The TikTokization of a written content - what are Atomic Essays and Atomic Newsletters?

How to create short condensed written content in the era of 10 second video?

I don’t use TikTok. I’ve never used it. Not because I’m too old for it or because I “don’t understand the phenomenon.” I just don’t see any value in spending 2–3 hours scrolling through an endless stream of a few-second videos. YouTube and X have the same thing, and I don’t do it there either.

But I appreciate the concept. It’s cleverly designed.

Of course, it’s harmful to people who are addicted to it, but conceptually, I tip my hat. Really impressive.

In today’s fast-paced world, where hours pass like minutes, and minutes feel like seconds; where things that happened a week ago are outdated, and events from the previous quarter are fading memories, creating an app where you can consume a dozen completely different videos in a minute fits the trend perfectly.

It’s no wonder this is gradually moving from the world of video to written content.

The minimalist writing style we see in newsletters and social media fits into a trend called the “TikTokification of media.”

TikTokification refers to transferring the characteristics of TikTok to other media. TikTok has created a new pattern of content consumption, where brevity, speed, and immediate value delivery are paramount.

In the age of information overload, some audiences don’t want to spend time consuming long content, leading to the rise of short formats in both social media and newsletters.

And this is how the…

Atomic Essay and Atomic Newsletter were born

First came the Atomic Essay. The concept was created and popularized by Dickie Bush, a content creator specializing in writing training. According to him, an Atomic Essay is a literary piece that describes one single idea, contains a maximum of 250 words, and can be sent via a single screenshot.

Just as TikTok promotes short, dynamic videos, the Atomic Essay emphasizes concise, clear communication.

An Atomic newsletter is an even more condensed form of email communication. Instead of long articles, each newsletter consists of short messages, often just one or two sentences, with links to more detailed content. As a result, it’s easy to read and provides quick access to interesting material.

A leader in this field is Jamie Northrup, the creator of the Minimalist Hustler newsletter.

Just like TikTok users can browse dozens of videos in a short time, subscribers to atomic newsletters can quickly absorb dozens of mini-information bites, increasing their engagement.

Atomic Newsletters also allow for quick data collection on which content gets the most clicks and engagement. An obvious example would be testing different diet topics in a health newsletter to see which one draws the most interest, then expanding the most popular content into a longer form.

Do Atomic Essays and Newsletters work?

Like TikTok, where each video aims to grab attention instantly, atomic posts and newsletters rely on quickly delivering valuable information.

These formats are quite effective because:

• They have a low engagement threshold: they don’t require prolonged focus — the reader or viewer can quickly “scan” the content.

• Data collection: as with TikTok, where algorithms quickly adapt content to user preferences, atomic newsletters allow for quick data collection on what interests subscribers. This allows creators to optimize content in a short time and focus on what works.

• Scalability: Atomic Newsletters can be quickly tailored to different audience groups, just like videos on TikTok can be adapted to reach specific demographics.

Just as TikTok revolutionized how we consume video content, Atomic Essays and Newsletters are changing the way we consume written content in the media.

Speed, brevity, and data testing are the key features of this new era of communication.

To see how it works, you can browse the archives of my Atomic Layers — a newsletter created in exactly this way. The newsletter is free and sent out daily.