Nicolas Cole 🚢👻

I fear we're entering an age where people spend more time thinking about whether or not AI wrote the thing they're reading—rather than thinking about the subject matter itself.

Besides, word choice is a weak signal because word choice is always correlated to culture.

Popular words today were not the popular words used a year ago, or 10 years ago, or 100 years ago.

Same with speech patterns.
Same with vernacular and slang.
Same with a million different things.

So spending time deciding "AI wrote this because it used a colorful verb" is futile.

Go read literature from the 1800s.

Tons of excessively colorful verbs.

(Almost painfully so.)

Does that mean AI wrote it?

I've been writing online since 2007.

If you want to start writing online, build an audience, and become known for a niche you own, here's a free step-by-step guide on how to get started: https://lnkd.in/eiH2nGEx

I would NEVER wish to be 25 again.

At that age, I was:

• Broke
• Single
• And lonely

Now I’m rich, married, and happy.

I’m way healthier, not grinding into burnout.

I’m driven by my curiosity, not a relentless hunger to prove something.

• I’m wiser
• I’m calmer
• I’m less stressed

And I’m less emotionally triggered by little things that don’t matter.

In your 20s, your only advantage is energy.

But if you take care of yourself, then you still have the same energy in your 30s.

Just with WAY more resources & pattern recognition.

Going back is a fallacy.

At 26, I started my ghostwriting business.

6 months later, I was:

• Making $240,000/year
• Working less than 4-5 hours per day
• Spending the rest of my time pursuing my passion

Here's how to turn your writing into a business that funds the life you actually want: https://lnkd.in/eDCSGfwa

I've used newsletters to build a $20,000,000 digital business.

So, I'm giving my entire system away for free:

Most newsletters:

• Get opened (if they're lucky!)
• Skimmed
• And then forgotten

They never turn a single subscriber into a buyer.

But the ones I've used to power my digital businesses earn trust first, then convert that trust into customers.

So, to make it easier for you to transform your own newsletter into a revenue-generating marketing channel...

And to help you ghostwrite newsletters that clients will pay high-ticket prices for...

I put my entire system into my Weekly Newsletter Toolkit.

Here's everything you get inside (for free):

• Email Subject Line Swipe File: 50 proven subject lines + preview texts you can adapt for any client, any email

• Value Newsletter Skill: Writes a pure-value email that builds trust at scale

• Indirect Newsletter Skill: Writes a gentle education-to-sales email that kills one objection

• Direct Newsletter Skill: Writes a short, confident pitch that drives one clear next step

• Subject Line Generator Skill: Writes 10 irresistible subject lines for any email

Want it (for free)?

Comment "NEWSLETTER" and I'll send it to you ASAP.

If we're not connected, send me a connection request with the word "NEWSLETTER" (so I can DM you).

Between 23 and 26, I was single and in the best shape of my life with 8% body fat.

But I regret a lot during this period of my life:

At this age, I was also broke and barely dated.

Whenever I’d start to build a relationship, I’d break it off and say:

“I have to grind.”

Literally.

• Up at 6am to commute an hour to work
• Home at 7pm
• Gym until 9pm
• Worked on my writing (my dream) until midnight

Repeat 5 days per week.

And I also wrote every weekend for 5-8 hours Sat & Sun.

I never celebrated a holiday.

I went to 1 Halloween party one year, and a music festival one summer for a day.

And that was pretty much it.

But then I met my now-wife when I was 26.

And it’s shocking (almost sad) how much more effective I am with her compared to when I was single.

I became way more disciplined, yet somehow more balanced.

More well-rounded.

I became more mature, more thoughtful.

Which allowed me to:

• Meet smarter mentors
• Connect with higher-quality people
• Become more successful a lot faster

I became more cultured.

More knowledgeable about the world:

• I traveled
• I tried new foods
• I prioritized new experiences

I became rich in so many more ways than just money (but also including money) by being with her.

And the same is true for every mega-successful person I know.

They all love their partners because their partners make them better, more capable leaders.

I don’t have many regrets in life.

But looking back, I do wish I had allowed myself to enjoy my 20s a bit more.

I don’t think 20% more “fun” would have changed my trajectory all that much.

Maybe my ghostwriting agency wouldn't have scaled from $0 to $3,000,000 in less than 18 months.

Maybe if I had more “fun,” it would've taken longer.

But I’ll never be that age again.

And one day you won’t either.

So yes, set big goals and work like an abandoned dog to achieve them.

AND… soak up being a young adult.

You’ll blink, and it’ll be over.

When I met my now-wife at 26, I was making $20,000/mo ghostwriting for a handful of clients.

And none of them cared if I only spent 20 hours working per week.

Plenty of money for “fun” and the time to enjoy it.

Which is why I recommend becoming a ghostwriter.

Here's how to start writing online and build a skill that pays you for the rest of your life: https://lnkd.in/eDCSGfwa

If you want to master Claude in the next 2 days, read these 7 articles:

1. How to build a LinkedIn audience with Claude
↳ https://lnkd.in/dDqQHTG3

2. How to use Claude Cowork (and completely automate 7 writing tasks)
↳ https://lnkd.in/dGNrtA-e

3. How to use Claude Connectors (to instantly upgrade your workflow)
↳ https://lnkd.in/dp4-Yusy

4. How to build a Claude Skill from scratch (with a 1-hour masterclass)
↳ https://lnkd.in/djqUmk_h

5. How to use Claude Design (and create high-quality visual assets)
↳ https://lnkd.in/ddQ2xvip

6. How to use Claude Computer (and delegate low-leverage work to AI)
↳ https://lnkd.in/ddHn3J_X

7. How to build & launch a landing page with Claude Code (even if you don't know how to code)
↳ https://lnkd.in/dyhvDDPQ

These should help you get started.

But if you want to remain on the cutting edge, become a member of our AI Writing Skool.

Every week, I do a 1-hour LIVE training covering topics like:

• Scaling your income with AI
• Building digital products with AI
• Growing your online audience with AI

And more!

Click here to surround yourself and learn with 615+ like-minded Digital Builders inside our AI Writing Skool: https://lnkd.in/djq_PkWB

Plenty of humans have been pontificating on chimp-level ideas for ages.

Just look at the self-help book industry:

“The key to rapid growth and compounding improvement is to take action.”

HumanSlop

Even in the age of AI, you can't rely on it 100%.

Instead, make sure you master the skills you need to do your work manually.

Using AI is then an added bonus and a way to increase your leverage.

This is why the top 1% writers don't need AI to deliver for their clients (although it makes them way more efficient).

Just like how they don't even need to write well to get paid 6-figures.

They've simply mastered these highly in-demand skills:

• Premium positioning
• Irresistible offer creation
• Consistent client acquisition

And more.

Which is how they're making $100,000+ per year with just a laptop.

The good news?

Right now, LinkedIn is the fastest-growing social media.

And many of the smartest people in the world have just realized they need to be on this platform.

So, I put together a 5-day blueprint to teach you how to:

• Charge premium prices
• Create your irresistible offer
• Find your lucrative ghostwriting niche
• Land new, high-paying clients every month

In other words...

Everything you need to start LinkedIn Ghostwriting in the next 5 days.

Click here to get instant access to my proven blueprint (for FREE): https://lnkd.in/djKQY3sU

When I turned 30 years old I had just:

• Shut down my first business

• Fired 20 people on 1 Zoom call

• Fired 70 clients (kept 8 to pay the bills)

• Lost $250k in crypto (COVID crash)

• Started playing World of Warcraft again

Felt like a total failure.

But a year later, I'd started 2 new businesses and was a liquid millionaire.

So, yes:

Life is a rollercoaster.

Time to strap in.

My first business was a thought-leadership ghostwriting agency for founders.

I shut it down because I lacked the skills to build a profitable business.

When my co-founder and I closed the doors, we each walked away with about $5,000 in our bank accounts.

Insanity after nearly 2 years of pouring our entire lives into the business.

(I literally developed shingles.)

But since then, I've built the skills to scale a new email ghostwriting agency to $1,000,000.

And since January, it's already generated $181,000 in revenue with an incredibly small team.

Here's how to build a profitable writing business (the skills I was missing the first time): https://lnkd.in/eDCSGfwa

A big lesson I have learned over the last 12 months:

The hardest growth is the kind you can't see on a daily basis.

If you can measure it in 24 hours or less, it's incremental.

Whereas anything exponential must be measured over longer time horizons.

In other words, trust the process.

Don't stop.

Continue to practice your chosen skill day in, day out.

To keep myself motivated, here are 16 mantras I tell myself every day:

(Learned from ghostwriting for 300+ industry leaders, including CEOs, Olympic athletes, and serial entrepreneurs):

1. Today is a great day to build.

2. No one is responsible for my success besides me.

3. I welcome the learning process with open arms.

4. Everyone was once a beginner.

5. Mastery over my craft is the highest accolade.

6. I will not let someone else define my self worth.

7. To unlock the upside, I must face the risk of the downside.

8. I need to be patiently impatient and have a bias toward action.

9. The enemy of long-term compounding is short-term results.

10. Wealth is built over decades, not days.

11. I have no competition, because I am only competing against myself.

12. The world rewards those who do what others do not.

13. Simplicity is velocity, because the simple thing is the hard thing.

14. It's better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong direction.

15. "Tomorrow" is an excuse. Do it now or don't do it at all.

16. I don't know how yet—but I will figure it out.

PS—Ghostwriting completely changed my life.

