Q: How can I grow an audience online?

Career Advice That Doesn't Suck!

Let me take you back to 2015.

Like many new writers just getting started, I had the lofty goal of writing my first book.

I figured I would follow in the footsteps of countless writers before me and lock myself in a room, only to emerge once I had dragged the first draft kicking and screaming into this big, scary world.¹

In case you haven’t noticed, this stigma of the tortured creative suffering in isolation is a little outdated.

When tackling any creative project in today’s world, you’re much better off focusing on one thing before all else:

Bringing people together.

That’s why, after some much-needed advice, I decided to pause my unwritten book and started writing online instead.

After continuing this habit (almost) every day for the past seven years, I can confidently say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, personally and professionally.

In the span of a few years, I went from a wannabe writer who hadn’t shared a single piece of writing with others to a professional writer who was actually making money.²

I also noticed something a little unusual about my audience:

It wasn’t the same as when I first started.

Initially, my goal was to help naive design students explore unconventional options after college.

What I realized was that, throughout my process of becoming a writer, I was apparently attracting others who also wanted to start writing.

Naturally, I course-corrected.

Instead of sticking only with Medium, I decided to broaden my focus and reach out to aspiring writers in other places. From Quora to Facebook, I scoured the interwebz for people who needed a little nudge in the right direction.

After talking to my followers, I quickly learned one of their biggest problems was getting started — they didn’t know where to write, what to write about, and how to create a sustainable writing routine.

This isn’t anything new. After all, people have been teaching writing courses since humans learned how to put pencil to paper.³

The thing is, most of these teachers and classes still take a more methodical approach, emphasizing traditional elements like grammar and style.

I, on the other hand, wanted to help aspiring writers get started now.

Not tomorrow. Not next week.

Right now.

I decided that, as amazing as the internet is, I wanted to reach people IRL.⁴

I invited local followers to a workshop where, after quickly helping everyone create a Medium profile, I introduced a simple framework for writing their first post.

Little did they know I was going to ask them to push the “Publish” button at the end of the workshop.⁵

Once we reached this point, I was met with a collective grumble from aspiring writers both young and old.

I heard comments like, “But it’s not ready yet!” and, “I have no idea if it’s any good!”

I simply reminded them that, if they had paid attention to the title of the workshop⁶, they would have seen this coming.

I explained part of writing every day is quieting your inner perfectionist by hitting that “Publish” button before you’re ready.

Something amazing happened after that.

It was as if the group came to the collective realization that they had all overcome a huge roadblock together.

Not only did these writers give me valuable feedback to make the workshop better, they also became avid readers of my work online.

This workshop was a much-needed reminder that, even though social media makes it easy to meet people online and rally the troops around a cause, there is still no substitute for talking to someone face-to-face.

When you bring people together around a common interest or goal, everyone wins.

Building a community online also takes in-person effort.

—
¹That’s how it’s done, right?
²Remember, getting paid means you’re a professional.
³Or quill to parchment. Or chisel to stone. I think you get my point.
⁴”In real life” for all of you curmudgeons out there.
⁵Aren’t I a stinker?
⁶How to Write Every Fucking Day.