People often express surprise when they learn my secret: I'm not a natural writer. As CEO of a content marketing agency and a frequent marketing speaker, I struggled with writing for years. I avoided it because I didn't feel skilled at it and couldn't see its immediate value.
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However, as my business expanded, I recognized how my reluctance to write was limiting our growth. It's tempting to say, "I'm too busy to write today," and postpone deep personal and professional reflection. Urgent tasks always take priority over dedicated thinking and writing time.
By skipping thought leadership content, I was denying myself—and my company—a powerful tool. I didn't need to rival Hemingway; I simply scheduled time to document my personal growth and industry insights. This practice elevated me as a leader and person.
Writing transcends escapism for teens or isolation for artists—it's essential for leaders to organize thoughts and forge authentic connections. In today's market, where personalization, authenticity, and shared values drive purchases, expert-authored content builds vital bridges between brands and audiences.
Sharing my experiences through content achieved dual benefits: personal leadership development and a robust content marketing engine for my business. In exchange for raw thoughts, my team creates valuable assets. All leaders, especially non-writers like me, should avoid my early pitfalls, overcome self-doubt, and start creating content.
Turn your thoughts into impactful content.
I've never been praised for writing talent, but I always had insights, advice, and perspectives worth sharing. Instead of capturing them on paper, I bottled them up or shared sporadically in conversations—an inefficient, unscalable approach.
To fuel my growth and business, I began writing. I quickly realized value stemmed from my expertise and experiences, not polished prose. With my team, I developed a "brain dump" method: freely capturing thoughts without fretting over grammar, style, or structure.
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Through experimentation, I learned streams of consciousness need nurturing environments. For me, airplanes proved ideal—free from calls, Slack, and Wi-Fi distractions. My team aligned my writing sessions with my travel schedule, enabling reflection on trends, events, and self-improvement.
As I wrote more, clarity emerged. Disjointed industry thoughts formed strategic connections. My raw material, refined by the team, became a growth driver for our business.
Here's how every leader can start writing.
With compelling benefits, all leaders should prioritize writing. Even non-writers can produce valuable content with minimal effort. These strategies, drawn from my experience, help capture ideas, unlock writing's advantages, and elevate leadership.
1. Find your place.
Airplanes are my writing sanctuary; discover yours. Seek distraction-free spots to escape business stress. Match environments to content: post-conference flights for industry trends, home gardens for personal reflections. Silence your phone and let ideas flow.
2. Throw away the rule book.
Perfectionism frustrates leaders new to writing—ignore those red underlines. Forget grammar, formatting, or structure initially. Write freely, expand ideas as they arise without back-editing. Dump everything first; refine later.
3. Trust yourself and your team.
No one excels alone. Sharing raw thoughts feels vulnerable, but collaboration transforms them into marketing assets. If writing isn't your strength, leverage expert team members. Provide brain dumps; let them polish while preserving your voice. Complementary skills turn writing into a brand superpower.
Writing requires only a laptop and your mind—no barriers.
Related: The benefits of handwriting
