How To Start A Writing Habit In 2023 And Have Fun Doing It
A year ago a student of mine went viral.
Her post got 1,800,000 views, 34,000 likes, and over 3,000 comments.
She received a slew of business requests — including speaking opportunities, folks wanting 1–1 coaching, and 2 companies who wanted her to teach leadership training.
So, what made her go viral?
Was it a snappy headline? A well-written post? Was it LinkedIn “broetry” (inspiration porn) that got her those views?
No.
She talked about her Father’s suicide.
I say all this to get to one crystal-clear message:
Storytelling is incredible powerful.
And I know that for my student, this wasn’t a story for her. This was real. This is a story she’d rather not have written, and I want to make sure I get that point across before I continue.
But still, undeniably, it was a story. And stories are the most powerful thing humans have ever created.
I’m reading a book called ‘Sapiens’ at the moment, which is a quick 400-page history of human beings. In one part the author writes:
“Fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively. We can weave common myths such as the bliblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern states. Such myths give Sapiens the ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers. Ants and bees can also work together in huge numbers, but they do so in a very rigid manner and only with close relatives…Sapiens can cooperate in extremely flexible ways with countless numbers of strangers. That’s why Sapiens rule the world, whereas ants eat our leftovers and chimps are locked up in zoos and research laboratories.”
Storytelling birthed civilization. Without it, there’d be about 7,000,000,000 less people on this planet and we’d still be hunter-gatherers.
A few months after she went viral, my student told me she made about $15,000 — $20,000 since her viral post. All of it started with a story.
I looked back on my own most-viral LinkedIn posts and guess what?
They were all stories too.
Like this one that got 25,000 views.
Or this one that got 400+ likes.
As I’ve done more research on storytelling, I’ve realized that a great story is almost more addictive for the human brain than sugar.
In the book “Wired For Story,” Lisa Cron writes:
“It turns out that a powerful story can have a hand in rewiring the reader’s brain — helping instill empathy, for instance — which is why writers are, and have always been, among the most powerful people in the world.”
Readers simply can’t resist a good story. Stories are bulletproof. They are basically impossible to ignore when written well — which presents a problem:
Many of us don’t know how to write a good story.
After doing a little bit of research, I realize how many storytelling tactics I used naturally without even knowing it.
I’m starting to learn the actual concepts, though. I’m starting.
And that’s my goal for my 10-Day LinkedIn Sprint. I want to start teaching you how to write better stories not just on LinkedIn, but on any other platform you want to be on.
This time we’re including 10 prompts for all 10 days of your sprint, as well as 5 in-depth post templates based off other viral LinkedIn posts that centered around a single story.
And for the first time ever, the base LinkedIn Sprint is $49.
Honestly, whether you want to make money writing on LinkedIn or join a community of other writers for 10 days to jumpstart that writing habit, this program is perfect for you.
“What is the LinkedIn Sprint, Tom?” I hear you asking.
Well, it’s a cohort writing program starting on Monday, May 15, where we write on LinkedIn for 10 days straight, join a group Slack channel, have a group call, and get to vibe out with other creators like us.
And for the first time in sprint history, we’re focusing on storytelling — the secret that leads to more views on any platform you write on.
We’ve done more expensive 30-day sprints in the pasts, but I’m testing out a leaner 10-day version for the first time ever.
You’ll be joining a vast group of 400 past students, many of whom had incredible things to say about this program.
So, if you want to start a writing habit, harness the power of storytelling, and meet a really fun community (many say this is the best part!), join us on our first ever 10-Day LinkedIn Sprint.
It will not be $49 ever again.
Doors close for this cohort on Friday, May 12 at 5 PM EST.
Sign up right here. :)
Tom Kuegler
