Scaling my newsletter

11 weeks ago I sent my first newsletter.

Last night, it crossed 5,100 subs with an open rate of 68.56%.

5 dead-simple tactics you can steal today:

First: About creating technical content.

It's hard.

• It requires a lot of research
• Code doesn't format well on Twitter
• Some topics can't be simplified in 280 characters

But hard doesn't mean impossible.

Here's what's working:

1/ Give away 99% of your value

Most people in quant finance and trading hide what they know.

But the truth is, only the top 0.1% have anything worth hiding.

Giving away the secrets built trust with my audience and deplatformed them to my newsletter.

2/ Find a common enemy

I spent $120,000 on a master's degree in quantitative finance.

I was fortunate to be able to afford it - a lot of people can't.

So I use expensive degrees as the enemy.

3/ Know your audience

To write for your reader, you have to be the reader.

I taught myself Python and spent 10 years in quant finance.

There are a lot of people beginning this journey for themselves.

I know their struggles - because they were my struggles too.

4/ Write for a 5th grader

You can differentiate content based on writing style.

Writing in quant finance is:

• Dry
• Academic
• Condescending

I use the simplest, most inclusive language I can - which differentiates my content.

5/ Follow the playbook

The best creators use similar tactics to get readers' attention.

Some of the components of viral thread hooks:

• Point in time
• Big numbers
• Transformation
• Twisting the knife

Those techniques brought another differentiator to my content.

There is no hack to grow as a content creator.

Especially a technical content creator.

Show up every day and use these tactics:

• Give away 99% of your value
• Find a common enemy
• Write for a 5th grader
• Follow the playbook
• Know thy audience