The ICIB Writing Framework - How I Consistently Write 2000-6000 Word Newsletter Issues Every Week, Without Running Out Of Inspiration
How I turn one idea into a 2000 word educational article, effortlessly
Writer’s block doesn’t exist
The only reason you can’t put words on paper or document..
Is because you’re using an outdated system
Writing needs to be effortless
It should take you moments to come up great ideas
Forget staring at a blank screen or paper..
Struggling to get the words out
Or you can write a bit, maybe a few hundreds words
And then suddenly, you don’t have ideas left
Have you ever tried writing for 2 hours straight..
Without stopping..
An entire essay..
Without ONCE running out of inspiration?
I bet your current writing system does not give you ability to do that
Your problem, is your understanding of psychology
The point of a writing system or framework..
Is to dig into the human psyche, and create fascination
But if you’re reading this, your system can’t pull that off
The writing system you’re using, is outdated
Instead of leveraging human psychology..
You try to write as much as possible
But it’s a constant uphill battle
And in the end, to be a writer, you need endless inspiration
But currently you’re struggling with inspiration..
You’re struggling to write consistently..
And writing most likely does not happen effortlessly
I get it, creating ideas, can be difficult
Especially with an outdated writing system
But your writing methods and experience does not need to be that way
On average, I write 5 emails a week
1 long form (2000-6000 words), and 4 short form (400 words)
And I can do that, every single week, without running out of inspiration
But here’s best part → You can too
I don’t have some kind of magical power that gives me this ability
My writing system is just deeply rooted in human psychology
You can write just like I do, every single week..
Without running out of inspiration
Forget sitting in front of a blank document or piece of paper
Forget struggling to get the words out
Forget sucking at writing consistently
Forget running out of inspiration
Forget having no idea what to write
And most of all, forget worrying that people don’t like your writing
With my ICIB Writing Framework, you will eliminate all those problems
And if you want to write 2000 word educational articles every week..
You can with this framework
Ready to learn how? Then let’s get started
Step 1 In The Writing Framework → Intrigue
Step 1.1 - Build an idea bank
An idea bank is the place where you put together all your ideas for content.
Content that’s related to your personality, your skillset, your worldviews, and what you believe in
“But Ian, where do I find inspiration for this idea bank?”
The problem you’re experiencing isn't inspiration, it’s consistency
No matter how many times you search for inspiration, you will never find that “Big Idea”, to put in the Idea Bank..
If you do not consistently do inspiration generation activities
Activities like these include..
Reading fiction or non fiction
Taking long walks and letting your mind wander
Listening to podcasts (educational or not)
Listening to music (classical has scientifically been proven to work well)
And doing anything that gets YOUR creative juices flowing
Not every human being is the same.
One person might gain inspiration by being in a fist fight..
While the other might gain inspiration by listening to Michael Jackson
No person is the same, remember that
Step 1.2 - Convert Your Idea Into A Headline
But how do you write a good headline?
By leveraging human psychology
People function on survival instincts
While human beings care about their friends, loved ones, and other people in general..
The number one priority for us as humans, is gain
Because without gain, we cannot survive
When we gain skills, resources, or knowledge..
We progress as a person
And we need progression to live a good life
And everyone wants a good life, it’s only natural
That’s how we turn an idea, into an intriguing headline..
By making it obvious that people will gain knowledge by reading further
So while keeping that in mind, your idea needs to..
Solve a problem
Have a unique naming mechanism → More attractive to readers
And ideally, remove an objection
This makes reading the entire article a no brainer
“But Ian, what if the headline doesn’t solve their current problem?”
That’s fine. People read for 3 reasons..
For inspiration
For entertainment
For education
On X, in my bio, my current X header says “Entertain, Educate, Inspire.. Become Irreplaceable”
These are the 3 reasons people will read your social media content (articles, posts etc.)
So if they are not reading for education (their current problem), they are reading for one of the other reasons
And that’s okay..
