The Best Blogging Advice I Know Is To Write To Your Younger Self
The way that I write blog posts is the same 90% of the time.
I write articles like they’re letters to my younger self.
I don’t care about the audience. I don’t care about grammar or syntax. I sometimes don’t even care about the headline.
I only care about one thing..
Would it help a younger version of me?
If the answer is yes, then it would probably be helpful to at least a thousand other people out there. Here’s a few example posts that were clearly letters to a younger version of me. Each got above 10,000 views.
These posts LOOK like they’re written with the audience in mind. The use of “you” in the headline sure makes it seem that way. But no, I’m not talking to you — I’m talking to myself from 4–5 years ago.
That’s why so much of my writing tends to land with the recent grad/20-something audience. It’s because when I write to myself, I’m also touching on a lot of problems they’re currently having. Debt, feeling lost, a desire to get “more” out of life. These are common problems to have that I’ve had for a while.
Weirdly enough, this strategy isn’t talked about that much. Many of the best writers use it, but we just don’t know it.
We help ourselves first, and if we do that well enough, we’ll help others with the same problems.
Why does this “personal” strategy work for worldwide audiences? How can you use it yourself? Is it more fun to write this way?
I want to cover all of these questions and more in this post.
Why Does This Lead To Viral Articles?
Two reasons. One, it forces you to think about a problem you had. When you start with a problem YOU had, it’s all but a certainty that other people have similar issues.
Unless you’re a rich kid who doesn’t know what Rolex to buy, your problems will resonate with others.
Two, the lessons of your post will be packaged in new wrapping paper.
The new wrapping paper is/are your own personal experiences.
If I start at the latest personal development book I read to give you life advice, that’s fine, but it’s not inspired. It’s technically advice someone else created, right?
And how did they come up with this advice? They lived through something that gives them authority on the subject. If someone created a million-dollar business, they’re likely great people to write a business book.
But you see, you don’t need to be an authority figure to write great shit. You just need to live your life. We learn things all the time, don’t we? As we drift off into our subconscious mind while driving to work we may realize we shouldn’t have been so scared of traveling when we were younger.
Great, write about it!
It’s valid advice. I don’t understand why so many people think their advice isn’t good enough, or that people won’t find it helpful. They will! Trust me! I’ve written some real dumb stuff before that got attention beyond my wildest dreams.
If it’s helpful for you, it’ll be helpful for someone else.
That is the only criteria you need to fulfill when writing a blog post. Would it help a younger version of you? Great, it’s good enough.
That should simplify the blogging process a LOT for people.
How Can You Use This Strategy?
The seeds of blog posts like these always lie in our mind. Our own mind. When we talk to someone, read a book, get lost in the act of driving, or watch a movie, it may jar a memory loose that leads you down a pathway of self-introspection.
That’s exactly where you want to be.
Once you get onto this self-introspection highway, you got to become self-aware. You have to realize you’re doing some reflecting, and that you may come across a solution to a problem you had long ago.
It’s not hard to see how things should’ve went in hindsight. I know now I shouldn’t have gone to college and racked up $60,000 in debt. It’s unfortunate that I had to realize that now and not before I started swimming in a tidal wave of debt, but hey, that’s life.
Once you start coming across solutions to your old problems, it’ll feel like a light switch going off. You’ll “snap out of it,” sit up in your seat, and smile because you’ve never thought of THAT before.
“Oh shit, yeah, I should’ve just walked out of the room instead of blow up at my friend that one time.”
“Oh, my friend’s political opinions really don’t matter all that much in hindsight, do they?”
You’ll realize stuff like that. You just need a backwards-thinking mind.
Do you daydream? Great. You’ll come across great writing material eventually. Just be ready for it.
You’ll Have A Harder Time Burning Out Like This, Too
Writing about other people’s accomplishments is hell. Writing about something personal to me is heaven.
I have a hard time writing articles about Warren Buffet because it makes blogging feel like a book report. No, here’s what I learned. I’m happy to share this personal story with you and I hope you enjoy it.
You’re letting someone into your life. You’re documenting your experiences on a blank page. The only researching you need to do is to remember. It makes everything faster, more personal, and fun.
The best blogging advice I know is to write to your younger self.
Which one would you click -
10 ways I made money or
10 ways to make money.
It's the personal touch that we crave for.
How I did it > How to do it
The connection counts. Algorithm fails.
Excellent insight. Thanks. It nudged me off the fence I've been sitting on for a very long time, wondering if all the experience I gained starting, building and selling a business over 20 years ago was still relevant. Some of it is, for sure. Maybe all of it is to somebody like younger me, 36 years old (40 years ago) with what I thought was a hot idea and very little money to invest in it. I guess I'll just have to put it out there.