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The Advice Column Format

The Story

Instead of writing about whatever he wanted, Lenny Rachitsky solicited reader questions and wrote answers. This “advice column” format became the backbone of his newsletter (Source 2).

He maintains a Coda doc tracking approximately 50 potential topics, planned 2-3 posts ahead (Source 1). He uses the advice column format: requesting reader questions, then researching and writing detailed answers (Source 2).

Median time per post: 10 hours. Range: 3 to 100+ hours. Top posts correlate strongly with time invested, with some exceptions (Source 1).

His writing philosophy: “Get to the point, synthesize it clearly, and get out of your own way” (Source 1). He optimizes for personal curiosity over audience demand: “that always leads to the best stuff” (Source 1).

He blocks mornings with no meetings until 3 PM for writing (Source 2). He frames every post as answering a specific reader question (Source 2).

“Any time not spent creating high quality content is not well spent” (Source 2). His core writing advice: “Write to one specific person rather than the masses” (Source 2).

He maintains an 80/20 balance: personal interests versus audience demands (Source 2). Guest posts perform well and require less time. 8 of his top 10 posts in the “Growth” category are guest pieces. He goes through 5-6 draft revisions with guest writers (Source 1).

Lesson for Creators

The advice column format solves two problems at once. First, it eliminates the “what should I write about” paralysis because readers tell you. Second, it ensures every piece has a built-in audience because someone already asked the question. Lenny’s 10-hour median per post is unusually high for newsletters, but the quality-revenue correlation justifies it. The 80/20 split between curiosity and audience demand is also worth noting: pure audience-driven content burns out the writer; pure curiosity-driven content loses the audience.

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