TFW your viral story starts losing steam
Welcome to my first post in Creator Blog, where I’ll share my thoughts, feelings and experiences with writing and trying to make money online.
I don’t know how long this will last, it’s an experiment really. The idea comes from my daily practice of Morning Pages, a concept invented by creativity expert Julia Cameron.
Every morning, I write three long-hand pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts. It’s my way of “clearing the decks” for the day so that my mental bandwidth is freed up to focus on whatever tasks I need to tackle.
Now, I’m adapting it a little bit and posting the results here.
Being a part-time creator trying to make it on the internet can feel like a bit of a grind some days.
When things are going great, it’s easy. The views and dollars are rolling in and it feels like it’ll last forever.
Then … it doesn’t. And you have to drum up the motivation to keep pushing and grinding and working to make something else happen.
Learning from yourself
I’ve written about this process at length, and as successful as I’ve been early on in this game, I do often refer back to my own writing and advice to stay on track.
Given how much happens and how quickly the days slip away when you’re working full-time, creating part-time, and doing, you know, life stuff, it can be hard to keep track of everything.
I read a great recently in which the author makes the argument that you need to remember how to write for beginners when you’re dispensing advice.
I’m four months into trying to be a part-time creator on the internet, and I’ve already learned a ton.
I look at where I am now versus where I was back in August and I can barely see that version of James from here.
Not only because of all the productivity and health gains I’ve made, but also because of all I’ve learned about writing for and developing an audience, dissecting a platform, modifying my strategies, selecting art, formatting … the list goes on.
I’ve tried to document my path to success with my James Julian account by writing advice articles here and sharing my growth, but my worry is that I’ll eventually forget what it was like to be in this moment.
I’ll forget the little things that worked … and didn’t.
Already I’m further along than I ever expected to be on this platform, generating $1,300 last month alone in my fourth full month.
In that sense, I’m no longer a “beginner,” and that worries me!
I wish I had captured more of my thoughts and feelings along the way so that I could refer back to them as I try to build out other projects.
For example, I’d like to write more about my attempt to launch and monetize my YouTube channel as that process unfolds.
So I’m going to apply my Morning Pages to the creator journey and collect my thoughts in this blog.
Every day, for 30 minutes, I’ll just write whatever pops into my mind.
It’ll be an experiment for sure.
Perhaps people will hate it and leave my account in droves, but maybe they’ll embrace it and see their own journey in mine. Hopefully they’ll share their expertise in the comments.
When your viral article tapers off
Top of mind today is the sinking feeling of coming down from the high of a piece of viral content.
I have to admit that I’m feeling a little disappointed today, because I’ve been on such a good run lately with my writing.
I had one story really take off and go crazy, quickly becoming my most popular (and valuable) piece of writing to date.
This one, Do these 4 exercises and you’ll be in the best shape of your life, has been going gangbusters for more than a month, giving everything else I’ve written a nice little boost.
But even though it’s still generating more views today than any other story I’ve written, the scale of engagement is really starting to taper off and settle into a low hum.
This happened on a smaller scale earlier in my journey, back in October, and I felt the same feelings then that I do now.
The difference now is that I’m way more experienced and driven to continue.
To be honest, when this happened back in October, I was really resting on my laurels and just thinking it would last forever rather than continuing to push and publish new, good stuff. Then, when it didn’t, I went into a bit of a writing slump.
The numbers came down (because of course they did), and I got kind of depressed.
Now, however, I’m pushing. Although it’s still inevitably disappointing to see my latest viral story tapering off, at least I know that if I keep working hard, the next one might be just around the corner.
Right now, I’m obsessing over how to make it happen again. I’ve been poring over tag combinations, images, publication schedule … anything to try and recreate this kind of momentum.
But I should know by now too that this isn’t really possible.
As I wrote this week, the story that ultimately took off was one that I thought nobody would read. And then nobody did read it for like 10 days until it blew up.
The fact of the matter is you just need to do your best every day and publish, publish, publish.
If you work hard, constantly try to get better, and stay consistent, good things will happen.
OK, my 30 minutes are up for today!
Thanks for reading along, folks. If you enjoyed it, please give it a few claps so others can find it (and to encourage me to keep going)!
My most-read posts:
- I made hundreds on Medium in my first month
- You’re depressed over low views on Medium — here’s how to fix it
- Why Medium is the most underrated way to make money online
- You’re depressed about low views on Medium — here’s how to fix it
- Avoid the mistake I make every time my story goes viral
The latest from me:
- My first viral story taught me not to chase viral stories
- You’re sad about low views on Medium (how to fix it)
- Why Medium is the most underrated way to make money online
- My Medium earnings dipped in the my third month and it’s all my fault
- Avoid the mistake I make every time my story goes viral
- Why writing on Medium is far superior to freelancing
Have you found Medium via this story but aren’t yet a member? Did you know membership starts at just $5 a month (and you can cancel any time)? There’s no risk and you get access to all Medium has to offer. To continue reading stories like this and give me a ‘lil kickback, please consider supporting this publication directly by using my link to sign up! You can also leave a tip using the button below if you enjoyed this article!
