Avoid 1 arrogant mindset trap if you want to make real money writing online
I recently had an interesting conversation with another writer about his inability to gain traction and make real money writing online.
He was considering quitting because he felt the platform wasn’t paying him what his writing was worth.
When I took a look at his work, I identified the problem immediately.
He was covering an oversaturated topic with a relatively small audience.
He also wasn’t doing anything to differentiate his writing from the stuff everyone else was doing.
Yet, in his eyes, it was everyone else’s fault that his writing wasn’t taking off.
Why couldn’t they see how good it was?
Major mindset mistakes
This isn’t an uncommon comment on some of my stories.
Unfortunately, the people posting them have fallen into one of the biggest mindset traps there is that prevents people from making significant money online.
They blamed the audience instead of thinking about what they could do to adjust or get better.
This is going to sound harsh, but if you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know I try not to sugar-coat things: your writing is worth what it’s worth.
Take me for example.
I had a long career in sports journalism, and as a result, I’m one of the better sportswriters there is.
When I started out on this platform, I covered a lot of topics, but I had high hopes that this would be the perfect place to share my unique, analytical sports takes.
You know what those stories drew?
Absolute crickets.
I recently tried writing about sports again now that my audience is much bigger just to see what would happen, and again, the sports story was almost universally ignored.
How to start winning
There are many possible reasons you might be struggling to find an audience:
You’re on the wrong platform (there are just some things that don’t work here)
Your market is saturated and it’s hard to stand out
You haven’t niched down to build a small, loyal audience before chasing the big fish
You’re just not a good enough writer — yet! (keep practicing and learning!)
I may be one of the best sportswriters there is, but nobody reads sportswriting on this platform — and I can’t be mad about that! It just is what it is.
Crying about problems without seeking solutions is pointless.
If I want to write about sports and get paid, I have to do that elsewhere. I’ve considered the Substack route for that, but I just don’t have the time right now.
If you’re struggling to establish yourself as a writer, instead of arrogantly blaming your audience, ask yourself:
Is there actually a big enough audience here for my work?
Is it possible that not everyone is interested in the same stuff I am?
Am I willing to write about something else?
What unique experiences do I personally bring to those topics?
How can I use the things I do control — writing quality, images, headlines, SEO, etc. — to increase my odds of success?
What are people more successful than me doing, and how can I put my own spin on it?
One of the best ways I’ve found to gain traction, for example, is to mine my own life for experiences and lessons I’ve learned along the way.
In a world filled with garbage, cookie-cutter content, it’s one of the only ways to stand out.
If you’re just out here ripping Donald Trump or Joe Biden like every other keyboard warrior, or if you’re giving life advice that looks like it was written by AI because it doesn’t integrate any of your real, lived experiences, what exactly are you bringing to the table?
People tell you what they want with their clicks and reads.
Yes, you can share your thoughts on beat poetry or 1960s sci-fi movies if you want, but do that writing for you.
Sometimes I write about sports or the stock market still, but that’s just to have fun and stay fresh. It’s for me.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t write what brings you joy and fulfillment.
But if you want to start making real money, start listening to your audience and adjust your efforts accordingly.
Never, ever forget this: Your audience doesn’t owe you anything.
So what are you doing to give it what IT actually wants?
Publish Every Day project update: Day 27
I’m trying to see if I can make enough money to retire from commuter life within a year by publishing every single day on different platforms and investing my earnings into passive income vehicles.
How much I need to retire: $250 CAD per day
What I earned on Day 27: $56.94 (writing) + $0.92 (YouTube) + $5.14 (dividend income) = $63.00 total
What I’ve published in the past 2 days:
This post on why billionare Mark Cuban says it’s actually good you’re broke
This article revealed the 1 sneakiest way your big money online writing dreams die
This tweet promoting my video on how to generate writing ideas:
My top 5 trending stories:
You can be the best chef in the world but if you serve food to the wrong audience, it won’t work.
1 You have to be good enough to have an audience.
2 You need to attract them.