Why your writing isn't working

(and what actually does)

I read something this week that made me chuckle gently to myself.

A writer shared his brutal first-post reality: 12 views total.

Half were him refreshing the page. The rest, likely his mum and someone who clicked by accident.

If you've been there, you're not alone.

It's doubtful your writing is failing because you lack natural talent.

We all possess varying degrees of that, and often more than we think.

You're more likely to fail because you're following the bleating herd.

The Three Mistakes Everyone Makes

1. You think good writing equals a growing audience.

The internet is drowning in decent writing.

Your perfectly crafted prose is competing with millions of other perfectly crafted pieces. Good writing, especially with all the editing tools at our disposal, is the entry fee, not the winning ticket.

2. You're playing the patience game.

You say, 'I'll keep creating content and people will find me eventually.'

Good luck basing your whole career on this.

That's like planting a seed in your garden and expecting the neighbourhood to notice. The algorithm doesn't reward patience, but good strategy.

3. You think 'being yourself' is enough.

Nobody knows who you are yet.

'Just be authentic' works after people already care about you.

But before that, you might as well be authentic to an empty room.

What Actually Works

1. Write to solve one pressing problem for one specific person.

Stop trying to please everyone. I'd rather have 500 readers who think I'm brilliant than 10,000 who find me 'decent.'

2. Challenge popular ideas.

The safest, rehashed opinions generate the most boring responses. Question what people assume to be true. Make them think, 'Hang on, this person might be onto something.'

3. Be absurdly consistent in one place.

Pick one platform. Write there every day for months and be aware of what works and what doesn't.

Double down on ideas and approaches that do work. Most writers quit after three weeks when they don't see immediate results. That's precisely when things start getting interesting.

I've been writing online for 15+ years. I started with zero readers. Now I've got over 200,000 people who engage with my work, because I learned these lessons the hard way.

Building an audience requires more than just writing well; it also requires effective communication. It requires thinking strategically about every piece you create.

If you're serious about turning your writing into something people actually read, I've spent years figuring out exactly how to write words that people can't ignore.

The kind of writing that makes people stop scrolling.

It's all inside Online Writing Alchemy, my course on the 16 secrets to writing that people fall in love with.

It covers psychology, positioning, and the subtle art of making your ideas irresistible.

You can check it out here.

But whether you join OWA or not, do this: stop writing like everyone else. The world has enough vanilla writers.

Be the writer who says what others won't. Who questions what others accept. Who makes people think differently.

That's how you build something that matters.

Much love,

Alex

P.S. Your writing voice emerges when you stop trying to write like you think you should and start writing like you actually think. Loosen up, buttercup.