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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸♀️🦸♂️
Most creators waste hours writing full articles before testing if anyone cares.
Smart ones publish bulleted outlines as tweets and expand what performs.
⛳️ Why this works
Before you invest 3 hours writing an article, you need to know if people actually want it.
Without testing? You write the full guide. The complete tutorial. The entire framework.
Then publish. Hope it works. Usually crickets.
Here's the thing:
Every piece of writing is just a list of ideas stacked together.
A New Yorker article about living in a city? It's listing benefits.
A Buzzfeed article about socks? It's listing sock types and seasons.
A novel describing a house? It's listing qualities of that house.
Everything is a list.
Most creators hide the list inside paragraphs. They write full sentences. Connect everything with transitions. Polish it to perfection.
Then they publish. Cross fingers. Wait.
Smart ones skip straight to the list. Post the bullets as a tweet. See if people engage. If they do? Now you know those ideas work.
That's "Outline As Content."
Your outline isn't your draft. Your outline IS your content.
Publish it. Test it. See what resonates.
The bullets that get engagement? Those are worth expanding into long-form.
The ones that flop? You just saved yourself 3 hours.
Turns out, testing beats guessing every time. Bingo.
Let's see how Alex figured this out:
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Alex is a freelance writer. Posts on Twitter 5 times a week.
But here's the problem.
After 6 months and 120+ posts, Alex still had no idea what to write about.
Open blank screen. Stare. "Should I write about productivity? Marketing? AI tools?"
Try something: "Here's what I learned about focus..."
Vague. Delete.
Try again: "5 tips for better mornings."
Generic. Everyone writes this. Delete.
45 minutes. Zero posts. Zero ideas worth pursuing.
Alex was tired of writing random posts that went nowhere.
Then Alex found something. A method from multi-million dollar content creators.
A system called "Lean Writing."
It explained exactly why random posting was killing growth. And how to test ideas as bulleted outlines before investing time in long-form.
Alex decided to follow these steps:
Step 1: Turn vague topic into specific headline using FOR WHO/SO THAT
Step 2: Convert headline into bulleted outline (this IS the tweet)
📝 Step 1: Alex turned vague topic into specific headline
Alex opened blank doc. Had a topic: productivity.
But "productivity" is massive. Time management? Focus? Energy? Systems? Tools?
Tried narrowing down: "I want to write about productivity."
Too broad.
"I want to write about focus tips."
Still vague.
Who needs focus tips? Remote workers? Students? Entrepreneurs?
What outcome do they want? Finish more tasks? Work fewer hours? Stop getting distracted?
Should this be about morning routines? Deep work blocks? Eliminating distractions? Building habits?
30 minutes going in circles. Still no clear angle.
The problem? Alex had a topic but no specific WHO and no concrete SO THAT outcome.
But if Alex could drill down to maximum specificity, the headline would practically write itself.
Here's what Alex tried:
Alex just needed to keep asking "Who specifically?" and "What outcome specifically?" until unable to get more specific. That's when you know you've hit the sweet spot.
The headline refinement process:
Keep refining your topic using this framework:
FOR WHO: Who specifically has this problem?
SO THAT: What specific outcome do they want?
Refinement example:
V1: "I want to write about productivity"
→ WAY too broad
V2: "I want to write about morning focus"
→ Still vague - who? what outcome?
V3: "I want to write about morning focus for remote workers"
→ Better - but what outcome?
V4: "I want to write about morning focus routines for remote workers so they can finish deep work before lunch"
→ Very specific - who (remote workers) + outcome (deep work before lunch)
V5: "I want to write about what 3 things to do in your first hour for remote workers so they complete 3 hours of focused work before noon"
→ MAXIMUM specificity - can't get more specific
Once you literally cannot clarify the Topic, WHO, or SO THAT any further, you've reached your headline.
