Incredible Content from Write of Passage Students and Alumni
Welcome! This week, something a little different.
The Write of Passage course is underway, and The Mix Tape # 47 features content created by Write of Passage students and alumni.
But first: The moon put on quite a show here in Northern Michigan on the Fourth of July:
Building a newsletter powerhouse
Brandon Zhang is new to Write of Passage and is quickly becoming a content creation force. He’s piling up Twitter followers and newsletter subscribers while writing about the “Student Mindset.”
Brandon recently shared a huge thread on building a newsletter subscriber base. You should read the whole thing, and here are a couple of highlights:
Brandon Zhang - "Student Mindset"@brandonthezhang2. Have an identity
This does not mean you have to only have one niche.
I have an overarching theme of the student mindset, but this covers different themes.
An identity is how you write, how you analyze, and how you perceive, having a consistent identity is key.12:46 AM · Jul 6, 2020
6 LikesBrandon Zhang - "Student Mindset"@brandonthezhang4. Consistency wins
As @david_perell says "B+ content and A+ consistency is the winning formula for email newsletters."
Show up on the days you promise and get something in your audience's inbox.
A week missed means you lose momentum and disappear from their memory.12:52 AM · Jul 6, 2020
12 LikesConsistency wins. The great Jack Butcher created this graphic about compounding effort, and I shared it in my writing group:
The True Power of Twitter
Lev Naginsky is the lead alumni mentor at Write of Passage, and wrote about the real power of Twitter:
Today, Twitter is the global town square, neighborhood hub, networking space, the social pulse of the internet. It is frequented by the smartest people on the planet. People come to share their best ideas. Intellectuals gather to share their most cutting-edge thoughts. It’s a free conference hall where you can choose the speakers and the attendees.
And, finally:
If Facebook is for people in your past, then Twitter is for people in your future.
Twitter is about relationships and sharing value. Too many people use it to scream into the void. They are missing out.
Guide your audience using empathy
Robbie Crab is a trial attorney and professor in Dallas. Recently he shared a powerful Twitter thread on helping a jury move through despair in a horrific child sex abuse case, leading to justice for the victim:
Robbie ⚖️@RobbieCrab4/In this case though I knew there was a problem when I went home on Wednesday evening. The jury was absolutely destroyed by the case I had presented. The testimony by my witnesses was heartbreaking, terrifying, and soul-destroying...2:54 PM · Jul 2, 2020Robbie ⚖️@RobbieCrab6/I went back home that night and focused on how I could guide my jury to get where I needed them to go. I have never had a case like this. I knew that if I just retold the facts and events it would further destroy the jury. They needed hope. They needed a lighthouse...2:54 PM · Jul 2, 2020Robbie ⚖️@RobbieCrab11/Today is that morning for you. Today is the day you get to serve justice. Today is the day you get to tell our victim that Joy cometh in the morning…2:54 PM · Jul 2, 2020Robbie ⚖️@RobbieCrab12/Because for far too many years this victim has seen no joy, felt no joy, experienced no joy. Today is that morning. Today is the beginning of a new chapter. Today is the day you show him that life is worth living because joy is coming.”...2:54 PM · Jul 2, 2020Robbie knew the jury couldn’t emotionally handle a rehash of the horrible facts of the case. He put himself in the jury’s (his audience’s) shoes and connected with them. By understanding their feelings, he showed them a way forward.
Great thread. Read it all.
In the beginning, a small audience is a blessing
Write of Passage alumni mentor Charlie Bleecker, on embracing your small audience when you begin writing:
The smaller your audience, the more time you have to build a body of work you can be proud of. I give myself a deadline to publish every Tuesday, so I’ve now written 19 blog posts. There’s a few I love, but mostly, I’m proud of the number. Not every post is going to be fantastic. Most will be just okay.
Thankfully, people don’t remember the crap you’ve published. They remember the good stuff. So when it comes to your body of work,quantity will eventually yield quality.
“Despise not these small beginnings.” Starting small gives you space for self-discovery and creation without performance expectation.
The extrovert’s cheat code: alone time
Write of Passage student Shelby Smith published her first essay this week, on the benefits of solitude in building goals and learning more about ourselves:
The most successful people self-evaluate. Benjamin Franklin was iconic in this regard. He was constantly refining his virtues for how to behave and treat others. As sociable and charismatic as he was, he couldn’t have achieved such levels of influence if he didn’t spend just as much – if not more – time alone than with others.
[…]
Franklin took the timein between encounters to reflect on what went well and what he could improve on to make others like him more, to make people feel better, and to increase his social influence.
Even if you’re an introvert (🙋🏼♂️), Shelby shares useful tips for making alone time work for you.
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See you next week!
Archived from Matt's newsletter.