Most writers are a handful of tiny little tweaks to their writing process that could 10x their income.
Making money writing is dead simple.
It’s not easy, but it’s simple.
You only have to do a few things right and stop doing a few things wrong.
Don’t Practice Blindly
If you want to write articles that people want to read, you need to learn how to model content.
Model doesn’t mean plagiarizing. It means understanding why an article works well and seeing what elements you can use in your own writing.
If you were serious about making it on Medium, you’d be studying, at minimum, three articles from popular writers in your niche and taking notes on what works well.
Take this example I pulled from a top Medium article on self-improvement – The Ten-Book Rule for Smarter Thinking:
- Anytime you can provide a clever name for a process, do it
- Self-improvement readers love to read books so it’s a solid topic choice
- The intro explains exactly what you’ll learn and gets right into the heart of the content
You can also swipe the frame of this headline for another niche: The Three Date Rule for Healthier and Happy Relationships
Learn how to model what works.
You Have to Show Up
Speed and volume are kings in the digital writing game.
You don’t have to churn out a new article daily, but you must appear frequently on the platform you write for.
Some suggestions:
- 2-4 posts per week on Medium
- 6-7 Tweets per day (you can take your top highlighted sentences on Medium and repurpose them)
- 1 Subtstack newsletter per week
I would work on those process goals in that order and wouldn’t start a new one until I’ve mastered the first one. Don’t start Tweeting until you’ve mastered Medium. Don’t start a Substack until you’ve mastered Twitter.
Show up regularly.
Add Subhead Here
If you want to get more writing done, a few simple tips can help:
- Wake up one hour earlier: This removes the excuse that you don’t have time because you just created space in your day that previously wasn’t there.
- Turn your phone off: In fact, don’t even have it in the same room while you write. These days, I don’t turn my phone on until I’ve been working for 4-5 hours. Dopamine addiction is real.
- Your only two options: Sit there and be bored or write. If you use this absurd exercise, you will eventually start writing.
Creating distraction-free environments and learning how to sit with tension are key skills for not just writing, but productivity in general.
Build Your Catalog One Tiny Piece at a Time
You’re tempted to try and write the entire history of your topic in one blog post.
Use William Zessners advice instead:
Decide what corner of your subject you’re going to bite off, and be content to cover it well and stop
Each blog post should have one major point you’re trying to get across:
- Non-attachment is the key to happiness
- Reverse pyramid training can help you get jacked
- Elon is ruining Twitter
- Simple and short checklists are the key to productivity
- Lack of neediness is the key to becoming attractive
Next, you could run all your articles through this simple outline framework to get your point across:
**Intro**
[Main point 1]
- Sub point A
- Sub point B
- Sub point C
[Main point 2]
- Sub point A
- Sub point B
- Sub point C
[Main point 3]
- Sub point A
- Sub point B
- Sub point C
A simple constrained framework for your writing makes it much easier to produce more consistently.
Learn to Twist Your Words
Good writing is just saying the same thing 1,000 different ways.
If you want to build an audience and make money as a writer, you have to get comfortable repeating yourself.
In the beginning, you’ll experiment and try a bunch of different topics within your topic or even write about multiple topics.
Eventually, you’ll run into 4-5 core pillars that seem to resonate with your audience every time you talk about them.
If you’re smart, you’d revisit those topics over and over and over in slightly different ways.
Your audience loves journaling, so you run the topic of journaling through a prism:
- The mental health benefits of journaling
- The best journaling routines for productivity
- How to start journaling in just 10 minutes a day
- How to choose the right journaling technique
- My personal journaling process
Have you ever noticed that most of my writing advice articles are basically the same?
Most people didn’t see your blog post the first time around. It takes repetition to spread awareness.
Stop Looking “Out There” For Good Ideas
If you have a bit of a catalog, you already have the seeds for good ideas. Your goal is to double down on them.
For example, I once wrote an article that went viral called: 8 Really Small Things that Tell You A lot About Someone
Most people loved one point in particular: the way you treat service staff says a lot about you.
I used that section of the piece and wrote a new one a few months later: One Really Small Thing That Tells You A lot About Someone.
It went viral.
If you write a list post that works well, you could write a brand new blog post expanding on each individual point. Any time you see a ton of comments about one particular part of your articles, you should write a new blog post on it.
Smart writers know how to mine their own ideas for more ideas.
Stand Out From the Pack
Most writers fail because you can’t tell their content apart from anyone else’s.
You’re trying to be someone else instead of being unapologetically you and everyone sees it. Separate yourself by saying your real opinions and writing how you talk.
Follow these traits that all top digital writers have in common:
- They call out the BS in their niche
- They know how to HOOK you and keep your attention
- They don’t waste words
- They know how to model content ideas & remix them
- They tell relevant personal stories
My writing is 90 percent the same as other writers, but that 10 percent of extra sauce makes a world of difference.
Final Thoughts
Reset your brain and just decide that 2023 is going to be your year.
A writing career happens day by day, moment by moment.
You have to stay present and focused.
Worry less about the future and more about the task at hand.
One day, you’ll look up to see more money in your bank account and an audience who loves your work.