17 months ago my friend and Medium top writer
made his first dollar writing online.
Okay, it didn’t pay off his mortgage, but it did something more valuable: It caused a seismic shift in his mindset.
“Maybe this could work? Grow my audience and make a nice side income.”
He wasn’t oozing world-beating confidence. But he’d started to believe. And self-belief supercharges your writing engine.
Guess what happened next? He suddenly earned about $1,000 writing on the buzzy publishing platform Medium.
“Today is Medium payday and $961 has landed in my account. I find this astonishing. Because I’m nothing special.”
In this week’s podcast, we talk headlines.
Derek knows it’s not sexy, but writing non-sucky headlines that people click on is vital.
It’s a skill anyone can develop!
Derek took a scientific approach to online writing and studied top writers on Medium and other platforms.
What tricks do they use?
He devoted hours to crafting his (viral) headlines.
“Your headline is the most important sentence you write. Don’t treat it like an afterthought. Don’t use the first idea you have. It's takes time to craft a winner.”
17 months ago Derek was a struggling writer. Now he makes over $2500/month and quit working full-time
What’s super cool is that Derek shared in an exclusive guest essay for my Online Writing Club that he now earns enough with his part-time business that he can go part-time in his main job.
“It’s so exciting to be in control of what I do.This hasn’t been easy. It took 18 months of hard work. And a zillion mistakes. But my little writing business is flourishing. 12 months ago I was a struggling writer earning $25/month. But now I make over $2500/month.
Derek loves templates. They are an easy way to write faster headlines and in our podcast interview, he shared 7 proven templates with you.
“Don’t rush your headlines. Devote time to your headliness, steal my templates and something magical could happen!”
Ready to be better than 97% of writers?
You can listen to this week’s interview on Substack and/or watch our interview on YouTube - ⚠️but be warned. You might become overwhelmed with a flood of new readers and subscribers:
✅ What we talk about:
00:00:00 Why Headlines Are Important to Get Clicks
00:01:05 Who is Derek Hughes?
00:02:30 Is Writing a Full-Time Job for Derek?
00:03:15 Biggest Mistake that New Writers Make
00:05:56 How Consistency Has Changed Derek’s Writing
00:07:42 Derek’s Formula for an Irresistible Headline
00:10:36 Derek’s Thoughts on Clickbait and How to Avoid It
00:12:56 How can Writers’ Headlines Stand Out?
00:15:08 The 4P Approach to Headline Writing
00:18:06 Headline Examples from Derek
00:25:08 What is the Rule of 10?
00:28:52 How Derek Infuses Emotions in His Writing
00:32:40 How Derek Fights Procrastination
00:35:02 What is Derek’s Writing Process and Is Repurposing Worth It?
00:42:25 Personal Questions for Derek
Use Derek’s 4P Framework to draw more readers to your writing
To reward you for sticking with us for so long, here’s Derek Hughes's 4 P’s Template you can steal:
1. Problem - What’s this about?
Be crystal clear on the problem you’re solving.
Never write about a topic. Always solve a problem. This gives you an angle. And a reason for people to read it.
How do you know what problem to solve? Listen to your readers. Read their comments. Ask them questions. If you don’t have a big audience. Read comments on bigger writers in the same niche. Use numbers or emotive words to dial up the power.
2. Person - Is this for me?
People wonder Am I the sort of person who should read this?
Help your readers know this is for them. A common mistake is being too general. You think this widens your appeal. That more will click. But the opposite is true. Being narrow strengthens your attraction.
Knowing who you’re writing for helps you frame your title.
Compare these titles:
3. Product - What are you offering?
This is where you show what type of writing this is.
People need to know what they’re getting. This makes it more attractive. Vagueness repels. Is it:
a listicle
your life story
actionable advice
lessons from a book
what you’ve learned from doing something
4. Promise - What’s the reward?
Readers are selfish.
They’ll read if they gain something. New writers focus on themselves and their content. This is a big mistake. Zoom out and think about your reader. Why should they spend time reading this? What will they get from it?
People are looking to:
solve problems
make money
save time
ease pain
If you help with these, people will read your stuff. Find a way to make this clear in your title. Use numbers. Or powerful, emotive language. Avoid clickbait by overpromising. You serve your readers by making the promise clear.
Derek started writing online with ZERO followers or experience
“You won’t believe how bad my writing was when I started. (Please don’t look it up). I was 51 with no experience and decided to give it a go.”
His only advantage was his curiosity and willingness to learn. So if he can do this. Anyone can!
As a Medium writer myself, I decided to not put all eggs in one basket in fall 2022. Now I’m a Substack bestseller and garner 85,000 views with my newsletter.
Luckily I inspired Derek to start writing on Substack and now he’s building his Medium/Substack flywheel too.
As I always say:
“Substack and Medium go together like peanut butter and jelly!”
5 days ago, Derek reached the amazing milestone of 15,000 followers on Medium:
On Substack, he’s growing rapidly too.
Inside our writing community with more than 300 members, Derek shared a few weeks back (now he has already 600+ subs):
As tribe member Derek, you’ll get:
access to the members-only community of 300+ like-minded writers and creators ($97 value p.m. )
access to all expert-led LIVE workshops, e.g. our special and hands-on “Headline Writing Like a Pro” session with Derek; next session “Pitch The Media Like a Pro” will be with
, Weds, Oct 16, 1 pm EST.
access to all Kristina-led LIVE workshops, e.g. this month: Canva for Substack Level Up Your Home with Guest Posts, From Zero To Recommendations Hero.
access to The Substack Halloween Party in the last week of October with spooky surprise guests
access to all replays of past LIVE workshops
access to all courses, e.g. Substack School, Medium School, Freelance School ($700 value)
quarterly earnings reports, next one will come in 2-3 posts
discount on Bootcamps for annual members, e.g. Derek and mine NEW “Substack Curious? The Medium/Substack Flywheel Kickstarter Bootcamp” (starting Oct 18) and a $90 discount on 1:1 coaching
NEW: Founding Members get a 1:1 strategy session with Kristina ($187 value)
I’d love to have you on board and support you every step of the way.
🌟Binge-listen to “The Online Writing Club” podcast🌟
🎙️#5 - How to Get Published in The Huffington Post in 2024 | Learn From Ashley Broadwater
🎙️#4 - 7 Mental Models To Make $1 Million As A Writer | Learn From Michael Simmons
🎙️#3 - From Beginner to First Book Deal | How Evelyn Skye Became a 6-Figure NYT Bestselling Author
🎙️#2 - 100K/Year Without Social Media | Writer Tom Kuegler Shares His Eye-Opening Journey
🎙️#1 - From Medium Post to Bestselling Book | Interview with Debut Author Michael Thompson
Are you giving your headlines enough attention? Are you thinking hard enough? Share a headline (and link to your post) that worked or a question.
We want you to get better and better and better!
PS You did it. Nice! If this wasn’t the worst podcast episode of all time, give us a like. Even better: share it with a friend who needs some headline help. Thanks!
PPS Watch out for our “Substack-Curious? The Medium/Substack Flywheel Kickstarter Bootcamp” starting November 18. I tripled my income and will have a 10,000 subscribers year. I want the same for you.
7 Headline Hacks That Will Make You More Money Than 97% Of Writers | Learn From Derek Hughes