I’m Set to Make 4x What I Was Hoping for This Month from the Partner Program

Here’s how I’m doing it

You might think I’m rolling in the big bucks and I’m on my way to a restaurant to leave a $100 tip just because I can.

Not quite.

This is my first month being a participant in the Partner Program, and my goal was to only make five dollars to cover my membership.

It turns out that one story has earned enough for that.

You can see that my other stories haven’t earned as much.

That doesn’t bother me since I knew this enterprise was going to be a long-term game.

But I don’t want to sidetrack us.

I want to make good on my promise in the title and subtitle.

So What am I doing that’s been working so far?

I Write About Things People Care About

You’ve heard this one before.

I don’t have anything new to offer, rather I can only tell you the things that work for everyone.

If you want to earn money with your writing you need to write about topics that people are interested in.

Don’t write about cat nobody cares about unless you can make that into a lesson that’s relevant to your readers.

Think through what you enjoy writing about, what the interests of people are, and then publish where they intersect.

That takes research along with trial and error.

Different audiences are interested in different things. You’ll need to find where the people are who enjoy the topics you write about and go to them.

The key word is go. Don’t wait for people to come to you.

I’ve Been Consistent Even When I Couldn’t See Progress

And you can be too.

It’s discouraging to look at poor stats for a story you did research for and spent an hour or two writing. Especially when you’re just starting out and even a little momentum can be a great motivation boost.

In that moment you may be tempted to despair and wonder if you’ll always be a starving artist.

But you can’t give in to that.

You can push forward knowing that even successful writers earning good money don’t publish platinum stories on repeat.

They write pieces that barely get views just like you and I.

But they don’t give up, and neither should you if you’re serious about making this work.

I write and publish two to three stories a day here, even when I’m not feeling it.

I’ve Been Focused On Publishing, Not Perfecting

I’m a creative person at heart.

I’m also a perfectionist when it comes to a lot of things, and not having my work as good as I know it could be irritates me.

But the saying is trustworthy: ‘Done is better than perfect.’

During my years working as a graphic designer I’ve been put to shame by people who are less skilled in the craft than I am.

Why?

Because the designs I was working on were on the path to greatness but never saw the light of day. The other people let their work into the world before it was perfect and it was able to make an impact.

It’s taken me a while to realize that perfection is a fantasy.

We can’t be afraid to let the world see our work, even if it’s not as great as it could be.

And there’s an added bonus when we focus on the craft instead of the stats.

Not hitting our stat milestones as quickly as we want doesn’t destroy us because those aren’t the only milestones we’re setting.

Disappointment comes when we have an expectation that isn’t met.

We can’t be disappointed if our expectation is to learn how we could improve and be 0.1% better with the next piece we write.

I look at previous pieces and see what parts, no matter how minor they appear, can be tweaked so the next thing is better.

If you do that, you’ll vastly improve before you know it.

Moving Forward

Well, that’s what I’ve been doing that has positioned me to earn at least $20 my first month in the Parter Program.

My goal here on Medium is to at least start earning between $200-$300 per month. That would take the edge off of my financial situation and allow me to treat a friend to lunch every now and then.

I think I’ll get there (and possibly quite farther). I think you can too if you keep at it.

Just don’t get impatient because it may take a while.

Thank You

Thank you so much for reading! I truly appreciate it.

If you got value out of this please clap and leave a comment.

I hope to see you next time,

David.