3 Things I Wished I Learned About Making Money Writing Online Before Going All In
Nothing beats personal experience
Making money writing online is easy.
How many times have you heard this? This statement has entered my ears from left to right and from right to left at least a million times.
Friends would tell me,
- The internet represents the biggest consumer market Planet Earth has to offer.
- The internet allows our work to be read by people across all time zones.
- Human beings sleep, but the internet doesn’t have to.
I have been writing online for the past 2 years, and I found these statements ticklish. Here’s why.
It Reminded Me of the 1990s
I grew up in the 90s.
Back then, it was all about the Chinese market. China’s economy was flying. Businesses were trying to tap into the potential of 1 billion plus people.
This is what I heard over and over.
- The Chinese market represents the largest and deepest consumer market in Asia.
- Imagine what happens when 1 billion people buy our stuff 1 time a day.
- We can sleep well at night as our sales hit the roof.
Sounds familiar? I think so.
History sounds like a broken recorder.
And this is the thing. Complexities increase as market size balloons.
People have needs. Different people have different needs. The actual size of the market may not be as big as you think it is.
Let us not forget one piece of reality.
Not all clients buy from us. Plus, they can buy from our competition too.
And.
If you can find the biggest consumer market on the internet — The following must be true.
You have unbelievable competition.
Anyone writing in the same domain is your competitor. Remember this. Readers don’t spend all day reading online.
They have work to attend to. And then, they have a life.
If they choose to read articles not written by you that day, then the chances of them reading your work on that (same) day drop.
That’s reality, people.
On Competition
I made $6k from online writing last year. I was happy.
Of course, it is a lot of money. The best part? I earned it while engaging in an activity I enjoy.
I used that money to finance my writing class. The rest stays in my pink piggy.
But I know writing online is a tough business. I mean, there must be millions of people writing online. Let’s not forget millions of others using intelligent bots to spit words out on their behalf.
I write 1 article a day. No more, no less.
That is my limit because I need to focus on my day job and 1-Man consulting practice.
Compare that to,
- ChatGPT produces 1,000 words in 5 seconds.
- Top writers who spit out 3 articles in 4 hours.
- Bloggers who write all day, every day.
I am out of the competition even before it starts.
And I know it.
That is why I no longer focus on the competition. The concept of winning does not apply on the internet. I might be wrong, but I think this way.
This is because,
- There is no finishing line.
- Old players drop out, and new players hop in all the time.
- Brilliant writing gets buried by a barrage of articles 2 days later.
Instead, I choose to focus on myself. I do not want to cross that red line. It will be hard to come back from the dark side.
Staying in the game is the way to excel in a never-ending game.
On Being the Best
This is an obsession I need to put to rest whenever I write.
I am a competitive being. I like the idea of coming out on top. It applies to my running, academic career, consulting work, and businesses on the side.
It feels good when I win a deal or a scholarship.
But that never happens when it comes to writing on the internet.
Instead, I learned to embrace a new concept known as churn.
Specifically, this idea applies to,
- My articles — They occupy a top spot (maybe) and then it moves down.
- My reader base — Subscribers join and then leave.
- My chosen genres — It gets hot and then cools.
Churn applies to the cyclical nature of writing online. Readers chase after the Next Big Thing.
There will be those who can hold the attention of many readers. The question is for how long?
Plus, readers are like window shoppers. They are fickle. They try on clothes without buying them. And then they move.
It applies to the online writing world too.
They might find you interesting after reading your work for the first time.
Are they still around when your tenth article is published?
Maybe, you got swiped left before they hit the body?
Yup, that is possible.
Don’t forget. There are millions of online writers for them to choose from.
And readers need not consume content from the best contributor in business, entrepreneurship, and workplace culture. They do read novels from time to time.
Therefore, the best can have bad days. It has nothing to do with them per se. Market mechanics are at play.
Statistics do not always favor one writer. They swing, depending on the flavor of the day.
Take a chill pill. Or gulp two.
Keep writing. You might have had great results in the past. You might be in the dumps today.
But hey, you will not be down forever.
The time will come when you return to the limelight. Learn to ride the online attention wave.
Parting Keynotes
I love the idea of earning money from writing online.
It is a joy. I get paid while working with a smile on my face. It keeps me going no matter how meager those internet earnings are.
That said, we need to acknowledge the harsh reality of the internet world.
- Market size does not equate to actual earnings.
- There is competition, 24/7/365.
- Churning occurs all the time.
These realities are not meant to stop us from pursuing our dreams. The opposite is true.
And I say this.
Know the game we play. Take hits. Get back up.
That way, we can continue to be in the game without getting destroyed by our disappointment and unrealistic expectations.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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