Overview
iCodeThis is a platform where they provide daily coding challenges that are designed to improve your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills.
For the tools, I only used Beehiiv and Google Docs for this.
This newsletter is only a sample for iCodeThis.
The Process
I can write newsletters in as fast as 90 minutes.
In fact, I wrote this newsletter in 81 minutes.
My secret?
Outlining.
When outlining, first, what I do is I answer these questions:
• What’s the goal of this newsletter?
• Who am I speaking with?
• What do I want them to do after reading this?
• What emotion am I trying to project? Or am I informing them?
One reader. One problem. One action. One goal.
And after that, I use subheads and bullet points for the actual outlining.
The Newsletter Content:
SL: Top 5 Coding Mistakes
Preview: Every beginner makes…
Mistakes in coding are inevitable.
It’s part of learning.
And it’s normal.
BUT.
If you could avoid these 5 common mistakes every beginner makes…
You will progress and improve quickly.
So let’s start with the first one.
Mistake #1: Coding without a plan.
Think of coding as chess.
You must have plans and strategies to win the game.
In coding, it’s how you’ll finish your project.
You see…
No plan means this:
You’ll end up wasting your time trying to figure out what’s wrong and how you can fix it.
That’s why it’s better to ask yourself these essential questions before you start your work:
- What am I trying to achieve?
- What steps should I be taking?
- How long will it take me?
- What stack am I going to use?
- What could possibly go wrong?
As they say…
“Begin with the end in mind.”
Mistake #2: Doing it all alone.
If you want to learn and improve rapidly…
Here’s a hack for you:
Seek feedback.
Which means—you need other people to improve.
You need to ask fellow coders and use these platforms to your advantage:
- Stack Overflow (my favorite)
- Even ChatGPT
Never be afraid to ask for others’ help.
Because there’s always someone who’s willing to help you.
Mistake #3: Not backing up your work.
Imagine.
The hours of focused work you’ve put in and the sacrifices you’ve made…
Suddenly, lost in a blink.
Gone.
Now you blame yourself.
And wishing you could've backed it up on GitHub…
In that way—
You’re also gonna prevent these from happening:
- Accidental Loss
- Corruption
- Theft
Mistake #4: Uh, I can’t read your code…
Are these familiar to you, [name]?
- The code is not indented properly.
- The use of white space and new lines are inconsistent or everything is put on a single line.
- Coding without comments or overcommenting.
Remember:
Writing a code isn’t just about making it well-structured.
It’s about making sure it’s clean and readable as well.
Mistake #5: You’re too LAZY.
If you want to succeed as a coder, you need to put in the work every. single. day.
It’s a commitment to make.
It takes sacrifices.
If you’re struggling to code daily, smash the button below.
I made something for you.
Note: This is a sample newsletter that I made for iCodeThis.com.
