avatarNiharikaa Kaur Sodhi

Summary

The article provides insights into the realities and strategies of successful online writing, emphasizing the importance of consistent publishing, platform loyalty, personal investment, and detachment from metrics.

Abstract

The author shares ten valuable lessons learned from personal experience about writing online effectively. The article stresses that frequent content creation is crucial for gaining traction on platforms like Medium, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It advises against being swayed by negative opinions about writing platforms and suggests that writers should focus on their journey and the act of writing itself. The piece also highlights the unpredictability of content performance and the importance of investing in oneself to accelerate growth. It reassures that monetization will come with time and consistent effort, and that a long-term perspective is essential. The author encourages writers to be detached from numerical metrics to maintain mental health and to enjoy the writing process.

Opinions

  • Writing online requires a high volume of output to gain visibility and engagement.
  • Writers should remain skeptical of negative comments about writing platforms and focus on long-term engagement rather than short-term trends.
  • The success of content in terms of views, followers, and earnings can be unpredictable and should not be the sole focus of a writer.
  • Investing in writing courses or other forms of self-improvement can significantly benefit a writer's career.
  • Random, less-researched articles can sometimes outperform well-researched ones, indicating that predicting viral content is challenging.
  • Monetization should not be rushed; it is a natural outcome of consistent content creation and audience building.
  • Writers must engage in various activities beyond writing, such as establishing an online presence and networking, to succeed in the digital world.
  • Maintaining a sense of detachment from metrics helps preserve mental health and fosters a more sustainable writing career.

10 Things About Writing Online I Wish I Knew Earlier

#2 Don’t believe the trash talk.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Writing online in a way that people would want to read is so much different from writing a personal blog, or anything meant solely for your pleasure. The internet has spoilt us all.

Readers want to be served on a platter, and rightly so. We’re all busy, and nobody wants to read something they don’t understand. Simplicity is indeed the winner.

Here are ten things I wish I knew earlier about writing online.

1. It’s a volume game or no game

Whether it’s Medium, Twitter, or LinkedIn — it’s easier to gain traction when you’re publishing often. People see you more, more people engage with you.

I didn’t start making decent money on a writing platform until I started publishing 20x a month. Same with Twitter, I gained 713 followers in 28 days after I scheduled 10 tweets a day.

For those who want to publish once a month, it’ll be hard to get readers. Also, writing gets easier when you write more.

2. Don’t believe the trash talk

Often, we see people bashing an online platform. I’ve read comments from people about Quora or Medium ‘dying’ — they’re both very alive.

When people’s views go down, they trash the platform. The platform where I write is giving me 1/3 the views I got last month, but it’s fine. It’s not in my control.

Don’t change platforms depending on the trash talk, be in it for the long game.

3. Don’t worry about what works

People will tell you one niche works more than another. You may see trends of what gets the most views and try that out.

But this will only give you short-term results.

Should you niche or not? See depending on how you feel talking about the same topic each time. For some, it’s thrilling. For some, it’s terribly boring.

Just start, and you’ll know what works for you.

4. You *have* to write to ace the platform

Sounds obvious, right? But then why do most people miss this point?

Most people want results too quickly. It took me nearly 6 months of publishing often on LinkedIn to get a viral post with over a million views. It takes time, and you’ve got to keep going.

To be a writer online, write away as much as you can.

5. Consider investing in yourself

I started my writing journey as a side hustle along with my 9–5. I edited one hour before my job and wrote an hour after my job.

I was also serious about expediting my journey. If I can pay to know information, then why make mistakes to learn it months later? I invested a huge chunk in a writing course that paid me back in a month!

Invest in yourself and your dreams. It’s called ‘investment’ and not expense for a reason.

6. You can’t predict performance

Your numbers hardly mean anything.

My friend had a viral post with 70,000 views and got a client who pays her $2000 a month. My post with 4.77 million views got me zero clients. I also know a writer who doesn’t have as many followers and earns really well there, more than the big names.

Your followers and stats don’t predict your outcome, and it's best if these metrics aren’t your validation points.

7. Random stuff gets traction

One of my viral articles was something I wrote out of experience. It hardly took me any time to write. Some of my other well-researched articles don’t get as many views.

My first viral LinkedIn post had just 12 words!

You cannot predict what will do well and what doesn’t. I’ve heard this from famous YouTubers too — the videos they think will do well don’t, and random videos blow up.

8. You will make money, eventually

I was on a call with a potential client yesterday who wanted to start monetising his side hustle.

Well, helping him monetise would make me money. But it wasn’t the right thing to do. I explained to him he has under 20 content pieces right now, he should at least build an audience on a platform and publish 100 times.

It’s too early to monetise anything if you haven’t created enough. Once you do, you’d get better and can monetise via your products or by freelancing.

Enjoy the process instead of jumping into making money.

9. It’s a long game

If that hasn’t been clear until here, here you go.

As a writer online, here are things you do more than just writing:

  • establish an online presence
  • talk about your articles so you can have an audience/ potential clients
  • if you’re serious, be a part of writing communities (this has helped me improve my writing and get a client too)
  • build relationships with other writers

I put in more time into the above activities than writing. It’s time-consuming and difficult, but important.

10. Be detached

This is something my mental health is grateful for.

Be detached from everything, especially all things numbers. Don’t get too fixated on reaching certain metrics. If you earned X amount last month, you may not necessarily beat it this month. You can either feel terrible about it or just carry on — the latter is with detachment.

Same with views and followers. There’s no point getting attached to what’s not in your control.

Summarising

Is it too late to be a writer in the online world? Hell no, the internet is only growing and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Here are ten things to keep in mind about writing online:

  1. It’s a volume game or no game
  2. Don’t believe in the trash talk
  3. Don’t worry about what works
  4. You have to write to ace the platform
  5. Consider investing in yourself
  6. You can’t predict performance
  7. Random stuff gets traction
  8. You will make money, eventually
  9. It’s a long game
  10. Be detached

Best of luck! Keep at it and show up even on the days you don’t feel like it, and you’ll see your writing game improve significantly.

Want to build a side hustle and make money online? Check out my free ebook.

Author’s note: Some of the links mentioned in this article are affiliates.

Writing
Internet
Freelance
Side Hustle
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