Because it means they will eventually read for educational purposes, or they will eventually turn into a client or customer down the line
What matters is, they are reading
“But Ian, what if they are not reading?”
Then they are not your ideal reader
Remember, you are writing to people who think like you and might want guidance..
Or people who might eventually want guidance, but they don’t share your views YET
And of course, there are those who just enjoying reading your articles or emails
But if you’re paying attention..
They will eventually turn into a client or customer, or they will unsubscribe
You are not writing to everyone, you are writing to learners and customers
If they are not a learner or potential customer..
They will eventually leave → And all you need to do is keep writing
Let’s craft your headline right now → These are instructions
Take your big idea (go get one using what I’ve already taught you)
Think about your idea..
What problem does it solve?
What unique name can you give it to make it more interesting?
When people see the headline, what objection will they have in their head?
Unique Naming Mechanism: How I (problem you solved), without (typical related problem when trying to solve this issue)
Let’s say I’m an affiliate marketer
Systemized Affiliation (unique naming mechanism): How I Sell 100 Digital Products A Month (problem you solved), Without Sending Any Direct Messages (typical objection)
This formula, has been used to sell things for decades
Because the point of your headline, should be to sell something (always)
But don’t be confused..
Selling something doesn’t always mean selling a product or service..
The headline of your article is supposed to sell the idea you had in your idea bank
Selling an idea, is much easier, than selling a product or service
But if you can sell someone an idea..
Then selling them a product or service is much simpler
Step 2 In The Writing Framework → Challenge
When someone sees an article headline like the one we just came up with as an example..
They most likely have an outdated or different perspective on solving the problem you solved (otherwise they wouldn’t be reading any further)
What this means, is their awareness level of the solution, is behind
Your job, as the person writing the article, is to reprogram their mind
They need to change the way they see the problem, to understand the solution
And the way you do that, is by painting the enemy
This is an old school technique used in copywriting..
And the reason I’m using it here..
Is because again..
It hones in on human psychology
People read, because they are intrigued (first step of the writing framework)
And they way you ‘intrigue’ them, is by rallying them against the enemy
Let’s look at political campaigns for a second..
If you pay close attention, this method is used in politics all the time
In copywriting this is called “throwing rocks at enemies”
When a political candidate does a speech, what do they usually do?
That’s right.. They “throw rocks at enemies”
“This other political candidate is wrong because of xyz reason”
This happens all the time, it’s a KEY tactic in persuasion
By giving people something to hate against..
You gain the ability to attract followers
The way political candidates do this, is by finding something suspicious or wrong with their enemies, and pointing out that thing
The result, is people rallying against that thing
Let’s say Donald sexually assaults woman in secret (cliché I know)
When political candidates are given a chance to speak, this would be brought up
Keep in mind, I know nothing nothing about American politics
This is just a simple example
But by bringing up this problem, it obviously gets people to nod in agreement, and some will even scream in agreement
This is what the C stands for in the ICIB writing framework
But how do you do this in an article?
By finding the enemy, instead of using a real life example
Like I’ve mentioned before, usually people have an outdated or less effective method of doing things
Let’s use the affiliate marketing headline as an example again
Normally, to sell digital products, people would send DMs
And of course, DMs have all kinds of frustrations and negative stuff connected to it
For instance:
Without a proper selling framework, you will have to send hundreds of DMs every month to make any sales (If you want, the one I used to get 44 clients, it’s here)
Managing hundreds of potential customers every day is tiring
Sending hundreds of DMs every month can be frustrating
Step 3 In The Writing Framework → Inform
Once your reader is nodding their head..
