“Andrew but I don’t have any ideas…”

Here’s what I’ve learned after helping 4,000+ students start publishing online:

“Not having Any Ideas” is a Top 3 reason that prevents people from hitting publish.

It’s not that you don’t have any ideas, it’s more likely you need some help pulling them out of your head.

And ideas don’t have to be original. That’s a common misconception. I would argue that no ideas are truly original.

But, where you can be original is in how you present the ideas. 

My goal in today’s newsletter is to give you an 8-idea coloring book.

Your goal is to take this 8-idea content coloring book and fill in the lines. 

Let’s dive in!

1. Summarize a podcast you just listened to. 

Write a summary of the podcast episode, expand on a topic mentioned within the podcast.

2. Make lists.

You'll see Buzzfeed do this all of the time... That's because it works... And you'll see this all over LinkedIn:

Here are some examples:

• X books that changed my perspective on ______

• X quotes that remind me of ______

• X things I put into my morning routine to be more productive

• X people that I enjoy learning from when studying _______

You want to ask yourself:

How can I curate something into a list that will be valuable to the reader?

3. What you are reading.

Pick up the latest book you read, or a book you are currently reading.

While you are reading, you most likely have thoughts of your own.

Use your reading as inspiration to write.

Again, you don't need to be an expert on the topic. You just need to teach something you have just learned to someone 1-2 years behind you.

4. Reframe interesting articles.

Write your perspective on an article that got lots of traction.

You can even summarize the article or break it into a better format for people to read.

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5. Build something, and talk about it publicly.

This is my favorite. The buzz phrase is "Building in Public".

If you want to stand out from the crowd, build something and document your process along the way.

People love this. Why?

Because it's unique, and no one else is building exactly what you are building in the same way. And, people may want to learn from you how to build their own thing one day.

6. Share a personal story.

There are 2 components to telling a great personal story:

1. A great story framework (more on this later in the course!)

2. Leave your reader with a gift (something they can take away and implement in their life)

These stories can be about something you experienced in the business world, that time you witnessed something unjust, an international trip you made.

Just make sure it has a life lesson that you can tell the reader about.

7. Explain how to do something.

This is very common on LinkedIn.

If you look at Google search, it's mostly just one big "how-to" directly.

Take anything you've learned throughout your life and put it into a "how-to". Here are some examples:

• How to build your personal brand on LinkedIn

• How to build a writing habit

• How to make ice cream (even when it's cold out)

• How to stay consistent in anything you do

8. Share your progress on a personal or professional goal.

LinkedIn loves to promote transformations:

• How you went from A->Z 

• How you went from 0->1 with a diet, promotion, project launch etc. 

• You started here, now you are there

And these don't have to be MAJOR accomplishments. They can be small changes like "I've drank one gallon of water for 1 week straight" or "I just booked a meeting with this small trick". 

We all know how to do something that someone else will find useful!

That’s all for this week.

Wanna share something with me? Feel free to hit the reply button.

-Andy

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