I talk a lot about needing to create lots of content if you want to get ahead in the world of blogging. This is true, and in a lot of ways it always will be true. That being said, you don’t need a ton of content in the grand scheme of things to win. A blog with 500 posts will have a permanent digital footprint and bring in consistent web traffic for years. 500 posts might sound like a lot but think about a regular newspaper. These publications are releasing hundreds and maybe even over a thousand posts every single day. A solo writer can bring in thousands of dollars per month with 500 blog posts, and I think that’s a magical thing. 500 blog posts can be done in 10 years if you write a post every week. Double your rate of work, and it can be done in 5. It just takes consistency and effort on your part. Not a lot of time. Here’s why.
Writing online is a marketing activity
It’s just that you need to 1) have a good way of valuing articles, and 2) you need to have a proper upsell. Writing is a form of communication. When you communicate with others, you impart information and have the ability to be persuasive. Additionally, Google acts as a billboard for your website and brand. Even showing up in the search results adds awareness to your cause. Once you understand that writing = marketing, you can learn how to employ it a cashflow-positive activity.
Sometimes your words are the product itself
This is the case with this blog. In the future, you may find yourself reading this behind a paywall. If you have enough to write about that you can run a consistent publication, aka writing at least one articles per month but like 50-100 articles per year, you should have the self confidence to charge for your work. Put your writing behind a paywall. If you’re active on Social Media or YouTube, you can drive traffic from both your supporters and Google. You can also write books.
Writing online is a very high value marketing activity
This is because writing is hard. There isn’t a lot of competition when it comes to writing online, and there’s even less competition when it comes to mastering it as an activity. Sure, there are a lot of blogs out there, but most of them are inactive. People are overestimating how much traffic most blogs get, and are underestimating how much properly converted traffic is worth. If you have a blog that’s selling a subscription or high value digital product, you could find yourself earning 50 cents per view. A normal number is about 10 cents per view. Your online traffic is extremely valuable, if it’s properly collected and funneled.
The expression “high value” comes from real numbers, not made up numbers
It’s commonly understood that advertising networks tend to pay bloggers about $1-100 per thousand views when it comes to display ads. This can be very lucrative for the bloggers who pull in a lot of traffic, but you have to pulling 20,000 views before you’re even looking at earning a living. I looked at Flippa.com. The top ecommerce sites are bringing in at least $200 per thousand views. I found one that was pulling in $1,000. That’s $1 per view. Writing online gives you the potential to earn that kind of money, because you can link people directly to products. Additionally, if your customers are coming from Google, you will be writing about what they’re thinking about. Targeted traffic is the name of the game when it comes to making money online.
Video content gets more views, but writing resonates more with people
If you take time to read someone’s content, it means you care. You want to know what they think. Writing is personal. The natural corollary to this is probably that most people weren’t meant to be viral writers. Most people were meant to write in order to get their thoughts out and connect with their audience. When someone is reading your work, they’re reading your thoughts. Converting them as a customer is way easier than if they’re watching your video mindlessly. People waste tons of time watching video content. They play it in the background, as a backdrop to life. When you write, you’re expressing thoughts. Your readers learn something, even if the information isn’t useful. Reading is an active pursuit. The people visiting your site are likely engaging their brains to a fairly high degree.
1 post per week = 250 posts in 5 years
You really don’t need to work at a high rate in order to generate a lot of content. There’s no way of knowing how many views your 250 posts will bring in. It could be nothing, it could be a in the hundreds of thousands of pageviews. But you will definitely have a large body of work that gets attention online for years. As was explained above, this attention can be highly lucrative. I explained this in the introductory paragraph, but I wanted to reiterate it. If you put in years of work, then you will find yourself with an impressive catalogue.
You can always freelance
If you can get the right clients, freelance writing is the way to go. People will find you either through your blog, Linkedin, cold email, or a job board and hire you for individual projects. The good thing about this setup is that you know exactly how much money you’re going to make and how much you’re being asked to write. You define your hours clearly. On the other hand, you’re only as valuable as your client base. If that dries up, you’re out of luck.
Overall, if you want to write online and make a part time living, you can. It’s a great way to make money, provided you have a plan for monetization. I personally wouldn’t worry about that until you have 300 articles. That’s when you will have a clear idea of what your blog is about and how much traffic it can bring in. That might seem like a lot but remember you’re running an online publication. It’s a full-time job. If you’re new, you have a massive uphill battle before you make at dent in the universe. It’s definitely still possible, however. You just need to be consistent and follow the proper monetization protocols. There’s a lot on the subject throughout this blog. Hopefully the information I provide can help you succeed.
Thanks for paying attention.