“Yes I agree”, “Yes I have this problem too”, “Yes I wish I didn’t have to deal with that”
They have found an enemy. The point of this step in the framework, is to inform the reader that there is a solution to their frustration or problem
Finally, an answer to their struggle
They won’t have to deal with all the problems that we just agitated in the “Challenge” step of the writing framework
Because ultimately, what people are searching for, is relief
Now that they understand that their current method of solving the problem is wrong or outdated, they are ready for change
In this moment, if you give them a solution to their struggles, they are much more likely to LOVE it, than if they were still stuck in the same mental space as before
This step in the writing framework, is meant to paint the hero
What is the ultimate solution? What does it mean to have this solution in the palm of their hands?
This is where you paint the picture of their ideal future
What is it that they desire? That is what you are supposed to turn into the hero
So they will have an ideal future to strive toward, as long as they read the whole article
And then of course, if you want to show them how you physically do it (an even more interesting future), you can turn that into a product or service
To better paint this “Ultimate Solution”, you can use the following:
Real life experiences
Bullet points with the things they never have to worry about again
Bullet points with the amazing benefits of the the ultimate solution
And there are many more examples of things you can use
Btw, if you like the depth of this information, this writing framework is part of the exclusive Social Media Content Creation Course the students get, in my program “Digital Philosopher University” → The 2 last minute spots expire within 24hrs here
Step 4 In The Writing Framework → Breakdown
This section, is designed to do one thing..
Give the reader a step by step masterclass on pulling it off themselves
If you pay close attention, we’re currently in the 4th step of that very step
To make it easy for the reader, you need to turn it into steps
This means they can follow a direct path from step 1 all the way to the final step
No worrying about what they should do, or when
No worrying about how they are going to do it
No worrying what they will have to use to do it..
By the end of this step, the reader needs to have a detailed game plan, on how they will pull off the thing, you mentioned in your headline
This part, needs to fulfil 3 functions:
4.1 - Deliver the desired result → This means the ideal future you painted in the “Inform” step of the framework, needs to be in the palm of their hands
You CANNOT make claims, and not deliver on them
They have to believe that this is the ultimate solution to their problem
If they do not, then you did not deliver on your promise
And if you did not deliver on your promise..
You’ve automatically lost authority and credibility in their eyes
Next time they see your article, they will remember you did not solve their problem
And obviously, that is not good
If they just read your article for entertainment, they will most likely return at a later date when it does promise to solve their problem, to pay closer attention
And then it needs to actually solve their problem
4.2 - Function As A Detailed Guide → This means they need to be able to go back to your article on a daily basis, and by doing exactly as you tell them, solve the problem
“But Ian, why would I give out this much information for free?”
The point of free information in marketing, is to do two things..
Solve the person’s existing problem, but create an even bigger problem
Some people won’t have a bigger problem, some will
What matters, is that the person who has the bigger problem, turns into a customer or client
And even if nobody turns into a customer or client, that’s okay
The purpose of MY articles, is to teach using digital resources
Even if no one buys, as long as my article inspired, educated, or entertained..
It does 80% of it’s job
The remaining 20%, is the small number of people who read them, and turn into customers or clients
I am building a 1 Man Digital Education Business → These articles are mini courses
There’s only 2 types of email readers
Buyers
OR
Unsubscribers
Everyone eventually buys, or they leave
That’s email marketing psychology 101
4.3 - Make Solving The Problem Effortless
The point of a framework, is to turn a difficult process, into a simple process
Things need to happen quickly, and easily
Without this writing framework, writing 2000 word educational articles..
Will be much more difficult
When you’re selling anything (digital product, service, or idea)..
The easier it is to get a result with what you’re selling..
The more valuable what you’re selling, becomes
So obviously, by now you should be able to write a 2000 word educational article that teaches valuable information to your ideal target market..
With a small number of them turning into paid customers or clients
This framework makes the writing process effortless
This article is only 30% of my content creation process → The entire process allows me to create over 80 social media posts, and post it to 5 different platforms, within 3.5 hours
That’s 7 days worth of content, that I never have to worry about for a week
If you’d like a peek at the inside of Digital Philosopher University, and direct access to the workshop where I show you my entire process, A 24 hr pass costs $30 here
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