All the recession and inflation talk is a real drainer.
Most of the solutions are out of your control. So the one smart thing you can do is switch off the news, open your mind, and learn a few ways others are adding second and third online income streams.
What have you got to lose? Nothing.
Here are the simple strategies writers are using to make more money online. Get inspired and take action on them.
Become a ghost
Freelance writing has lost some of its value.
The desire for people to pay you for blog posts that go on their website that many people will never read is fading. Makes sense.
You can now become a ghostwriter instead. The difference is a ghostwriter creates social media content for a customer. They use the customer’s name when they publish it, not their own. Simple.
Several of my creator friends are making $10k-$25k a month with this one strategy. It’s not hard. Anyone can do it. Why not you?
Here are the steps:
- Publish content online. It’ll attract clients.
- Find one client. Undercharge.
- Do a good job. Get a testimonial and multiple referrals from them.
- Raise prices as you get more clients, then work less.
This system is the automated way to build an online business. It can be applied to more than ghostwriting.
Turn content into NFTs and sell it
Whenever someone attacks Web3 their IQ automatically drops by 25%.
It shows a complete lack of open-mindedness.
NFTs are part of the new Web3 world. Like it or not, the internet is changing. The next iteration is here and looks like this:
- Get paid in real-time
- No more excessive middlemen Visa/Mastercard fees
- Users own tech companies, not shareholders
- Customers disappear and get replaced with communities
- Internet inequality is gone. Anyone with a phone can use Web3 without ISP blocks, Swift discrimination, or any limitations in functionality
NFTs are one part of Web3.
They make content portable and give creators ownership of their work which is verifiable by anyone on the blockchain network.
Mirror XYZ is the first Web3 platform to enable content creators to convert their work into an NFT and easily sell it. Royalties can get paid. Fans can invest. Money can be earned long after the content is sold for the first time.
NFTs are slowly becoming one of the fastest ways creators earn money online. Learn to earn.
A different way to think about online audiences
Zuckerberg made us fall in love with useless ‘likes.’
Building followers is mostly useless. But an online audience can be helpful when you turn followers into email subscribers. Then you turn subscribers into paid members of a community you create.
Paid communities save members’ time. They cut to the chase and curate content/ideas/people for them. When we save time we gladly pay the person giving us back hours in the day.
The hidden feature of a community that’s often overlooked is you can then promote products or services to that community. They can be ones you create or ones other people create that you affiliate for 15%-50% on their behalf.
A powerful upgrade to online writing
Many of us share our thoughts online. Those thoughts often fit into the non-fiction category.
Non-fiction writing can easily become an online course. No-code apps such as Teachable or Maven can help you do it.
Create once, sell infinite times.
The most obvious paid writing opportunity most overlook
There are major publications everywhere such as Forbes.
I’m sure you’ve read them. Well, they source content for free … but they also pay for content.
- Make a list of your favorite publications.
- Go on LinkedIn. Find the gatekeepers based on job title.
- Read their publication.
- Directly pitch work that fits nicely with the content you’ve already read on their site (that they’ve published).
Think about readers in this transformative way
Readers read your content online. Nice. What happens next?
They have problems. So instead of going “hey, here’s my credit card number, what product can you sell me?” they instead DM or email you with a question.
Why?
Readers will often be two steps behind you in knowledge when it comes to the topics you write about.
Rather than slap a reader in the face with a paywall, answer their questions. Start a genuine conversation. That reader can easily become a coaching client. Once you answer a few of their questions simply drop this line:
“If you want to go deep with this problem I have a business that can help.”
That’s it. That one line signals that your time isn’t infinitely free and there’s an option to pay you. No qualifications are needed either.
Here’s my coaching process you can steal:
- Do 1–1 hour long calls
- Ask for payment before via Stripe
- Set goals for the client
- Get them results
- Ask for referrals to grow your business
Reprogram your mind to think about newsletters in this way
Free content is junk.
It’s a toxic wasteland full of End-of-America-style Fox News orgies. Paid newsletters are a better option. Most of my content diet comes via my email inbox now, not toxic newsfeed algorithms.
There are two main ways to make money from a newsletter:
1. Sell subscriptions
50% of your newsletter content is free. 50% of it goes behind the paywall.
Grow your newsletter audience by writing tweet threads and making the last tweet a link to your paid newsletter. Some will buy. Some will stay free.
2. Place ads in the email body
We hate ads.
But when the ad is from a company or creator we like and is high quality, we don’t mind it at all.
You can keep a newsletter free and simply source ads from companies you respect by, you guessed it, finding the right ad contacts on LinkedIn and pitching them. There are even ad marketplaces that will find ads for your newsletter and set it all up.
Final Thought
These are a few ways to make money online in 2022.
Remember: If you have a job, send emails/DMs, make PowerPoints or are connected to the internet, then you already create content and make money online. Congrats. You pre-qualify. Now go do more of it.
