Really good points! This is the most well thought out comment I have ever read. Also, congrats on the success you’ve had so far!

Here are some thoughts:

• I 100% agree about the power of quantity and experimentation. I wrote about it here — -> http://bit.ly/2SLZd5u.
• So the question then is, how do you get your quantity up?
• First, in my mind is learning from other people’s experiments. For example, I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of hours searching for the best articles online, deconstructing them, interviewing their authors, etc. When I do this, I view it as a form of quantity. It’s amazing that this data is available in the world now.
• There are ways to experiment with portions of the article rather than the whole article. I test and get feedback on titles and article hooks over a dozen article hooks before I pick a path. 5+ people look at each article I write. I also talk out the ideas to others. I think about this in a similar way to how comedians create sets by testing out jokes individually and then refining and combining them.
• I 100% agree with reading as your secret weapon. It is mine as well. A huge percentage of my time on each article is reading the best ideas on the topic so I can use them as fodder for some sort of synthesis. I view reading as part of the writing process. And I think that reading and learning is what even makes it possible to dash off an article.
• One danger of the blockbuster approach is over-editing and being tempted to include too much in the article. This is something I’m aware of and try to constantly work on and get better at.
• I agree that there is a big power to staying connected to your own source of curiosity and interest in a topic.
• Also, a downside of the blockbuster approach is analysis paralysis. I personally don’t have this with articles. But, if being a perfectionist is going to cause something not to be published at all, then it’s one million times better not to be a perfectionist.
• The fact that two of your best articles were done quickly doesn’t necessarily mean that you couldn’t have improved them.
• For any article to be viral, there is an element of luck whether you’re dashing an article off or trying to make it a blockbuster.
• Another factor to consider is that I have had some articles bomb on one platform but do extremely on another platform.
• Finally, I’m always exploring new ways to get quantity.

What are your thoughts?