I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
🆘 Save yourself [FIRST NAME GOES HERE]
Hey Reader 👋
Whenever you spend a significant amount of time, energy, or money on something, you try to justify why it was the right thing to do.
And you continue investing because you don't want to admit you've been wrong.
This is called Sunk-Cost Fallacy and applies to various aspects of our lives:
- 👩❤️👨 Couples stay in relationships because they've already been together for so long.
- 🎓 Students work for degrees they'll never use just because they've already "come so far."
- 🗂 Creators and business owners stay stuck on platforms or strategies because they've already invested so much time and don't want to admit they made wrong choices.
If we get attached to how much work we've already put into something and use that as a justification for not making changes, we run a high risk of ending up at places we hate. 🙅
As a creative entrepreneur and writer, one of my biggest strengths is to quickly move on after mistakes and wrong decisions.
I've been running my business the same way for the past 3 years - here's a simplified overview of what I do:
- I write articles on Medium
- My articles invite readers to join one of my two newsletters
- I send weekly emails to my subscribers (hey you 👋)
- And I occasionally run promotions for my paid offers (like Medium Writing Academy)
I could be doing a dozen other things to grow my business: Writing on Linkedin or Twitter (X?!), sharing fun videos of my life as a writer on Instagram/TikTok, etc.
But I don't because I adore simplicity.
I like knowing that what I do works instead of constantly trying new things.
And most importantly, I consciously choose to do less because I value time freedom and only work around 25 hours per week.
I recently received this comment on a piece where I shared how much I work and how much money I make:
To be honest, I get it.
So many people are sharing plain lies and scam strategies online. ☠️
Being a little skeptical doesn't hurt.
Here's my answer:
I can run my business on 25 hours per week because I chose the right channel(s) and strategies.
When I try something new and realize it doesn't fit my personality or business, I easily let go.
I pay close attention to the Sunk-Cost Fallacy and am not afraid of spending 5-10 hours exploring a new opportunity because I know I'll quickly move on if it doesn't seem promising.
Most (new) creators make one of two mistakes:
- They're afraid of missing out and constantly try new things and platforms, adding additional work to their plates.
- They're too skeptical or give up too easily.
Medium recently went through significant changes and some writers freaked out.
My friend Zulie Rane wrote a brilliant and extensive post sharing why Medium isn't dead but thriving.
She explains:
- Why Medium isn't dead (even though some writers claim it is)
- What most people get wrong about Medium as a platform
- What type of content is doing well on the platform *right now*
| READ: Why Medium isn't dead. |
I'm not saying Medium is perfect. Every platform has its flaws.
What I'm saying is Medium is still an underrated opportunity for those who:
- Enjoy writing
- Have an interesting, educating, or inspiring message to share
- And are willing to study the rules of the platform (this applies to any content platform)
By the way, if you're brand new to Medium or are still wondering if the platform could be a fit for you, check out my Complete Beginner's Guide - I recently updated it to be aligned with all 2023 changes.
Speaking of.. 👇
📣 We'll help you improve your submissions!
When my co-editors and I announced that we’re taking over editorship at Better Marketing, we promised to do our best to be transparent and helpful.
We’ve now been reviewing stories for a month, and we learned a lot.
To stick to our promises, we want to share our learnings with writers!
We're hosting a live event on Thursday to share:
- 👎 The most common reasons we reject stories
- 🚀 How we decide which stories to nominate for a Boost
- 💡 And how you can increase your chances of getting Boosted
🗓 Add the event to your calendar, so you don’t miss out. 🗓
Reply to this email with "Coming" if you're planning to join us! I can't wait to share those precious insights with you so you can level up your writing and reach more readers. ✨
Big love from my screen to yours,
Sinem
Want more?
Write • Build • Scale with Sinem Günel
I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
Hey Reader, I'm on vacation right now, but as a ✨ responsible creator, ✨ I typed this email when I was at home, so all I had to do was plug in this stunning photo and press send: As we've already made it through almost half of European summer, I want to share an idea that I've been talking about for years: Summer is the perfect time to tap into content creation, grow your audience, and test new ideas. Most people are lazy and busy during summer. They have to take care of their kids, are on...
Hey Reader, I've worked with thousands of writers over the past five years, and even though every writer's journey is different, many of us face the same struggles. One of them is idea generation. Even experienced writers can sometimes feel stuck in a creative rut and experience writer's block. Click here for a new perspective on how to constantly come up with great content ideas. 🖍️ I'm in week #2 of publishing Notes on Substack, and my excitement is still high! After nearly a decade of...
Hey Reader, most of the emails I send you don't have a clear theme or topic, but today is different. This week, I want to encourage you to allow yourself to show up as your authentic self. When we start to publish our work online, we're usually afraid of being judged. And to minimize the risk of being judged, we pretend to be someone we're not. We put on a mask to be professional, smart, or cool. But you know? The easiest way to stand out and share your message with the world is by being you:...