How To Write A Column

My 10 tips for getting your thoughts down clearly.

I’ve written columns regularly for over a decade now. First with Inc, Observer and FastCompany. Now with the New York Daily News. Pieces at outlets like CNBC, Fortune and The Information in between. I am often at my happiest when I use words to work through complex policy ideas or to craft an argument in favor or against a hot button issue. 

Below are ten tips summing up what I’ve learned over the years writing columns. And even if you’re not in the business of column-writing like I am, I think these should help with lots of other types of writing too.

(1). First and foremost, have something to say. Put forward a new idea or take a controversial position with new logic behind it. Say the quiet parts outloud. Just criticizing others without any new answers is a waste of time.

(2). Just use plain english. Don’t try to show everyone how smart you are. Use shorter sentences. Smaller words. Make clear, concise arguments. You want people to read the column and hopefully agree with you. Don’t make it harder for them than it needs to be. 

(3). Make the point early on. You lose readers with too much preamble. Whatever you want to communicate, wasting three paragraphs on context and history just to set the tone or show everyone how erudite you are is more likely to result in people just abandoning the column before you even say what you want to say. 

(4). Hit the key point a few times. People are scanning and reading quickly so if there’s one thing you want them to take away from a column, stress it more than once. It’s rare that it makes sense to literally use the same sentence or language but at the very least, make sure you hit the key point early on, somewhere in the middle and then at the close. 

(5). Have an angle that’s unique. Just writing about what Trump did today or what happened in the stock market or your thoughts on Taylor Swift’s new romance isn’t interesting to anyone (unless you’re one of the absolute top columnists in your field, in which case, you’re not reading this column for advice in the first place). I usually write about the intersection of technology and politics/ regulation. I know that field pretty well and often have new ideas worth considering. For columns that are more than just a personal blog entry, focus on something you know better than most. 

(6). Know the difference between publishing columns in a respected media outlet and publishing columns on your own substack (or medium or blog). The point of publishing a piece in a major newspaper or magazine or serious website is to advance something societally – an idea, a policy, a regulation, a new norm. For me at least, substack is a great venue to play around with new concepts, to write satire, to make lists that might be fun to read, or to cover things that are too long or weird for a publication. I try to write something for substack every week whereas my Daily News column runs once a month. Having a cadence and sticking to it helps. 

(7). Provide solutions. Just complaining about something is useless. Offer specific, tangible ideas on how to fix whatever it is you’re complaining about. The point of the column isn’t for someone to read it and think you’re smart. The point is for someone in power to read it, realize you’re right and act on it. 

(8). Provide positive and negative reinforcement. If a politician does something good, make sure you say so because that encourages them to keep doing it (for example, Governor Hochul recently deployed state police and national guard reserves to police the NYC subways; she received a ton of criticism for it but I felt that she was right and it was important to publicly say so, so that was my most recent Daily News column). If a politician does something bad, call them out on it. Politicians desperately care what’s said and written about them. They hate being criticized, especially when they can’t just dismiss it as malcontent ideologues from the other party. Negative reinforcement works, so don’t hesitate to use it. 

(9). Make it personal whenever you can. Anecdotes are always good. People like relating to the author’s life a lot more than just reading a list of facts or stats. Opening a column with an anecdote often works well. 

(10). Use your column as part of the idea development loop. When I have an idea that sticks in my head and is interesting, I’ll use the combination of different venues to develop the concept – my column or substack, my podcast, teaching, going on tv, going on other people’s podcasts, speaking at events. It’s a continuous loop for me and that gives me the chance to keep testing and improving the concept and incorporating feedback. Not everyone who writes a column has other mediums too but if you do, it’s a valuable network effect.