How I Learned to Write Fearlessly in English (as an Italian) and Attracted Thousands of Views
I regret not doing it sooner. Follow these steps and seize the opportunity now!
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Today’s post is brought to you by
, a fellow bilingual creative entrepreneur. His publication, focuses on systems, productivity and automation, but he is now sharing his journey and skills as a content creator in English as a second language.
I launched my first blog in October 2010. Everything I knew about blogging and online marketing, I learned in English.
I actually considered starting writing in English. But I didn't for the same reasons many non-native speakers don't:
“I don’t know the language well enough”,
“The competition is too strong”,
“It would require too much extra effort and time”,
I finally started publishing in English around 2022. Twelve years later, I truly regret not starting sooner.
Now I’m finally connected with American culture, which I've always admired. I found many more like-minded people worldwide—there are too few in my country. I reached a much larger audience talking about the topics I love.
In this article, I'll share how I developed my English writing skills, that helped me write articles with thousands of views. I hope this inspires you and, most importantly, helps you leverage this huge opportunity.
I'm a traitor!
Or, to use a kinder word, I’m a xenophile.
Since middle school, I've always preferred English to my native language. I have nothing against Italian. But I find English more musical and effective for communication. It's better for being concise and creating neologisms.
But it's not just about the language. I've always had a soft spot for American culture.
Self-reliance and personal achievement are two of my core values. And they are at the roots of US greatness. Plus, all my favorite music, books, movies, podcasts, blogs come from there.
Most of my fellow countrymen love English as they love math. Which says a lot, in a STEM-averse culture. I always enjoyed it, instead.
Self-brainwashing
In middle school, I listened only to Queen’s music. So, I wanted to understand the lyrics.
My father gave me two books with the lyrics for Queen's entire discography and the Italian translations (he’s SO special). I wore those books out.
This has been my secret weapon for learning throughout my life. My hobbies, interests, and passions have been Trojan horses. They helped me expand my vocabulary and improve my comprehension.
Duolingo didn't exist back then. Studying English at school helped. But it was only a couple of hours a week, and the teachers had to slow down to avoid leaving most of the class behind.
I was one of the first in my class to have a modem. The web turbo-boosted my self-brainwashing. Italians basically skipped the boom of the new economy. So, if I wanted good and abundant content, I had to search in English.
English is hard in school because it's abstract and pointless.
If you're motivated by personal interest, you're more likely to remember and understand what you read. And when you focus on a narrow topic, the vocabulary is usually limited. After a while, you're no longer slowed down by looking up unfamiliar words.
I graduated from university in 2007. By that time, podcasts and YouTube starting growing. As always, the English-speaking world was much faster to embrace them. So I upgraded from written to audio and video content. And gradually increased playback sped.
My comprehension was great, but you know this isn’t enough. Writing and speaking are on another level.
Low-stakes production
During my PhD, I wrote scientific articles and presented at events in English. The other non-English speakers complimented me. But writing and presenting scientific content is nothing like writing for the web or recording a YouTube video.
Once again, the web proved to be my best ally. The best way to practice is to face the simplest version of the challenge you want to overcome.
Here, the challenge was to learn to write clearly in English. I started by participating in online communities where I asked and answered questions.
People understood what I was saying! This wasn't just practice. It was also a boost to my confidence.
Incidentally, my participation in these communities opened doors to the next level.
External validation
It was crypto summer. Dozens of new startups promised creators total financial freedom thanks to the blockchain. And, of course, higher earnings.
You probably know how that turned out.
But like many, I was excited, so I took part in a few crypto-related communities. My posts attracted the marketing manager of a blockchain project. He asked me to write SEO articles for his company.
I couldn’t believe it.
By that time, my writing portfolio included no less than TWO articles on Medium. Not viral articles by any measure. I asked for $500 per article. A long shot for me.
But crypto companies were swimming in cash. So he said yes to $450!
This obviously supercharged my evergreen impostor syndrome. But I delivered my three articles, and they were all accepted with very few corrections. Unfortunately, the crypto summer fizzled, funds dried up, and the opportunity faded out.
But it was such a powerful validation. A native speaker chose me.
Meanwhile, I got in touch with another publication that paid in crypto. They published several of my articles. And the editor loved me:
Invigorated by these experiences, I increased my activity on Medium. I kept sending my drafts to the major publications of the time. And the editors accepted them 90% of the time. The few rejections were never because of the quality of the writing.
I know, self-belief shouldn’t rely on external validation. But in this case, I’m talking about a technical evaluation of my writing. Writing short messages in online communities was risk-free. No one was judging my use of the language.
An editor, instead, demands quality, regardless of language background. It was an official stamp of approval.
Unintended help from online courses
After all crypto projects went down the drain, I focused on Medium. To speed up my growth, I joined a couple of courses. As often happens, most of the content wasn’t new, but they were still helpful.
They included calls with the teachers and community features. I made the most of those, sharing my work whenever possible.
It was scary. With every submission, I thought, “That’s it. This time, they’ll unmask this impostor. They’ll recognize my writing sucks and I have no chance to succeed.”
That wasn’t true. The teachers even complimented me. Even the students, all native English speakers:
This experience played an important role in silencing my inner critic. But still one question remains.
How did I get thousands of views?
Writing correctly in English is not enough to get lots of views. Fortunately, at the time I started posting in English, I had been creating content in Italian for over ten years. My first blog reached 300000 monthly page views. I used it as a testbed to experiment with every online marketing lesson.
That experience taught me the first principles of content creation, marketing, and communication in general. Fortunately, all human minds share the same underlying machinery, regardless of the language.
And I had a lifelong advantage. Did you ever watch Dragonball, the animated series? The protagonist, Goku, trains while wearing an extra-heavy jumpsuit. I trained my communication skills in the same way, for all my life.
No, I didn’t wear weights on my tongue… I just can’t stand misunderstandings. So, every time I talk or write, I put in extra effort to ensure I’m clear as a diamond. (Yes, fear of judgement plays a role here)
This is exhausting, but it also makes me a super effective communicator. It wasn’t hard to transfer this skill into my English writing.
So, the lesson is, become an excellent communicator in your language, where vocabulary and grammar aren’t obstacles. Then, apply the same lessons in English.
The same holds for marketing techniques. You could find some minor cultural differences, but what works in a country often works in the others.
Actually, the English language makes things easier. Your audience is now international, not limited to a single country. Even if you have the most peculiar set of interests, you may find a large enough niche.
Don’t miss this opportunity
I can’t guarantee you will get thousands of views if you start publishing in English. There are too many external factors. But the chance is very high.
Here’s your battle plan:
consume only English content about your interests,
try your skills in low-stakes environments like online communities,
experiment with written short form content (on X, Substack Notes, LinkedIn, Instagram),
experiment with long form content on Substack or Medium,
get qualified feedback from teachers, coaches, editors and other native English writers,
participate in group calls or 1:1 calls with other creators to improve your speaking skills.
Good luck!
If you need more help to grow your audience and your content creator business, subscribe to my publication “The Unstoppable Creator”, by clicking here. I’ll help you overcome your limitations and design the best strategy to create a business that supports your ideal lifestyle.
From Local to Global 🌎
Are you a bilingual entrepreneur with one foot in your local market and the other in a global audience?
It can be overwhelming to juggle businesses in two languages, decide which platform to prioritize or segment your audience. It’s tough to know what to post for each group and make time for a global brand.
Stepping outside your well-known local community into the global space might leave you feeling small and unseen. That’s where I step in and help you with bespoke strategies. Click here for more details.
Andi
I'm a traitor too: I think English is such a great language for marketing and punchy communication.
It doesn't have the sophistication of romance languages but it gets the point across so much more effectively.
Good on you!