Summary

The author discusses achieving a four-figure income on NewsBreak in December despite writing minimally due to holiday laziness, updating old articles, and leveraging previous work.

Abstract

In December, the author admits to a significant reduction in writing output, both on NewsBreak and Medium, attributing this to holiday-related activities and a general lack of motivation. Despite this, the author managed to maintain a high income from NewsBreak, largely due to a single viral article and the strategic practice of updating older content to boost views and engagement. The author plans to increase writing productivity in the new year and shares insights on content strategies that have proven successful on NewsBreak, including paying attention to analytics and focusing on media-related stories. The article also provides links to other writings where the author shares tips on maximizing earnings and growing a following on the platform.

Opinions

The author finds NewsBreak less favorable compared to other writing platforms due to its focus on newsworthy and media-gaining stories.
December was intentionally taken off for holiday celebrations, which is humorously presented as a common practice among entrepreneurs.
The author expresses a personal connection to the writing process, noting a decrease in output during periods of low motivation.
There is an expectation of increased productivity and a return to normal writing habits with the start of the new year.
The author values the tools provided by NewsBreak and strives to create content that aligns with reader interests and platform trends.
Updating previous articles is seen as a key strategy for maintaining visibility and income, with the author revealing this as a "secret" to success on NewsBreak.
The author is transparent about their income sources on the platform, emphasizing the impact of a single viral article and the long-tail effect of past content.
The author encourages reader engagement by inviting them to share their own writing tips and by promoting a Medium membership as a form of support for their work.

My Laziest Month Yet on NewsBreak

Why I’ll Still Break Four Figures for the Month

I admit it, this month I was incredibly lazy regarding my writing on NewsBreak.

To be honest, NewsBreak is not my favorite site to write for.

You can write articles on a bunch of different topics, your choice but, they are definitely geared more toward newsworthy and media-gaining stories.

This is how I made a cool four figures this month doing almost nothing.

Why was December a Lazy Month?

It’s December.

Holiday month, right?

I naturally take the last two weeks of the year off like most entrepreneurs do (joke).

But really, I just was not feeling like my normal writing self this month. I enjoyed spending time with family, shopping, decorating the house, cooking, baking, putting up outdoor holiday lights, and all the fun holiday things you do in December.

I even churned out half as many articles as I normally do on Medium.

I’ve written 27 stories on Medium in December

It’s about half as much as I normally write. In recent months I’ve been cranking out around 50+ stories every month.

medium.com

I’ll break out of this slump in January.

The start of the new year always invigorates me, as I’m sure it does to other people.

I’ve already started creating my writing plan to put a lot more articles out on both Medium and NewsBreak.

I’ve been on NewsBreak for 13 months and during that time I have learned a lot about what kind of content does well on the platform. I pay attention to the tools NewsBreak shares with their contributors and I try my best to put out attention-grabbing media-related articles that readers will enjoy.

How much did I write and how did I make money?

Three stories!

Yikes, just three stories in December.

And, these are the views…

Nothing spectacular except that 72K-viewed article which was pretty awesome.

That mini-viral article made up about 20% of my income for the month. Where did the rest come from?

It came from stories from previous months.

Here’s a secret about how I write on NewsBreak…

My NewsBreak Secret

I keep updating my stories!

Do you do this?

I’ll go back and add fresh, new content to old stories.

Kind of like developing stories in the news, like when the election is happening and you get the numbers from the news on what states performed this way and that way, all day long.

Same concept.

Refreshing those old stories seems to boost them again and I did this a few times in December like I do every month.

As a result, an approximately 80K-viewed article grew to 275K views and I’ve had similar results on other stories too.

So that’s how I was able to keep my writing load light on NewsBreak this month.

For more tips on how I write for NewsBreak and can make a nice part-time income from the platform despite losing my base pay months ago, read these:

My highest earning month on News Break

Two months after losing base pay, I hit my highest earning month on News Break.

medium.com

How I Grew to 13,000 Newsbreak Followers

I see a lot of Newsbreak writers talk about growing their following. I’ll tell you how I effortlessly grew to 13,000…

medium.com

What are some of your writing tips?

I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s just $5 a month and you get unlimited access to Medium.