Do not index
Do not index
Everyone who writes online everyday is a Product Manager
Because Product management is all about understanding your customers' needs and delivering a solution that exceeds their expectations, writers find themselves in spot. Aren’t they equally seeking to understand their audience, so they can deliver content that resonates with them and exceeds their literary appetite?
Of course they are. Fundamentally, most creative spaces are product management spaces. Writers who begin to see their craft as such, will fair better in the long run. Because heck, the road is long and windy.
I’ve always considered myself a “product guy”; every tinkering away on a new landing page, or adjusting that final image before I launch on ProductHunt. But it isn’t until I began writing again, everyday, that it really did appear to me that I was truly “managing” a product. My writing.
See, writing everyday is like exercising your brain - it keeps your mental muscles strong and agile. It takes practice and hours of crappy drafts. It’s a test of wits. You know what you want to hear playback to you as you read your work, yet it never seems to get there. Your expectations never meet your reality. You’re not a crappy writer and you know it, but your story-telling isn’t quite there yet.
And there’s a reason for this. You have to approach your writing like a Product team:
- Assess where you place now on the scale of awesomeness. This simply means is your work delivering what you want?
- Infuse personal branding into your writing plans. If you want to write everyday, you should apply yourself to be remembered. It’s not just about creating a logo or a tagline, it's about telling your unique story to the world. Every word delivered should circle back to you. I pick up an old post of mine, and immediately identify my unique style – my personal brand.
- Listen out! The best product managers are also great listeners - they know how to gather feedback and make data-driven decisions. Writing in isolation is nice, till its not. Your audience is your consumer. Write for them.
- Be disciplined. Product management is a balancing act between user needs, business goals, and technical constraints. And so is writing. It’s a world for the most disciplined, and I mean that with all seriousness. At the heart of this level of discipline, is the need to balance the often competing interests of researching more ideas, matching your thoughts with your personal style, and yes time.
- Finally, identify your top skills and strengths, and compensate with others where you’re short. Product management is a team sport - it requires collaboration, communication, and empathy for your colleagues and customers. Writing is the same. It seeks for collaboration on all fronts. Be intentional about growing your network of writers and tools. Identify where you can be more adept to your audience, even if its in another person. Go all out and build your ideal network.
To be successful as a writer means you should begin thinking of yourself as a product manager. It’s necessary. Because in many ways, product management is like writing - it requires careful attention to detail, the ability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively, and the willingness to revise and iterate until the final product meets the desired goals and objectives.
Writing is not just a skill, it’s a mindset
- Writing requires discipline, creativity, and a willingness to learn.
- Writing is a form of self-expression. It’s more than just putting words on paper; it's about developing a unique voice and perspective.
- Writing must approach as a craft that requires constant learning and improvement.
- Writing will test your limits of focus, and the ability to push through writer's block and self-doubt.
- Writing is not just about what you say, but how you say it, since it has the power to inspire, educate, and entertain.
- Yet writing surprisingly requires a willingness to take risks and embrace vulnerability. Some of the best journalists put a lot on the line, to produce the awesome stories we read about.
- Developing a writing mindset involves cultivating curiosity, empathy, and a desire to connect with others. Curiosity because it’s an ongoing process of exploration, experimentation, and discovery.
To become a successful writer, one must approach writing as a lifelong journey of self-discovery and growth – that deep-seeking attempt to understand exactly who you are and what you believe, and it requires a deep commitment to personal and artistic integrity. Writing everyday is like a balancing act – It involves juggling multiple priorities at once.
You’re only as good as your tool stack
In university, all engineering students are repeatedly reminded; “use the right tool for the right job”. It’s boldly pasted on every entrance to the Engineering Workshop village. You can’t miss it, even if you were drunk. This premise is admissible in every technical field. Your tools can define your output.
As I write this post in Notion, based on certain prompts I had previously captured in my Google Keep notebook, I can appreciate better that my tool stack is my go-team.
Having the right tool stack to accomplish your writing goals is so critical to your success as a writer in whatever discipline, even if you’re the worlds most seasoned editor.
I share with you my personal tool stack:
- Google Keep: I have tons of prompts. Because inspiration does sometimes appear from nowhere, its a no-brainer at this point to capture down everything worth talking about. Especially since the human mind is only able to convince itself that it can remember something, only so many times. Once bitten, twice shy.
- Feather: I discovered this Notion-to-website platform by chance on Twitter and I’ve stuck with it ever since. It’s built by Bhanu, who’s a remarkably patient individual. It’s simple to use, and grows on you. I can attribute my desire to write everyday, partly to how easy it is to publish with Feather. In truth, all my other blogs, including NoMonkeyTales are hosted on Feather.
- Notion: Can any one word comprehensively describe Notion? not quite. Beyond the data management capability that I seem to have restricted it to, Notion is a world of solutions to many people. Its intuitive and robust; providing diverse integrations and use cases. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about Notion, time to hop off and dive in.
- Quillbot: Paraphrasing is the new creativity AI. This ups the potential for creative process in writing. Quillbot has mastered the voice and originality needed to be undecipherable from actual human writing, without distorting your persona. It helps me come up with alternative ways to express ideas and avoid plagiarism, while also enhancing my writing skills. I love it.
- Tinify: Tinify owns Tinyjpg and Tinypng. Both of which are solidly built compression tools for image file size reduction. Though there’s the 5MB limit, I’ve rarely had an issue with that.
- Canva: The least said about Canva the better. It’s magical.
When it comes to writing, having the right tools is crucial for success. In addition to tools for capturing ideas and managing databases, writers should also consider tools for paraphrasing and image compression. These tools can help writers stay consistent and productive, allowing them to focus on their creative process and delivering results that exceed their audience's expectations.
"Writing is not just about expressing yourself, it's about connecting with others and sharing your ideas."
TLDR;
Product management is a team sport - it requires collaboration, communication, and empathy for your colleagues and customers. And this pretty much aligns with any serious writing profession. The most engaging writers bring together tools, in a collaborative manner to make impact and create conversation.
Having the right tool stack to accomplish this is so critical to your success as a writer in whatever discipline. I share with you my personal tool stack:
- Google Keep: Ideas capture
- Feather: Blogging
- Notion: Database management
- Quillbot: Paraphrasing
- Tinify: Image compression
- Canva: Design and branding
"Your personal brand is your reputation - it's what people say about you when you're not in the room."
End.
Weekly Product Find
With every post, I’ll share (a) remarkable product/s I discovered that may be a game-changer in its space:
- SMALLBETS NEWSLETTER (https://newsletter.smallbets.co/) – A free newsletter by Chris Wong. He shares Inspiration for building your own portfolio of small bets. A good read.
- DESIGN STRIPE (https://designstripe.com/mockups/) - A constantly growing library of illustrations, social media templates and 3D mockups from our Studio team, all completely customisable online.
- SITE GPT (https://sitegpt.ai/) - Instantly answer your visitors' questions with a personalised chatbot trained on your website content.
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