The 5 Best Decisions I Made To Grow My Writing Business

I’ve made over $150,000 by writing online in the past two years. But contrary to most writers, I never aimed to become a writer. It happened by accident because I realized that writing online combined many of the benefits I was seeking in my professional life.

Most importantly, running a writing-focused business allows me to make money doing two things I’ve always enjoyed: Reading and learning.

Apart from that, the biggest advantage is that I can work from anywhere at any time of the day. My readers or clients don’t care where or when I type my words.

They just care about the final product, which gives me lots of flexibility and opportunities.

I never assumed that I’m “done”

One of the biggest mistakes I see most new writers and creators make is that they believe they deserve attention.

The truth, however, is that we don’t deserve any form of attention as long as we believe we do.

At its core, writing and all other forms of content creation are an act of service.

No matter how exactly you monetize your efforts, you always make money because you‘re serving an audience.

There’s no (honest) way to make money online if you care too much about yourself and too little about the person on the other side.

I didn’t start writing because I thought millions of people would care about my ideas.

To be honest, I didn’t think much at all. I just found out that publishing your writing online is stupidly simple, so I wanted to give it a try.

More than 500 blog posts later, I have the pleasure of serving hundreds of thousands of readers each month. But what truly matters is that I didn’t start with that expectation.

And most importantly, I never thought I was “good enough.”

I always kept learning, studying other people’s work, questioning my own wins and mistakes, and trying to become a little better every week. And I still do. I can tell you a dozen ways to improve any article I’ve ever published. I know that my work is by no means perfect, but I also know that the core message resonates with tens of thousands of readers each day.

I see so many new writers and creators who experience their first big successes and believe they’re done.

They think they “cracked the code,” and everything will magically work in their favor because of that one success they experienced.

The truth, however, is that you never really crack the code in writing. You’re constantly reinventing yourself and your words.

And if you ever believe that there’s nothing more you could learn, you can be sure that’s a sign that you still have a lot to learn.

How to use this:

Never stop being a curious student.

Celebrate your wins, but don’t let your ego outgrow your skills.

Too many people believe that one viral article or one big client will magically change their entire (writing) career or even life, but they’re so wrong.

Use your wins to your advantage by learning from them, but don’t let them stand in your way by giving you a false sense of accomplishment.

Writing for an audience is a never-ending game, and you’ll only find satisfaction and financial success if you stop looking for big wins and start enjoying the journey by constantly challenging yourself.

I’m obsessed with reinvesting (but I’m also skeptical)

One of the few things I never saved money on is reinvesting in my skills and tools.

The main reason I was able to scale my audience and income so quickly is that I constantly learned from people who were way ahead of me.

I paid for online courses and mastermind groups so I could take shortcuts and avoid wasting my time.

And it’s not even just about paying for information; it’s also about being careful with how you spend your time.

There are books that taught me more about doing business than three years at business school and YouTube videos that saved me dozens of hours of work.

I never stop looking for new ways to learn and grow, but I’m careful about how exactly I spend my resources.

Instead of making emotional purchases, I carefully reflect on what exact piece of information or support I need.

There’s no point in buying an online course because it’s cheap and eventually ending up wasting your time without much return.

In fact, that’s a lose-lose because you lose money and time.

How to use this:

Don’t be afraid of investing in yourself and your writing career by upgrading your tools and knowledge, but be careful about how exactly you do it.

You don’t need the most expensive notebook to get started, but if you don’t even have a keyboard, writing for a living might be tough.

Explore online programs, mastermind groups, and free resources that help you learn in a structured and effective way, but don’t be afraid to do your own research to ensure you don’t waste your money and time.

I started my email list before I was ready

One of the smartest things I ever did was to start an email list way before I felt as if I needed it.

Most writers procrastinate on starting their email list because they believe it’s hard to set up a newsletter, but that’s not true.

You can create a simple email list in less than an hour using tools like Substack — even if you have zero experience.

