💸 The 5 Revenue Streams Every Writer Should Build For Themselves 💸
Today I have ~9 different revenue streams for myself, but these 5 are the big ones that have fueled my career for the past 5 years (and allowed me to quit my 9-5 & go all-in on writing) 👇🧵
1/ Writing as a service
This is without question the easiest revenue stream to build, and where most writers start.
The first big jump in my income as a writer came from ghostwriting. Once you learn how to provide writing as a service (and get paid $$), you're off to the races
2/ Write books/guides/etc.
My 2nd paid product online was a $30 "How To Become A Top Writer On Quora" course. My 1st was a eBook series called "Skinny to Shredded."
Create assets that can be sold infinitely at scale. Small numbers ($$$) add up over time.
3/ Teach/train other writers
Once you learn how to successfully execute any aspect of writing and publishing, you now have a skill worth ($$) sharing.
You can work 1:1 w/ people and charge per hour. Work 1:X and charge per group. Or train entire teams/companies.
4/ Leverage your writing talents to build a business
I turned my skills ghostwriting into a ghostwriting agency. Other writers use their talents to build product companies w/ all-star content marketing or sales materials.
Writing becomes your "unfair advantage."
5/ Consult/advise companies on their writing
And finally, once you've "proven" yourself as a writer, it's very easy to lend out your domain expertise to others.
You can consult startups on their messaging. You can consult big companies on writing & distribution. Etc.
In conclusion: there are so many ways to monetize yourself as a writer online.
Other streams of revenue include:
- Writing on Medium
- Paid newsletters
- Getting paid to speak about writing/niche
- Ads on your blog (hate this one, but it exists)
- Affiliate links
If you want more like the above, subscribe to my M-F newsletter ✍️🔥📈💸🚀
[THREAD] How To Successfully Launch A Startup, Inverted
1/ Mention the incumbent in all of your marketing materials. That way, everyone knows you’re 2nd best.
2/ Pick a category someone else already owns. It’s best to use marketing dollars trying to convince people to stop liking something they already like.
3/ Spend top dollar on branding. When customers (or investors) are judging your product, utility & clarity of the problem it solves is irrelevant. Humans are monkeys. If it’s shiny, people will want it.
[THREAD] How To Find A Mentor (No Matter What Industry You're In)
I have attracted dozens of mentors since I was a teenager. As I've gotten older, I've realized these relationships were the secret to my growth.
Here's how to find mentors of your own 👇👇👇
1/ Don't obsess over finding The Expert.
This is the BIG mistake anyone looking for someone to "mentor them" makes.
All you need is to find someone who knows the very-next-thing you want to learn. Technically, anyone "a little bit further along" can be your mentor.
2/ Start to see everyone around you as A Mentor
- Your co-worker with 1-2 yrs more experience is a mentor
- Your family friend who is always telling "war stories" is a mentor
- Your neighbor, cousin, aunt, uncle who has done what you're trying to do, can all be mentors
Hemingway vs. Faulkner: The Little-Known Rivalry Between 2 Of America's Most Famous Writers
🧵✍️👇
1/ If you thought the 2pac vs Biggie feud in the 90s was competitive, let me tell you the story of Ernest Hemingway versus William Faulkner.
Hemingway grew up in the Midwest, and shortly after high school entered WW1. This inspired his 1st novel, A Farewell to Arms (1929).
2/ Faulkner meanwhile grew up in Mississippi in an educated household. His mother (and Gma) were painters & photographers, and are credited with informing Faulkner's later visual-heavy writing style.
He did not enter the war, and instead attended the University of Mississippi.
“Drop-in” audio is what’s emerging, not necessarily Clubhouse as a product. Don’t get sucked into playing a “better-faster-smarter-cheaper game.”
Be Coke, and never acknowledge Pepsi.
2/ Allow Discovery of Drop-in audio mid speaker.
Twitter’s unfair advantage here is it’s massive fast-moving community. Being able to discover people speaking (literally mid-sentence), hold down, listen to preview, and decide whether or not to stay/keep listening is powerful.
[THREAD]: Here are 10 (painful) lessons I've learned writing 3,000+ articles on the internet over the past 7 years.
On writing advice, growth hacks, going viral, and feeling fulfilled in the process 👇
1/ There is only 1 secret to online writing.
Volume wins.
There isn't a writing platform on the internet where this ISN'T the case. Social platforms. Major publications. Every growth period of my writing career happened during months/years of consistent volume.
Period.
2/ Growth hacks are overrated.
In my early 20s, I spent a LOT of time reading digital marketing blogs about how to get 50% more views here, or 20% more subscribers there.
A lot of it is mental masturbation.
You're far better off just consistently creating new content.