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The No. 1 question that haunts all writers
And a simple framework to help you overcome it
Welcome to the new readers who've joined this week.
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In yesterday’s issue, we introduced the concept of a Sweet Spot List.
That’s the intersection of:
What your audience wants and needs
What you want to write about
Now, we’re going to tie it all together by starting to tackle the No. 1 question that haunts almost all writers:
What should I write about?
My favorite framework for generating ideas is called the 3L Framework.
We’re going to apply the first part of it to the clarity we now have with our Sweet Spot List.
Let’s continue yesterday’s example.
In this example, our Sweet Spot List included:
healthy eating
micro workouts
staying healthy while traveling
The first part of the 3L Framework is this question: What have I learned about [topic]?
So, let’s run the three topics above through that question.
What have I learned about healthy eating?
How to eat healthy on a budget
How many calories you need
How to measure portions
Best sources of protein
Best sources of fats
What have I learned about micro workouts?
How to program a micro workout
Quick lower-body micro workouts
Quick upper-body micro workouts
What you need for micro workouts
10 simple exercises you can do anywhere
What have I learned about staying healthy while traveling?
Healthy airport snacks
How to pack food to travel
Easy workouts to do in an airport
How to stay hydrated when traveling
Most common travel mistakes to avoid
Those are 15 ideas I came up with in 60 seconds.
You could easily come up with more than five ideas per question if this was what you wrote about all the time.
And here’s the best part of the 3L Framework.
All of these ideas are:
Topics you enjoy writing about
Topics your audience wants and needs
Ideas that solve a real problem for your target reader
Solve enough problems for your target reader over time, and you’ll have a high-value audience and a great business (if you choose to build a business around your content).
P.S. That’s just the first part of the 3L Framework.
Read this to go more in depth on it.
Action Item
Once you’ve come up with your Sweet Spot List, run each idea through the first part of the 3L Framework.
What have I learned about [Sweet Spot topic]?
List out as many ideas as you can for each, stream-of-conscious style.
You’ll quickly have months of valuable content waiting to be created.
This wraps up the first full week of The Daily Creator.
I want to link to the previous posts, as each one built on the last:
Monday: Why are you writing?
Tuesday: Who are you writing for?
Wednesday: What does your audience need?
Thursday: Why most writers burn out
I hope this was a valuable first week.
Thank you for being part of this community — I’m looking forward to doing big things together in 2023.
Happy New Year!
Work with Teddy
When you're ready, there are a couple ways I can support you:
Single-session 1:1 coaching: I offer a few single-session coaching slots for those who want help with writing, audience building or social media strategy. BOOK HERE.
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Thanks for reading.