21 of The Best Mistakes I Ever Made Writing Online (That Turned Me Into a Better Writer)
I wasn't a writer. I started at square one. I stumbled and fell. 21 lessons I learned to polish your diamond and boost your engagement.
Your post takes hours to write.
You pour your heart and your soul into it.
You hit publish and…
Nothing happens…
A lot of new writers stop there.
I get it.
I was there too.
But you’re not a bad writer.
And your writing doesn’t suck.
Two years ago, I started writing online. I knew nothing. My posts were bad, my engagement was non-existent.
But I’m not a quitter.
I committed to continuous improvement.
One post at a time.
invested tons of money into learning
read every writing tip there is
analyzed virality
And guess what?
It happened!
I went viral on Medium many times. And here’s how one of my notes on Substack performs:
If you’re just starting, or if you’re already writing but want to improve, this collection will help you tremendously.
I wish I had something like this when I started.
It’s EVERYTHING I learned and applied to improve my writing and train my custom GPT agents - Title Generator and Substack Notes writer.
You might wanna print this out ;)
Let’s go!
Titles
1. Spent 80% of my time writing headlines that only my friends clicked.
Turns out, “Don’t become a team lead” wasn’t as clickable as I thought. Who knew?
Lesson Learned: Headlines Are Everything
They’re bringing you those clicks.
Create a curiosity gap - the bigger the better.
Combine what’s expected with something entirely unexpected.
Use bold statements to hook readers.
Solve problems.
Provide solutions.
Save time, money, or both.
Change “how-to” titles with “how I” or “how”.
Example: “How I write 2 articles per day in 30 minutes”.
Intros
2. Kicked off every post with something like “Hi, my name is”
As if I was at a writer’s AA meeting…
Lesson Learned: Nail the Hook
Drop a bomb in the first sentence.
Use bold statements.
Strong opinions.
Follow up with a short personal story.
Make it emotional.
Use the viral formula from YouTube shorts.
I call it the “BUT-SO-AND” formula.
Here it is: “[a person in a situation], but [a problem], so [a solution], and [an unexpected twist/another problem]”
To add even more suspense, remove BUT, SO and AND.
Like this: “[a person in a situation]. [a problem]. [a solution]. [an unexpected twist/another problem]”
Portia Nelson uses it in her Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.
Writing
3. Focused on sharing my wisdom.
Turns out, people don’t want a sage. They want hacks. Fast.
Lesson Learned: Focus on Benefits and Solutions
Don’t just share information.
Create solution-centric content.
Solve the problems of your reader.
Speak to outcomes your reader cares about.
Instead of “Learn to write better,” say “Get more clicks, readers, and cash with these writing hacks.”
4. Tried to sound like an academic professor.
Boring.
Lesson Learned: Write As You Talk
Forget about sounding smart, no one likes that.
Be real.
Keep it conversational.
Write as if you’re explaining your idea to a friend over coffee.
This makes your writing highly relatable.
5. Used passive voice like a chef uses salt
Liberally and unnecessarily.
“Mistakes were made” doesn’t scream confidence, apparently…
Lesson Learned: Use Active Voice
Show confidence.
Declare yourself.
Instead of “This can be done” use “I did this” or “You can do this”.
6. Wrote for “everyone”.
Classic rookie mistake.
Writing to everyone is the quickest way to impress no one.
Lesson Learned: Speak to One Person
Write for one specific reader.
Imagine you’re helping a slightly younger version of yourself.
Talk to the person who’s a few steps behind you.
7. Made my story all about me.
Because who doesn’t love a self-centered narrative? Oh wait, everyone.
Lesson Learned: Make it About the Reader
Your story is not about you.
It’s about your reader.
Show them how they can find a solution.
8. Pretended I was perfect to seem more credible.
Hid my mistakes like they were skeletons in a closet.
Turns out, people love a good crash-and-burn story.
Lesson Learned: Share Your Mistakes
People don’t trust perfection.
Or experts.
Forget bout general advice.
That crap can be found anywhere online.
The time for this content is long gone.
People trust experience.
People trust other people who face their struggles.
Be open about what you’ve learned the hard way.
Vulnerability makes your advice highly relatable.
Pump this up by turning the negative experience into a positive lesson.
9. Explained everything like a dictionary,
Forgetting humans prefer movies over manuals.
Lesson Learned: Show. Don’t Tell
People connect with people.
Use a variety of formats.
The level of relatability changes significantly:
text - low
images - medium to low
voice overs - medium to high
videos - high
Make sure you use relevant and original images. Now AI makes it easy to generate stunning (and unique) images.
As for the text?
Don’t explain.
Don’t inform.
Paint pictures.
Use colors.
Add examples, metaphors, analogies and comparisons.
Examples: “fresh as a cucumber” or “fast like a cheetah” or “writing is like kissing”.
10. Thought people trusted me by default
Guess what? They didn’t.
Lesson Learned: Use Facts and Data
Build trust.
Add facts, links, screenshots, quotes, and other evidence to prove your solutions work.
11. Used academic and business language
Assumed people online are different than physical people. Because they exist virtually, right?!
Lesson Learned: Use NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
You influence through language and behavior.
→ How we consume information (the VAK formula)
The majority of readers consume the information in three different ways:
Visually - through images (about 65-70%) (ref.)
