- The Writing Chronicles
- Posts
- Why Sending DMs on X Changes How You Think About Business
Why Sending DMs on X Changes How You Think About Business
And how it makes you the most money.
Kevin Szabo
January 27, 2026
In partnership with
Most people use X like a stage.
They post.
They wait.
They refresh.
They hope something happens.
DMs flip that entire mindset.
The moment you start sending DMs, you stop thinking like a content creator and start thinking like a business owner.
Because business does not happen in public timelines.
It happens in conversations.
When you only post, your work feels abstract.
You are talking to impressions.
You are talking to numbers.
You are talking to an algorithm you do not control.
DMs force you to talk to a person.
A real person with a real problem.
A real budget.
A real level of interest or indifference.
That alone rewires how you think.
Posting trains you to optimize for attention.
DMs train you to optimize for clarity.
You quickly learn what people actually care about.
Not what gets likes.
Not what sounds smart.
Not what performs well.
AD BREAK:
Get the investor view on AI in customer experience
Customer experience is undergoing a seismic shift, and Gladly is leading the charge with The Gladly Brief.
It’s a monthly breakdown of market insights, brand data, and investor-level analysis on how AI and CX are converging.
Learn why short-term cost plays are eroding lifetime value, and how Gladly’s approach is creating compounding returns for brands and investors alike.
Join the readership of founders, analysts, and operators tracking the next phase of CX innovation.
You learn what makes someone reply.
You learn what makes someone stop responding.
You learn what makes someone say yes.
That feedback loop is immediate and uncomfortable.
Which is exactly why it works.
Sending DMs removes the illusion that you are further along than you are.
When you post, it is easy to feel productive without producing results.
When you send DMs, the results are binary.
They respond or they do not.
They are interested or they are not.
They buy or they do not.
There is nowhere to hide.
This changes how you think about time.
Posting feels infinite.
You can always write another thread.
You can always try again tomorrow.
DMs make time expensive.
Every message takes effort.
Every conversation costs attention.
You stop wasting words.
You stop over explaining.
You start respecting your own energy.
That carries over into everything else.
Your posts get sharper.
Your offers get simpler.
Your thinking gets cleaner.
DMs also change how you view money.
Money stops being theoretical.
It stops being something that arrives someday if the algorithm is kind.
It becomes a direct outcome of communication.
You realize that income is not about reach.
It is about resonance.
You do not need thousands of people.
You need a few conversations that go deep enough to matter.
That realization removes a lot of pressure.
You stop chasing virality.
You stop comparing yourself to creators who play a different game.
You stop waiting for permission.
Instead, you start asking better questions.
Who should I be talking to.
Why would they care.
What problem do they already know they have.
Those questions are business questions.
Not content questions.
DMs also change how you think about rejection.
Public posts get ignored silently.
DMs get ignored loudly.
No reply feels personal at first.
Then you realize something important.
Indifference is not failure.
It is information.
You adjust.
You refine.
You learn how to lead conversations instead of forcing them.
Over time, you stop fearing outreach.
You stop attaching your identity to responses.
You become neutral.
That neutrality is power.
Because when you are not emotionally attached, you can think clearly.
You can listen.
You can actually help.
And help compounds.
AD BREAK:
Block 125+ Coupon Extensions Instantly
Stop coupon extensions before they even touch your checkout. KeepCart blocks 125+ plugins like Honey, CapitalOne Shopping, and Karma from auto-applying random codes and draining your margins.
Brands like Quince and Newton use KeepCart to protect revenue and keep every sale clean.
After months of using KeepCart, Mando says “It’s paid for itself multiple times over.”
One good conversation leads to another.
One clear explanation leads to referrals.
One solved problem turns into trust.
That trust turns into money.
Not overnight.
Not in a straight line.
But consistently.
DMs also make you honest about your offer.
If you cannot explain what you do in a few sentences to one person, you do not have a business.
You have a concept.
DMs expose that gap quickly.
They force you to simplify.
They force you to commit.
They force you to say what you actually do instead of what sounds impressive.
This clarity is rare.
And valuable.
At the end of the day, DMs do not just change how much money you make.
They change how you see the game.
You stop trying to be seen.
You start trying to be useful.
You stop performing.
You start communicating.
You stop waiting.
You start acting.
That shift alone puts you ahead of most people on X.
Not because you are louder.
But because you are present.
And presence is what business actually runs on.
3 Tricks Billionaires Use to Help Protect Wealth Through Shaky Markets
“If I hear bad news about the stock market one more time, I’m gonna be sick.”
We get it. Investors are rattled, costs keep rising, and the world keeps getting weirder.
So, who’s better at handling their money than the uber-rich?
Have 3 long-term investing tips UBS (Swiss bank) shared for shaky times:
Hold extra cash for expenses and buying cheap if markets fall.
Diversify outside stocks (Gold, real estate, etc.).
Hold a slice of wealth in alternatives that tend not to move with equities.
The catch? Most alternatives aren’t open to everyday investors
That’s why Masterworks exists: 70,000+ members invest in shares of something that’s appreciated more overall than the S&P 500 over 30 years without moving in lockstep with it.*
Contemporary and post war art by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and more.
Sounds crazy, but it’s real. One way to help reclaim control this week:
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd
