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nomy. Blah, blah, blah.</p><p id="13fe">When I finally drew breath, Mum cleared her throat.</p><p id="1762">“That all sounds great,” she said. “But what’s a VA? And what’s AI?”</p><h1 id="3564">Slow it down</h1><p id="c8a7">In my nerdicilious excitement, I forgot one basic truth: <b>just because I know about something doesn’t mean other people will too.</b></p><p id="ed05">I think that’s an important principle when it comes to crafting valuable content, too.</p><p id="c5fd">Sometimes, readers just want the basics. The first step. Point number one.</p><p id="eb59">They want A, and we’re all the way down at L, M and N.</p><p id="7d84">If you have trouble honing in on a topic, just answer these questions:</p><ul><li><b>Who</b> are you writing for?</li><li>What’s their <b>goal</b>?</li><li>What’s the most basic element of knowledge they <b>need</b> to reach it?</li></ul><div id="bd7d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/@thedavidmcilroy/subscribe"> <div> <div> <h2>Get an email whenever David McIlroy publishes.</h2>

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    </div><h1 id="839d">Resource, then lead</h1><p id="3bed">Don’t make the mistake I did by jumping too far ahead too soon.</p><p id="747a">Write about the basics first. Resource your audience with the knowledge you wish you’d had at one time.</p><p id="5549">And once you’ve resourced them, start leading them towards their goal.</p><p id="7df7">If you liked this, join <b>2,300+ subscribers</b> in my Substack communities, <b><i>How to Write for a Living</i></b> and <b><i>The Solopreneur Stack</i>.</b> I’ll send valuable content straight to your inbox every week to help you learn and grow. <a href="https://thedavidmcilroy.carrd.co/"><b>Join now</b></a>.</p></article></body>

Too Many Writers Make This One Simple Mistake

And I’m one of them.

A while back, I was sitting in my grandmother’s back yard on a sunny afternoon, chatting with my Mum.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue, birds swooped through the air, waves lapped at the coast nearby.

As usual, I was blabbering on about everything that interested me at the time while Mum listened patiently, nodding at all the right moments.

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I talked about work flows. Newsletters. Productivity. How I’d love to delegate work to a VA someday. How AI was good and bad for the creator economy. Blah, blah, blah.

When I finally drew breath, Mum cleared her throat.

“That all sounds great,” she said. “But what’s a VA? And what’s AI?”

Slow it down

In my nerdicilious excitement, I forgot one basic truth: just because I know about something doesn’t mean other people will too.

I think that’s an important principle when it comes to crafting valuable content, too.

Sometimes, readers just want the basics. The first step. Point number one.

They want A, and we’re all the way down at L, M and N.

If you have trouble honing in on a topic, just answer these questions:

Who are you writing for?
What’s their goal?
What’s the most basic element of knowledge they need to reach it?

Get an email whenever David McIlroy publishes.

Get an email whenever David McIlroy publishes. By signing up, you will create a Medium account if you don't already…

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Resource, then lead

Don’t make the mistake I did by jumping too far ahead too soon.

Write about the basics first. Resource your audience with the knowledge you wish you’d had at one time.

And once you’ve resourced them, start leading them towards their goal.

If you liked this, join 2,300+ subscribers in my Substack communities, How to Write for a Living and The Solopreneur Stack. I’ll send valuable content straight to your inbox every week to help you learn and grow. Join now.