Audially - through listening (about 20-30%)
Kinestetically - through touch, taste and smell (about 5-10%)
That’s the VAK formula.
Yet there’s another group of people who consume:
Audio-Digitally - through numbers (about 5-10%)
You need to have all the four groups of words in your writing:
Look, See, Visualize, Picture, Imagine, etc.
Listen, Talk, Speak, Hear, Sing, etc.
Feel, Touch, Taste, Play, etc.
Calculate, Count, etc.
→ How we remember things
3 types of content provoke strong emotions and make any piece memorable:
Humor
Sex and love
Fear and violence
Most Hollywood blockbusters have all of the three.
Use them wisely.
→ How we think (Reframing)
Use reframing to:
turn negative experiences into positive outcomes using your solution.
build suspense in your storytelling by turning bad into good.
create a curiosity gap with a juxtaposition.
Play with connotations.
This adds to the suspense in your intros.
It also helps with your titles.
Examples:
the best mistake I ever made
lose weight eating pizza
stress is good
Outros
12. Thought CTAs are only for selling
So I forgot to tell readers what to do next.
It’s like hosting a party and forgetting to tell people where the food is.
Lesson Learned: Call to Action Every Time
Most writers sleep on their revenues.
This is the place to monetize.
Create something for free to make your reader click and give you their email address.
Or give them a reason to buy your solutions.
If you’re selling, focus on benefits and outcomes, not features and descriptions.
Don’t inform.
Tell them to buy.
Because that’s the only way they’re gonna find the solutions they need.
Formatting
13. Painted in black
Huge, dense paragraphs because my readers loved me so much that they’d take a vacation to read my stuff.
Lesson Learned: Build Structures That Work
Frameworks like "Guides", "Listicles" and “Personal Stories” are popular for a reason.
They’re clear and actionable.
Lead directly to the solution.
14. Ignored SEO
Because I thought my brilliance would shine through the algorithm.
The algorithm:
Lesson Learned: Optimize for SEO
Build rabbit holes with links to long keywords.
You’ll get more reads.
Research high-volume low-competition keywords and add them:
in your title
in your subtitle
in your article’s body
in your image’s file name
in your image alt text description
in your article link in the SEO settings
A free tool to research keywords is Google Ads.
Create a free account and go to Tools → Keywords Planner → Discover new keywords.
And if you want to learn from the best, take this SEO course.
15. Poured everything into the white page without editing
But I only bored the lost souls who accidentally came across my pieces.
Lesson Learned: Keep It Skimmable
Your best friends:
Short paragraphs, even only one sentence
Bolded subheadings and section names
Bullet points (make them 3)
Oh, and don’t forget the white space.
Build a structure that repeats itself throughout the whole piece.
Example: if your title says “3 ways to…”, your article should have intro, three blocks with subheadlines - one for each way, and outro.
Use outlines, you’ll save tons of time.
16. Thought complex means smart
Because my readers have tons of time to invest in solving my puzzles of words!
Lesson Learned: Make it Readable
Talk to a 6th-grader or younger.
The average American reads at the level of 7th or 8th grade, while 54% of adults have literacy below 6th-grade level!
Check your readability and edit with the Hemingway app. It’s free.
17. I was confident I knew how to write
Because I’m a respected leader in my 9-5, right?
Riiiiight?
Lesson Learned: Learn from the best
I had to unlearn everything I knew about writing.
When I started focusing on improvement I found about something called Rhythm.
Combine short and long sentences.
This makes your writing sound like music.
Example:
18. Overlooked endings
Though a good old boring summary will do.
Lesson Learned: Create Coherence
Finish with the same words you used in the start.
This helps close the loop and gives a sense of closure.
It feels like a reward, job well done after reading.
Stimulates dopamine.
19. Formatted my posts like a brick wall
If it hurts the eyes, it doesn’t matter what it says.
Lesson Learned: Aesthetics
The human eye loves this.
Paint shapes and forms with bullets and text.
Like I did above.
20. Thought sharing happens magically
So I wrote pieces that were about as exciting as tax forms.
Lesson Learned: Create Shareability
Sharing → Virality.
Write a 1-2 sentence paragraph that you would personally share.
A summary of your piece highlighting the benefit/solution to the problem.
Make it easy for people to share it.
21. Thought length didn’t matter
Because “quality over quantity”, right?
Newsflash: It’s both. Especially on the internet.
Lesson Learned: Mind the Length
This is platform-specific.
Pieces with 1000+ words tend to perform better on Google (and Medium).
But shorter pieces tend to get more engagement.
What to do?
Since we all aim to rank higher in the search results, you wanna have some longer pieces.
A good mix of both (short and long form) works best.
Bottom Line
Write with your hot heart. Pour your emotions. Fearlessly.
Then edit with your cold brain. Use my 21 pieces of gold to brush out what’s in excess and polish your diamond.
And remember to commit to continuous improvement.
There’s a false belief that learning is an end goal.
It’s a process.
You never stop learning.
Meaning you never become a “good (enough) writer”.
There’s always room for improvement.
Embrace that and watch your audience explode.
And don’t forget to join my Monthly Writing Challenge, it’s FREE!
I see you later!
Yana
P.S. And if you wanna learn from the top 1%, here’s the best writing course I ever took.
Amazing blueprint to have in mind if not even printed, to check it everytime when we post a new article.
Thank you!
This is a keeper. Thanks for the great advice.