How to Boost Your Growth as a Writer by Creating and Teaching Frameworks

How do you get 100k engaged followers without working day and night?

I thought it was impossible.

I’d been writing on Medium and other platforms for over 2 years with hardly any success. In September 2023 I decided to write more systematically.

My goal was to grow to 1000 followers on Medium and 100 newsletter subscribers by the end of 2023.

I didn’t expect what happened then.

Thousands of new followers. Thousands of views and reads. A couple of thousands of dollars.

I’m far from 100k followers. But the last couple of months showed me the mechanics to get there.

Here is the exact process that took me from a below-average writer to this massive growth.

Be consistently you, let your content reflect who you are, and your audience will find you and stick around — Kim Garst

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Phase 1: Do I Need a Niche?

Going nicheless is becoming mainstream. But in the beginning, I advise against it.

If you want to become an authority on the internet, people must associate your name with a topic.

Some examples of online creators with the topics they are known for:

Tim Denning — How to make 6 figures from writing online
Neeramitra Reddy — Fitness and Health
May Pang — Emotions and Relationships

They all are more or less nicheless now. And yet people associate their names with a topic. Why?

Because with these topics they helped thousands. They have become an authority.

This momentum helps them now to diverge and go nicheless.

What is my niche?

I had no idea when I started this journey. I’m interested in many things. But am I an expert?

What if I don’t have enough knowledge on any subject?

I experimented with different topics. I wrote about things I know such as health and fitness, meditation, leadership, and problem-solving.

This helped me with 3 things:

I learned what I enjoy writing about, which ideas get me into flow
I understood what topics and types of articles get traction
I practiced the art of writing

Often our biggest strengths are the ones we’re not aware of because we take them for granted.

This was the case for me.

One of the articles I enjoyed most was about problem-solving with first-principles thinking.

It was about thinking systems I had used for over 10 years. I thought it was nothing special.

Writing about it taught me otherwise. The feedback I got was clear: My content was helping people.

That’s how I found my niche.

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Phase 2: Create and Teach a Framework

I packaged my knowledge into actionable steps. That’s what a framework is.

A framework is a map that helps you know where you’re going — Russell Brunson

The blueprint I used for my niche of problem-solving is called the 4S method. I had been using it for years and added my knowledge and experiences.

This became my level 1 framework from which I created several other articles as I will explain in phase 3.

I developed a method to teach frameworks based on Russell Brunson’s framework for teaching frameworks.

Step 1: Introduce the framework

I use the following template for every framework I write about:

This is the __(insert number)-step framework (or process, system) for _______(insert result)

For example:

The 4-step system to solve almost any problem like top strategy consultants

This is also the title of my article.

Step 2: Share why it matters and how you learned it

Readers want to know 2 things before they read your article:

What will they get out of reading this piece?
Why are you the right person to teach this topic?

I always answer these 2 questions in my first couple of sentences.

For the first question, I ask the reader some thought-provoking questions such as: How do you solve problems?

I also give some facts such as Problem-solving is one of the most important skills according to this survey.

To answer the second question I share my story in 2–3 sentences.

I also give credit to the people I learned from. This makes you more trustworthy. People know that you didn’t invent all the things you talk about by yourself.

Step 3: Share the strategy and tactics

This is the core part of my article. The how and the what.

Depending on the length of the article I first give an overview of all the steps in the framework. For shorter pieces, I jump into the details.

I explain things with the following structure:

What to do: Instruction to the reader or by explaining how I did it
An example where I applied it
Illustration of the method or tools I used which I create on Miro or Canva
Things to keep in mind such as: Don’t fall for any of these 5 cognitive biases in problem-solving

Step 4: Summarize Key Takeaways

I always conclude my articles with 2 things:

I summarize the main points of the framework
I add a personal reflection

To close it, I add a thought-provoking question such as:

Which problem will you solve like a pro today?

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Phase 3: Create Frameworks Within the Framework

Each step of your framework can be another framework. For almost any topic you can go into more detail.

Take for example my framework for solving complex problems:

Defining a tough problem well is a system in itself. So I wrote an article about it.

So are structuring and solving the problem.

And even within those frameworks you can dive deeper and create a system readers can follow.

For example, I wrote an article on issue trees and one on hypothesis pyramids. These are different ways to break down a problem.

That’s why it’s possible to take a simple framework and teach it in a 5-minute article (level 1), a 2-hour webinar (level 2), or a 400-page book (level 3).

It’s still the same framework but you can go deeper into the embedded frameworks if you have time.

Expertise is like broccoli: the deeper you delve, the more intricate layers of detail you discover.

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2 More Things You Need For Growth

In addition to your frameworks, there are 2 crucial elements for growth, These are true for Medium as well as for any other platform that I know.

Make sure your content is high-quality
Engagement with others

High-quality content

Whatever your platform is, even if it’s a newsletter, there is no way around quality. With so many online creators out there, you need to differentiate.

If you want to be successful on Medium you need boosts. That’s when they push your article to lots of readers.

There are comprehensive guides on how to write boost-worthy articles.

In addition, each of your articles that gets engagement is a rich source of information:

Comments: What do people ask or discuss?
Highlights
Stats: Views v.s. reads

Those are all inputs for your next articles. For example, when many readers highlight the same sentence it might be worth an entire article.

For each article, I answer the following questions:

What’s in it for the reader?
Why am I the right person to talk about this?
What’s my objective with this article?
Why should they care? What’s the core message I want readers to take away?
What questions might the readers have?

Engagement with others

Social media platforms as well as Medium value engagement.

I read, highlight, clap, and comment on other articles
I clap for and answer comments on my own articles

As with your articles, it’s important to be authentic with your comments. Don’t overdo it.

I only read what interests me. I only comment when I have something to add.

Quality beats quantity. Focus on creating value for others and the rest will follow

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Also, I mention my new articles on LinkedIn and X. I write a weekly newsletter with my most important insights.

And, last but not least, I connect with other writers. It’s enlightening to talk to and learn from others on the same journey.

Key Takeaways

Super fast growth is possible once you understand the mechanics.

Creating frameworks based on my expertise and experience was a game-changer for me.

Frameworks give the reader a structure that makes your advice easier to digest and act upon.

Those were the 3 phases I followed:

Do I need a niche: Experimenting and finding my topic
The main framework: Packaging my knowledge into a system and teaching it
Creating frameworks within the framework: You can always go into more detail

I focused on writing high quality over quantity. I learn from my previous articles by analyzing engagement.

I have a checklist of questions that I answer for each new article that I write. To grow on medium specifically, it’s crucial to get boosted.

And finally, I engage on medium and connect with other writers — possibly the best part of the job.

This is what worked surprisingly well for me so far. I hope it will for you, too.

What will you write about today?

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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