[tkam]

> I was a terrible writer growing up.

And why should I care? Maybe answer that question earlier. At least give me a hint, to keep me engaged. The whole first five+ paragraphs are way too self-centered for a piece that wants to sell something to me.

The way it is written now, you lost me right at the beginning. And I guess I'm not alone in that. If you want more people to give you their email, you have to do better than that.

[phoe-krk]

On the contrary, I found starting with a short personal story to be a good way to catch my attention since I could somewhat relate to the author while also getting some context about the actual piece.

And, uh, I don't see the author asking for my email.

[azangru]

> for a piece that wants to sell something to me.

Does it? My impression from that article was that the author was giving advice, left and right and for free. There is a link to a course, in the header, which the author is selling; but the article is not centered on it.

> And why should I care?

Well, the obvious presupposition is that you are reading an article titled "guide to writing online" because, presumably, you want to learn some tips about writing online. Because, presumably, you think that your writing is somehow lacking. To which the author is saying here, effectively: "don't worry; I too sucked at writing; and now look at me, I am teaching people how to write; if I could do it, so can you." Or something like that.