Hi Reader,
There are a million and one ways to build an online writing business. And while there isn't a single "best" way or one-size-fits-all solution, there are a few principles you should keep in mind when you're launching one.
This newsletter is about those very foundational basics. The things you absolutely need to establish before you're likely to earn any money from your online writing.
The Framework
The structure of an online writing business is theoretically simple. You need:
- An audience, and
- A monetization mechanism.
It's really that straightforward. You need people who are paying attention to you and you need a way to convert that attention into revenue.
Let's talk about #1 on the list first.
Step #1: Attracting An Audience
Back in the day, it wasn't unusual for people who wanted to get their writing out into the world to slap together a self-hosted blog and start posting. Those days are mostly done.
Yes, if you want to you can create website and start a blog on Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, etc. And you can write to your heart's content. The problem you're going to encounter is one of distribution. It's likely that very few people will see your writing.
It's tough to rank on Google with a new blog, regardless of how far you niche down or how careful and skilled you are with search engine optimization (SEO).
Therefore, most of you will rely on a third-party platform to draw attention to your work. LinkedIn. Facebook. Medium. Substack. Twitter/X.
And while there are a ton of problems that go hand-in-hand with writing on a platform owned by some random company, these platforms offer something that most of us can't achieve by ourselves: reach.
Platforms have built-in audiences that number in the millions, or even billions.
You'll have to compete with hundreds of thousands of other writers. And you'll be subject to the whims of a disembodied algorithm. But, with some skill, talent, hard work, and luck, people will see your writing and begin to pay attention to it.
Step #1.5: Diverting Your Audience (Optional)
Many writers and creators take the intermediate step of trying to sink their hooks deeper into their audience members by diverting them off the platform(s) they're using to attract attention. The most common strategy is to capture emails and add people to a mailing list. Alternatively, some writers encourage the readers they encounter on a platform to follow their self-hosted blogs.
The point of this is to exert some amount of control over our audiences.
For example, I use Medium to attract most of my attention. And in most of my Medium stories, I encourage readers to sign up to the mailing list you're reading now. That way, I have direct access to your email inbox and, should the Medium algorithm change or the platform shut down entirely, I'd still have access to an audience that I know is interested in my work. I'm no longer entirely at Medium's mercy.
Step #2: Monetizing Your Audience
Once you've built an audience willing to pay attention to you, you can try to monetize that audience. Notice that I say you "can try." There's no guarantee that your audience will be amenable to monetization. There's no guarantee that your attempts to extract revenue from your audience won't actually chase them away.
In my limited experience, audiences don't like to be treated like money batteries. That's why I don't try to earn revenue from the people who read this newsletter. (I figure you're sick of being sold to everywhere you go and I try to offer a brief respite from that.)
There are countless mechanisms for monetizing an audience. You can offer client services directly to your audience, like coaching, mentoring, consulting, or copy or content writing. You can include affiliate links in your published work. You can seek out sponsorships and advertise for other service providers.
Sometimes platforms will include built-in monetization methods. Medium, for example, employs its Partner Program and pays out a portion of its revenue to writers based (largely) on how widely read our stories are.
And, without putting too fine a point on it, that's basically it.
Tips and Tricks
I've also got a few random pieces of advice for those of you interested in exploring the creation of an online writing business:
- Start with a single platform: Many writers are tempted to start creating on multiple platforms at the outset. This is often a mistake. It can get overwhelming and confusing very quickly. Instead, focus on one platform and do your best to build an audience there first. Choose one with a format that's well-suited to the content and shape of your writing (ex. LinkedIn for business content, Substack for newsletters, Medium for long-form articles, Twitter/X for short-form prose, etc.)
- Build your audience before monetizing: Remember to build your audience before doing anything else. Don't worry about monetization until you've established that there exists a market of interested readers for your writing. None of this monetization stuff matters if you can't find and retain an audience.
- Respect your readers: Readers know when they're being treated as disposable consumers you're just waiting to monetize. While there's nothing wrong with trying to earn a living with your writing, there is something wrong with exploiting your audience and selling them low-quality or overpriced products and services. Both your writing and your monetized services should be something you're proud to offer your audience and not a way to make a quick buck.
Signing off
Well, that's all for this week. Hopefully I've simplified the sometimes confusing world of online writing for you a little bit. It's really not that complicated once you get down to first principles. Find your audience and offer them a service worth buying. That's it, that's all.
One last thing: If you're not already following me on Medium and LinkedIn, I'd really appreciate it if you clicked on the links below and followed. It helps me tremendously.
Until next time!
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