Writers probably have less competition than they think.

@cheriehu42 built a popular newsletter at the intersection of three widely-covered industries: music, technology, and business.

Here's some wisdom she shared on how to succeed in a "crowded" space.

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#1

Don’t compete.

Instead, find the gaps incumbents can't fill.

In Cherie's case, most popular music publications focused on breaking news.

Cherie didn't have an edge in news, so she chose a new game:

Write quality, in-depth analysis for industry enthusiasts.

#2

Question popular headlines and narratives.

When YouTube announced it had paid out $1B to artists, much of the industry celebrated.

But Cherie questioned where most of that money was actually going.

These data-driven deep dives became some of her most popular early work

#3

Fill your writing with useful context.

People are drowning in information.

They are hoping you’ll help make sense of it all.

You can create enormous value by connecting news or information to a broader context or narrative.

#4

Build a valuable back catalog of content.

Music labels don't make their money on new songs; they make it on their back catalog of classics.

Writers can do the same.

A catalog of timeless work builds a foundation of traffic and interest that compounds over time.

#5

Write with a hyper-specific reader in mind.

Cherie once wrote a deep dive on ticketing that "no normal person would have wanted to read."

But the CEO of a $10B+ company did, and he DM'ed Cherie to chat about it.

The more specific your reader, the more engaged they'll be.

For the full interview and summary with @cheriehu42, check out: https://www.compoundwriting.com/blog/how-to-stand-out-in-your-industry-with-cherie-hu

You can also follow @CompoundWriting for more threads like this.