Consistency Is Easy When You’re Having Fun

Most writing advice online is too formulaic and self-serious. If you want to know where to publish, the best place to start is where you think you’ll have the most fun.

Pick the platform that sparks the most joy or curiosity.

Ignore anyone who tries to sell you on a particular platform based on its current popularity and reach. Don’t worry about which platform happens to be trending this month. Ignore the news about this or that social media site that is supposedly dying.

You want to publish where you have an advantage. There’s no greater advantage than publishing where you’re having the most fun.

It’s hard to compete against the person having fun

Publishing consistently is challenging enough on its own. Don’t make it harder on yourself by chasing clicks and impressions. Your precious algorithm that serves you today might change next week.

I publish on LinkedIn because that’s my network. I enjoy engaging directly with people I know in real life. 

I publish on X because I love participating in live business and finance conversations.

I publish on this blog because it feels like my cozy home on the internet. 

I write guest posts because I love the media game. Writing for editors requires me to raise my writing standards. It challenges my abilities, forcing me to tighten my voice and style.

Sure, everyone loves it when something they've written takes off. But if you constantly chase platforms for reach, you'll never invest long enough in one place to see your efforts compound.

Bias toward fun because fun is effective:

1. Readers can tell when you’re having fun

The way you write varies when you’re writing for fun versus writing out of necessity. The proof is in your voice.

When people sense the enjoyment in your writing, you become a more entertaining person to follow. People are more likely to engage with your work. 

The more fun, the more engagement. The more engagement, the more traction. The more traction, the more fun. And it all goes around and around in a virtuous circle.

2. Gamify the work others hate

The people who grow the largest audiences the fastest tend to be highly engaged. They don’t simply hand their work off to an assistant to schedule. They’re responding actively in the comments. They engage directly in live conversations. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t be formulaic. It helps to build habits. It’s useful to schedule posts in advance. But for most of us, there’s also invisible work that goes into growing a following. You engage with others. When you comment, your words aren't just throwaway lines. You write and think with consideration. 

This invisible work makes a huge difference when compounded over the long run.

Narrow your focus

There's a risk to every good strategy. The risk of selecting a publishing platform based on fun is that you may be tempted to switch platforms when you're bored.

I’ve written all over the internet. If there's one thing I wish I'd done differently, it's publishing on fewer platforms.

I’m on LinkedIn and X. In the past, I published on Facebook and Instagram. Multiple times I’ve tried YouTube. I occasionally publish on Medium and Substack. Weekly, I write for this blog, which I distribute through my newsletter. I’ve written many dozens of guest posts for numerous publications. Some of those turned into regular columns. 

I never went all-in on a single platform. I published consistently, but not always in the same place. Now, I try to convince clients not to follow in my footsteps. Your fastest progress is always on the other side of narrow focus.

If I have any excuse going for me, it’s that I’m a marketer. It’s useful that I understand how all the major platforms work, which you can only do through publishing on them. But if I’m honest with myself, I know I’ve sacrificed effectiveness by publishing widely.

Writer beware.

Make it look easy

There’s a great fictional anecdote about Mozart. One day, a young composer ran up to Mozart and asked him how to write a great symphony. 

Mozart suggested the young man go to school, practice for a decade, and then, when he's mature, give it his best shot.

The young composer said, “But Mozart, you wrote your first symphony when you were a child.”

Mozart looked at the young man. “That’s right. I also didn’t go around asking others how to do it.”

I think the great advantage of my writing career is that I never waited for anyone to tell me that I could publish. I've always had fun.

The result was that I was writing and publishing online long before anyone paid me. I never waited for the “permission" of an English or Journalism degree or the green light of a major publisher. 

Writing for me has always been a form of play. From a young age, people started hiring me to write because it was obvious to everyone around me that I enjoyed what I was doing.

It's fun to follow the person who genuinely enjoys what they're doing.

If you’re excited about a particular platform, then go all in. Go have fun. Experiment and publish across styles, lengths, and voices. Just throw ideas and stories against the wall. If it takes you a year to see traction, then that’s okay. You’re having fun anyway. 

Who can compete against that?