How I built a writing routine that grows my business

When I closed my business in 2023, I felt very exposed.

I'd spent five years building it. I'd posted online to bring in business. But most of that writing lived inside private groups and communities, rather than under my own name or on my own website.

I'd scaled a business without building an online presence.

A conversation in Bali recently just before I moved back to Wales, reminded me how easy that is to do.

At a mastermind dinner, I met a Canadian guy who'd recently moved to Bali with his wife. He was a partner in an oxygenated water business that had grown largely by paying influencers to post on Instagram.

Even after meeting 100's of entrepreneurs in the last 10 years, it still shocks me how people make money.

He knew content worked. It was already helping grow his business. But he hadn't built a presence of his own.

He told me he was thinking about selling his share inside the business he was currently part of one day. After years spent working on it, he worried that leaving would mean starting again from nothing. I knew the feeling.

Since closing my old business, I've published 100s of posts. That writing has brought in leads and clients for projects and businesses I've been involved in.

Still, I let it take a back seat again while I was co-founder of an AI consultancy.

In June this year, I went all in on posting under my own name. Since then, my writing has generated $350,000 in sales pipeline, four and five-figure deals, and 3–5 leads a week.

Most of what's happened is because of the strategic work I put in place first. I got crystal clear on as much as possible. Then, executed on this daily.

If you need help putting a plan together probably with checking out the GTM gameplan here.

I'm not going to pretend I have it all figured out. I don't.

But I know what's helped me keep going this time. Building a business and a writing routine around my values, beliefs, insights, and story.

If you want to build a business around your ideas and expertise, you need a way to keep sharing them when work gets busy and the initial excitement wears off.

For me, that comes down to three things.

1. Know why you're writing

Willpower can get you through the first few weeks. The excitement of doing something new might carry you a little further.

Then you get busy. A few posts flop. You start wondering whether any of it is worth the effort.

That's when having a strategy helps. Even a simple one gives you something to come back to.

Start with this question. What's the main reason I'm posting online?

Maybe you want clients. Maybe you want to become known for your expertise.

Or, like my Canadian friend, you want to build something that stays with you if you leave your current business. Your answer gives the work a direction.

For me, writing online changed the trajectory of my life ten years ago. Now I want to help other people build a business around their goals, beliefs, values and expertise.

Knowing that helps me decide what to write about and who I'm writing for.

Then come the practical decisions. Where will you post, in what format, and how often?

Here's what I aim for.

• One newsletter a week.
• One LinkedIn post a day.
• Two or three posts a day on X.

That's my routine. Yours might be different. Pick a pace you can sustain. Then make it easier to follow through.

2. Keep your systems simple

I've been trying to post consistently under my own for a few years. But whenever work got busy or life got in the way, it dropped off.

The same core problems kept coming up. I didn't have an idea ready, writing took too long, or I didn't get around to publishing.

Here's what helps.

Capture ideas before you need them

There's nothing more frustrating than giving yourself an hour to write, spending 45 minutes deciding what to say, then rushing something out in the last five. Having an idea bank makes that less likely.

At least once a day, I save something that grabs my attention or make a note of a thought I want to come back to.

Some of my best ideas arrive in the shower, which is great until I need somewhere to write them down.

The point is to capture ideas during the week so you're not relying on inspiration when you sit down to write.

Make writing easy to repeat

I've been on both sides of this. The more complicated my writing system gets, the quicker it breaks and the faster I grow to hate it. You don't need an elaborate content calendar to get started.

On Mondays, I spend a little longer writing because I write my newsletters.

Most other days, I spend about 30–45 minutes writing one LinkedIn post and two short posts for X. Keeping the process simple makes it easier to come back tomorrow.

Have a way to publish

I've recently started using a content scheduler. Before that, I used LinkedIn's built-in scheduler to pick a day and time.

Writing and posting straight away works too. Choose whatever helps you get the work out. Being consistent matters more than agonising over the perfect time to post.

3. Give writing a place in your working day

What works for me is doing my writing before anything else. This isn't a “do hard things” motivational speech.

It just means the writing gets done before meetings, client work and the hundred other things that fill a day. Otherwise, I'm trying to squeeze it in at lunch or find the energy later.

You might prefer a different time. The important thing is giving it a place in your day instead of hoping a gap appears.

Think about it the way you think about sending invoices or having sales calls. If writing helps people discover your business and understand how you can help, it deserves time in your working week. That has been the biggest shift for me.

Some people will always think posting online is cringe. But if you're building a business around what you know, sharing your ideas gives people a chance to see how you think.

You can start with one useful post and a routine that makes the next one easier to write.

The only people complaining about writing being cringe are usually the same people who would love to do this, but are too afraid of their own shadow.

Make it easier to keep going

Know why you're writing. Keep your systems simple. Then give your writing a regular place in your day. That's the routine I'm building, and I'm already seeing the results.

If you keep putting this off, start small. Instead of trying to be everywhere, choose one platform, save a few ideas and set aside time to write your next post.

Give people a chance to get to know you while you're building the business.

See you next week.

Craig

P.S. There are two ways you can work with me

1. The go-to-market gameplan. Bring everything you're currently doing and we'll sharpen what's working and drop the rest. Go here now.
2. Inner circle. The doors are open for this right now. If you want 1-3 new clients every month, this is for you. Go here to see more