10 Practical Writing Advice That Launched Me From $10 to $124 in One Month
What I learned from writing and editing for 27 days straight + why I’m stopping
There are layers to this game.
The first level is earning your first dollar. Then $10, $100, $1000, and so on. Each level requires a different standard of skills.
I know how it feels to be stuck. I started writing almost 3 years ago but have been on the same level (~$10) for most of it.
Part of the reason was inconsistency, but 80% was due to other factors that I’ll sum up in 2 words: the writing process.
After writing and learning every day for 27 days, I leveled up (~$100). These are the ten exact things I did — and you can do — to level up your writing process and thus, level up as a digital writer.
Update your OS
iPadOS Security Response 16.5.1 is available and will be installed later tonight. — A notification I received from Apple
In writing, your operating system is your writing process.
Like any software update, upgrading different parts of your system will level up your OS. What do I mean by that?
A writing system can be broken down into different parts, including:
- Ideation system
- Drafting system
- Editing system
Incremental improvements to each mini-system will enhance your OS.
Research different ideation methods. Find out how other people edit. Dissect the anatomy of your favorite articles. Then inject those upgrades into your OS and click ‘update’.
Each article is a product
Quality check! Will you pay to read the article you’re about to publish?
Businesses sell products. Digital writing is a business and articles are our products.
Some products have educational value. Some help readers save time. Others are entertaining. Whatever it is, it must be worth people’s time and money.
As a reader, I can feel it when the author spends effort on an article versus publishing it for the sake of it. Because sometimes I’m guilty of it too.
Consistency is not the secret — it’s the bare minimum
Consistency is key whether you post once a day, week, or month. Few people want to follow John Doe who last posted on 3 Feb 2022.
With that said, consistency is not everything.
Emily Ray may post every day, but her articles may suck. Maybe the idea is bad. Maybe the execution fell short. How do you know where the problem is?
Experiment, experiment, experiment
If you’re looking to take things to the next level, you’ve likely written a handful of articles.
Go to your stats page and sort by views (for attention) and fans (for engagement). Ask deeper questions about the topics, headlines, content, and ideas that work.
Every experiment starts with a hypothesis. I noticed that listicles about ‘the best/top books…’ get more eyeballs.
So I tested my hypothesis by writing similar articles — lo and behold, they consistently get higher views.
Every article is a data point. Hypothesise, test, and analyze the results. Consistency + experimentation = progress. And when you strike bullseye… bam. You know exactly what made it work.
Never start from a blank screen
There is nothing worse than finally getting your butt on your chair, only to be stuck on the first sentence for 45 minutes. You’re a writer, not a seat warmer.
A blank screen reflects a blank mind.
Writing every day for 27 days has shown me that there are two ways to make the first stroke:
- Go back to your systems — use your ideation methods, or refer to your ideas list. Always have an updated ideas list.
- Go to your research database to catch a whiff of inspiration.
Create a database to plop interesting ideas
To generate quality output, you must consume quality input.
If there’s one thing I would do differently, it is to create this database on Day 1.
Yes, you may read articles every day. But would you remember what’s interesting about them if I asked you a week later?
Forget memory. Rely on bits and bytes instead.
Read as much or more than you write
When I read something interesting that’s relevant to what I write, I record it in my database. Idea, quote, source.
You may be thinking, okay Basil, but it’s not like I can reuse their idea in my writing — that’s copying.
Don’t copy, create.
The advantage of collating all your inputs in one place is you get to draw connections. A + B = C (combine two ideas to create a third). Or A + * = A++ (enhance an idea).
Plus now you have a collection of relevant, cool quotes you can pull from.
Appearance is everything (when it comes to articles)
Remember experiment, experiment, experiment? Let me share with you about an experiment gone right.
On May 9, I published an article titled How To Stop Procrastinating on Reading — Inspired by Psychology. I was excited about the idea because it applied what I learned in psychology to reading. It got 57 views, 6 fans, and 1 comment.
I took a closer look at the engagement — the highlights and comments suggested that people liked the psychological concept. The execution didn’t do the idea justice.
So I rewrote the article with the following changes:
- Better headline: much more specific and invokes curiosity.
- Better subtitle: teases the solution proposed.
- Better first line: conveys transformation and the promise that you can also use this method to get to point B.
- Better picture: a woman in sunglasses peeking out from behind a book, as if she knows something you don’t. Isn’t that more intriguing than — oh gosh — a giant clock face?
These are the first 4 things readers see when they stumble upon your article in a pool of thousands of articles. Make it STAND OUT!
How to Use Positive Framing to Help You Read 3+ More Books per Month got x59 more views, x13 more fans, and x17 more comments.
Other changes I made included restructuring, making it more concise, and coming up with new points to keep it fresh.
Same idea, different execution.
Wear one hat at a time
You can wear two if you’re feeling silly goofy, but if you’re looking for efficiency, one at a time will do.
Ah, I forgot to explain the hats.
One is the writer hat. The writer is in charge of ideating, researching, and drafting.
The other hat is the editor hat. The editor, well, edits and publishes the article.
Writing and editing require two different mindsets. Editing while drafting is possible, but it’s slower and may affect your writing flow.
Test different OS-es
In the subtitle, I promised to tell you why I’m going to stop writing every day.
Because we’re testing a different OS — woooohoo.
If you’ve been using a MacOS, why not try Windows to see if you like it better?
Writing every day is only one type of operating system. From this week, I’m going to try batch writing. More specifically, Tim Denning’s writing routine.
He batch writes 5 articles each on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are for research, and Mondays are editing days. I’ll let you know how it goes in a future article.
The 10 Exact Things I Did That Launched Me From $10 to $124 in One Month
- Update your OS (writing systems, ideation systems, drafting systems, editing systems)
- Each article is a product (will you pay to read your articles?)
- Consistency is not the secret — it’s the bare minimum
- Experiment, experiment, experiment (each article is a data point, start with a testable hypothesis)
- Never start from a blank screen (refer to systems or database)
- Read as much or more than you write
- Create a database to plop interesting ideas
- Appearance is everything (headlines, subtitle, picture, first line, formatting)
- Wear one hat at a time (writer hat VS editor hat)
- Test different OS-es
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