Step 1: Start With A Clear Headline (Topic + FOR WHO + SO THAT)

Choose what you want to write about.

The goal is to write a “long-form headline” that essentially summarizes exactly what you want to write about (Topic), FOR WHO (audience), SO THAT (they can achieve some sort of outcome).

For example…

• V1: “I want to write about real estate.”
• V2: “I want to write about buying your first rental property.”
• V3: “I want to write about what questions to ask current owners of rental properties to figure out whether it’s a good deal or not.”
• V4: “I want to write about what questions to ask current owners of rental properties to figure out whether it’s a good deal or not—specifically for properties in Miami, Florida.”
• V5: “I want to write about what finance-related questions to ask current owners of rental properties to figure out whether it’s a good deal or not—specifically for properties in Miami, Florida—so that you know you are buying a property you can rent profitably AND flip for sale in 2 years or less.”

Once you get to a point where you can no longer really clarify the Topic, the WHO, or the SO THAT any further, now you know you’ve gotten to the core of the idea.

Which means you should now write a Tweet or short-form post that “outlines” that small idea BEFORE you over-invest in it (aka: write it into anything long-form).

Let’s keep going!

Step 2: Turn Your Headline Into An “Outline As Content”

Once you have an idea, the next step is to outline it.

Here’s the mental shift you need to internalize:

Every single piece of writing, in some way, is a list.

• A New Yorker article discussing the benefits of living in a certain city? It’s a descriptive “list” of benefits.
• A Buzzfeed article curating different kinds of socks to wear depending on the time of year? It’s “listing” socks, and “listing” the different times of year.
• A novel that spends 3 pages describing a vacant house? Those 3 pages are “listing” qualities of the vacant house.
• Listen closely: “The list goes on and on…”.