College teacher turned ghostwriter | Scaling founders, coaches, and consultants to $100K+ /mo | Writing to build wealth and better self | 98,000 on Twitter (X)

Taylin John Simmonds

I just want you to know, it’s possible to become a full time writer. 

It might take longer than expected. It might not happen the way you expected. But it is possible. 

Please, on the hard days, remember that.

College teacher turned Substack ghostwriter | Helping multi-passionate writers and creatives earn on the internet | 2 billion impressions | $4,000,000+ revenue generated | All in on Substack

I ghostwrote for 6 months with zero pay.

3am writing sessions to hit deadlines. Then I’d teach college classes from 8am to 6pm (exhausting).

I tracked every win. Saved the screenshots. Studied what worked.

That invisible work became my portfolio.
That portfolio landed my first paid client at $3,000 a month.

To get paid, get proof.

I’m 31, Canadian, introverted, and run a small online writing biz with my high school best friend.

Last year, we did $315,000 in revenue.

What we sell (copy us if you like):

– Social media ghostwriting: $4,700/mo + 10% commission
– Newsletter ghostwriting: $2,000 /mo
– Ghostwriting coaching: $5,700/qtr
- Ghostwriting course: $500
- Paid Substack newsletter: $99/yr

How we market:

– Post on LinkedIn 5x/week
– Post on Substack 7x/week
– Post on Twitter 14x/week
– Email my list 2-3x/week
– DM 100 people/mo on LinkedIn

Tools we use:

– Loom (SOPs and audits)
– Stripe + Whop (payment processors)
– Calendly (calendar bookings and pre-sale automation sequences)
– Heartbeat (community platform for coaching)
– Eden (all writing + my entire life in systems)
– Notion (company systems)
– Claude + ChatGPT (AI assistance)

Where I started:

4 years ago I was a college teacher who knew nothing about business, marketing, or sales. I just wanted more control over my time and to make a little more money. Today, I have exactly that.

if you do a fraction of this, you can make $100K /yr on Substack alone. You just need the right offers, strategy, and time.

I hope this gives you some direction.

—Taylin

My tiny writing biz did $315,000 last year.

If I were starting over and wanted 6 figures, I’d ghostwrite newsletters on Substack.

Go to LinkedIn, find business owners, health coaches, and tech founders. DM them. Show them how a paid newsletter will make them more per mo than they pay you.

Do this well and you’ll have more clients than you can handle.

Funny... After 31 years of exploring, my happy life turned out to the simple one.

• Reading great books
• Going on walks to think
• Writing what I’d love to read

A little breathwork. A lot of time with my gf.

That’s it. That’s happiness.

Build in public (show your process)
Think in public (share your insights)
Write in public (show your skill)

Public credibility creates private opportunities.

If you want to level up in life, you must create more than you consume.

Create art, books, content, products, and businesses. Shape your body, mind, and environment. Build your ideal life one tiny step at a time.

Most people are stuck because they only watch. Don’t be like them.

Create something. Anything.

You only need 1 client.

Not one who underpays, drains your energy, and ignores boundaries.

1 client who pays more than most corporate salaries, treats you like a professional, and builds with you long term.

That single client will permanently change what you think is possible with a one person business.

You're exhausted because you have too many open loops.

Too many books you’re reading. Articles you’re writing. Skills you’re learning. Businesses you’re building. Problems you’re solving.

Pick one thing (for now). And grieve the rest. 
Energy will follow.

Don’t write with AI. Write assisted by AI.

AI can come up with ideas. You decide which are worth writing.
AI can research. You fact-check.
AI can give feedback. You choose what to keep.

You think. You write. You lead.

You bring the perspective, taste, and truth that no machine can.

AI saves you time.

Not so you can write less, but so you can write more, write better, and write more you.

Solo building is overrated.

Find your people. Meet daily. Build cool sh*t together.

I’m creating a newsletter ghostwriting course with two close friends and it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.

Few things beat building with people who care as much as you do.

The happiest people I know are not doing more. 
They are noticing more.

They pause to celebrate small wins others ignore. Ten minutes of focused work. One uncomfortable email sent. An honest start on a low-energy day.

That habit will make you effective.

Because people who notice progress keep going.

Multi-passionate people get stuck because they over-consume and under-create.

You don’t have to give up learning. But you do need to devote yourself to producing work daily.

Create for 2-4 hours in the morning. Explore for 1-2 hours in the evenings.

That’s how you both learn and earn with multiple interests.

You don't need motivation to achieve great things.

I don't always feel like writing.
I don't always feel like working.
I don't always feel like exercising.

Honestly, MOST days I don't feel like it.

But I do it anyways.
And I never regret it.

The future won’t belong to specialists who refuse to change.

It will belong to people who can become someone new again and again.

Technology is moving too fast for fixed identities.

Agency, learning speed, and keeping cool under uncertainty are the new job security.

A lack of pressure leads to an abundance of procrastination.

New milestone: 100 paid subscribers on Substack!

Acquiring Inbound Leads for B2B Founders with Personal Content Programs • Explaining Content, one Ugly Drawing at a time

Your B2B content marketing should do more than just fill a feed.

It should: 

• Attract the right people to your offer
• Position you as a trusted expert
• Convert attention into pipeline

At StoryAngled, we build custom content programs that deliver:

• Inbound lead generation strategy
• A full-stack content production team
• An always-growing database of proven content systems, frameworks, and resources

We work exclusively with B2B founders and growth-minded teams.

If that’s you, shoot me a DM — I’ll get back to you personally.

Kuba Czubajewski

I really wish I had a video like this when I started in B2B content:

This B2B content strategy system took me 2 years to fully figure out. 

The video I just published on YT(https://lnkd.in/dV7dBx6H) has everything I do to help my clients:

• Land new inbound leads every week from LinkedIn and long-form content

• Build recognizable, distinct voices in their niches

• Create content that their clients reference during calls.

I also included a workbook you can download and fill out while watching to ensure you get the most out of this.

Grab it. Fill it in. And start creating content that gets you revenue.

1 system to consistent inbound for complex B2B offers | 30+ founders using it | Sharing daily content advice for busy B2B leaders

Me explaining why ‘viral’ isn’t a KPI for content:

1 content system to consistent clients for B2B services

I promised myself that I'll document more tiny wins here in 2026. So, here we go:

The first week of Jan has been hectic af, but also very rewarding:

💃 I crossed 500 subscribers on YT 

💃 One of my shorts performed well (1.6K views in 24 hours) 

💃 I got offered 3 long-term brand partnerships from companies I love

💃 I will be featured in a publication made by a MAJOR marketing tool

💃 I signed a new client for a major YouTube work

💃 I completed the recording and editing of 4 videos, giving me plenty of backlog to make the next batch even better

Guess "slow start of the year" wasn't in my cards this time.

But I'm not complaining.

How's your January going? Flex your wins in the comments and let's feel good together.

This post will probably be a little TMI but whatever, it’s important to me:

For the first time in 8 years, I’m 100% off all my anxiety meds!!!

I’ve been struggling with anxiety my whole life. 

I grew up in a very stressful environment (surrounded by neurotic actors and artists, constantly being judged, traveling a lot, no time for self care etc) 

This affected my life in ways I hadn’t expected it would.

I suffered from panic attacks, insomnia, and depression.

In my early adulthood, I didn’t know what to do with all this emotional baggage. 

I struggled. A f*cking lot.

But instead of letting this just happen to me, I took matters into my own hands:

I started therapy. I consulted mental pros to help me calm down all the demons in the meantime. 

It took a sh*tton of work and dedication to learn how to live with anxiety - and not let it dictate how I live my life.

But starting this month, I’m officially off all the meds.

Now, does it mean the anxiety disappear? Hell nah.

But I have tools now that let me observe it, understand it, and feel safe while this whole process is going on in my head.

Feels f*cking blissful, I’m not gonna lie.

Why am I telling you this?

First, because it matters to me a lot.

Second, because it’s just important to talk about the emotional side of our business journey. 

As much as we like to pretend sometimes we’re invincible - we’re still human. We suffer from things that we don’t always want to share with anyone.

If that’s you, I just wanna say - I see you. I applaud your strength. I’m here whenever you wanna talk.

K, I’m getting emotional, time to go.

$40K+ ARR with only organic content. In one of the most difficult product categories possible:

Breakcold's results speak for themselves. Good content can and will make your company grow – even when your competitors have million-dollar marketing budgets and massive brand equity.

I've been fascinated by Breakcold's content strategy for a while now:

• Strong, founder-led branding
• SEO articles that actually make sense for the reader
• Interactive content for ongoing lead generation 

And so much more. I'm honestly amazed how a handful of people can pull off this level of volume + content quality.

