on the way back home


Hey Reader,

my fiancé Philip recently shared the following question on Substack:

What’s the #1 advice you’d give your 18-year-old self?

And there's one reply in particular that I couldn't stop thinking about:

Think of it this way: If you're climbing up a mountain, it makes sense to talk to those who are on the way back down.

Ask them how the weather on top is and if they have any recommendations on what path to take.

This applies to pretty much anything in life.

Wanna start running? Ask those who are running.

Wanna start a business? Ask someone who has started a business.

Talking to those who are heading home is the easiest way to minimize the number of beginner mistakes you'll make.

A few months ago, I connected with a fellow creator - Adriana Tica.

I told her how I built the majority of my audience by writing on Medium.

She's been creating content and writing newsletters for years, so she got curious about how she could publish on Medium as well.

I gave her a few tips and offered to ping me when she had a first draft ready, so I could help with the finishing touches.

Her content is a great fit for the Better Marketing publication that I'm managing, so we made sure it fits the publication guidelines as well as Medium's Boost criteria to have the highest chance of reaching a significant audience.

And it worked.

The piece got boosted, received over 3k views and dozens of positive responses from readers:


Another brilliant writer I recently connected with is Landon.

He's running a fantastic Substack publication and got interested in republishing his work on Medium.

Since we're part of the same Mastermind community, I was thrilled to help him out.

His first post on Medium got boosted, and the second one is already scheduled to go live.


I could share a gazillion similar stories about why it makes sense to talk to those who are ahead of you when you're on a new journey (or platform), but I think these two illustrate my point quite well.

You don't have to figure things out on your own.

You can rely on the expertise of those who are ahead of you.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as smart as Adriana and Landon.

When I started to write online in 2018, I didn't ask for help.

I didn't have coaches or mentors.

That's why it took me more than 150 articles and almost 2 years of hard work to finally gain some traction.

I don't want you to waste your time like I did, Reader.

That's why I've been working on two ways to support you.

#1. Next week, I'll kick off a brand new opportunity to help you share your message with the world.

It's perfect if you've been thinking about writing on the internet for a while but haven't taken action yet.

I want you to get out of analysis paralysis and finally put your work out there so people can learn from your experiences, expertise, and your unique way of looking at the world.

Click here to receive an early invite to the program.

#2. I'm hosting a live webinar to show you how I've generated over 20k email subscribers by writing on Medium.

Medium is a massively underrated platform for experts, coaches, consultants, or anyone who wants to tap into a new audience and grow their email list and business.

I can't wait to pull the curtain and show you how I've been using my writing to grow a loyal, ready-to-buy audience on the platform.

I'm extra happy to host this training together with my friends at Teachable since it's been my go-to course creation platform for the past 7 years!

Sign up now to join me live on Monday (registrants will also get access to the replay).

Big love from my screen to yours,
Sinem

Write • Build • Scale with Sinem Günel

I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.

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