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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸♀️🦸♂️
Most creators spend 8 hours writing ultimate guides from scratch.
Stare at outline. Write section. Delete section. Rewrite section.
Smart ones expand proven outlines in 15 minutes using the 10 expansion ways.
⛳️ Why this works
You already have content that's working on social. Twitter threads with 50 retweets. LinkedIn posts with 200 comments. Medium articles with 1,000 views.
But here's the thing...
Those are the short versions.
Your ultimate guide is like building a house from blueprints that already passed inspection.
Most creators start with blank pages. Foundation? Wing it. Rooms? Figure it out. Layout? Hope for the best.
Takes forever. Most quit halfway through.
The 10 expansion ways work differently. You already know what rooms work because social media told you. Now you just expand each room systematically using Tips, Reasons, Mistakes, Examples, Personal Stories, and 5 other proven ways.
When you expand proven content, you're not guessing what readers want. You already know. The data showed you.
Turns out, expansion beats starting from scratch every time. BAM.
Let's see how Ryan figured this out...
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Ryan runs a solopreneur newsletter.
But here's his problem. He wanted to create an ultimate guide on content repurposing.
His Twitter thread on the topic got massive engagement. 89 retweets. 412 likes. People wanted more.
But writing a 5,000-word guide? That's different.
He'd open a Google Doc. Type the first section heading. "How to repurpose content efficiently."
Then stare at the blank page for 20 minutes.
What should he say first? How deep should he go? What examples work best?
He'd write 300 words. Read it back. Delete half of it. Too vague. Rewrite it. Still doesn't flow right.
One section took 2 hours. He had 8 sections to write.
The math wasn't working. 16 hours minimum. Probably 20+ with breaks and rewrites.
Ryan needed a system. Something that kept the proven structure but made expansion faster.
Then Ryan found something. A framework from a content creator course. The 10 magical ways to expand any outline.
Ryan decided to follow these steps:
Step 1: Train his AI sidekick on the 10 expansion ways Step 2: Add expansion elements under each main point in his outline Step 3: Convert his expanded outline into flowing prose
Step 1: Train the AI sidekick on expansion methods
Ryan opened ChatGPT/Claude (his AI sidekick).
He had his outline. Five main sections from his proven Twitter thread. But expanding each one manually? That's where he'd get stuck.
He needed his AI sidekick to understand the systematic ways content can be expanded.
Here's what he tried...
The expansion training prompt
I need help expanding an outline.
There are 10 ways you can expand any piece of writing:
- Tips
- Stats
- Steps
- Lessons
- Benefits
- Reasons
- Mistakes
- Examples
- Questions
- Personal Stories
I will choose which of these 10 I want you to use in each section of the outline, I just need your help filling it in.
His AI sidekick confirmed it understood the 10 expansion methods.
No more guessing which direction to take each section. Ryan now had 10 proven LEGO blocks he could stack however he wanted.
Done. First obstacle cleared.
Step 2: Add depth to the outline structure
Ryan's outline was solid. Five main points. But each point was just 1 line.
He needed sub-points that would scaffold the actual writing.
But wait. Which expansion type should he use for each section? Tips? Reasons? Examples?
He didn't know. That's where he'd normally freeze up and waste 30 minutes deciding.
Here's what he tried...
The outline expansion prompt
Great, here is the outline I would like you to fill in.
Please do not change the formatting. Just insert responses.
Topic = Auto-pilot content strategies
- *Working for free builds audience*
- Reason 1:
- Reason 2:
- Reason 3:
- *Repurpose everything systematically*
- Tip 1:
- Tip 2:
- Tip 3:
- *Promote without being pushy*
- Mistake 1:
- Mistake 2:
- Mistake 3:
His AI sidekick returned the outline with all blanks filled in.
Reason 1: People pay for organization and implementation, not information. Reason 2: Free content builds trust before the ask. Reason 3: Your best clients discover you through helpful content, not sales pitches.
And so on for every section.
Ryan now had scaffolding. Every main point had 3-5 sub-points ready to expand into full paragraphs.
The blank page problem? Gone.
Step 3: Convert expanded outline into flowing prose
Ryan had structure. He had depth. But it was still bullet points.
He needed actual sentences. Paragraphs that flowed naturally. But writing those manually from his expanded outline? Still hours of work.
Here's what he tried...
The prose generation prompt
Great, now expand the outline into an 800-1,000 word blog article.
Topic = [INSERT TOPIC]
Outline = [INSERT OUTLINE]
A few rules:
1. Introduce the topic. Use short punchy sentences. Keep the line spacing.
Use this format:
- In 1 sentence, make a strong declarative statement about the topic.
- In 3-5 sentences, describe why there is a problem, why it needs to be solved. And that we are going to solve it.
- In 1 sentence, tell the reader what you are going to talk about and point out the benefits for reading.
2. Write each section.
Use this format:
- In 1 sentence, make a strong declarative statement about the section.
- In 5 sentences, clarify the opener, add context, and elaborate.
- In 1 sentence, make a strong conclusion or transition to the section.
3. Finally, at the very end, give the reader 1 final takeaway.
Please:
- Avoid jargon.
- Get to the point. Avoid fluff.
- Use markdown to format the post.
- Use a simple, clear, direct, and relatable tone.
- The post should flow naturally from point to point.
- Bias toward short, concise sentences (12 words max per sentence)
His AI sidekick converted the entire expanded outline into flowing prose.
800 words of readable, natural-sounding content. Formatted. Structured. Ready to polish.
One section done. Ryan repeated the process for all 5 sections.
Total time: 15 minutes. Not 16 hours.
🏆 Ryan's results after 3 weeks
Before:
Staring at blank pages trying to start each section
Writing and deleting the same paragraph 4 times
Taking 2+ hours per section with no systematic approach
16-20 hours total to write one ultimate guide
After:
Outline expanded with proven sub-points in 3 minutes
Each section converted to prose in 3-4 minutes
Systematic expansion using the 10 methods
15 minutes total to draft complete guide
His process now:
Pull proven outline from high-performing social content (5 min)
Add expansion elements using the 10 ways (3 min)
Convert to prose section by section (7 min)
Polish and format final draft (10 min)
Total time: 25 minutes from outline to polished guide. Not 20 hours.
His AI sidekick handles the expansion and prose conversion in 10 minutes. BAM.
🧩 Your turn
Copy the three prompts above into your AI sidekick.
Start with the expansion training prompt. Let your AI sidekick confirm it understands the 10 ways.
Then take any proven outline (from your Twitter threads, LinkedIn posts, or social content analytics). Add your chosen expansion types under each main point. Run the outline expansion prompt.
Finally, copy your expanded outline into the prose generation prompt. Your AI sidekick converts it to flowing content.
Repeat for each section of your ultimate guide. Assemble them together.
Generation time: 15 minutes for complete guide draft. Time to publish: 25 minutes after polish.
That's it, my fellow outliers!
Yours 'helping you hire the best 'AI Sidekicks' team who work 24/7 with almost zero cost' Vijay peduru 🦸♂️