July 1st - August 5th, 2020
Enrollment opens June 22nd
Visit www.writeofpassage.school for more information.
Write of Passage Course Curriculum
- What to expect: introduction to the course modules, deliverables, templates, and live cohort schedule
- The Promise of the Course: “You will learn a step-by-step method for publishing quality content and distributing your ideas to your professional network, leading to unexpected opportunities and increased serendipity in your work and life.”
- Understanding why we live in The Age of Leverage, and why writing and publishing on the internet is now the best way to accelerate your career
- How the internet has changed the nature of professional relationships, enabling long-lasting, personal connections with like-minded people
- The problems with traditional writing education in an attention-starved environment, and how we are going to unlearn it
- What should you write about? Finding a niche, narrow, and expanding topic
- How to use writing on the internet to develop an intuition about what’s unique or undervalued in your niche
- How to demolish writer’s block by developing an easy, everyday note-taking system
- What the Feynman Method can teach you about cultivating ideas from your everyday experience
- A new perspective on blogs as a filtering mechanism for people, ideas and opportunities
- Building a website that establishes credibility and authority in your industry, without taking too much time
- Attract loyal readers with easy-to-implement strategies in design, messaging, and calls-to-action
- Set up your website with pre-made templates and easy-to-follow walkthroughs
- Owning your name and brand in search engines and social media
- Understanding the underrated power of email in an era of social media platforms
- The missing link of blogging: actively distributing your ideas to people that matter, instead of hitting publish and waiting for them to arrive
- A simple three-step template for writing effective email newsletters in just 30 minutes per week
- Step-by-step walkthrough of how to set up your own email newsletter
- Develop a personalized strategy for publishing on social media, while balancing risks and rewards
- 7 Rules for Modern Writing: actionable techniques to deliver an effective message that inspires people to take action
- How to use real-life conversations to notice and test interesting ideas
- How to develop the writing habit and keep yourself on track with a writing plan
- Establishing a simple and repeatable creative process for cultivating ideas, outlining articles, editing your drafts, and publishing them to the right audiences
- Building writing momentum with the 50-5-1 Challenge
- Learn a more efficient and effective alternative to “networking” events
- How to track the critical signals and metrics that matter for online writers
- A collection of proven templates for cold email outreach
- The power of “personal updates” for keeping in touch with friends and colleagues
- How treating your followers like peers, friends, and collaborators can improve your work
- How to permanently shift from seeking “outbound” opportunities to selecting from “inbound” ones
- Why you should focus your attention on specific and growing markets and industries
- How to stand out from competition on the internet without working harder or longer
- The Naked Brands model: how people are becoming brands, and brands are becoming more like people (and what that means for you)
- Establishing authority and building a credible reputation with your personal monopoly
Your Instructor
Frequently Asked Questions
"I've been a big fan of David's writing, and his thinking behind how he writes, for a long time. When I found out there was a course that took the best of his learnings, I had to take it myself. Throughout the course, the videos and exercises keep you engaged and force you to improve your writing. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who works within sales, marketing, brand building, or just wants to learn how to become a better communicator."
- Nik Sharma, Head of Direct-to-Consumer, VaynerMedia
A Letter from David
In Write of Passage, you will develop a systematic process for cultivating ideas, distilling them into writing, and sharing them with the people who can make the biggest difference in your career.
By the time you finish the course, you will have published a series of insightful articles, built a professional website, launched an email newsletter, learned how to use these assets to connect with anyone on the planet, and developed a framework for uniquely framing your expertise and skills.
You’ll transform from a passive consumer to an active creator, and escape the “Mediocre Majority” of people who endlessly consume without ever producing. The content you produce will become an asset that you own. It will work for you 24/7, and become a a magnet for like-minded people, interesting ideas, and career opportunities.
Writer’s block will be a thing of the past. You’ll know exactly how to work with and move past the fears and anxieties that keep so many people from sharing what they’ve written. The time it takes you to write something of quality will plummet, dramatically increasing the return-on-investment of your time. Instead of not having anything to say, you’ll have too much to say.
It doesn’t matter whether you are writing internally at your company, building an online business, or networking among industry peers – Write of Passage will give you the tools to reach, educate, and connect with your target audience. Writing effectively will be your competitive advantage.
