Sweet November, you bet!

Why It’s All About the Headlines if You Want to Make Your First $10,000

And how writing headlines people read helped me in 2022

From $0 to $10,000, that is my story. Yesterday marked the day I made $10,000 on Medium. Yes, on the same day Captain America Chris Evans was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

It took 2 years of writing full-time, the pandemic and the death of my mom.

All of us here will have an origin story the same way as all the superheroes in both DC extended universe and Marvel cinematic universe have theirs.

Mine would be, I was one of my mom’s caregivers for seven years, the pandemic happened, I went back to writing, mom died and I need to start a life without her.

I was 51.

It was on my vision board — to make my first $10,000. I know it is possible to make a living online and believe me, when I say I tried everything, except for OnlyFans.

I wish I’m not that camera shy to do YouTube or TikTok or that my voice doesn’t sound funny that I could do a podcast.

I know, it is just the inner critic I can’t do videos or podcast.

So I chose to be a writer.

Writing for Medium

From just being happy that a few people read my stories, to making $5 a month to pay for the monthly subscription, to making enough that I don’t need to find a job at 51 with the pandemic in full swing.

It was a struggle.

In 2021, Medium gave away bonuses and my stats were starting to pick up. And I was surprised when I received $1,150 in those four months Medium was giving out ‘gifts’ to its writers.

And then some complained, so the rewards stopped. Just teasing.

When I finally made it into the $ 100-a-month club, I thought it will happen month after month — but it didn’t.

By New Year’s Eve, I was sick with COVID.

And while I was fully vaccinated, my fear was brain fog, as it happened to me the first time I got sick with COVID. I believe I’m one of those who have long COVID.

For weeks I can hardly write anything that people would read, and by February 2022 I was ready — to quit quietly.

I don’t need the fanfare of announcing I’m quitting, as some writers have infamously done so. I love that I wasn’t popular as it wasn't part of my plan. All I want is to make it work, and yet it didn’t or so I thought until this happened.

NFT

By February 2022, I made it back to the $ 100-a-month club. But not only I was putting a lot of hours into writing, but $100 also wasn't just enough.

Don’t get me wrong an extra $100 is still $100, money that still tides me over. It would have been Ok if it was a side hustle, but writing wasn’t a side hustle to me at all.

I tried doing NFT art as I heard people were making money from it. Like all the times I thought I failed, I would look for my next thing and NFT was my next thing, or so I thought.

It wasn’t.

Because NFT was so popular on Twitter, I became active on the beleaguered social media platform and there I ‘met’ Hogan Torah. I would never grow tired to share the story that one day he ‘liked’ my tweet.

A few more tweets from him encouraged me to give Medium writing another try, but this time armed with the tip he gave me,

Write better headlines.

He wrote about it, and if you are still struggling here is the story that changed everything for me. I used the Headline Analyzer before but I never understood those numbers until Hogan explained it here.

From the Medium Creators, some tips on How to Write a Headline

Your headline is the first impression of your story. Writing a great headline can be the difference between a handful of reads or orders of magnitude more. It can mean the difference between reliably growing an audience or losing integrity. Your job is to convince the reader to dive into your story, and then you must deliver. “When someone is trying to decide if they want to read a story, you don’t want them asking themselves: What does this headline mean? What is this story about? Why is this relevant? What will I learn?” shares Nadia Rawls, editorial director of growth at Medium. “You want the headline itself to be so clear that the only thing they need to ask themselves is: Am I interested in this story?” — Excerpt, How to Write a Headline

Here I am $10,000 after

It was in April that I started making at least $500, and yes there were months when I wished I could make more. But that is what we need to be mindful of as writers or content creators — we will never know how much we will make month after month.

We will also never know why one story does better than the other. I still have one-cent stories, and I’m ok with them.

I also had one story that had made almost $1,500. As of November 9, 2022, it made $1,491.75.

I would never get paid that much for one video on YouTube. Well, again that is my inner critic talking because I’ll never know as my YouTube channel isn’t monetized.

I know November is the month I need to make it big, it is for Christmas 2022. This year I have become a fur parent to Phi Phi and Crocker, I’m also partnered and together we are a family. It will be our first Christmas and I want to celebrate the holidays extra special for them.

And then this story happened, surprised by the number of readers that not only viewed it but actually read it.

My story on Elon Musk.

Final words

There is a Filipino word I want to share with you, “Padayon” it has many meanings but let me share the words of another Filipino writer —

Padayon — (1) immediately, (2) doing the next thing, (3) eternity.

Note how these three meanings refer to a continuum in time, of starting something, of continuing it, and of eternity or forever. It does challenge the stereotype of Filipino ningas cogon, the term for brushfires which has become a metaphor for our tendency to start doing something but not quite finishing it. Dayon (or dayun) and padayon offer an antidote to that ningas cogon. — Excerpt, Padayon!

I use it all the time. I learned it from someone I admire both as a writer and as a Filipino.

Whatever happens, just move forward, whatever happens.

In the same article, the word could also mean comrades or for two or more people to accomplish something together.

And that is where I want to end my story, that none of us are competitors even if we write the same topic or story. While writing is solitary, being part of a community helps.

Lastly, learn how to write better headlines. And if I made it, why shouldn't you make $10,000 if not more?

Thank you for reading.

Source Padayon!

Here are some of my stories, all complimentary.

👉Why Elon Musk Fired Twitter CEO Who Asked for A Hand Raise Emoji✋ — Free Reading.

👉Back the F*CK Off, Tom Hanks — Free Reading.

👉Claim your offer.

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