3 Popular Questions Beginners Ask Me During Consultation Calls.

I never thought I was capable of consulting new writers. Not only did I believe I didn’t have much to offer, but I also didn’t have the slightest bit of confidence to teach a stranger!

Thanks to writing online, I get to do things I never imagined in my wildest dreams! In the last 2 months, I’ve consulted over 30 aspiring creators about LinkedIn writing, writing on X, and Medium. Many of them kindly boosted my confidence with great testimonials as well!

The good part of these consultations was to realize I get to leave a mark directly on someone’s life through my knowledge. The best part was to realize there is so much to learn from others!

People whom I’ve consulted include a few students, a new mother from UAE who is a dentist, and even a farmer! This experience has made me experience the vast change the internet is bringing in different parts of the world.

The fact that more and more people are willing to use the internet to create a career out of it is fascinating! Exciting times are bound to come!

Every writer came from a different background. But interestingly, most of their struggles were similar. I got asked a few questions repeatedly, and this article answers them all.

1. Where do I start?

With so many options available to publish your words, it’s easy to get overwhelmed as a beginner.

The worst part?

As Greg McKeown says in his book ‘Essentialism’, social media today is full of not just information overload, but also opinion overload!

There’s not just loads of info about ‘how to do XYZ’ but also about why to do it! And that adds to the mental pressure and subsequently leads to shiny object syndrome.

Every platform seems like a great choice and you’re stuck between the choices.

My advice?

Tune out the noise.

Peek inside your own self and observe which platform resonates with you the most. What kind of content makes your heart race and makes you feel deeply inspired? Where do you find such content the most? That’s your clue to choose your platform.

For me, it was Medium and LinkedIn. I loved the diversity and creative freedom Medium provides. It allows me to write and experiment with various topics and have fun.

LinkedIn helped me with monetizing my writing skills. I also loved the way it is evolving into more diverse content like personal stories.

There is no point in listening to the experts when it comes to choosing your platform. It also doesn’t matter to know which platform works best. Each one does as long as you learn the nuances of the platform and commit to it long-term.

Also, don’t overthink this choice. The point is not whether your decision is right or wrong. The point is to start somewhere.

See which platform is suitable for you and start publishing.

2. How to find my niche?

Your niche is you.

Okay, I get it. You’re done with this sentence. But it’s so true in many contexts!

Imagine entering a new house you’re looking to buy. You’ll examine every corner of each room in that new house. You’ll try to explore as much as you can in each room and each corner before deciding to buy the house, right?

Then why do you want to decide your niche without exploring your chances in diverse topics?

Test waters in the different topics you find interesting. When I started writing on LinkedIn, I tried everything from short fiction stories to self-improvement and mindset. When I started on Medium, I tried everything from OTT show reviews to writing advice and my travel stories.

It’s worth it to experiment with topics before you settle on one or two topics that you enjoy writing about.

Once you’ve experimented enough, you’ll slowly gain clarity about what you enjoy writing and what your audience resonates with the most. The key is to find the sweet spot between the two.

3. How to get consistent writing ideas?

Your mind is like a farmland. Just like the quality of the crops depends on the quality of the seeds sown, the quality of your writing output depends on the quality of your input.

The best way to feed your mind with quality stuff is to live outside your digital screens. My best writing ideas are derived from my day-to-day conversations with family and with my fellow writers.

Plus, spending time away from screens also helps in clear thinking and coming up with unique insights. My quality of ideas has improved multifold once I started capping my screen usage time.

It’s amazing how easily we dismiss the huge resource of writing ideas- our lives. No matter where you’re from, or what you do, your life is full of unique insights! No one’s living a life exactly how you are! It’s such a powerful way to bring that uniqueness to your content.

You just need enough awareness and mindful presence to mine those cool nuggets from your daily experiences and turn them into content.

Wrapping up,

I truly believe writing a lot is more about the mindset and less about the skill itself. You can easily write for a day or two.

But you must be slightly crazy to keep writing for months and years when you hardly see any results.

Have delusional belief in yourself and your skills.

Be crazily optimistic.

Have fun.

The one who passes this beginner phase is already the winner, no matter the destination.

Want to kickstart your writing journey on LinkedIn? Click here to book a value-packed 1:1 call.