Whoever writes gets the attention

Published about 1 year ago • 3 min read

Hey Reader,

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to get all of the press and attention even when other people have built something similar?

It can be frustrating when you’ve worked really hard on a project but no one seems to care or notice. It can be even more frustrating when someone else gets attention for something that isn’t even as good as what you’ve made.

Why is this?

There’s a good chance the person getting the attention is writing about their experiences.

Yes, you have to do the action, but if you want to be known, you have to teach. Write things down and share the story. That’s what makes the difference.

By writing and hitting publish, you get to sway the entire conversation.

This also works inside companies:

If you work in a 500-person company, even if you’re junior, you can gain attention by writing. You just need experience and ideas to write about, but you don't need authority or influence. Let your ideas speak for themselves.

Write about what you’re learning or strategies your team can pursue, and share it. People can comment on what’s interesting, or even disagree, but either way, you’ll increase your attention and influence.

Writing automatically elevates you from the sea of other people doing the same thing.

Most of the people in the audience at a conference listen to the speaker, nod, and applaud. Maybe they comment on how great the speech was in the hallway after a session.

It’s less common for someone to take notes of interesting takeaways, and rarer still for a person to not only take such notes but share them publicly! Yet, this is exactly the kind of thing that will get you noticed.

It happens all of the time: speakers will check Twitter after their speech, scroll through the conference hashtag, and retweet people who share a photo of neatly written notes with takeaways from the speech. If the notes are especially good (or artistic), the speaker may even ask to share them in their newsletter with credit.

It’s so simple, yet hardly anyone does it. Everyone is busy building in private instead of creating in public and sharing what they learn as they go.

Remember: the person who writes gets the attention.

It doesn’t matter if someone else started before you. It doesn’t matter if they were first. You can come into any industry and simply start writing things down and sharing as you go. This will immediately set you apart from the crowd.

You don’t even need to be an expert to do this. Sometimes, it’s better if you’re a beginner. You don’t have to act like you know more than you do. Just share what you’re learning as you go, and many people will be able to relate. They’ll enjoy following your journey.

The counterintuitive thing to remember is this:

People don’t teach because they’re experts. They’re seen as experts because they teach.

So start writing.


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