In school we learned an outdated, ineffective method of writing. We were taught to follow an arbitrary set of requirements. Our teachers told us to pad our writing to reach a minimum length, and to use flowery vocabulary completely foreign to our everyday lives. We are going to help you unlearn all of that, and adopt a results-focused approach to writing.
In module 1, I’ll introduce you to The Age of Leverage. The rules of the game have changed. The Internet now impacts every nook and cranny of the economy. I’ll tell you what this means for you personally and show you how to turn it from a threat into an immense opportunity.
In module 2, I’ll give you a new way of thinking about writing, as a “Serendipity Vehicle” that brings a wealth of opportunities into your life. I’ll share my 7 Principles of Content Creation to help you build a consistent habit of collecting, distilling, and sharing your best ideas. Then, I’ll address four common misconceptions that keep people spinning in circles, not knowing where to start.
In module 3, we’ll talk about your website, which is your face and your reputation to the world. I’ll give you a clear, step-by-step pathway for making a simple, yet effective professional website so anyone looking for your expertise can find you. Instead of managing technical roadblocks, and getting sucked into the endless spiral of designing and redesigning your website, we’ll focus only on the essentials.
In module 4, you’ll set up an email newsletter, a direct communication channel to your audience. You’ll learn to spread ideas in an efficient and repeatable manner that doesn’t take too much time. This distribution system will give you a way to test and improve your ideas even faster, by tapping into the wisdom of crowds.
In module 5, you’ll work with your coursemates to develop a writing style that is both unique to you, and that also follows best practices I’ve learned from years of trial and error. The quality of your writing and your thinking will improve in tandem as you adopt a higher standard of rigor. You’ll put these new skills to use immediately, by writing 5 articles on your blog, sending a “personal update” to colleagues and friends, and writing an in-depth “long-form” article to demonstrate your expertise.
In module 6, you’ll put these assets to use. To reach out and connect with interesting people who you wouldn't meet otherwise. Instead of asking to “pick your brain” or “grabbing coffee or a drink” with no particular purpose in mind, you’ll be able to send out your writing ahead of you to prove your credibility and provide context to your conversation. This powerful new take on networking will revolutionize your ability to connect with the people who can make the biggest impact on your career.
In module 7, you’ll clarify your vision and create a “personal monopoly” – the unique intersection of your knowledge and skills that no one else can compete with. Instead of working ever harder and ever longer battling against fierce competitors, you’ll carve out a niche where your ideas reign supreme. Because no one can ever replace you at the center of your network, you’ll be able to share everything you learn without fear, knowing that whatever value is created will eventually flow back to you.
No longer will you feel like you’re shouting into an empty room, with nobody listening. You’ll learn to leverage the information you’re already consuming and the thinking you’re already doing to create tangible knowledge assets that last forever. As you receive more and more feedback about which of your ideas are most valuable, you’ll refine your voice and find your niche. In turn, you’ll attract an audience that is looking for exactly what you’re creating.
We chose the name Write of Passage because this shift isn’t a linear one. It’s not a slight improvement on your writing abilities nor a single step up in your career. It’s a complete before-and-after transformation of the trajectory of your career and your life. Instead of watching the game from the sidelines, you’ll play the game. Instead of choosing from a bland menu of options that life offers you, you’ll author your own path forward, so you can get what you want out of life.
– David Perell
Course Schedule
A 5-week program with 16 live sessions
Live sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
July 1st - August 5th, 2020
Kickoff: Wednesday, July 1st
Session 2: Friday, July 3rd
Session 3: Monday, July 6th
Session 4: Wednesday, July 8th
Session 5: Friday, July 10th
Session 6: Monday, July 13th
Session 7: Wednesday, July 15th
Session 8: Friday, July 17th
Session 9: Monday, July 20th
Session 10: Wednesday, July 22nd
Session 11: Friday, July 24th
Session 12: Monday, July 27th
Session 13: Wednesday, July 29th
Session 14: Friday, July 31st
Session 15: Monday, August 3rd
Session 16: Wednesday, August 5th
Drop us a line at [email protected] with any questions.