posting (almost) every day for months, even years, before it works.

I’ve been thinking lately about how to make these easier for you. I’m preparing a few simple digital products that you, my favorite people to write for, will get for free.

But for now, I want to leave you with these two easy steps to help you write your first (or next) stories online.

• Read. Specifically, read what’s worked best on the platform where you want to write because it’s different for different platforms. Read a lot of it: I start my days by reading (sometimes skimming, but still) at least five Medium stories on different topics that interest me: copywriting, marketing, personal development, investing, productivity, and creativity. Only by reading will you get a sense of what people like + some of my most successful pieces were inspired by other pieces.

• Listen to your thoughts. Everyone on the internet is all, “Oh, be careful about what your reader wants; write for your reader.” Obviously, your content has to offer value to readers, but that doesn’t always mean giving advice. Sometimes the value is you entertain them or make them think, or inspire them. Listen to your thoughts and if you feel something is valuable, write about it—no need to worry about the reader. With practice, you’ll become better attuned to what your readers want.

I’d love to know if you’re creating content online already. Or planning to?

If you’re a creator, how often do you publish? Where?

Let me know, and I’ll use that to write more specific, helpful posts.

Sending you tons of good energy & creativity,

Maya