Before we start — some news:

The Creator Letters is now The Sunday Storypreneur.

Why? Because I believe it more accurately describes the philosophy of how I’m creating online.

A Storypreneur is a special kind of entrepreneur…

A Storypreneur = Story + Entrepreneur

What’s a Story?

Story is communication:

• Sales
• Writing
• Branding
• Marketing
• Persuasion
• Psychology
• Visual Design
• Audience Growth

An entrepreneur is an operator:

• Product Design
• Crafting Funnels
• Market Research
• Creating Systems
• Business Strategy
• Handling Finances
• Planning Launches

If you can combine both — you’ll be unstoppable.

Storypreneurs leverage the internet to multiply their message AND build leverage with their business.

As for the structure and content of this newsletter — it’ll largely remain the same: one problem, one deep dive, one solution.

In fact, that’s what this newsletter is about… how I write my deep dive essays.

Enough of my rambling, let’s get to the piece:

With the rise of AI and automated tools — creating online has never been easier.

Need an article? Just type a few words into ChatGPT and out comes a bullet point outline.

Need to code a landing page? Just type a few words into ChatGPT and you’ve got freshly baked code waiting for you to use.

Need an attention-grabbing headline? Just type a few words into ChatGPT and out pops 5 headline variations plus brief explanations of why they work.

It seems like “creatives” are being phased out, right?

Wrong.

In fact, there’s never been a better time to be a creative entrepreneur.

Here’s why:

Building online operates on a power law.

Essentially it means, the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker.

AI is only accelerating this.

People who copy others or write templatized curation content will be phased out.

People who only educate and have no personality will be phased out.

People who believe they’ll be phased out will be phased out.

But those who learn how to infuse education with entertainment… personality with value… will reap the benefits like never before.

People crave depth.

They’re tired of shallow, surface-level thoughts.

They want deep, well-researched, and clearly articulated ideas.

That’s what a deep dive essay is.

A deep dive essay focuses on solving one problem from multiple different perspectives in a way that’s easy to read and implement.

Trust, authenticity, authority, and connection all come from depth.

That’s why Twitch streamers and YouTubers have a more valuable audience than TikTokers and Instagrammers.

It’s not about going viral. It’s about developing trust and affinity with the right people. Because as a creative entrepreneur: Trust is the foundation of your business.

7 Steps to Write A Deep Dive Essay:

1) Problem

Every deep dive I write starts with a meaningful problem.

I have to truly want to solve it.

Because if not, why spend all this time writing about it?

Usually, the problem I choose to will be at the intersection of my own interests and what I think my audience (you) will find valuable.

For example, someone asked me this question a few weeks ago — and I was also interested in solving it:

That problem turned into this piece:

2) Braindump

Next, I write everything that comes to mind about the problem/topic.

I call this the “PSUBS Method”:

• P - Problem: What’s the main problem and how has it impacted your life or others’ lives?
• S - Solution: What’s your solution to this problem in simple terms?
• U - Unique Method: Is there a new name you can package your solution in?
• B - Benefit: What’s in it for me? Why should I care?
• S - Steps: What are a few simple steps people can take to achieve your solution?

Don’t worry about writing perfect sentences, just jot down ideas. Just like an athlete warms up before a game, a writer needs to warm up before they write.

3) Research

After you’ve brain-dumped everything you can think of, now it’s time to explore different perspectives.

The difference between consumption and research is intention.

Consumption is for entertainment.

Research is for a purpose.

Most people consume whatever the algorithm feeds them.

The best writers go one step further.

I call this the “Monkey Research Method” because you’re climbing the tree of inspiration.

Creativity is going one step further.

I collect all the things I’ve researched in case I need to reference them later in Notion. (I also do all my pre-writing in Notion)

To think differently, you have to consume differently.

4) Synthesize

This is where the magic happens.

Most people find one perspective they agree with and write from one lens.

But the best “creators” and thinkers in general are able to combine multiple perspectives to cast a holistic view of a problem.

Ask yourself, what lens can I view this problem from?

My favorite lenses are:

• Historical - has this problem occurred in the past?
• Personal - do I have a story about this problem?
• Philosophical - can I look at this from a deeper lens?
• Psychological - how does this problem relate to our psychology?

5) Write

My deep dive essays all generally follow the same structure:

1/ Capture attention
2/ Articulate the problem
3/ Describe what most get wrong
4/ Show why your solution is better
5/ Give actionable steps to achieve the solution

Like most copywriting formulas, the 5A Formula is designed with human psychology in mind.

Consciously or unconsciously, we all ask these 5 questions when we’re reading something:

1/ What is this?
2/ Why should I care?
3/ How is this different?
4/ What’s your new way?
5/ How do I do it?

Each step further articulates the idea and handles any objections.

6) Edit

Most people write a piece of content and think it ends there.

The best writers know that the first draft is just scratching the surface of the idea.

After I’m done with my first draft, I’ll go through and edit it.

No matter what, I always do 3 things:

• Cut irrelevant parts
• Add images and examples
• Bold, underline, and italicize for readability

7) Multiply

Content multiplication is the art of saying 1 thing in 1,000 different ways.

One idea can turn into a:

• Story
• Listicle
• Contrast
• Question
• One-liner
• Prediction
• Contrarian
• Observation
• Win in public
• Actionable tip

You don’t lack good ideas, you lack the ability to see from different lenses.

If you want a more in-depth look at how I multiply my content, you can pick up my Content Multiplication System.

I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with details. I live and breathe this kind of stuff, so of course I had to nerd out about my writing process for a bit.

Above all, I hope you learned that “wherever you see consistency, a system is in place.”

Now go write your story.

Jay “The Storypreneur” Yang

JAY'S PICKS: 🔥

• This Friday was prom and nobody came to school. So in gym class, I just walked around and listened to David Senra on My First Million. Got me so hyped up. Listen here.

• This YouTube channel has been one of my favorites recently. He visualizes and connects great thinkers’ ideas into a video essay. It’s video synthesis. Watch here.

• The difference between analysis and synthesis told through a story. It’s long, but a great read. Read here.

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