Once you’ve gained some experience and want to have access to advanced features, you can switch to a more sophisticated tool like Convertkit, which I’ve been using (and loving!) for more than two years.

By starting early, I was able to grow my email list to over 30,000 subscribers within two years.

If I had waited to be ready, I would’ve missed out on thousands of subscribers who turned into loyal audience members due to the consistent newsletters they’ve received.

How to use this:

If you want to be an independent writer, starting your own email list is one of the very few things you should rush into.

You don’t need a website, you don’t need to be present on all social media platforms, and you don’t fancy photos or videos, but you do need an email list to make sure you stay in touch with readers who enjoy your work.

I did *not* pay anyone to do stupid work

Almost every business book will tell you how you should outsource tasks as soon as possible because “time is money.”

And that’s not necessarily bad advice, but many creators apply it way too early and pay freelancers for mundane tasks that don’t grow or improve the business.

I managed to go from zero to multiple six-figure profits within two years because I didn’t outsource irrelevant tasks. Instead, I eliminated them.

I regularly hire help for specific projects and tasks, but I don’t have anyone responding to emails, messages, or comments because I’m quite sure it wouldn’t benefit my long-term goals. Yet, I see new creators who barely make money hiring virtual assistants to manage their emails. If you ask me, that’s a horrible idea, and I’d instead do two things:

• Reply to fewer emails
• Invest the money into educating yourself or improving your business through effective tools

Instead of having someone else reply to my messages, I prefer to enter a genuine conversation myself, even if I can’t have that conversation with everyone. This helps me stay connected to my audience, understand who my readers are, and know how I can serve them best.

How to use this:

If you look at vanity metrics and compare yourself to people who’ve been writing for years, it’s easy to believe that you’re behind them. But the truth is that you don’t need tens of thousands of followers, a fancy website, or a picture-perfect Instagram feed to build a profitable online writing business.

You don’t need to pay for dozens of tools and for freelancers who’ll eventually cost you lots of time and your sanity.

Just focus on doing the next right thing and do it for as long as possible.

“If you hit the oak tree a thousand times in a thousand different spots, what’s gonna happen? Absolutely nothing, but if you hit an oak three a thousand times in the exact same spot, you know what’s gonna happen? You gonna bring it down.” — Unkown

The beauty of starting a business in 2022 is that you have access to unlimited amounts of knowledge at the tip of your fingers.

Use your time wisely and focus on the few activities that’ll truly move you forward.

I hold the vision but trust the process

Being an independent creator taught me that you can make plans, and those plans can even be good, but things can come in your way, and everything can turn out totally different.

Even though I still set yearly goals, I view them as rough guidance instead of being too fixated on yearly numbers or intentions.

I’ve got a strong vision for my future, but I stay flexible in how to get there.

I know that the platforms I use could change anytime, that new opportunities arise all the time, and that I might not be able to stick to my goals for a million other reasons. So I stay gentle and flexible instead of being too harsh with myself.

How to use this:

The best thing about being an independent writer and creator is that you’re free.

The worst thing is that you’re 100% in charge of anything that happens to you — even if it’s not “your fault.”

A platform changing its algorithm or a client deciding she doesn’t want to work with you anymore is not your fault, and there’s not much you can do about it, but you have to learn how to deal with those challenges.

Be clear about why you’re doing what you’re doing and about what you want to create, but stay flexible in your approach to getting there.

Sometimes, getting to your final destination requires a lot more flexibility and alternative paths than you might’ve wished for, but if you’re lucky, you’ll find a few hidden treasures along the way.

Final thoughts

When I published my first article online back in 2018, I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I also didn’t have huge expectations.

I was a full-time intern, startup founder, student, and avid learner, so I was curious to try something new.

Looking back, having the courage to publish my thoughts online was one of the best things I ever did.

Almost two years after publishing that very first article, I realized that I wanted to write for a living.

Over 500 articles and millions of readers later, I’m grateful that I took the leap and tried something new without knowing where exactly it’d take me.

Want to write online but don’t know where to start? Sign up for my free 5-Day Course and join the wave.