Her name is Niharikaa
You’ve likely seen Niharikaa’s writing.
She writes a lot and she’s consistently great.
But how does she do it?
I’m a big fan of hers and so are others. She’s got:
- 34,373 followers on LinkedIn
- 10,012 followers on Medium
- 9,804 followers on Twitter
It’s not just the followers. For Niharikaa, publishing online has led to freelance clients and being paid by LinkedIn.
A few of her posts have gone viral too:
She’s also created digital products. Said products have generated $4,502
This doesn’t include her writing program — Summit 21. Here, she helps writers build a sustainable writing process. Past members include Tom Kuegler and Kristina God.
In short, she’s kicking ass!
Speaking of Summit…
I jumped on board for cohort four. I wanted to “look under the hood” of her writing process. Specifically, I wanted to learn about the systems she has in place to help her publish:
- 15–20 Medium articles a month
- 5–10 tweets a day
- 15–20 LinkedIn posts a month
With this in mind, here’s how you can start kicking ass online — just like Niharikaa.
It All Starts With Content
Niharikaa has put in the reps.
Whilst at university, she wrote on Quora. Her answers have generated millions of views.
But this is just a fraction of her story.
Here are five steps Niharikaa follows to create lots of great content.
Step #1— “You > Guru”
“People want to know you, listen to you, not a perfect pundit. Bring in your stories from life, talk about your friends, talk about your work, your habits and the motivation behind them.”
She isn’t afraid to step out of her comfort zone.
In this post, Niharikaa talks about the value of things after surgery on her knees.
It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s the sort of content many of us — myself included — would feel too uncomfortable to share.
And that’s one of the reasons it does so well.
It’s real.
Niharikaa also doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not.
In the Summit 21 group calls, she spoke on our level. She wasn’t looking down at us. She was one of us — a fellow writer.
She was also vulnerable. Despite having millions of views, she told us she felt like an imposter. Who am I to teach about “making it” on LinkedIn?
A little cajoling from the group helped put her at ease.
She’s gone on to publish her LinkedIn Content Mastery Playbook. It’s had 84 sales to date.
Her growth mindset guides her success.
Step #2 — Live
“See, we all have a life. Brunches, beer nights, family dinners,
playtime with our kids or pets. There’s enough to do already and at times writing isn’t our priority.”— Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi
Niharikaa prioritises time with her family and friends.
This is easier said than done, particularly when you’ve got to-do lists longer than your arm. But it’s vital.
The time spent away from her laptop infuses her writing with life.
Knowledge + Personal Experience = A Compelling Story
— Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi
Step #3— Think About Why
Before publishing, ask yourself the following:
What’s in this for the reader?
Niharikaa believes good writing should do at least one of the following three things — if not all. It should inspire, it should entertain, and/or it should help readers learn something new.
She’s also concise:
“Always always always always always (yes, I’m emphasising it that much) try to do this in the fewest words possible…”
— Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi
Niharikaa shares common writing mistakes. (These were in one of the weekly prompts for Summit 21):
- “You write like a journal entry. Personal experiences make it a lovely read, but only talking about yourself with no takeaway for the reader (inspiration/entertainment) isn’t as much fun.”
- “No actionable insights for the reader.”
- “You’re not formatting according to the platform.”
As well as formatting for the platform, you should be formatting for mobile.
“Content consumers are scrolling during breaks, at work, during commutes, etc. A well-spaced piece versus a cluttered huge paragraph makes a significant difference to the readers’ experience.”
Step #4— Batch Your Tasks
Niharikaa splits her writing into tasks.
When she was working full-time, she would:
- Edit before work
- Write after work
- Repurpose her content during work breaks
Batching helps her live.
She doesn’t have to write every single day. She uses Hypefury to schedule her content on Twitter and LinkedIn, and she stores ideas on Google Docs.
You don’t have to be a consistent writer.
You just have to be a consistent publisher.
Step #5 — Purposefully Generate Ideas
Let’s look at her idea generation exercise:
“Write ten ideas a day.
“Creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. Create a Notion template or Google sheet, or just an old-school notebook to write ten ideas a day.
“Most of them will be horrible, but you’ll get one or two good ideas to write about.
“With time, you’ll start coming up with really good ideas. Just block ten minutes a day for this.”
— Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Books, podcasts, videos — you name it. Intertwine these ideas with your personal experience and you’re onto a winner.
Pulling from your own experience is easier too.
t’s rare to find a writer who’s killing it online and who’s universally loved.
Niharikaa is one of these writers.
Her positive energy shines through in everything she does, and she’s inspired thousands of people with her work.
In Summit 21, there were countless examples:
- She slid into our Twitter DMs to cheer us on
- She gave feedback on our writing
- She sent us certificates once the program had finished
This energy is just one of the reasons she’s loved.
To start kicking ass online, here are five steps to help you publish high-quality content:
- Step #1: “You > Guru” — Share stuff that makes you uncomfortable. This sh*t does well.
- Step #2: Live — Lead an interesting life. Do things, try things, taste things. You can then write about these experiences.
- Step #3: Think about why — Before you publish something, always ask the following: what’s in this for the reader?
- Step #4: Batch your tasks — Remember this: you don’t need to write every day. You just need to publish every day.
- Step #5: Purposefully generate ideas — Block ten minutes a day to write ten ideas. Most of them will be terrible. One or two might be okay. Either way, you’re building your idea muscle.