The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
𝟳.𝟱 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 - Especially now, when everyone is looking for shortcuts....
Some founders with a few hundred followers write remarkably well and occasionally go viral.
At the same time, I've seen CEOs, founders, and industry leaders publish fairly average posts and still get solid engagement.
Not because the writing is exceptional.
Because the positioning is.
Well positioned people can get away with average writing.
Unknown people usually can't.
Maybe that's an unfair observation.
Maybe not.
The more people talk about AI writing, the more I find myself revisiting old writing advice.
Different era.
Same problem.
Most content doesn't fail because of grammar.
It fails because it sounds like everyone else.
A few lessons I keep coming back to:
[1] Ernest Hemingway - USA
Write one true sentence.
[2] Kurt Vonnegut - USA
Respect the reader's time.
Give readers someone to care about.
[3] Elmore Leonard - USA
If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.
Leave out the parts readers skip.
[4] George Orwell - UK
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
[5] Stephen King - USA
Kill your darlings. (Remove your favorite line if it weakens the writing.)
[6] Ursula K. Le Guin - USA
The story is not in the plot but in the telling.
[7] Margaret Atwood - Canada
A word after a word after a word is power.
[7.5] Satyajit - India
Stop trying to keep everyone happy.
Add something slightly controversial or incorrect. (Renowned ❌ Notorious ✅)
Then sit back and watch the engagement arrive on its own.
😄
.
.
.
.
.
None of these writers cared about AI scores, engagement rates, or content frameworks.
Yet people are still reading them decades later.
Technology keeps changing.
Design tools change.
Video editing tools change.
AI tools change.
But many writing lessons from decades ago still feel relevant.
Because tools can help you write.
They can't do your thinking
and
and
They can't do your observation...
#Writing #Storytelling #PersonalBranding #ContentMarketing
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
Title: Why 80% of your new email subscribers never buy or donate
Most brands work so hard on top of funnel traffic. You run ads, post on social media, and get people to sign up for your newsletter.
Then you send them a generic welcome email with a discount code and complete silence for two weeks.
Here is what happens when you do that:
Your subscribers forget who you are within 48 hours
Your open rates drop on every future broadcast
Readers feel like just another metric on your list instead of an insider
A generic confirmation email does not build trust. A strategic 3-part sequence tells your core origin story, sets clear expectations, and guides new subscribers toward their first purchase or donation while their interest is at its peak.
If your welcome flow feels dry or non-existent, I write 3-part custom on boarding sequences that turn cold signups into warm, loyal community members.
Drop a comment or check out my fixed-scope service link on my profile to get your welcome sequence updated this week.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱 𝗼𝗳 𝟯𝟬𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀
Here are the core tools powering my web design business in 2026:
1. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮
2. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Framer, WordPress, Wix Studio, Shopify, Custom Cod & Development
3. 𝗦𝗘𝗢: Google Search Console & Rank Math
4. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Clay, n8n & Zapier
5. 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Notion & Loom.
6. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: AI & Prompt Engineering
What’s in your daily stack ❓ ❓ ❓
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗵𝗲-𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀!
𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔔𝔲𝔦𝔢𝔱 ℌ𝔬𝔲𝔯
End-to-end fashion content by one creator: concept development, ideation, mood boards, art direction, full styling, curation, image production and final delivery.
