The Most Underrated Skill for Becoming a Successful Digital Writer (and How Can You Ace It)
You need not be famous to be successful—if you master this art.
I was (re-)skimming through this book called Do Epic Shit by Ankur Warikoo (one of my favourite YouTube creators) when I read this:
Most important skills today that are hardly taught:
Humour
Storytelling
Managing money
Human psychology
Cold emailing
And then it hit me: more than one skills are crucial for digital writers as well. Aren’t they?
So I waited for no further and here I wrote it. ☺️❤️
Who are digital writers?
If you’re reading this chances are that you’re a digital writer.
What do I mean by a digital writer?
- You write online
- You value feedback and feed-forwards
- If you earn something, it’s all yours to keep
- You have a direct connection with your readers
How traditional writers are different from digital writers?
Most traditional writers don’t enjoy these luxuries.
- They spend years writing a single book without having a clue if it will perform to their expectations.
Whereas digital writers can publish their book chapter by chapter almost instantaneously.
- They have not compensated accordingly. Traditional publishing companies keep the big slice of the pie.
Whereas digital writers have the means and privilege to bypass it altogether and just pay only platform and transaction fees.
But but but…
It sounds too good to be true, isn’t it?
Digital writers have their own set of challenges to deal with.
They are more of an entrepreneur than writers.
They write. They publish. They reply. They keep their readers informed.
But that’s a topic for another day.
What I want to discuss today
The skills needed to become successful in this online world are very different than they used to be in the olden times.
Gone are the days when we use to read thousands of words before making a single comment on if this writer is any good.
Now one paragraph is more than enough.
Our attention span is decreasing and when we’re online it’s even worse.
As writers, we want our readers to stick around a little longer. So we can convince them to keep reading till the very end.
And the easiest way of doing that is…
by making our writing more engaging and relatable.
And that is possible by storytelling
Storytelling: a way to be relatable
Although it doesn’t sound as sexy as SEO or adding relevant tags it’s more important than those in the long term.
SEO would not always remain the same. Popular tags today may not be as relevant as it is two years down the line.
But human behaviour and feelings will.
So it’s wise to learn how to engage with real humans than to run behind technicalities.
After all, algorithms just want the readers it serves satisfied and content. Then why not you?
The subtle art of storytelling
Documenting your journey is a great starting point to improve your storytelling skills.
- Learn a skill or practice a craft in public
- Document something strange that’s happened to you
You don’t have to write once-upon-a-time kind of stories.
A couple of paragraphs in a 5-minute read will work just as fine.
Your goal is to build that personal connection, over time.
Writers who do it the best
Many writers leverage the art of storytelling to make their write-ups more interesting.
Sara Burdick: Her personal essays are more interesting than you’d assume. Her presentation style and storytelling skills set the gold standard.
Dr. Preeti Singh: She writes on a wide array of topics. You’d find her personal essays and articles on technology appealing.
Kristina God: She writes a lot of engaging short-form stories. Perfectly suited for reading on the go.
Susie Pinon: She’s the editor of The Orange Journal, one of my favourite publications on Medium. She often writes about her life and the challenges she faces as an editor.
Sienna Krieg: A 16-year-old gifted storyteller. Her articles around spirituality, life, and nature hit differently.
Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi: She consistently documents her journey as a digital writer and an entrepreneur that I think she is.
How can you become a little better at the art of storytelling?
- Read Fiction
This one’s a no-brainer.
Read more fiction. And while reading, don’t just read (or skim). Try to notice the nuances of the craft: how the writer describes certain plot, character, or twists.
2. Journal every day
I started doing it recently only. And let me tell you this: there can be no better way to reflect on your day than this.
It not only helps you evaluate your day objectively but also allow you to reflect upon it.
It will also help you improve your storytelling craft as you will observe your day from more than one perspective and then try to make a sense of it all.
3. Writing humour and satire
First of all, it’s a lot of fun. Try it!
Writing humour or satire is not as easy as reading it. Nevertheless, it’s not tough or time-consuming once you get into the flow.
By writing this sub-genre of fiction you constantly put your storytelling muscles to exercise.
I hope you found this article interesting and informative.
It’d mean a lot to me if you check me out on Twitter too. Until next time, bye! 👋☺️❤️
A huge shout-out to Nidhi Kaushik. Show some support and make her write here else we’ll lose talent. She’s simply awesome!