So, I decided to give them a massive shout-out in my latest video. 

I'm breaking down all the elements of their content strategy I could find.

These guys are VERY GOOD at what they do. If you're in the middle of building a content strategy for your B2B product, this is the example to get inspired by.

Watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/g223qdmi

My main prediction for B2B content in 2026 is that it'll become more human-centric than ever before.

But it's the small, scrappy startups that will lead the change.

For me, human-centric means content that feels like the person posting it just jumped off from 10 customer calls.

You can feel the authenticity, because of how specific it feels - real moments, specific solutions, and proof it actually works.

Not “thought leadership” that could be written by anyone.

The giants will still try to force-feed us AI bullsh*t. Guess they have big enough budgets to do so.

Smaller companies cannot afford to dilute their messaging and distance themselves from their customers.

Some examples of companies that are leading the charge right now:

Tella with their community-centric approach to helping their customers be consistent with video.

Breakcold with their founder-centric branding, focused on educating their prospects until they're ready to make the most out of the product

Chatbase with their employee advocacy program + timely, highly relevant social content 

Kuse with their build-in-public approach and user-generated product-led videos on socials

And many, MANY more.

I feel so excited to watch this space evolve this year. And I'll be documenting the best examples on my YT channel (link in my featured section).

If you're currently building a B2B product - what's the one thing you wish to implement in your content to make it more human-centric this year?

Confession time: I think adding "book a call" at the end of your post here is one of the least effective CTAs possible. 

I used to end my posts with “Book a call”.

Every time.

It felt… professional.

Like the thing a “real business” is supposed to do.

And it also didn’t work.

I’d get likes.

A few “Great post!” comments.

Zero conversations with actual buyers.

Because “Book a call” is a ridiculous ask when someone just met you 12 seconds ago in a feed.

It’s high friction.

It assumes they trust you enough to give you 30 minutes of their life because… you posted a nice carousel?

Bold strategy.

Here’s what I learned:

Most CTAs fail for one simple reason.

They’re written like a favor you’re asking for.

Not a favor you’re doing for them.

So I replaced “Book a call” with a Utility CTA.

A Utility CTA is a micro-offer.

A tiny asset that helps your buyer take the next step without committing to a sales conversation.

The action is 3 seconds.

Comment a word.

Reply with a keyword.

Click one button.

The payoff is immediate:

👉 A 2-slide internal brief they can forward to their boss.

👉 A risk checklist so they don’t screw up the project.

👉 A scoping question list to prep their team.

👉 A 30-day rollout timeline.

This changes everything because it does two things at once:

It lowers friction.

And it gives you signal.

People who type one keyword aren’t “engaging”.

They’re raising their hand.

If you want examples of Utility CTAs you can steal, comment CTA and I’ll send you my shortlist.

The moment you stop assuming what your client feels is the moment your content starts to actually work:

Let’s say you’re targeting startup founders.

The obvious assumption is:

"They fear running out of money."

"They want more revenue."

Sometimes true.

But when you dig deeper, you hear different things.

The real fear is building something nobody actually wants.

The real frustration is feeling like a fraud who’s about to be exposed.

The real goal is proof:

"I’m not just winging it."

And the real aspiration is being the founder people quote and respect.

That shift matters because it changes what you should post.

If your content keeps yelling about metrics,  but your audience is drowning in imposter syndrome, you’re talking past them.

Here’s the fastest question I’ve found to get out of assumption-land:

"Tell me about the closest time you came to quitting?"

Listen for the pattern.

If most answers sound like:

"I felt behind"

"I felt fake"

"I didn’t trust my judgment"

Then your content strategy isn’t about “growth.”

It’s about confidence and validation.

Meaning you should write about:

• What good looks like
• How to know you’re on track
• Signals your product actually has pull
• How to stop second-guessing every move
• How to explain decisions to your team and investors

Assumptions create content about funding and metrics.
Reality creates content about confidence.

10 pieces of content marketing advice that don't mean sh*t:

1. “Just be consistent”

Consistent at what? Posting into the void?

2. “You need to tell your founder story”

Cool. Your buyer still wants to know if you can fix their problem.

3. “Create thought leadership”

Translation: have opinions. But also somehow never offend anyone.

4. “We need to build awareness first”

Awareness of what? Your logo? Your vibes? Your lack of a point?

5. “Let’s make it educational”

Education without a buyer trigger is just a blog-shaped hobby.

6. “We should go viral”

Stop. Just stop. 

7. “We need more top of funnel”

If the middle and bottom are broken, you’re just pouring water into a bucket with holes.

8. “Repurpose everything”

Repurpose the right thing. Not your 900-word manifesto no one read.

9. “We need a content strategy”

If it doesn’t end in a specific utility offer, it’s a document, not a strategy.

10. “The CTA is book a call”

That’s not a CTA. That’s a leap of faith.

What should be number 11 on this list?

Next week, I'm posting a video about one of the smartest SaaS team I've ever met.

And I'm not saying that because their Growth Manager is my bestie (luv u bestie)

They're competing in a niche that's dominated by one giant. The one that even claimed a new verb to signify what their users are doing on their platform (think: googling for Google).

Yet, their tiny team is making big moves to build a product that's not only better - but also much COOLER to use.

And I'm saying that as their user for the last 3 years.

In the vid, I'll break down their content strategy, their approach to communicating the product's value (one of the best examples I know), and their strong community focus.

Can't wait to show the full thing to you.

In the meantime, you can subscribe to my channel here, not to miss it:

https://lnkd.in/dgtFGsX3

Demographics are probably the most misunderstood part of content marketing research.

Sure, it's nice to know your customers are between the ages of 35-55, they live in Oakland, and own a Subaru.

But what context does it actually give you to create effective marketing for them?

To gather actually useful demographic data, you have to dig deeper.

Here are 2 (of many) questions I use to find out demographics that actually influence how I talk to my customers and help me build trust with them faster:

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why some B2B founders are STRUGGLIN' to generate inbound while others seem to have it all figured out.

So, I studied the best ones. Tested loads of their tactics on myself and some of my clients who were keen to try it.

And around ~2 years ago, it started clicking.

Then, I systemized it all and started applying this methodology across all my content strategies.

Almost every time, it worked.

So, in this week's video, I'm breaking it all down for you:

Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/dFGtNhw9

sorry not sorry but these "tips" about content I see here all the time are just weak.

they're surface-level and give you exactly 0 context into what ACTUALLY works in your niche, for your clients, for your specific situation.

from 5 years in this space, I can tell you, there are no 2 content strategies that look exactly the same.

so, swipe through and see what to look out for next time you see an influencer feeding you bs they learned from chatgpt:

9 "popular" content marketing tips that don't work

CRM companies' content is usually... a little (very) boring.

But not in the case of this 5-person startup:

Full video here: https://lnkd.in/g223qdmi

I've created my last YT video for every David struggling with a Goliath in their category.

They have huge budgets - you have huge hopes.

They have giant teams - you have resilience.

They have enormous brand equity - you have your smart brain and wit.

Sounds like it might not be enough, right?

Tella proves otherwise.

They, slowly but surely, are creating space for themselves in a niche that has been dominated by a giant for the last 10 years - Loom.

And the way they approach it is absolutely brilliant.

Here's a sneak peek:

(you can watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/dep34-wb)

You’ve been told 1000 times to “just post value”. How’s that working out for you?

If you’re tired, you’re not lazy.

You’re just running a system that was never designed to pay you back.

It usually looks like this:

Post. 

Crickets.

Post again. 

More crickets.

Now the crickets have burnout.

And the worst part is the mental math you do after:

"Maybe my hook sucks."
"Maybe I’m not consistent enough."
"Maybe I need a better carousel template."
"Maybe the algorithm hates me."

No.

Most of the time, your content isn’t failing because it’s “not valuable”.

It’s failing because it has no job.

It shows up. It vibes. It leaves.

There’s no clear step between:

"I saw this"

and

"I want to talk to you"

Here’s the fix I use with founders who are done posting into the void.

Give every post one clear job using this simple path:

1. Demand Packet

One tiny story your buyer recognizes instantly.

Trigger. Job. Constraint. Outcome. Proof.

2. Utility CTA

Not book a call.

A tiny yes that takes 3 seconds.

Send a 2 slide brief.

A risk checklist.

A scoping question list.

3. Momentum Loop

Reuse the same packet across LinkedIn and email for a week.

Same message. Same CTA.

You stop starting from scratch.

If you’re burnt out, don’t post more.

Post with a job.

If you want, comment BRIEF and I’ll send you my Demand Packet template plus 6 Utility CTA examples you can steal.

If your story isn’t vivid, it isn’t memorable.

Most B2B content is technically correct. And emotionally invisible.

It’s full of phrases like:

“digital transformation”

“unlock efficiencies”

“improve visibility”

“enable better decisions”

Cool.

So what actually happened?

Because your buyer’s life doesn’t feel like “visibility”.

It feels like quarter end.

It feels like the ops team being one dashboard away from crying in the bathroom.

It feels like someone slacking:

“is this final?”

for the 9th time.

That’s why vague positioning dies.

Not because it’s wrong.

Because it’s not repeatable.

Nobody forwards “We drive transformation” to their CFO.

Nobody says “I read an insightful post about stakeholder alignment” and takes action.

People move when they recognize a scene from their own week.

Here’s the rule I use when I’m writing a story:

If it doesn’t create a picture in your head, it won’t create a reply in your inbox.

So swap this:

“We help teams modernize reporting.”

For this:

“Every month end, your team duct tapes numbers from 4 tools into one spreadsheet.

Finance doesn’t trust it.

The VP wants it by 9am.

And the person who built it is on PTO.”

That’s not “better copy”.

That’s reality.

And reality is what makes buyers stop scrolling.

If you want a quick exercise.

Take your last post and underline every abstract word.

Then rewrite each one as:

1. A moment.
2. A person.
3. A consequence.
4. A specific annoying sentence someone said.

That’s the stuff people remember.

Your best content idea is their last straw moment:

Buyers don’t gradually decide they need help.

They go from:

“We’ll deal with this later”

to:

“Okay… we need help.”

And it’s rarely gradual. Or at least it doesn't feel like it.

It’s an email.

A call.

A missed deadline.

A board question they can’t answer.

A pipeline report that makes their stomach drop.

That moment is content gold.

Because your audience is living through the same thing right now.

So, when you ask customers:

“When did you know you needed us?”

That’s a leading question.

You’ll get polite, filtered answers.

Instead, ask these 3 questions.

1) What was the last straw?

What exactly happened?

2) How did that feel?

Stress, embarrassment, panic, anger, relief?

3) What did you try first be you looked for a vendor?

If you sell to agencies, it might be:

“The email that almost killed our retention.”

If you sell to SaaS founders, it might be:

“The demo that got applause… and still zero paid users.”

If you sell to sales leaders, it might be:

“The forecast call where I realized our pipeline was fake.”

Write that story.

Focus on the moment your buyer recognizes and thinks:

“Yep. That’s me.”

---

Want a free video breakdown of how to find those moments? DM me and I'll send it.

Lots of B2B founders I talk to daily have 1 content problem:

“my expertise sounds vague on the internet”

So they post more.

More tips.

More frameworks.

More “here are my thoughts”.

And buyers still can’t repeat what you do to their boss.

That’s the real test.

If someone can’t explain you in 10 seconds, you don’t have positioning.

You have vibes.

Here’s the fix:

Build what I call a Demand Packet.

A Demand Packet is a mini, self-contained story that turns your expertise into something a buyer can understand fast… and repeat to their boss without sounding stupid.

It’s not a post.

It’s the message architecture under your post, your email, your landing page, your sales deck.

Every Demand Packet has 5 parts:

1. Trigger

The real moment your buyer experiences

Not “digital transformation”

More like “it’s quarter end and ops is drowning in spreadsheets”

2. Job

What they’re actually trying to get done

Not “improve analytics maturity”

More like “get numbers leadership can trust by Monday”

3. Constraint

The villain of the story:

Tool chaos, slow IT, no owner, internal politics.

4. Outcome line

One clear result, ideally with a number and a timeframe.

5. Proof artifact

Something small they can forward internally:

• 2 slides
• 1 screenshot
• a tiny checklist

If it can’t be shared in Slack, it’s too big.

This compounds, because you stop reinventing your message every week.

You build a library of packets.

And now your content has something buyers can actually use internally.

If you want, comment PACKET and I’ll send you the Demand Packet fill-in template I use with clients.

taplio

The Battle

Taylin John Simmonds

Kuba Czubajewski

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreTaylin John Simmonds's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreKuba Czubajewski's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Taylin John Simmonds

Kuba Czubajewski

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Taylin John Simmonds's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreKuba Czubajewski's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTaylin John Simmonds's LinkedIn Performance