4 builders who never spoke to each other

Never sit down to a blank page

Keep a running store of prompts at the top of the working document, fed by reader suggestions and a standing brainstorm, so the writing slot starts from a candidate rather than from nothing. Write about whatever actually came up in your week, since a lived topic drafts itself in one sitting while an invented one stalls, and automate the parts of the process you dislike.

The method

1. 01

   Keep a running store of topic ideas, including reader suggestions, at the top of your working document so writing starts from a prompt instead of an empty page.

2. 02

   Run a standing weekly content brainstorm with your team so there is always a stock of candidate topics before the writing slot arrives.

3. 03

   Write each week about whatever actually came up in your week, in reading, work or conversations, because a topic you have already lived through drafts itself in one sitting.

4. 04

   Publish whenever you learn something, so that your material comes from work you are already doing and never runs out.

5. 05

   Write the pieces you actually want to write; the ones written to guess at what an audience wants consistently underperform.

What it returned

• Chenell Basilio keeps an ideas bin at the head of the same doc where she collects research links, then outlines from it.

• The DelightChat team held a content brainstorm call every Friday which surfaced several candidate post topics.

• Posts on invented topics stalled after an hour and read badly, while lived topics came out as a single continuous draft.

• Zue credits Nathan Barry's three principles of sharing all you know, making something daily and working openly, and notes Barry built a seven-million-dollar business on them

Sources

• How I built 100 Projects in 100 DaysFlorin Pop · florin-pop.com · How do you come up with so many ideas? · 2019-12-26
• Friday Feature: Growth In ReverseChenell Basilio · sparkloop.app · #1 - Google search · undated
• What I Learned From 250 Podcast Episodes – The Bootstrapped FounderArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · Tools Work Better Than I Do · 2023-09-15
• The Secret Formula for Getting Traction from Your WritingCory Zue · coryzue.com · 2. Write when you learn something · 2017-09-15
• Flexible Consistency: Combining Contrasting ValuesPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · How I write on my blog · 2020-10-18