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!

Helping brands get rankings and revenue from Google, LLMs, AI Overviews | CEO of Contact.so | Mentions.so | Kleo.so

I help tech companies turn attention into predictable revenue.I am the CEO and co-founder of: • Contact (Most innovative SEO + AEO Agency in the World) • Kleo (AI tool that helps you create content optimized to go viral, build an audience, and get you customers)• Mentions (Helps you track your visibility and rank in ChatGPT and other LLMs)Across these businesses, we’ve built and scaled multiple bootstrapped, profitable companies, while also helping dozens of teams grow through SEO, LinkedIn, and AI-driven distribution.Most teams have the same problem: they invest in content, rankings, or social, but none of it compounds into a reliable acquisition engineMy work focuses on building distribution systems that actually scale:• Programmatic SEO and AEO that compounds• Organic content and distribution designed to convert, not just get likes• Content that helps you rank and get recommended by ChatGPT and other LLMsI work with tech teams and founders who want predictable growth without hiring massive teams or chasing tactics that stop working in six months.Here on LinkedIn, I share what we’re learning while building and scaling these companies, so other founders can avoid the mistakes that slow growth and waste years.My goal is simple: be the most transparent founder in the world, share everything, and hide nothing (so you can steal all our tactics to grow your own business) If you’re building a real business and care about predictable demand, following me will be useful.☎️GETTING IN TOUCH IS EASY:📞 Schedule a 30-minute free brainstorm and jam session with me here: https://calendly.com/trykleo/30min (Zero pressure, and if you need to reschedule, go right ahead.)

Rob Hoffman

Planning new SEO content for 2026?

PLEASE do this first:

1. Get all your blog URLs into a spreadsheet.

Use Screaming Frog to crawl and export. It provides other useful information like titles and descriptions.

Connect further data sources:

- Ahrefs
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console

2. Enter each URL into Google Search Console or Ahrefs and find its best-ranking keywords.

Add this data to the spreadsheet for each page:

- Primary keyword (your main keyword)
- Secondary keywords (variations and similar)
- Current position for your target keyword(s)

If a URL isn't ranking for anything?

Find the most relevant keywords using Ahrefs.

Then...

3. Audit each blog post and assign actions:

- Leave: Content that’s reached its full potential
- Merge: Cannibalizing or extremely similar content
- Delete: Content that no longer offers value to users
- Update: Small changes to improve the performance
- Rewrite: Large changes to improve the performance

4. Spend a few weeks in Q1 implementing these actions to get more out of your existing assets.

Prioritize updates and rewrites that have:

- Target keywords in positions 4-20
- Higher conversion and $ potential
- Easy improvement opportunities

Remember:

Not all of your Q1 content needs to be new. Look at your existing content first.

You're likely sitting on many quick wins.

Helping founders make predictable revenue from organic content and rankings on LinkedIn, Google, and LLMs | CEO of Contact.so | Mentions.so | Kleo.so

Flew to London for a single meeting that will define our next 90 days at Kleo. Last quarter, we hit $62k MRR in 53 days. Here's the exact agenda:

[Total time: 6-8 hours]

FOUNDATIONS (30 mins)

Everyone shares one thing they need from today. (5 mins)

Add issues to the list. "Issues" are tasks, blockers, or opportunities that need attention this year. (10 mins)

ROCK SETTING (4.5 hours)

Put 1-year goals on the whiteboard (revenue, profit, client numbers)

Put 90-day goals next to them. Only topline numbers first.

Then brainstorm: "How do we hit these numbers?"

Choose the most important "issues" to prioritize over the next 90 days.

Keep, Kill, Combine until you have an organized list.

LUNCH BREAK

Choose 3-7 Company Rocks. Rocks must be SMART goals.

Then choose Rocks for each department and each leadership team member.

Final Rock count:

- Company: 3–7 Rocks
- Departments: 3–7 Rocks each
- Leadership: 3–7 Rocks each
- Other Employees: 1–3 Rocks each

Share Rocks in a circle.

Hold each other accountable using two thumbs up: one for SMART, one to confirm it's right-for-this-quarter.

IDS SECTION (2 hours)

IDS = Issues to Discuss and Solve

Review your issues list. Pick the top 3.

Identify, Discuss, Solve. Leave with problems solved to build momentum.

CLOSING (30 mins)

Put on calming music. Get into a meditative state.

Answer these four questions:

- How did you feel about today?
- Any AHAs or highlights?
- Were your expectations met?
- Rate this meeting 1-10

This framework keeps us aligned, focused, and moving fast.

We’re launching Kleo to the public in 15 days.

And we want you to be part of it.

To celebrate, we’re holding a webinar to reveal the entire lead gen system we used with organic content to scale our businesses from 0 to $61k MRR in 53 days.

RSVP here for free: https://lnkd.in/eJTyrHjn

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The Battle

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Rob Hoffman

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The Battle

Taylin John Simmonds

Rob Hoffman

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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

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