How to write viral content (without getting lucky)

In the last email I sent out, I talked about the importance of prioritizing your time.

And because most people screw this up, they never never build a successful ghostwriting business and escape their 9 to 5.

Hell, any business.

So today, I’d like to talk about how you can use your time to learn one of the most important skills in today’s digital world.

This is the skill I’ve taught over 100 creators that helped them hit $10,000, $50,000, and even $91,000 months.

Writing.

Specifically, writing content.

If you want to build a successful ghostwriting business and grow your personal brand, this is a must.

Now, there are 2 paths you can take when learning to write:

1) The Treacherous Trail

Or…

2) The Rainbow Road

Now, option 1 is the equivalent of dragging your bare ass through broken glass.

It’s going to take you a painstakingly long time to get to the other end (and you might be a bit traumatized from the difficulty).

Needless to say, it’s not fun and I don’t recommend it.

But option 2?

I’ve already carved the path for you, and all you gotta do is follow my direction and skip along the trail.

You’ll have a systemized framework for writing content and it’ll be much easier, more enjoyable, and save you a ton of time.

So, if you’re one of those people who enjoy pain and want to learn to write content by taking the hard route, you can stop reading…

Still here?

Perfect.

The framework I’m about to show you is what I used to help Taylin Simmonds.

He went from a college professor making $42K a year to scaling his ghostwriting business to $20,000 a month.

All while working his full-time job.

Using the framework I’m about to give you, Taylin’s social media posts went from the results on the left…

To the results on the right.

Here’s how you can do the same…

The Easy Way to Write for High-Engagement

Writing is like fashion.

School teaches you to put on as many clothes (words) as possible.

They taught you and me that more words = Better writing.

Sure, it might work well for getting an A on your history paper…

But in the real world?

Your writing becomes equivalent to this:

Bloated, ugly, and makes people wanna look away.

So the first thing we gotta do is get naked.

But before you take your clothes off, lemme explain…

Most of writing well boils down to 1 thing:

Simplicity.

The harder your writing is to read = Fewer people reading.

If you can’t get attention or keep it, the reader is scrolling to the next piece of content.

As Winston Churchill said, “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

The same is true for your writing.

If you can give your readers value in an easy to digest format, 60% of the work is already done.

And we can do this by following the simple framework I taught Taylin:

The What, Why, How Framework.

Whether it’s short-form or long-form content, you can strip down your writing by answering 3 questions:

1) What is the idea I’m trying to get across?

2) Why should the reader care?

3 How can they take action on it right now?

Answering all 3 questions creates a persuasive and valuable piece of writing (I’m using this framework right now).

Now, having established the What, Why, How framework, it’s clear that effective writing isn’t just in the content…

But also in its presentation.

Think of it as not only choosing the right outfit but also ensuring it fits perfectly and appeals to a broad audience.

So how do we make sure it appeals to the maximum amount of people?

Smart Writers Dumb Down

With content, “dumbing down” your writing is like choosing universally appealing outfit.

You’re not sacrificing style; you’re ensuring your writing is accessible and easily understood by a wide audience.

And just as the right casual outfit can make you approachable in social settings...

Simplicity makes your writing approachable to a larger audience.

So once you’ve stripped your writing to the essentials, it’s time to “dumb down” your writing to make it easier to read.

Ideally, a 5th-grade reading level or below.

And all you need to do for this step?

Plug your writing into a free software like Hemingway or ProWritingAid.

These tools analyze your writing’s reading level and give you recommendations on how you can simplify it.

All you gotta do is make edits til’ you’ve simplified it enough.

Alright, so we’ve undressed your writing and made it easy on the eyes of readers…

But how do we make your writing stand out from the crowd?

How to Stand Out as a Writer

This last step is the fun part.

Now that you’ve got a valuable piece of writing, it’s time to make it stand out.

It’s time to accessorize your writing “outfit” by adding some “pizazz”…

Some flavor…

AKA, the thing most writers lack…

Personality.

Adding personality to your writing is like wearing a Rolex with a suit.

It’s not the main thing…

But it’s a damn nice addition that makes you stand out.

When you nail this, you’ll not just grow a following…

You’ll build a die-hard fanbase.

Now I won’t lie, finding your voice and style will take time to develop.

But it’ll separate you from every other writer and put you in a category of one.

Let’s take me, for example…

You’ve probably noticed:

• I use slang

• I use weird email headlines

• I use conversational writing

• I use analogies and metaphors

• I use cascading bullet point lists with repetition

If you read my writing without seeing who posted it, you’d probably be able to recognize it was me.

But I didn’t start out writing like this.

I had to experiment and find my style.

You can find your voice and style by listing out your top 5-10 favorite creators.

For each creator, list out what you love about their content.

For example:

I like Dan Koe’s simplicity, comparisons, and structure.

I like Alex Hormozi’s metaphors, directness, and stories.

I like George Ten’s conversational tone, hooks, and transitional phrases.

The key is to not copy one creator, but take pieces from each.

It’s like trying on pieces of clothing from each person’s wardrobe to see what fits you best.

Experiment and create your own style.

See how much simpler this is than dragging your ass through The Treacherous Trail of writing?

When you use this 3-step framework, building your personal brand and ghostwriting business becomes a helluva lot easier (and faster).

Now, keep in mind, it’ll still take persistence and practice.

But writing is only one piece of the puzzle…

How do you actually make money with it?

Well, in the next email, I’ll show you how I’ve helped multiple people in my ghostwriting program land clients, scale their ghostwriting business, and quit their jobs.

Like Thomas, who’s been landing $5,000/month clients for email ghostwriting.

Andrew, who scaled to $5K a month within 2 months with ghostwriting.

Or Rohith, who hit $40,000 months with ghostwriting.

Stay tuned…

Your Canadian friend,

Dakota “Write” Robertson

P.S.

Soon I’ll be opening up applications for my personal brand and ghostwriting program, Growth Ghosts.

In it, I’ll show you everything you need to grow your following by thousands of followers and build a successful online business.

There will be a limit of 100 spots total.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

So if you want to get on the waitlist and get first access to applications, click the button below: