A few months ago, a Twitter account by the name of The Cultural Tutor stumbled into my feed. And then it happened again, and again, and again. Finally, I took notice and started reading some of their threads, which spanned a vast array of topics, everything from classical music to philosophy, art, architecture, writing, and more.

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I quickly became a fan of this account, and it has since become one of my favorite accounts on Twitter. Earlier today, I finally got to learn about the person behind this operation in a one-hour webinar that was hosted by the Write of Passage. 

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The Cultural Tutor has written one Twitter thread every day for 10 months and has amassed a whopping 1.2 million followers in that time. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how this is possible, especially considering that I’ve been writing every day for nearly 3 months and have gained nearly zero new followers. Granted, I haven’t been writing on Twitter in the same way that The Cultural Tutor has, but what he has accomplished in such a short period of time is still massively impressive.

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During this webinar, he outlined his approach to writing, and seeing that I am also writing every day in the same way that he is, I gleaned some highly valuable tidbits that I plan to implement into my own approach. Here are a few of the biggest takeaways:

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1. It’s ok if you wake up and don’t know what to write. The Cultural Tutor doesn’t know what he’s going to write when he wakes up in the morning, which I can relate to as well. Everyone’s writing process and daily routine is different, but sometimes it’s best to leave yourself open to the serendipities of your day. 

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2. What you consume will impact your writing. Read constantly. It’s important to read the classics that everyone has read, but when you read what others aren’t reading, you open yourself up to new ways of thinking and writing. If you can’t find something interesting to write about, there’s a good chance that you haven’t consumed anything interesting.

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3. Don’t write for the algorithm. Pay as little attention to the Twitter algorithms as you can afford to. In other words, write for yourself first and foremost. If only one person reads it, that should be enough, and even if nobody reads, that should be enough too. Write to quench your own curiosity because if you try to write what you think people will want, the quality of your writing will suffer.  

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4. Look for the spark. At some point throughout your day, you will be confronted with a moment of intrigue that compels you to want to write—this is the spark. But the spark can only be found if you a) ask questions, b) pay attention to the intricate details of your surroundings, and c) provide yourself with time to think. The more you stare at your phone during the in-between moments throughout the day (like waiting for the bus), the less chance you give your brain to find the spark. 

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5. Write using a persona. If you’re unsure what to write about, pretend like you are someone else (e.g. a famous figure) and let them write “through” you. Alternatively, personas can be used to get in a particular state of mind or to conceal your identity so that you can write about topics that might cause personal embarrassment.

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6. Your voice will come, eventually. The only way to develop a voice that is unique to you is to write as much as you possibly can. We often adopt the styles of those who influence us, so as you write, find one sentence that you think rings true to your voice and make a mental note of that sentence. You should be able to say to yourself, “I said that.”

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7. The first 1,000 followers will be difficult to acquire. Before the algorithm knows that your content is worthwhile, gaining followers is a high-touch process. It will require you to message people individually, asking them to read your content and if they enjoyed it, give you a follow. There is no easy way around this, everyone must go through this process when first starting out.

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8. Maintain simplicity, but don’t sacrifice depth. If things are simple, they will be easily understood. However, don’t underestimate what your audience will understand. There’s no need to describe something as “good” when a plethora of other vocabulary is available to use, but at the same time, you shouldn’t overcomplicate your writing unnecessarily. 

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9. Devote yourself fully to the task. I was baffled to find out that The Cultural Tutor sometimes spends 10-12 hours per day writing his Twitter threads. Granted, his work is funded by the Write of Passage, so he can afford to spend all day reading and writing. However, the point is that he is willing to put in the time and effort to ensure a high level of quality, so if you want the same level of success, you must be willing to do the same.

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Most importantly, I realized that if I want to improve my chances of developing a following in the same way that The Cultural Tutor has, I likely need to be writing on Twitter. Since I struggle with the embarrassment of writing about certain topics from my personal account, this might mean that I need to create an entirely new Twitter account from scratch that conceals my identity.

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I’m nearly halfway through my goal of writing every day for 6 months. With these principles in mind, let’s see where the next 3 months take me…