10 lessons from six months of writing online
<p>I started publishing content six months ago. I am by no means an influencer — I typically post 2–3 times per week — but I have learned a few things along the way.</p>
<h1>My top 10 lessons from 6 months of writing online</h1>
<ol>
<li><strong>You just have to do it. </strong>There is no practice run, you just have to hit publish. And then months later you look back and cringe a little. It’s all part of the process.</li>
<li><strong>No one is paying attention at first.</strong> This feels protective and then frustrating because you want people to notice what you’re doing!</li>
<li><strong>Sometimes you say something wrong and people tell you. </strong>Get over the defensive reflex, be gracious, and do better next time.</li>
<li><strong>Learn from people who have done it.</strong> There are plenty of systems and programs to follow. None are perfect, but it is better to start with a framework than a blank sheet of paper.</li>
<li><strong>People will unsubscribe from you. </strong>It stings the first few times. I tell myself it’s just a mismatch and not an indicator that I’m doing something wrong.</li>
<li><strong>You have secret fans. </strong>These are some of my favorites. They never interact digitally but when you speak they say ‘that thing you published back in October really helped me’. What?! Amazing.</li>
<li><strong>People gravitate toward the ‘real stuff’. </strong>It’s the hardest to write, and the hardest to publish. Sharing pieces of your own story (in addition to thought leadership) makes a big impact.</li>
<li><strong>You need a schedule. </strong>If you want to publish regularly, you need a system that keeps you consistent. Maybe it’s writing the content for an entire month in one day. Maybe it’s writing one day, and publishing the next. Figure out your strategy.</li>
<li><strong>You will guess wrong about what’s going to be a hit. </strong>The things I think will be great end up flopping. The random thing I wrote quickly gets reposted dozens of times. I haven’t built a predictive algorithm yet :)</li>
<li><strong>It can be so gratifying. </strong>This past week, I published something that had people saying ‘this is EXACTLY me’ and ‘I feel so seen’. That makes it all worth it.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks, </p>
<p>Carlos Caro</p>
<p> for inspiring me to get this down on paper!</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@kmontbriand/10-lessons-from-six-months-of-writing-online-e774804c1993">Read More</a></p>