<INPUT>
**Required:**
Broad topic: {INSERT your topic e.g "productivity"}
Specific angle: {INSERT e.g "morning routines"}
Target audience: {INSERT e.g "remote workers"}
</INPUT>
Final format:
"[Specific topic] for [WHO] so that [SO THAT outcome]"
Alex worked through it:
Started: "Productivity" → "Morning focus" → "Morning focus for remote workers" → "Morning focus routine for remote workers to finish deep work before lunch" → "3 things to do in your first hour for remote workers to complete 3 hours of focused work before noon"
Final headline: "The 3 things remote workers should do in their first hour to complete 3 hours of focused work before noon"
Completion moment: Alex had a laser-focused headline instead of vague "productivity tips."
🎯 Step 2: Alex converted headline into bulleted tweet
Alex had the headline. Now needed to write the actual post.
Tried writing normally:
"Want to finish deep work before lunch? Start your day right. First, eliminate distractions. Close Slack. Turn off notifications. Then..."
Took 15 minutes. Felt rambly.
Tried again:
"Remote workers struggle with focus. But there's a simple solution. Do these 3 things in your first hour and you'll complete 3 hours of deep work by noon..."
Better structure. Still took 12 minutes.
Should this be a story? A how-to? A question?
Should it explain WHY each tip works? Or just list them?
20 minutes. Two mediocre drafts.
The problem? Alex was trying to write "content" when all readers wanted was the LIST.
But if Alex could just post the bullets as-is, creating the tweet would take 60 seconds.
Here's what worked:
The AI just needed simple instructions: encouraging opening + 3-5 bullets + no hashtags or emojis. Feed it the headline, it outputs a clean bulleted tweet. That's the post. Done.
The headline-to-outline converter:
I am going to train you to write short-form content (280 characters or less).
Here are the rules:
1. It must open with an encouraging sentence
2. 3-5 succinct bullets organized in a list
3. Do not use hashtags and emojis. Ever.
I am going to give you the headline and you are going to write a short-form piece based on that headline.
<INPUT>
**Required:**
Your headline: {PASTE your FOR WHO/SO THAT headline here}
Platform: {INSERT e.g "Twitter, LinkedIn"}
Tone: {INSERT e.g "Direct, Helpful"}
</INPUT>
Output format:
- Encouraging opening line (not salesy)
- 3-5 bullet points (the actual tips/ideas)
- No hashtags
- No emojis
- Under 280 characters total
This bulleted list IS your tweet. Publish it as-is.
The AI returned the post:
"Want 3 hours of deep work before noon? Do this in your first hour:
• Close all communication apps (Slack, email, texts) • Write your 3 must-finish tasks on paper • Start the hardest one immediately - no warm-up
Most remote workers do the opposite. Don't."
Alex read it. Clear bullets. Specific actions. No fluff.
This wasn't a draft. This WAS the tweet. Ready to publish.
Posted it.
Got 47 likes and 12 replies in 3 hours. People asking for more details on each tip.
Completion moment: Alex had a tested outline showing exactly which tips resonated - now worth expanding into an article.
🏆 Alex's results after 4 weeks
Before:
Post creation time: 20-30 minutes per post
Posts per week: 5 (took 2+ hours total)
Engagement: Inconsistent (some worked, most flopped)
Long-form topics: Guessing what to write about
After:
Post creation time: 2-3 minutes per post
Posts per week: 15-20 (takes 45 minutes total)
Engagement: Higher (testing more = finding winners faster)
Long-form topics: Clear data on which outlines to expand
Alex's process now:
Pick topic and refine to specific headline (2 minutes)
Feed headline to AI converter (5 seconds)
AI generates bulleted outline as tweet (30 seconds)
Publish and track engagement (30 seconds)
Total time per post: 3 minutes. Not 25 minutes.
When a bulleted tweet performs well? Alex knows those exact bullets are worth expanding into a full article.
When it flops? Alex saved 3 hours of writing something nobody wanted.
Alex's AI sidekick handles the conversion automatically. Bingo.
🧩 Your turn
Copy both steps into your AI sidekick. Run them in sequence.
First, refine your topic into a specific headline using FOR WHO/SO THAT. Get maximally specific.
Then paste that headline into the converter. Your AI sidekick generates a bulleted outline as a tweet.
Publish the bullets. Track what performs. Expand the winners into long-form.
Generation time: 60 seconds. Time to publish: 30 seconds.
That's it, my fellow outliers!
Yours 'proving you don't need a team to build something big' Vijay peduru 🦸♂️