How I Did Not Make $7 Billion Writing Online
Dispelling 4 myths for writers and content creators
There is a common theme in user-created content: an avalanche of advice, inspiring quotes, and storied successes crushing visitors. Some writers share their income and their accolades. Others promote themselves as leaders or experts. It became part of the circle of content creation and empire-building journey on the internet.
This is a trip down the content lane, to revisit the most common myths I ran into when I started reading stories online. I will propose a few alternative angles for each. They are based on the perspectives I gained over time, through trial and error.
In all fairness, most contributors have genuine experiences they want to share and truly want to help others achieve their goals. For a smaller number of budding writers, it can be very tempting to portray a wise expert. Their content could go viral, helping themselves under the pretense of lifting others through inspiration.
No leaders or influencers should be followed blindly.
They are tons of helpful guides on the World Wide Web but it is often a mixed bag of great and more questionable tips. At times some recommendations can be downright misleading, as eager authors cherry-pick examples to accentuate victories.
1. The $10,000 article myth
Once in a while, you will see a story about an article that generated $10,000 or more in revenues for the author and counting. It is inspiring and the author will often write a piece about the piece to comment on their success. They will share some of their metrics, techniques, and lessons. You will probably think “me too, I want this”. I know I did the first time I read a story in that category.
Truth: Unfortunately the probability for an article to generate $10,000 is less than 1%. It is close to zero.
Thought: You will notice as you read these stories, that there is often some cherry-picking taking place. It is human nature to promote positive facts and skip a large number of details, data points, and setbacks. It sells the story better. In some instances, it also helps the author advance their agenda or business.
What is often not mentioned is that revenues can experience wild swings. A story could have performed well over time for uncommon reasons, such as ranking very well in search results or being promoted by a famous person. It could also be one story out of a hundred, even for a prominent author.
Key Takeaway: Look up the data before you get carried away by stories about instant wealth and passive income. For example, about 95% of writers on Medium collect less than $100/month. You can still do very well writing online by following common-sense advice. You will be much happier though if you do not expect to hit gold on day one.
2. The passive income myth
Passive Income is described as collecting revenues without doing anything. Writing and generating content are not the greatest ways to get there. It is pretty much the opposite: readers want fresh content and it is much harder to generate revenues from aging content. The space is also crowded, which makes it challenging to stand out.
Truth: Of course, very successful writers and creators keep receiving royalty checks. They do not even have to write that month. It does not represent the majority. It is also very challenging to create a library of evergreen content that will keep generating income without any involvement.
Thought: Do not underestimate the amount of work and focus required to generate any income. Building a meaningful passive income stream is even harder. If it was that easy everybody would have done it by now.
Key Takeaway: One activity, such as writing online, can open other streams of income. Those streams can be more passive. Many writers have digital products on Gumroad or similar platforms. Some sell services, classes, and books that they introduce in their stories. Others use affiliate marketing, launch crowdfunding campaigns, embed monetized videos, have Patreon, and/or a Buy me a coffee link.
It can also be helpful to use stories to generate inquiries and demand for services. It can be beneficial to link or quote relevant stories in cover letters, marketing materials, or social media posts. I believe that writing creates endless opportunities outside of writing, which might be more valuable than writing itself.
3. The viral success secret sauce myth
I have seen low-effort content go viral on a quiet day and heavily researched work never getting traction on the busiest platforms. Virality is very difficult to predict and comes with volatility.
The #1 influencer on the planet could tell you that no matter what they post, it will go viral and collect tons of views. They could not tell you though how well their next post will perform. They could not, even if they tried their best, purposefully come up with their top post of all times.
Why? Many factors are at play and there is a random aspect to virality. Tiger Woods can tell you in which direction he is going to hit. He can also estimate how many yards he is going to reach. He cannot promise it will be a hole-in-one.
Truth: I have found that authors are often hard-pressed to explain why one story went viral and not another. I often like one of my less successful stories more and thought it would perform better than the leading ones.
Sometimes stars get aligned. It could be the time at which a story got published, what else was published at that time, and what is trending in search engines. A simple story could go viral because it is timely and original.
The process is mesmerizing because as a story gains steam, it will get featured and distributed more broadly, which will increase views even more. It also triggers engagement as users share, like, and comment more on content that is already successful.
Thought: Keep on trying and be patient. It can take months for a story to get noticed by readers or bots and to start getting a spike in views. When you look at the top-performing stories of all times, you rarely see an extremely original topic or headline. It was often a mix of timing and luck, mixed of course with high-quality writing and relevant content that managed to entertain, inspire and/or teach.
Key Takeaway: Going viral is within your reach and does not require years of studying. It is possible, with time, to increase your chances as you learn about what the audience seeks and values the most.
4. The “build it and they will come” myth
Another frequent recommendation is to write a lot of high-quality content and ignore the stats. Build it and they will come. The idea is that once you reach about 100 stories, at least one will be picked and do very well, carrying all the others.
Truth: Well, it is unfortunately not necessarily true. It is not just a number game. The best content without an audience will never be noticed. If I have the best words, best-written sentences, and only use professional photography, I might still not go anywhere. What if I write only about sea urchins and there is not an audience for it where I am publishing?
It is true for much larger topics, for example, travel or blockchain. You could have a massive community of followers who never unfollowed topics they stopped reading about. It is also possible that a theme peaked years ago but seems popular because tons of stories are still out there.
Thought: There is sometimes a discrepancy between what we want to write about and what will do well. We can misunderstand what readers want to read. Sometimes it is also not in line with what a publication wants to feature. Try different topics, publications, tones and put the audience first.
Key Takeaway: It is possible to see the demand for a topic or a style before you even start a draft. Check Google, Google Trends, or even Amazon to gather insights into what readers want. Look at the trending and popular stories to see if they are somewhat connected to the themes you want to write about.
Be you, do you, and enjoy yourself
As we read so much about how others do it, we learn about their processes. Of course, there is something to be taught by successful writers, rich authors, and ultra-efficient blogging masters.
Yet you still have to come up with your process, your angle, and your niche. What worked for the pioneers does not work anymore. They benefited from the first-mover advantage.
In the meantime, make sure you have a plan B, a day job, and next steps to advance your writing. Keep starting new drafts, share ideas, ping different publications, ask for feedback, and refine your writing to grow.
Key Takeaway: It is important to learn about what works for others but find out what unique ways work for you. That ultimately leads to finding your niche, happiness, and fulfillment.
Max Dufour is a Partner at Harmeda. He leads strategic engagements for Financial Services, Technology, and Strategy Consulting clients. Connect at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit Harmeda. Any links to external sites can be affiliate links. They can generate compensation as part of the Amazon Associates Program and other similar programs.