How I Plan To Be A Successful Online Writer

My game plan for success in my niche

Everyone talks about how hard it is to make it as an online writer. Everyone has their reservations about it. But it is not impossible which makes it attainable.

I have decided to work hard and get to a level I am proud of.

Here is what I plan to do,

Mind my own business

First things first, I have to stay in my lane. It is going to be a long road, one that takes years, maybe more, but that doesn’t matter.

If I want to make it in the big leagues I have to mind my own business.

People will say how hard it is, some might consider it a plummeting industry at some point. I have to believe in what I have started and see it through.

Minding my own business means I have to focus on myself and take the occasional look in the mirror.

What can I improve? What am I not doing that others are doing?

Stay patient

Patience is a key element of success

— Bill Gates

The long game is as its name says — long.

People will go ahead of me. Their successes may make me want to doubt myself but I have to keep going.

Every day is an opportunity to get better.

Self-doubt is a normal reaction to daunting tasks. I have to accept it and move on despite it.

Goals release self-doubt and systems make you work despite it.

I have to come up with an effective system that keeps me working despite my feelings.

Feelings come and go. At low points it seems easy to give up, I have to be aware of that. Feelings are not reliable. Systems are.

They make you keep performing regardless.

An effective system should encourage me to wake up at the same time every day. Early morning works for me. And start writing at the same time.

Whether or not I have an article idea I have to keep writing.

I will put no pressure on publishing it, but I have to write something every day.

My preferable plan is at least an article every day but sometimes you just have off days.

I have to balance quality and quantity by not ignoring quality.

Show up every day

Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently

— Marie Forleo

Regardless of how I am feeling I have to write every day.

That is a priority. Even if it is just a few words, I have to write.

This puts me in a habit of showing up. After making that a habit, I can focus more every day.

Leaning into publishing 3 or more articles every day can exhaust me as it is not a habit.

When writing becomes a habit, then I have to chunk harder tasks on top of it.

This way it becomes permanent and not something I forego after a month.

Get tips from people who have done what I am doing

Luckily for me, I am not the first ambitious online writer. People have done it before me. I have to try and benefit from the value they are providing every day and leverage it.

I do not have a lot of money to invest in courses so I am focusing on free value.

This includes subscribing to their newsletters and searching for free e-books that help me grow.

People that push me should be surrounding me. Essentially, people who are clearly better than me.

The better they are than me, the quicker I will improve.

Reading their works puts me in a better position every day.

Moreover the method they used to make newsletters, communities, and free courses, I have to learn that too.

People tend to be helpful sometimes if you just ask. The problem is people don’t ask.

I don’t plan on making that mistake. I plan on trying to contact people I look up to and learn things from them.

Help others and create value for them

The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed

— Adam Grant

Giving is the shortest path to receiving.

I will try to help others as much as I can. I am not a stranger to email subscribers. I know that helps a lot and I plan to do that for most people.

I can’t do it for everyone, the truth is I only want content that I feel is useful and quality. Moreover, if the content is random I would be unable to read anyway so there would be no point.

When I open someone’s article I try to complete it, unless it is something I just did not expect. This helps them with the Partner Program and keeps me learning new things from them.

Be at my best all the time

We get up in the morning, we do our best. Nothing else matters.

-Judi Dench

I have to make sure every article I publish is done to the best of my abilities. This way new readers are likely to stay and existing ones will always be getting value.

It is not easy but will be worth it.

Some people randomly stumble on your articles. I plan to make the best out of this.

If the article is good enough, they might stick for more.

I am also aware that there is a fine line between improving and procrastinating. I will try not to cross it.

An article can only be improved to a certain extent and beyond that, you are just delaying it. I hope to be able to identify this and make sure I don’t fall into the latter.

Acknowledge when I have off days

This is very important for me. I am aware that I am prone to mistakes and just generally bad days.

I can not beat myself with minor failures and off days.

Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed and have to accept it.

I have experienced it before. I am also aware that it has caused me to abandon my routine in some cases. Primarily because I expected a perfect up-sloped path.

I will not make the same mistake again.

For off-days, I will try to cut down the workload. I will still write every day but on such days I will write less.

For myself, I think that one day every week tends to be underwhelming. I will use this to relax and maybe come up with more article ideas.

I have to make sure I don’t waste it. Small progress is still better than none at all.

All in all

In totality, this is what I have planned for myself. It is imperfect thus it is not set in stone.

I have to be aware of the quirks that make me go astray. I have to be cautious but consistent.

I hope my plan allows you to take away something of value from it, especially for those of you with similar goals.

But whatever it is, it is important that we believe in ourselves and keep going despite whatever chatter that runs in the background.

I wish us the best of luck and hope none of us gives up!