How I Make $1,500 a Week Writing About Hard Topics
4 methods I use to write about subjects I don’t understand
I regularly write about hard topics that I don’t know much about or don’t understand.
Some of these articles are research-intensive specialty topics that usually require a level of personal experience or expertise. Yet, I still earn around $1,500 a week writing the articles.
Here’s how I do it.
Write for Third Graders
When I go to write an article or launch a website on a topic I don’t know well, I focus on beginners.
You could call it, “writing for third graders.”
In almost every topic, there are beginner questions and subtopics that are simpler and easier to research. By focusing on these beginner questions, it’s easier to find the information I’m looking for to write the article.
Beginner questions such as:
- Can kites have right angles?
- Can kites fly without wind?
- Can kites fly in the rain?
- What are stunt kites?
If I outsource content creation, it’s also faster to double-check the accuracy of the information.
Not only does this help me write these articles, but it also makes me more money. There are almost always more beginners to a topic than experts.
If you think about it, it makes common sense.
By writing articles for beginners, you are actually targeting a larger population of people. The more people that engage with your content, typically the more money you make.
Apply the Facts + Example Formula
Another way that I write about topics where I’m not an expert is by following a simple, proven formula.
It goes by many names, but one I personally like is “facts + example.” Essentially, you make a point and then expand on that point.
Then you rinse and repeat throughout the article.
All you need is a set of facts backed up with a few examples, case studies, or anecdotes. It sounds too simple to work, but you’ll probably be surprised at how quickly you can write an article based on this formula.
The basic outline looks like this:
Introduction
Fact #1 Example of Fact #1
Fact #2
Example of Fact #2
Fact #3
Example of Fact #3
Conclusion
If you need a longer article, you can include more facts, more examples, or both.
Again, if you outsource content, you can provide your writer with the facts and ask them to expand on those ideas with examples.
Yet another way to apply this formula is to use an AI writer.
My personal favorite is Jarvis (not an affiliate link). I use Jarvis almost every day to create content for my websites.
If you feed Jarvis facts, he is going to expand on those facts and give examples. You’ll still need to guide and edit any AI writer, but it works like a charm for me.
Hire a Cheap Expert From Fiverr
If you outsource content, you can always hire an expert to write the articles for you.
You can usually find budget-friendly content creators on a number of platforms like Pro Blogger, Upwork, and Fiverr.
My experience with these platforms is…hit and miss.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find a good writer even at higher price points. It seems to mostly be a numbers game process of trial and error. Yet, it’s still a viable option if you want to outsource the writing of topics you don’t understand.
One slight variation to this method I’ve used several times is to hire an expert and the topic to verify my facts.
In other words, I hire an expert on Fiverr to read my article and confirm that what I’m saying is accurate.
To be clear: I don’t ask them to write anything or edit anything.
I just want to know if what I’ve said is true. Often, they offer new information that makes my article even better and more valuable to readers.
For example, I once hired a lawyer from Fiverr to look over an article I wrote about copyright laws. I also hired a native speaker when I wrote an article about his language.
Personally, I’ve had a good experience with this method, so you might want to try it out.
Go Back To Kindergarten
The final method I want to share is something that I’ve done for decades.
Whenever I want to learn about a new subject, one of the first things I do is buy books about that subject written for kids.
In short, you go back to kindergarten.
Children’s books are usually written in beginner-friendly language with great visuals and crystal clear instructions.
Take these books for example:
- HTML for Babies
- How Does My Home Work?
- I Am the Solar System
- Inside Your Outside: All About the Human Body (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
Even beginner books for adults can get complicated quickly.
That’s why I like to read a few books on a topic written specifically for children. I find it gives me a wonderful foundation from which to create content.
“You can get a picture book by a high-profile person, teaching traditional financial topics for a young child to understand” — Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, University Economics Professor
The same concept can be applied to nearly any topic. As someone much wiser than me once said, “Experts simplify. Beginners complicate.”
Summary of Takeaways
Writing about topics you don’t know can be frustrating.
You can make your experience just a little bit easier with these methods:
- Write simple articles for beginners.
- Apply the looping article outline of writing a fact followed by an example.
- Hire a cheap expert to verify your facts.
- Use an AI writer to expand on a set of facts.
- Read a few books about the topic written for children.
Final Thoughts
To write about hard topics, you can also find a lot of valuable information by watching YouTube videos or taking cheap online courses.
With all of this said, I prefer to write on topics that I know well and with which I have extensive experience.
It makes the entire creation process so much more enjoyable.
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