How to be ahead of 99% of creators

Avoid these 7 online writing mistakes

Author

Hussein Naji
June 11, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

After talking to over 100 creators, I noticed everyone makes the same mistakes at the beginning. I made them too when I started out. And because I’m an evil person, I’ll let you go through the same pain as me.

Just kidding. I gained over 25,000 followers on Threads in only 3 months by dodging those mistakes. Today, I’ll show them to you — for FREE. (If you insist on paying me, just reply to this email with a pic of your dog or favorite food.) Believe me: avoiding these mistakes will put you ahead of most creators.

1. Don’t write like you were taught in school or college.

It doesn't work on social media — especially if your target audience is the general public. Writing online is more about psychology than writing (I’m gonna dig into that in the next points).

Sounds harsh, but this was one of the biggest lessons I had to learn: forget EVERYTHING you learned about writing in school or college.

I spent over 10 years in academia, so guess how annoyed I was when I realized I had to ditch everything I’d bashed into my head for the past decade. Spoiler alert: very annoyed. VERY. ANNOYED.

But in the end, that shift is the best thing I could’ve done for my writing skills.

2. Don’t just focus on good content

Don’t get me wrong: writing good content people love is a cornerstone of being an online writer — but it’s not the whole backbone. Another cornerstone is formatting.

Harsh truth: mediocre content that’s formatted well gets more engagement than great content written like a college essay.

Wondering how to format? Me, too. Please let me know when you find out. Alright, alright, just kidding. Apologies — I’m feeling a little extra silly today 😆

Here’s how to format your text on scrolling Apps like Threads or Twitter (X):

  • Use dashes "-" instead of commas.

  • Add line breaks after every sentence.

  • Sort your listicles by length of each bullet point.

  • For listicles, don’t do line breaks between bullet points (cause the bullet points are already pattern breakers themselves).

The purpose of these rules is to make your text more appealing to the eye and less exhausting for the brain. People’s attention spans are thinner than that slice of pizza I swore I’d save for later — yeah, that thin.

3. Your final editing step shouldn’t be the final one

What do I mean by that?

It’s super important to keep your sentences short and use as few words as possible to get your story across. One of the most common writing mistakes people make:

Filler words (really, extremely, furthermore, however, etc.). We toss them in to sound fancy, but they add nothing except clunkiness. Your sentence makes just as much sense if you ditch them.

After we finish editing, we usually think, “Now it’s perfect.” You might wanna hate me for this, but that’s exactly when you should chop the text even more.

One of the best writing tips I’ve ever gotten: cut your text by 20 % after the final edit.

It’s not easy at first but the effort’s worth it. Trust me. There’s always a way to shorten your text, even when it doesn’t look like it.

4. Don’t neglect longform posts (LFs).

This might surprise you: over 95 % of my growth comes from LFs. LFs spark way more engagement than short-form posts. Why? Because they provide more value. You spend more time writing that LF, and people spend more time reading it. And that’s the point:

The longer people keep reading your content, the more likely they are to engage. Put in the effort and people will reward you for saving them the time of doing the research on that specific topic.

My most viral short-form post had 35,000 + likes and pulled in 800 followers. My most viral LF? 12,000 + likes and 8,000 followers. Crazy, right?

It doesn’t have to be viral — this statistic scales down at any like count. Some LFs will flop, but the one hit totally makes up for it.

Follow this rule: write AT LEAST 3 LFs per week.

5. Avoid these writing style mistakes

  • No passive voice

  • Don't sound like ChatGPT

  • Don’t sound generic: Write like you talk

  • Don’t be vague: Write with clarity & confidence

  • Show personality (humor, sass, poetry - whatever makes you you)

If you do scientific, academic or educational content follow these rules as well:

  • Write simple blueprints

  • Use numbers & examples

  • Remove zero-value information

  • A child must understand your posts

  • No academic, niche, or scientific words

If people need Google after reading your post, it’s not simple and/or clear enough. Also, get rid of academic jargon:

  • “Use” instead of “Utilize”

  • “Idea” instead of “Paradigm”

  • “Method”, “Way”, “How to do it” instead of “Methodology”

6. Don’t lose readers in the first sentence

The first sentence of your post determines over 90 % of the engagement. Yes, you read that right. That’s why it’s called a hook — you’re psychologically hooking people so they keep reading.

Here are 4 hook structures that worked like a charm for me:

  • Your degree, experience, hours you spent studying a topic are a great way to start your post.

  • People love transformations. They're a perfect combination of showing personality and giving inspiration.

  • Call out people or an industry if you think it needs improvement.

  • Share controversial truths that shouldn’t be controversial.

If you’re an academic, scientist and/or educator in any niche I highly recommend to try out this hook format:

  1. Credibility

  2. Relatable problem

  3. Tease solution

Here's an example template for that structure: 

I'm a doctor [PROFESSION/DEGREE] and I need you to hear this [INCENTIVE TO READ]: 

Your eye health deteriorates [RELATABLE PROBLEM] and it doesn't just destroy vision [CURIOSITY] — it attacks your mental health & vitality [URGENCY TO KEEP READING]. 

Here are X science-backed methods to protect your eyes [TEASE CLEAR SOLUTION]:

7. Don’t neglect consistency for perfection

This is a MUST: post 2–3 times EVERY day. No exceptions.

Without consistency, you have no chance. Show up every day. Post it, even if it isn't perfect. And if a post flops?

No problem! Happens to me all the time. Analyze it, learn from it, adjust, and try again. That’s how you become better as a writer.

That’s it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on Instagram @husseinnaji_ or email — my door (aka inbox) is always open. Just reply to this mail☺️

Much love,

Your kiwi-with-the-skin-on-eating friend

Hussein

PS: If you want to see more content, check out my other channels: