How to “Flip” a Failed Article and Make Money with It
I did it more than once, and I have two methods to share with you.
Have you ever written an article you had a lot of faith with that failed? I know the feeling. It happened to me more than once. You often invest so much work and energy into a story that seems successful, and then it flops. I don’t get surprised by it anymore. I also accepted it and didn’t get upset either.
But there’s a way to “flip” your failed articles. I’ve done it a few times, and I would like to share my experience. I have established two ways to leverage a flopped article – more on that below.
Disclaimer: since I’m sharing my experience, I need to add links to my own stories. It’s not done to promote my writing but for educational purposes to help others succeed in their writing endeavours.
Method #1: Write About Your Failure
Seriously, it’s that simple: just share the story of how your work didn’t do well. I know it can be embarrassing, and not everyone likes to admit defeat. But I’m of an unpopular opinion that there’s nothing wrong with failing, nor should we get upset about it.
We write. Sometimes our work does well, and sometimes it doesn’t. We’re used to not getting anything from a story we spent 7 hours researching and writing, and then one of the last-minute, quickly-scrabbled stuff gets a ton of attention. Is it fair? No. But this is what an artist’s life is. Actors know it better than anyone else. Do you think Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston or Angelina Julie would be famous if they got upset and gave up on acting?
Failure is fine. There’s nothing wrong about admitting you gave an idea a shot, and it didn’t pan out – pun intended. In fact, your story can help others write and inspire them not to give up.
Here’s my example: I spent $70 on an article that earned me less than $2 after publishing. I have a cat I adore, and I decided to write a funny story about how my furry baby changed the way I do yoga. So, I hired an artist on Fiverr and paid her $70 Canadian to draw me 5 caricatures. I was super excited about those, and I added the drawing to my humorous story. To this day, it’s my favourite article:
But did it get attention? No. Almost all the views were external, and by the end of the month, I made under $2 – while spending $70 on it.
Was I upset? A little bit. But did I get defeated? Absolutely not. I decided to share my failure story with others. I was open about how passionately I approached this project and how incredibly proud I was of it. I didn’t want to cheap out, so I have no regrets about hiring a caricaturist and paying them. I was honest and open, which translated into this story:
And what happened then? It made me money. To this day, it earned almost $120 Canadian. The article about me spending $70 on a failed article brought me $120. The irony is not lost on me.
Do the same! Tell others about your failures. Show them how excited you were about something yet failed. Sure, there are always people with low compassion and trolls who may flood your comment section (not speaking from experience – I think my comment section is usually decent). But it’s YOUR story to tell. You deserve to tell it.
Even it doesn’t end up succeeding, at least you tried. But sometimes, it brings in more success than the original project you worked on.
Method #2: Leverage Your Failure
I wrote an article about a staple of American television: the tv show “FRIENDS.” I expected it to be successful, as this is a beloved show and my story covers the topic of money. But sadly, it didn’t succeed. In the first month, I published it; it earned me almost nothing.
So, what did I resort to? I chose not to get frustrated, and I wrote a similar article about an equally popular show:
“Sex and the City” was incredibly popular and was also filmed in New York. There are many similarities, with the key one being the show’s popularity. This story is also about money, and the readers like it.
Oh, the key part? I linked my first article in the first sentence of the second one. So, when the story about Carrie Bradshaw started getting a bunch of views, many readers clicked on the article about Monica. Inspired by the failed first one, my second story turned my failure into a success. So far, it earned me $100, and I’m happy about it.
One of the readers asked to do a financial review on a school teacher living in NYC and their lifestyle. This inspired me even more, and this story was born:
Instead of getting upset and folding, I turned a failed article into two more, earned $100 from Monica’s story and almost $500 from my article about Carrie. The third article is too fresh to make assumptions, but I’m hopeful about it.
Conclusion
Listen, the writing world can be unpredictable. You cannot expect every attempt to turn into a success. There will be lots of failures along the way. But when you finally get the hold of that success, it’s so sweet, and you feel so victorious.
We all have failed projects – those we put in a lot of effort and time in. But what can you do? Either get upset or get going. I propose you also turn your failure into a success. It may not work out every time, but it has worked well for me so far.
