🤯The Template Paradox

Hey—It’s Mohammad.

And what you’re about to read. I am 10000% guilty of too.

Read Time: 3.6 minutes

I don’t like using other people’s templates.

You’ll plenty of them online especially on X and LinkedIn.

Use this template to:

• Triple your engagement using this structure!

• 10x your growth with this format!

• Never write a bad post again!

They’re popular because they’re quick fixes. Do these 5 steps and you’ll fix your problems. Some problems are like that but not all.

But I used to love templates.

They felt like shortcuts to success. Someone else figured it out, so why reinvent the wheel?

But then I noticed something strange.

The more templates I followed, the less authentic my writing felt. The more "perfect" my posts became, the less people actually engaged.

It reminded me of something I learned from James Brown.

The "Godfather of Soul" couldn't read or write music. Yet he created rhythms so complex that trained musicians struggled to replicate them.

That's when it hit me: Templates are the sheet music of online writing.

They're not wrong. They're just not enough.

Templates prevent Mastery if you rely on them.

Here's what fascinates me about templates:

They promise expertise but often prevent mastery.

A template is like sheet music. It tells you exactly what notes to play, when to play them, and how they should sound.

But James Brown didn't become the most sampled artist in history by reading music.

He did it by understanding rhythm at a deeper level.

Instead of relying on templates, we need to understand writing more deeply.

There are 3 Levels of Writing Mastery

Level 1: The Copy Level:

This is where everyone starts – copying what works.

Why this matters:

Just like learning musicians start by playing other people's songs, writers often start by using proven templates.

How it looks in practice:

• Following LinkedIn templates exactly

• Using fill-in-the-blank formats

• Copying successful post structures

• Mimicking others' writing style

Level 2: The Remix Level

This is where you start making templates your own.

Why this matters: 

Like how James Brown took existing music patterns and added his own twist, you learn to modify templates to fit your voice.

How it looks in practice:

• Taking a hook template but changing its structure

• Combining elements from different templates

• Adjusting formats based on your audience's response

• Adding your own sections to proven structures

Level 3: The Creation Level

This is where your natural style emerges.

Why this matters:

Just as Brown created entirely new rhythms once he mastered the basics, you develop your own authentic formats.

How it looks in practice:

• Writing without thinking about templates

• Creating posts that others try to template

• Developing structures that feel natural to you

• Having a recognizable voice that's uniquely yours

Templates are great ways to get started.

If you break down a template & why it works, it’s a great launchpad.

You do what someone else does and hope to reach the same level. And that’s all it is. It’s hoping to get the same result.

But they don’t give you the wisdom behind it.

Templates aren't bad. They're training wheels.

They can:

• Give you a starting point

• Help you understand basic patterns

• Provide structure when you're stuck

But they shouldn't be your destination.

If you get a template from a bigger account, you might not get the same response. Accounts with larger followings have a leverage the promotes their content more. They may also engage in the comments or add other parts to their post such as images or videos.

The templates give you the tools to build a house, but they aren’t blueprints.

And they definitely aren’t the same as having the knowledge on building a house.

Like any tools and tricks, you learn, templates are useful if you know where you want to use them.

This Week's Challenge: Pick one template you use regularly.

Instead of just filling in the blanks:

1. Break down why it works

2. Make three variations of it

3. Create your own version that feels natural to you

Remember: Templates should be your first step, not your final destination.

See you next Saturday
— Mohammad

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