Lenny Rachitsky: How This Ex-Airbnb Product Manager Created A Top Newsletter On Substack
10/25/23 • 83 min
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Lenny writes one of the top five business newsletters on Substack — which has amassed over 500,000 subscribers. He hosts a podcast that makes him more money than he made in corporate America. And he’s built a raving X audience of over 188,000.
No training. No ego. And to top it all off, he writes in one of the most oversaturated markets on the Internet: product management.
How does he do it?
After his first Substack post went viral, “What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business”, Lenny saw the positive impact that his ideas had on his readers. He became obsessed with adding value. His motto?
“There’s always room for better content.”
In an age of cheap, viral-hungry clickbait, Lenny’s quality bar is through the stratosphere. He spends hours researching and revising. He takes ten, twenty, thirty passes on every piece he writes. He’s hyper-focused on adding value. And his audience loves it. His commitment to quality catapults his content above the noise.
In this episode, you’ll see inside Lenny’s process. He opens up about creating high-signal content; following what energizes him; balancing storytelling with practicality; protecting his writing schedule; and above all, rising above the noise.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
Website: https://www.lennyrachitsky.com
Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
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Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
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Lenny writes one of the top five business newsletters on Substack — which has amassed over 500,000 subscribers. He hosts a podcast that makes him more money than he made in corporate America. And he’s built a raving X audience of over 188,000.
No training. No ego. And to top it all off, he writes in one of the most oversaturated markets on the Internet: product management.
How does he do it?
After his first Substack post went viral, “What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business”, Lenny saw the positive impact that his ideas had on his readers. He became obsessed with adding value. His motto?
“There’s always room for better content.”
In an age of cheap, viral-hungry clickbait, Lenny’s quality bar is through the stratosphere. He spends hours researching and revising. He takes ten, twenty, thirty passes on every piece he writes. He’s hyper-focused on adding value. And his audience loves it. His commitment to quality catapults his content above the noise.
In this episode, you’ll see inside Lenny’s process. He opens up about creating high-signal content; following what energizes him; balancing storytelling with practicality; protecting his writing schedule; and above all, rising above the noise.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
Website: https://www.lennyrachitsky.com
Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
Riva Tez: Becoming A Free Thinker
Riva Tez is one of the freest writers I know. It’s as if the boundaries of conventional thinking don’t apply to her. She’s allergic to dogma and passionate about questioning the taboos of our time, and her obsessive research gene has given her a knack for stumbling upon forgotten and under-explored ideas.
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If you feel constrained in your writing or thinking, this episode is for you. An hour with Riva will free you from the trappings of your mind, unleash your creative spirit, and lift your head up to a divine calling.
Twitter: @rivatez
Medium: Riva-Melissa Tez
Article: Walking with Nietzche
Forbes: 30 Under 30 Profile
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
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Next Episode
Mark Manson: From Online Blogger to 3-Time #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Mark Manson’s success as a writer stems from one central idea: “What feels like play?”
After his dating blog took off in 2012, Mark started writing about all the things that excited him: psychology, personal development, and “self-help for people who hate self-help.” His breakout book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” was the #1 most read nonfiction book worldwide in 2017 (and I swear I saw it on the front table of every airport I went to).
Mark was once described as “the local drunk who spends too much time in the philosophy section of the bookstore.” What was meant to be a diss became a core part of his Personal Monopoly. Mark is bullish on sounding like himself. The man writes zingers, and that’s why his work resonates.
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Website: https://markmanson.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IAmMarkManson
Books: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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