About six months ago, I wrote an email that for some reason I never sent. In that email, I wondered what had happened to James Altucher’s writing.
The background is this:
James Altucher is an online personality, a podcaster and also writer who used to write daily.
James is one of few people whose daily writing I enjoyed reading. Plus I’ve gotten multiple really valuable ideas from James that have transformed how I work.
James used to write regularly on his own site.
But his last post there came on June 15 2021. Since then he’s published a few pieces on other sites including LinkedIn, but his writing has largely disappeared.
There aren’t many people online that I would miss if they got swallowed by a sinkhole.
But James Altucher is one, largely because I’ve found his writing both insightful and valuable.
So I was wondering what happened to his writing and wishing somebody could tell me.
Well, I found out. James revealed it himself on a recent podcast.
Back in August 2020, he wrote an article titled, “New York City is dead forever… here’s why.”
James lived most of his life in NYC, but in that article, he predicted the death of the city based on the effects of the corona pandemic.
That article went very viral. It got a huge amount of readership, and also a huge amount of blowback.
And maybe most painful to James, who used to own a comedy club, “The New York is dead” piece got Jerry Seinfeld to write a trolling response in the lying New York Times in which he only referred to James as “some putz on LinkedIn.”
With all that blowback, and the personal attack by Jerry Seinfeld, James gradually retreated from writing. Maybe he will get his courage back to write daily. Or maybe he won’t.
I’m not sure what my point is. I guess there are many.
Such as, it’s harder to not care what people think that most of us would like.
Such as, don’t pick on people who are known to be combative (New Yorkers as a group, who knew about Jerry Seinfeld).
Such as, writing hot takes can burn you as well. And putting your own attitudes into your writing makes you vulnerable to personal attacks.
If you agree with me on these points, then what can you do?
Well, develop a tougher skin… only pick on people who will take it… or find some other way to get readership and attention than by writing hot takes and sharing your own personal attitudes.
I can’t help you with the skin part or with finding meek targets to pick on.
As for that last part, about other ways to get readership and attention, I can remind you of my Most Valuable Email trick.
A few of the emails I’ve written using my Most Valuable Email trick have gone semi-viral — they got unexpected forwards and shares in the small direct marketing community.
And using the Most Valuable Email trick allows me to write in a way that’s separate from what I believe personally. And yet my readers don’t mind this lack of “authenticity” — in fact, they even seem to enjoy it.
Maybe it’s not too clear how this can possibly be true.
If you’re curious, try out my email newsletter and witness it for yourself. Click here to sign up.