It's how I got paid to practice my craft (writing) and build a billion-dollar network.

Want to start landing high-paying clients?

I'll show you how to become a ghostwriter (even if you have zero writing experience) in this free, 5-day email course: https://lnkd.in/gqC7wkyW

I paid Alex Hormozi $35,000 to hear his free advice.

Here's why:

His content can apply to anyone.

• College students at the beginning of their careers
• Professionals wanting to build a business outside their jobs
• Experienced business owners trying to scale from $1M to $3M-$5M
• Or my business that's been stuck trying to hit $1,000,000 per month

Which means 2 things:

1. His content needs to be broad enough to apply to everyone
2. He needs to output a ton of content for someone at each stage of business

Neither are great options for me.

General advice won't help me solve the current bottleneck I have.

And I don't have the time to search for the 1 piece of content across his entire library.

So, it's a no-brainer for me to pay a small amount in proportion to the potential ROI.

I get:

• To ask specific questions
• More direct access to him & his team
• Custom advice & tactics that only apply to me

BTW - Our business is NOT the right type of business for 99% of people to go build.

If you're just getting started, the operational complexity is too high.

Instead, I'd recommend building a 1-person ghostwriting agency.

It's how I went from $0 to $20,000/month in less than 60 days.

Want a (FREE) copy of my proven blueprint?

Click here to get instant access: https://lnkd.in/eSXhNpDK

💻 Day 1 of our Start Writing Online Sprint!

Today, we mastered the 5 proven short-form content formats:

• Paragraph Style
• What, How, Why
• Listicle
• Old vs New
• 10 Magical Ways

If you can write these, you can write anything.

Post yours below 👇

I've grown my LinkedIn audience to over 119,000.

And it's because of ONE undervalued skill:

Digital Writing.

But school doesn't teach you how to write & build a massive audience on this platform.

So, if you want to grow on LinkedIn, staple these 19 tips to your desk:

1. Volume wins
2. Prep the Page
3. Delete adverbs
4. Redraft from zero
5. Ignore word count
6. Don't use semicolons
7. Use "The Tequila Test"
8. Delete the word "that"
9. Use the 1/3/1 sequence
10. Cut all tiny word chunks
11. Delete opening "i" phrases
12. Match language to the audience
13. Write to change the reader's mind
14. Write (and edit) in different interfaces
15. Compress what you're saying into bullets
16. Make the last word the most important word
17. Before you start, do some unintentional writing
18. Increase engagement with the Rate of Revelation
19. Make your first sentence short, strong, & declarative

—
📌 Once you start writing for yourself on LinkedIn, making money as a ghostwriter becomes simple.

Ghostwriting is how I got paid $20,000/month to write for industry leaders.

And right now, becoming a ghostwriter is the easiest way to monetize your writing on LinkedIn.

Want to start making money as a LinkedIn ghostwriter?

I put together a free, 5-day email course to help you land high-paying writing clients.

Get started here: https://lnkd.in/d2kqQbAV

If you're a writer, stop reading books on writing.

Start reading books on thinking clearer.

These 4 books will upgrade your thinking and writing skills in ways you’d never expect:

1. "The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking" by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird.

2. "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

3. "Copy, Copy, Copy: How to Do Smarter Marketing by Using Other People's Ideas" by Mark Earls

4. "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman

—
📌 Want to become a prolific Digital Writer?

Then start writing consistently online.

Nothing will teach you what resonates with readers faster (the feedback loop is instant!).

Here’s a FREE 5-day email course with everything you need to get started: https://lnkd.in/d3fpKZzs

Over the last 5 years, my little business has generated $20,000,000.

The secret?

Email.

For all our digital product launches, we use a specific 20-email sequence.

And now I want to share it with you.

Why?

For 2 reasons:

1. So you can sell your own digital products with email

2. And (more importantly) so you can ghostwrite these launch emails for your clients (and get paid $$$ to do it!)

Because high-ticket clients don't hire you to "write emails."

They hire you to sell their product.

And if you can show up with a proven launch sequence... you become irreplaceable.

That's exactly what this free playbook gives you.

Inside the Product Launch Playbook, you'll get:

• A 20-email launch sequence (pre-launch + launch, fully mapped out)
• Real examples + fill-in-the-blank templates for every single email
• A deep dive explaining exactly why each email works
• [BONUS] 3 AI prompts to write or ghostwrite the entire sequence 10x faster
• [BONUS] Sequence automations for Kit

Now, I originally built this for our internal team and writers inside our Premium Ghostwriting Academy.

But I'm giving it away free for the next 48 hours.

Want access?

Just comment "launch" on this post.

And I'll DM it to you ASAP.

(If we're not connected, send me a connection request with the word "launch" and I'll send it across!)