7 Laws $100k Writers (Almost) Never Break

The cheat code to high-impact (and profitable) writing

Listen to the deep dive:

You clicked this article because you want to make money.

But your writing ain’t quite there yet.

I’ve been making a full-time income from my content for the past 10 years.

Here are some hard-coded rules that will help you write profitable content on the internet.

1. Give this morning habit the finger

Most people wake up and start thinking about what to do.

They open their calendar and start planning their day. They check their emails and get distracted. They scroll through social media and get lost in a rabbit hole. They have no idea what to do, so they just do whatever comes to mind.

This is a recipe for mediocrity.

Top creators know exactly what to do every day. They have a clear plan and a clear vision. They don’t wake up and start thinking about what to do. They wake up and execute.

My schedule is simple: I only create content in the mornings.

I have one day dedicated to content to grow my audience, another to work on monetizing it (like my courses).

That’s it.

It gives me enough flexibility to work based on what I’m interested in – but also gives me the necessary structure to stay on track. I know exactly what I’m doing every day – there’s no guesswork.

When you know what to do, it eradicates decision fatigue. Use that extra mental juice to simply do one thing: creating.

2. Stop being a busy writing idiot

One of the biggest mistakes I see creators make is that they’re always starting from scratch.

They do things like:

• Opening their laptop to write a new article.

• Opening their video editing software to edit a new video.

• Opening their autoresponder to click 10 different buttons to write a new newsletter.

And then… Poof. They switch to something else.

When you’re starting from scratch, it takes a lot of mental energy to get into the flow.

It’s like jogging. It’s easier to run 5 more minutes when you’ve already been running for 20.

So what you want is to capitalize on the flow. Not breaking it.

This is called batching.

Group similar tasks together and do them in one go. It’s a way to get into the flow and stay there.

For example, instead of writing one article every day, write 3 articles in a row. Same goes for Substack Notes. Don’t just write 1 note a day. Write 10. The last 2 will probably be better than the first 8.

Batching = better content.

3. You don’t have a time problem

Most people think entrepreneurship is a time problem.

They think if they just had more time, they could:

• Be more consistent

• Be more productive

• Create more content

Garbage.

The truth is, entrepreneurship is a bandwidth problem. Not a time problem.

You can run your entire business in just 60-120 minutes a day.

I’ve been tracking my time over the past 3 months. I rarely get significant work done in 8 hours.

I’m not a superhuman. My focus is limited. I only have so much mental focus until it melts away.

So it’s about the mental and emotional bandwidth you have to create. It’s about the energy. It’s about the focus.

Managing your time is overrated.

Everyone can make 30 minutes extra a day. But when you’re busy, when you’re stressed, when you’re overwhelmed, you simply don’t have the bandwidth.

What you should do is manage your bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the amount of mental energy you have to do creative work. So create when your bandwidth is high.

Bandwidth > Time

4. Reinventing the wheel is for monkeys

I have an obsession with templates.

I use them for:

• Emails

• Articles

• Sales pages

• Short-form content

• And even my online course lessons

They save me a ton of time and help me stay consistent. They also help me in delivering better content.

It feels like bragging saying this.

But it’s not. When I say better, it’s content that gets engagement. Any piece of content can perform well as long as you follow a template that appeals to the human psyche.

Now, here’s the trick: I don’t just use any random templates. I created my own (and constantly look for new ones).

To get started, look at the content that hooks you. Think beyond the words. Look at the structure. And then start building your own template library.

5. Publish more crap

One of the biggest reasons creators don't create is because they're pissing their pants about publishing content that isn't perfect.

They’re afraid of:

• Being wrong

• Getting judged

• Or looking stupid

So they never hit publish.

But the truth is, 99.9% of people on the internet don’t give a damn about you. They’ll never see your content.

So why care?

Get over that fear by publishing pieces you think are crap. It’s the only way to build the habit of publishing.

Now, here’s the funny part: You’ll find that content that you labeled as mediocre takes off. It’s often the imperfect things that resonate.

But you can only discover that by being unfiltered.

Post it. Watch how people react.

Perfection is a myth. It’s an impossible standard that only exists in our minds. The sooner you realize that, the better.

6. Never run out of ideas

There’s something weird about modern screens.

They hook our eyeballs, but atrophy our creativity. That’s bad for writing dope.

I’ve noticed that the best ideas never come to me in front of my MacBook Air, but when I’m:

• In the shower

• Out for a walk

• Or just about to fall asleep

If I don’t capture them, they’re gone forever.

One of the best ways to do this is to have a system for capturing ideas. It can be a notebook, a note on your phone, or a fancy app like Obsidian or Notion. But the key is to have it with you at all times. Because you never know when a great idea is going to strike.

I use a simple note app on my phone. Every time I have a new idea, I tag it with “Content Ideas.” Whenever I think of something, I jot it down.

The best creators are idea machines.

They’re always coming up with new ideas. They don’t wait for inspiration to strike. They always have ideas ready to run with that they’ve brainstormed far away from their computer screen.

7. Make it stick like duct tape

Most creators are afraid of being repetitive.

They think it makes them look dumb. Or they think it’s boring. Or think their audience will notice.

LOL.

But humans need repetition to learn.

That’s why the best teachers in the world repeat themselves over and over again. They know that repetition is the mother of all learning.

But it’s not about copying and pasting. It’s about saying the same thing in different ways.

• One day it’s a rant.

• One day it’s a story.

• One day it’s a case study.

Don’t be afraid to repeat your ideas from different angles. It’s how you make them stick.

I’ve been writing about the same ideas for the past 4 years.

And I’m still getting new:

• Subscribers every day

• Readers every day

• Clients every day

Find 5-10 ideas you really believe in. (You’ll get bonus points if your ideas are contrarian to popular beliefs.) And repeat them in every piece of content you create.

That’s how you build a strong personal brand.