Everyone wants the easy money — however only few will actually get it.
How do I know this, because I’m one of the few “Internet Cowboys” who is currently using a laptop as a digital ATM and out of the few hundreds bloggers I know, I can only count on one hand who are actually experiencing a similar outcome.
Plain and simply, blogging is hot right now. Everyone thinks that their voice is incarnate and that “If you build it, they will come.”
Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way, however. While writing is an art, it doesn’t mean that every written work will always have financial value. And saying that brings me to a quick disclaimer that I would like to talk about. If you are a blogger and making money from your written work isn’t a motivation, c’est la vie! I think that’s great. I know that I’ve used writing in the past and still to this day as a means of therapy and self reflection.
For me, I keep that writing in its place and I use the power of the internet, blogging, freelancing and the like to help me further my progress towards financial and intellectual freedom.
But when I found out the secrets and uncovered the opportunities to help me make hundreds of dollars with just a few hours of work output at a time, you better bet your ass I jumped at the opportunity.
Figure 1.1: Small PayPal statement reflecting the ending months of 2018 ($1950)
Don’t believe me?
Just take a look at figure 1.1. There is just a small snap shot of some of the payments that I’ve taken in. The names of the individuals making the payments have been blacked-out due to keeping their privacy.This screenshot of course is outlining the end of 2018.
But If I were you, I would need a bit more evidence to establish your credibility.
And you’re right.
Okay, so here’s a statement from a different account, figure 1.2 (I think it’s advantageous to diversify your accounts) that really outlines the amount in the headline:
Figure 1.2 over $2.5k in payments in just 4 jobs
So I guess in the end, you can call me a liar — I said that I made $2.5k when really I made $4,500.
Oops…
At this point you’re maybe thinking one of two things. Either…
“Shit… this Jon guy is an ASSHOLE! screw him and all of his dealings…”
or
“Shit… this Jon guy is a RESOURCE! I’m listening, tell me more…”
When I was first starting out and I would read articles like this, I always fell into the latter camp. I always had this dream for financial freedom and making money through the power of my mind. I just didn’t know how to get there.
“Writing the perfect paper is a lot like a military operation. It takes discipline, foresight, research, strategy, and, if done right, ends in total victory.”
— Ryan Holiday
So now after finding out “how the sausage is made” I want to return the favor to the few people out there who are capable and willing to put in the hard work that will get you to a place where you can make thousands of dollars with just a few hours of work.
Some of the principles I outline here are from 30,000 feet. These points are high-level, almost mindset pieces to the puzzle. They may be lofty and general, but I believe they’re important. Other principle are technical, they are specific and can be boring, but again, necessary.
So let’s get into it…
Principle Number 1: Write everyday
“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”
— Steven Pressfield
In pretty much every single article I’ve written about writing, blogging and making money online I’ve noted having the need for writing everyday.
Why is this important? Well I believe it’s important because it instills a business like discipline: you need to “show up” to the office everyday. It also helps with the craft of writing and getting better in the art.
It also helps you see what you’re capable in terms of building a body of work. On average, a published book will be 55,000 words. That’s just over 200 pages. If you were to write just 250 words a day (which if you’re anything of a writer, you know is really nothing) you can have a finished first draft in as little as 7 months (220 days).
Now imagine how many articles you would have…
And you need articles to leverage your content for a financial reward.
But in order to get that financial reward, you need to get your content in front of people.
Which brings me to the next principle.
Principle Number 2: Put your writing in front of an audience who is looking for it
No one is going to know you are a writer and an expert in a given field if you don’t put that expertise in front of the eyes that might pay you for it.
Thankfully, in today’s marketplace, there are utilities that you can use in order to get the content in front of the eyes that are looking for it.
If you already have a blog and are hosting your site, kudos. You probably know, however how hard it is to get your content in front of an audience. If you don’t, it’s hard as hell.
By utilizing tools like Medium and Quora you are able to get your content to the people who are looking for it.
If you’re scared to publish your content for millions of eyes to see, I assure you that I was as well and it gets easier with time. Furthermore, people are looking for your unique voice and you are doing them a disservice by keeping the content hidden.
When you publish your content, you let the world know your intent. You start to introduce yourself to the universe and show people what type of value you will be in the marketplace.
And when those people start to see what they’re looking for, everything begins to change…
Principle Number 3: Strategize your content
This principle is where it starts to get kind of heady.
