We all wish we could target the United States when it comes to our blogs. It’s the wealthiest country in the world, functionally speaking, and its people love to consume products and services. They also have a decent amount of free time, so they make for a good audience when it comes to content and content creation. But we can’t all be targeting them. If all bloggers had the privilege of only writing for the USA, the internet would be a very bland and boring place. It already is bland and boring, in the sense that the Americanization of the world has been very detrimental to everybody. You can make money targeting countries outside of the USA. It’s just going to be a longer road to monetization. But it might be worthwhile if you’re young. The world outside of the USA is on the upswing. The USA isn’t and there’s a lot of competition. We may find that 5 years from now the value of a business that targets non-Americans has increased beyond what some might expect. So, if you want to start a blog that doesn’t target the USA, don’t worry. Here’s what you need to understand.
Realize that your RPM is going to be lower
Your RPM is your “revenue per mille”. It’s based on how much you get paid for 1000 views. If you’re mainly targeting overseas, get used to earning overseas rates. Don’t worry, it’s a worthwhile grind in the long run. Controlling the media gives you power. Online written media is a large and underrated industry. Globally, I predict that it will have a slow resurgence. The rise of ChatGPT and the slump in the global economy have left the playing field open. You just need to produce a crapload of content.
Publish to websites like Medium.com and YouTube
If you can publish to websites that pay you for your content, you can take advantage of the USA without targeting them specifically. This is because websites like Medium and YouTube are being propped up by the United States. They make up the bulk of the consumers. If you build an audience on these platforms, you can take advantage of a growing pot of money which includes wealthy countries. This will benefit you even if most people who view your content are poorer. It will also give you a fighting chance at accessing customers in wealthier countries.
Sell a product
Part of the reason why ad rates are lower in poor countries is because there is less money to go around. This is a fact of life that you’ll have to get over, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t make money. Another reason people struggle to make money targeting foreign countries is because there simply aren’t that many people online and shopping online. There’s less data about what they’re buying. Content creation for poor countries is a grind, but if you can target buyers, you circumvent this. Focus on gaining conversions rather than gaining traffic.
Focus on niche, value and interests, rather than geography
If you write about high-value topics, you’re more likely to find people who are willing to pay for your help and expertise. That’s pretty much how it works. If you write about nonsense, you’re going to be dependent on ad revenue and need a large audience. If you know how to make articles go viral, then great. But generally speaking, you’re going to need to pay attention to what you’re writing about if you’re targeting poorer geos. Try to help people solve problems.
Find out where your ideal audience hangs out
If you’re going to write for people online, you need to find out where your audience hangs out. I’ve decided to go broad. I’m targeting Google and Medium right now. Eventually I’ll also be starting a Facebook page. But for now, I’m just creating content. I want to see how much traffic I can drive over the next 8 months while I study. The content for that has already been created. I’ve had good individual results hitting Google and Medium. So now I’m just trying to put the two together. I’ll also get on YouTube and distribute clips on the short video platforms. I’ll probably also start a Facebook page and post Reels, for example. Like it or not, this is the way to get traffic in the modern world. Attack, attack, attack. So basically, find the types of people who your content will resonate with, and get them on board with your stuff. This is actually pretty simple to do if you think it through logically, and understand that with a high RPM from products, you don’t need to have a ton of content. I’ve produced a lot of content, but that’s because I plan on being in this “game” for years to come. I want to build a blog that could theoretically survive off of ad/partner program revenue alone. I’m not paying attention to which countries I target, so I know what I’m talking about. I just try to write good stuff and see if people like it.
Focus on SEO
To the extent that you can. You want to make sure that what you write about gets you traffic. Focus on the important things, like what you write about and the quality of your articles but try to also learn about search. You won’t regret it if you’re able to get a lot of traffic. Remember, attention is money online.
Writing isn’t dead. You just need to put in the work. Most people don’t have the time or energy to do that anymore, and that’s OK. That means those of us who really have something to say and really have something to sell will prevail. It’s pretty much that simple, and I think this is good. Over the long term, those who actually build reputable brands will make the most money. But that’s over the extreme long term. In the meantime, those of us who are starting businesses in emerging markets simply have to hope that things keep improving overseas and work our butts off while being crafty. As I always say, it’s simple, but not easy. At all.
Thanks for paying attention.
