My first $10 article and How I’m Going to Spend all the Money

I’ve finally made it to the Big League.

I checked my Medium stats, and there it was. Like a lottery winner seeing their numbers pop up for the first time, I sat shook in awe.

Telling my family was the easy part; they couldn’t believe the news. I had made it to the big league. The hard part now is deciding how I’m going to spend all the money.

Other than retiring my parents, I’m considering my first yacht.

When I started writing online, I always told myself the money wouldn’t get to my head. But now I’m sitting here watching the views roll in; it’s hard not to feel the urge to spend.

Maybe I’ll move to Dubai and start Instagram flexing. That seems to be what all the cool kids are up to nowadays.

Either way, anyone who says money doesn’t make you happy has clearly never hit a two-figure article.

Last week, I shared this story: I Studied the Best Articles on Medium, so You Don’t Have to.

To my surprise, it picked up some traction. After reflecting on some of the lessons, here’s how you can use my slither of early success to help you grow:

Use Positive Feedback Loops

All joking aside, I recently saw the first of my articles make some traction.

And although the earnings are trivial in comparison to the hours of work I’ve spent writing, the learning is invaluable.

Sometimes, even the smallest positive feedback loop can be enough to draw you in further. After months of working with little to no progress, a small win can feel life-changing.

It’s like climbing a mountain and finally getting that small glimpse of the summit.

Positive feedback loops are like breadcrumbs along the trail of your writing journey. Appreciate them when they come, but importantly, use them to inspire and motivate you further.

Building online can be a lonely game; you need all the positive reinforcement you can get.

Data Drives Your Results

The harsh reality is that data drives results.

Everyone starts out online with an idea of what they want to share. If you’re lucky, you realise early on that writing and creating isn’t about you; it’s about your reader.

It’s about using your knowledge and experience to help them and not validate your ego.

The beauty is that the longer you stay in the game, the more data you acquire. The more you can identify what works and what doesn’t work, the more you get to go deeper.

There are some part of me that wishes we could carve out results based entirely on what we desire. And whilst that may be a reality for some personal brands, most people need to keep things simple.

That means data needs to be your friend, and you need to write for your fans. When something works, do more of it.

The Gratifation Balance.

I spent several years coaching and teaching offenders. We would work on using education to rehabilitate and prepare them for a return to society.

Something always stood out about those who turned their lives around: they understood how to delay gratification.

Those who always wanted recognition for small steps would be stuck in perpetual loops without ever making progress.

We all want recognition and acknowledgement for our work. We are, by nature, social beings, and our egos love to be validated. But the truth is that gratification requires balance.

Without the ability to delay gratification, it’s unlikely you will be able to build a business or brand over a five-year period.

Conversely, if you never stop to appreciate how far you have come, then you’re in for a miserable journey.

It dawned on me recently that I now have a combined 1200 followers on Medium and Twitter/ X. A year ago, this wouldn’t have seemed possible.

Compared to a lot, these numbers are minuscule, but they’re enough for me to pat myself on the back to keep on moving.

Delay gratification for long-term success. But don’t forget to give yourself a clap from time to time.

Writing is Always a Long-Term Play.

I started blogging with a plan of how I was going to dethrone James Clear around the one-year mark. Fortunately for me, life has a way of letting you know who is really in charge.

When it comes to writing online, it is always a long-term play. Study any successful blogger or author, and I guarantee they have been active and consistent for years.

The trick is not to get caught up in the daily nuances.

Some weeks, the followers flow in, and the dopamine makes you smile; other weeks, your progress comes to a halt. This isn’t anything to fear, and it shouldn’t impact your emotional state.

The trick is to monitor progress over a longer time frame. Don’t get dragged into the fluidity of online metrics, or your dopamine receptors will be up and down like a yo-yo.

Work on your weekly and daily systems, but monitor your progress over months and years, not days.

Final Thoughts

I’m starting to see the value in touching on human emotions when writing. The Internet is a crowded market, and we have to do all we can to make people feel something when they read our work.

Think about what feelings and emotions you want your message to convey.

At the end of the day, you may be writing into a screen, but you are writing to a human heart.

Thanks for reading.

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