“I don’t know what to write about, Tom!”
Wait, what?
What do you mean you don’t know what to write about? Is it:
You got 100’s of ideas, and don’t know which to focus on?
You literally have zero ideas?
Either way, there’s a fix.
“Tom, you’re gonna tell us it all starts with our story, right?”
You’re darn right I am.
3 Steps To Finding Writing Ideas
Your problem requires a three step solution.
Put all possible writing topics on the table.
Highlight the topics you burn to write about most.
Test, gather feedback, and choose a niche.
Let’s start with #1.
#1. Define Topics You Can Write About
Our stories are the culmination of everything that has happened to us, right?
For example, you can’t write about mental health issues without having:
First-hand experience studying it
First-hand experience experiencing it
It’s impossible. I’m never going to write about basket-weaving because I’ve never been a basket weaver. I can, however, write about travel, social media, freelancing, and being a digital nomad, though!
So to start narrowing down possible writing topics, we have to recount our story. We have to reflect on what’s happened to us in all our years on planet earth.
Our story is ground zero for writing ideas.
I recommend choosing the 10 most important stories from your life, and writing about them one-by-one.
#2. What Do You Burn To Write Most Right Now?
In 2017 I wrote to recent graduates because I was 24 at the time. Now at 31, I’m not so interested in writing to recent graduates anymore.
This is the fun of writing online.
Our interests change as we change.
Our “brand” changes with it.
So you got to pinpoint what you’re burning to write about most RIGHT NOW.
I don’t care if you’ve written financial advice all your life and you want to write about parenting now because you just became one.
Choose the topic you burn to write about most.
I cannot stress how important this is.
#3. Test, Get Feedback, and Choose
How do you find which topic you burn to write about most? Well, you test! You write these 10 most important stories from your life, and you see which one makes your soul sing the most.
It’s a feeling you’re searching for.
Then—and this is the most important part—you get feedback. There’s three types of feedback:
Feedback from social media
Feedback from your friends
Feedback from an expert
#1. Posting your stories on Substack Notes is a great idea to get feedback from social media. I would track the depth of comments you receive. A long comment is normally a sign you really resonated with the audience.
#2. Showing your friends your Notes, one-by-one, is also a good way to get feedback on which of your stories is the most powerful. It’s also a great confidence booster! Friends love helping and cheering us on.
#3. This is hard to do, but showing your Notes to a writing expert to get feedback is possibly the best way to get clear on what your best stories are. An expert will know at first glance what your best 3 stories are, and which have viability for a blog long-term.
Now that you have feedback, you choose.
You choose the story that:
You loved writing the most
People loved reading the most
And if you can’t find this perfect overlap, choose the story that got the second or third best reception, and that you loved writing the most, second most, or third most.
This is how you do it.
Feeling and testing.
Want to write your 10 core stories, test them, and find your blog’s direction for 2025 in 4 weeks?
Join us for our November Substack Campfire, where you’ll join me and a group of 30 other writers to test, get feedback, and find your blog’s core story in 1 month.
How Our Stories Show Us Our Blog’s Niche And Direction
The seeds of our blog’s niche, audience, and direction are embedded in our story.
In 2017, my story was that I graduated college in 2015, became a freelancer, traveled the USA for 4 months on a road trip, learned so many lessons, then came back home a changed man.
So I started a blog called The Post-Grad Survival Guide for people in their 20’s with tips on travel, freelancing, relationships, and even life lessons.
My story naturally defined my audience, focus, and direction.
It’s the same with you.
The problem is, if you do this alone, you might miss something.
You might make mistakes, like:
Not focusing your blog enough
Improperly defining your audience
Choosing the wrong core story with no long-term viability
Furthermore, you might not get the encouragement you need to start your blog in the first place.
Luckily I’ve created a safe space where you can brainstorm your 10 core stories, and get feedback, encouragement, and certainty that your blog’s direction is viable for 2025 and beyond.
It’s called the Substack Campfire, and we get started together on October 26th.
What’s Included In The Substack Campfire
Here’s what’s included.
Test Your 10 Core Stories On Substack Notes
In the first two weeks of this program, we will post 10 Notes together that tell the 10 biggest stories from our lives.
Don’t know what your biggest stories are? Don’t worry!
Before we start posting on Monday, October 28th, I’ll give a live three hour workshop that covers how to find your 10 core stories, and how to write effective stories on Substack Notes. That’s happening on Saturday, October 26th at 10 AM EST.
By the end of our first live workshop, you’ll have:
Your first Note already written
Your 10 core stories outlined.
A bulletproof story formula for writing your next 100+ Notes.
We’ll then spend the next two weeks publishing one story every weekday, sharing them with our intimate group of 30 writers, and tracking which stories:
A. We loved to write
B. Resonated the most with our group AND Substack
Write Your Hero Post + Workshop It With 30+ Writers
On Monday, November 11th, I will teach you how to select one of these 10 stories to become your “Hero’s journey,” and how to write an entire hero post for your publication based on that.
The hero post is basically just an “About” page or “Start Here” page, telling your audience who you are, and what you write about on your blog.
Then over the next two weeks, we will workshop our hero posts, sharing our drafts with each other and giving feedback.
Finally, in the last days of the program, I will personally look at every hero post, suggest any edits, and give my stamp of approval when it’s ready!
Find Your First 20 Blog Post Ideas With AI
We will also give a presentation on how to use AI to augment your future writing.
We will NOT be teaching you how to write with AI.
We’re teaching you how to use AI as a writing assistant.
You’ll learn how to use AI to:
Get extra clarity on your niche
Give you 20+ future writing ideas
Get even more specific on which audience you’re writing to
Help you explore other stories you can tell in the future
ChatGPT is a great assistant if you’re drawing a blank as a creator. He will teach you how to leverage it to get more clarity on your blog’s direction for 2025 and beyond.
After all this, you will know that your blog is built on a rock solid foundation.
You will know who you’re writing for.
You will know what to write about in the future.
You will know what core messages to harp on over and over again.
And it’s going to be beautiful.
Your perfect blog. Crowdsourced by a group of 30 writers, Substack, and me.
Stop feeling lost as a blogger. Discover your direction on Substack for 2025.
Pricing + $500 Discount
Since I’ll be giving lots of personal attention to each student, the normal price of this cohort is $1,000. However, I’m giving a $500 discount to the first 20 people who use discount code STORY at checkout.
Here’s how to input the code. 👆
Again, there’s only 20 STORY discount codes available, so get them while they’re hot.
The discount code also expires on Friday, October 25 at 5 PM EST.
Got questions about the program? Feel free to email me back.
Tom Kuegler
I'm super excited for this round of the Substack Campfire. I think Tom Kuegler is up-leveling his teaching and process in HUGE ways. This month of writing the 10 most important stories of my life, honing those into a clear niche and hero post, and having a roadmap to flesh out future stories is the kind of writing coaching I have been looking for my entire career. It's none of this "how to get followers" marketing stuff...it's about authentic storytelling and how to do it from the heart.