About a decade ago, I used to read random stories talking about how young people were able to earn over $100k/ month simply by posting on Twitter. Back in the day, all you needed to do was post an affiliate link, and watch the clicks roll in. People were less anxious about web content, and they were more likely to make purchases based on what they saw online. This isn’t because people have gotten any less gullible. It’s because the world of social media has become infinitely more competitive than in the past. Everyone in the world wants to make a living on social media. I think this is in part because people want to be famous, but I also believe that it’s because making money with social media seems like an easy way to find freedom. It is and it isn’t. Social media and the internet allow you the opportunity to be in control of your income.
Start a blog
It’s probably going to take you a while to make money online in a sustainable manner. Sure, it’s possible to get either long or short form video content right on the first try. You could be printing six figures within 5 weeks. But this is so unlikely. Most people will need a lot of trial and error to make their first $1,000 online, much less earn enough money to make a good living. Internet geniuses exist, but they are very smart and extremely self motivated. They likely didn’t need a set of step by step instructions in order to succeed. Also, the odds that they have developed other skills through work that they don’t consider to be “real work” are high. It’s easy to win when you’re immersed in what you’re passionate about.
Twitter is an awesome platform. The ability to post a variety of media types, while responding to and resharing different media types is really cool and makes for a really engaging platform. Unfortunately Twitter is filled with bots. It also isn’t a high RPM platform. Twitter pays out less that 1 cent per thousand views. With a blog, you can earn large amounts of money per view, and you can also write long articles that allow you to fully flesh out your thoughts.
Figure out a long form video content strategy, hopefully with a livestream element
Depending on what you want to sell, long form video content may or may not help you build trust with your audience. If you can come up with a daily, weekly, or monthly “show” that your audience can tune into, you’ll be earning extra money in two or three different ways. Worst case scenario, you can collect some ad revenue from your YouTube Channel. You’ll be getting tips from your Livestream viewers. Instagram Reels and TikTok also pay out a little bit of money. Clipping a live stream is one of the most effective ways to earn revenue from your content. You’re getting money, even if you aren’t able to sell any products.
Most of the traffic on the web comes from Google, Facebook, or YouTube. This means that outside of running a group, page or other community, you’re going to want to focus on writing articles and making videos. Twitter might be lucrative in the future, but it’s highly unlikely, especially not when compared to blogs.
