Jan 23
4 sneaky ways to kickass your journey as an online writer
Keep your eyes on the number. Here’s what I mean.
Over the last few decades, online writing has become an industry of its own. Millions and even zillions of people are pouring their time into it. Hoping someday, this would make them rich. Or, an influencer.
Only a minority of these writers are actually into writing. And I believe…you may be one of them. By writing, I mean putting the most of your effort into it.
The biggest problem, however, for you as this type of writer is, you’re too leaned on the artistic side of the craft that you miss the business part of it. Or to say it more specifically, you miss the technical part.
You need, not a creative strategy, but a streamlined process to kickass your journey as an online writer. So, without further ado, here they are.
1 ) Build for the long term. There are no shortcuts in this game:
Let me tell you how I started my journey as an online writer, and how this translates to the game of “get rich quick” scheme. Originally, I had this idea before. I wasn’t particularly into online writing. Neither was I interested in this thing called writing.
The only reason I started writing online was because this career promised me an outlandish amount of money. And I could make it in 48 days or less. So, at first, I started copywriting.
Ah, I failed. I was building for the short term. I was looking for hacks. I was looking for ways to triple my writing speed, and all this without me even having to spend some time reading or learning about the craft.
Online writing, whether it’s copywriting or content writing, cannot be done if you’re doing it for the short term.
Don’t get fed up by the internet stories and narratives of the overnight millionaires. Learn the craft, work hard, use your brain, and build for the long term. That’s the secret recipe most successful online writers use.
2 ) The only thing that matters is what do you have to say?
I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again: Online writing, as most people would believe it to be, is not so hard. It’s easy. Anyone with an English knowledge as that of an eighth grader or someone who can speak English well can write. Only, if they learn the fundamentals of it.
However, despite having all these, not everyone who writes online is destined to be an incredible online writer.
The thing that makes a content go viral, or an article receiving applause as compared to another article about the same topic, or a writer getting recognized, there’s a transactional value. Saying, you give me your precious time and read this article. So, in return, I’ll give you massive value.
That value could be anything. From solving the reader’s problem to giving them some pretty advice. Or, educating them about a certain topic. That’s usually what matters in the online world, the transactional value.
3 ) Think like a publisher:
There’s a vast difference between the mindset of a person who owns a media company and those who write a piece of article.
If you’ve ever been in the publishing game, or have your articles published in some other blogs than your own, then what you may have noticed is that the thing that guarantees whether your article will be published or not is not your story or its grammatical structure.
These things, after all, are important though. However, the articles that get published in any blog or magazine are usually the ones with proven track records for getting views, readerships and accumulating followers.
Businesses need customers. And, if you’re in the writing or publishing game, your customers are your readers (aside from businesses who advertises on your blog or magazine).
So, this implies, you should be taking care of them. And, the best way to take care of them is by thinking like a publisher. Writing articles, the ones that your readers want to read. The articles that accumulate hundreds and thousands and millions of views.
4 ) Keep your eyes on the number:
One of the best things about online writing is, it’s based on the numbers. You can see how many views you’ve got. Or, how many likes you’ve got. Or, the incredible claps you may have received in your previous article.
If you’re writing online, and you want to have a business around this thing — think of it this way:
Every article you ever publish, are different versions of your product. Those likes, comments and social media shares are your customers’ feedback. So, as you publish articles, pay attention to all these things.
Over time, which one gets the most views? Which one gets the most claps? Which one gets the awesome feedback? And, more importantly, what type of articles do your readers enjoy reading from you the most?
Select a few, and scrutinize it. What’s the tone of that article? What is the article about? Why did it get certain readerships as compared to others? Once you find an answer to all these things, only then you can manufacture it.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. As an online writer, in the context of owning a business, your sole priority is to make a list of articles that perform the best. And, then, mass produce it inside your tiny-little factory.