Now in the nature of article writing, I can only go so far in depth here without turning this into a comprehensive marketing, blogging, freelancing and entrepreneurial treatise. So, in that vein, the link below will help you segment into different areas of exploration:
But onward to the principles we can go over in this article. The strategies involved are going to over a variety of ways to actualize a financial return on your writing efforts:
- 3.1: Financial Blogging Strategies
- 3.2: Financial Freelancing Strategies
- 3.3: Financial eCommerce Strategies
3.1: Financial Blogging Strategies
My favorite type of financial reward I’ve experienced.
Why? Because I feel it is the most akin to my own personal creativity. With blogging, you are able to speak true to what’s in your soul and combine that with what an audience is looking for.
Do you like cooking and writing about it? An audience does too and is willing to pay you to teach them the latest recipies.
Do you like trading and financial investments? An audience does too and is willing to pay you to learn how you’ve made your money.
Do you like traveling? An audience does too and is willing to pay you to learn how you’ve done it so successfully.
So the first piece of strategy here is to identify the meeting point between what you love to write about and what is a profitable & popular topic.
For instance, the traveling niche; it is both popular and profitable.
What about bird watching? Bird watching is for sure popular — everyone has heard about it. Is it profitable, however? I don’t know definitively, but I highly doubt it.
To make it easier for you, I’ve made a list of niches that are both popular and profitable. This isn’t the definitive list, however is outlines the biggest niches that can help you start making a financial return as soon as possible:
1. How to make money
2. Personal finance
3. Health and fitness
4. Food
5. Beauty & Fashion
6. Lifestyle
7. Personal Development/growth
So consider which of the listed niches you are drawn to with a personal interest. You need to have a personal interest for you are going to be writing about it day-in and day-out for months if not years!
Once you’ve decided on a niche that you can see yourself researching and writing about, you are already unlocking doors to create revenue streams.
These revenue streams can include a number of things including:
- Selling online courses
- Affiliate partnerships
- Ebook sales
- Physical product sales
- Membership programs
- And more…
Once you start to strategize your writing, you open yourself up to establishing further credibility with businesses that will pay you for your newly acquired skillset.
Let me say that again…
You will open yourself up to businesses paying you for your skills.
In order to examine what that means, let’s look at the next principle…
Principle Number 4: Establish yourself as a professional
Photo by Hammonds
So at this point, you’ve created a body of work within a specific niche.
In doing so, you have slowly begun to establish yourself as a leader and professional within that industry.
The best part about that, there are businesses that are looking for content writers within those industries. Better yet, they will pay you hundreds of dollars to write articles that outline certain themes within the industry.
According to Drum.com content marketing is projected to grow from a total industry valuation of just $195.58 billion in 2016 to $412.88 billion by 2021 — an increase of over $217 billion over that span.
The time is ripe to capitalize on this opportunity. According to more research, if you are an expert and educated in the field you are freelance/ghostwriting for, you should experience at least $30–$75 and hour for your work.
Now at first, that doesn’t seem like all that much but consider if you did just 4 hours of work a week on the mid-end of that spectrum.
That’s an extra $200 for 4 hours of work!
Not bad for a few hours…
I remember my first full-time job out of college, I was making $500 a week (that’s after 40 hours).
So if you don’t open yourself up to this opportunity, you are doing both yourself as well as companies who are begging for your skillset a disservice.
“Become so financially secure that you forget it’s payday”
There is an unbelievably opportunity right now to make money through various channels in only a few hours a day.
The principles laid out here are only the tip of the iceberg in how to get there. These principles are fro a bird’s eye view. They are here to act as a glimpse into what is possible — because it is possible.
And that’s what should be celebrated.
Like I stated at the beginning of this piece, everyone want’s it — only a few are going to be able to achieve it.
That’s not due to some genetic difference in people.
It’s not due to being the product of a head start in life.
It’s not due to how smart and well-educated you are.
It has everything to do with the amount of work you are willing to put into this pursuit.
So the only question I have left for you is this…
“With this invitation are you willing to put in the work? Are you willing to do what others aren’t so you can have what others won’t?”
If so then let your journey begin. And let it be known that this journey is bigger than you. The gifts that you’re going to give the world are bigger than you.
And the world needs those gifts now more than ever.
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