Writing Articles For Access

Ryan Holiday shares his early strategy of writing articles about people he wanted to connect with, which helped him build relationships and opportunities in his career.

Core Strategy

• Wrote articles for college newspaper about interesting people
• Used articles as a way to meet people (similar to how podcasts are used today)
• This approach led to key relationships that shaped his career

Key Relationships Built Through Articles

• Tucker Max
  • Wrote an article about him for college newspaper
  • Led to getting hired by Tucker at age 18
  • Tucker later connected him to other opportunities

Network Effect

• Tucker Max connection led to:
  • Meeting Robert Greene (author of 48 Laws of Power)
  • Getting a job at a talent agency
  • Meeting Doug Charney (founder of American Apparel)

Why The Strategy Worked

• Young, ambitious, and hardworking
• Demonstrated genuine interest in books and internet culture
• Positioned himself as an apprentice to learn from mentors
• Created organic connections through writing versus cold outreach

Career Impact

• Led to becoming Director of Marketing at American Apparel in early 20s
• Helped establish connections needed to write first book
• Created foundation for future writing and marketing career

This approach exemplifies how creating content about people you want to meet can be more effective than direct outreach, especially when starting out in your career.