Mark Manson, Postmasculine.com

How do you get over feeling like you are being rude/intrusive when you approach a woman? Whenever I approach I have this stinging feel that I am behaving unethical and I have no idea what to do about it.

Asked by Mike over 11 years ago

There are worse things in the world than being rude. Cultivate your inner asshole a bit more. I mean that in the best way possible. Your perception of people's boundaries is off and it's harming your social and romantic life. Here are some thoughts to consider: 1. Many woman want to be approached by men like you. You are letting these women down. 2. Judge the ethics of approaching women not by whether you do it or not but the respect with which you do it. There's nothing unethical or abnormal about one human being talking to another. In fact, it's a testament to how fucked up our society that simple communication between strangers can be the basis of an ethics discussion. Just say "Hi," gauge her interest/enthusiasm and then go from there.

Did you focus on building an audience through your blog before you wrote your ebook? Or did you write your ebook once you know you had a good following?

Asked by legendary over 11 years ago

Building up a blog and writing an ebook are kind of a chicken and egg sort of deal. If you don't build up your audience then nobody is going to buy the book and no one will care that you wrote it. If you don't write a book and build your audience, your brand suffers and people give you less credibility. I wrote a number of smaller ebooks and products on dating over the years before I wrote "Models" (my flagship book). So I had built up an audience for a few years prior to that. For new bloggers, I would suggest getting some sort of audience established before writing a book. The months it takes to establish an audience will help you hone your message and figure out what people want to hear. Once you've done that and have created somewhat of a loyal following, then put out a book. Books have a lot of amazing intangible effects on your blog and site. Like I said, they give you a lot more credibility, they establish your brand, people take you more seriously, they're link-bait, and they get spread through word-of-mouth. People rarely say to their friends, "Hey, you should read this blog," but they always say, "Hey, you should read this book."

In the "Kill Your Day Job" post you mentioned that receive income from other sites besides PM. Does that involve in PPC or PPV at all? How would you recommend I start making significant income online? I already have a 3 figure ebook income via Kindle

Asked by Baper over 11 years ago

I don't get involved in PPC or PPV. Most of my the non-PM income comes from past consulting gigs I did or past products which are promoted by old websites that I don't update anymore or affiliates. PPC isn't what it used to be. Very few people find it profitable these days. I think the average internet user has become too sophisticated, so the old school "buy traffic, shove them to a squeeze page/salesletter" usually turns up empty. That's been my experience at least.

what exactly is your internet-based business that allows you to earn an income and live/work in foreign countries?

Asked by mark over 11 years ago

The vast majority of my income comes from postmasculine.com and the products and books I sell through it. I do have some past projects lying around the web that still generate some extra money. I used to do consulting and some free lance work as well, but not any more. 100% of my effort is on PM these days.

Mark - are you just a naturally good writer, or did you have any kind of training?

Asked by Souldier over 11 years ago

Just normal high school and college writing courses. If you research on how to improve at writing, you'll consistently come across the same two piece of advice: 1) read a lot, 2) write a lot. I'm not really going to deviate from that. I actually never did too well in my writing classes (I deviated from the assignments too much). But I always read a shit-ton. Mostly non-fiction. And I cut my teeth writing a lot by actually... wait for it... posting on too many forums. Yes, I was THAT guy who would sit in a Friday night and write a 5-page cited dissertation on why Dream Theater's "Awake" album redefined the paradigm of melody in heavy metal... or something. Seriously, I racked up thousands of posts on various forums and was addicted to debating. Over the years, my posts got really good. Then I started a blog where I wrote 1,000 to 2,000 word posts three times a week for 4+ years. Do that long enough and you get good. Also, read literature. Reading fluff is fine. But read the greats. Read the recent geniuses. Read good books that make you think. David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Frazen, Bret Easton Ellis. Cormac McCarthy. Pay attention to how they write. Why it works. Why it doesn't. Then play around and try to mimic their style. Have fun with it.

Hey Mark,
Any insights for a 24 year old guy who has had a severe stutter his whole life, and who has a plethora of social and romantic troubles due to it, in spite of generally being open about it and casually bringing it up when necessary?

Asked by Justthisonce over 10 years ago

Hey Mark. There's so much "self-help"/life-coach crap out there right now that vulnerable people get duped into paying for. How do you separate yourself from *that* flavor of self-help?

Asked by trey201 over 11 years ago