Business and Entrepreneurship
Many freelance writers, indie authors, and bloggers struggle to increase their income in this economic climate. For example, Medium-ing is not enough to triple your passive income even if you are a top writer.
Writing exclusively for Medium can be sufficient for a few superstars; however, most of us need different platforms, tools, and techniques to increase income.
If your goal is to triple your income and have a sustained passive income stream, you need to consider different approaches.
In this article, I introduce essential and proven ways with reasons and examples for your consideration. Many successful writers and bloggers use these tools and techniques. They are practical and doable by all writers.
However, they require commitment with minimal investment. And can be scaled up with further investment. More importantly, you need to act pragmatically and produce with excellence, refraining from perfection.
Diversification
The most essential and fundamental content monetization method is diversification. But, of course, this principle applies to other investment streams. For example, diversifying investments in real estate, stock market, interest, and cash is highly recommended by financial advisors.
To increase your income streams, you need to diversify your content and publish your articles on multiple platforms.
I introduced three important platforms in this article. They are Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal Media. But, of course, there are several other platforms too.
You can search and find many sites on the Internet, but there are specialized portals bringing all writing freelance jobs to a single place. For example, I find exciting writing assignments especially academic and business writing, from this portal called WritingPaychecks. I promote this site as this membership site with one-time only payment is up to date, and new service providers are added regularly. Some of my proteges found customers through it.
Content Repurposing
Diversification relates to repurposing. You can diversify your content to be published on multiple platforms.
However, you can also repurpose your content in different formats. For example, you can convert your articles to e-books, training materials, podcasts, and videos.
For example, you can compile your articles on a specific topic, arrange them logically and turn them into manuscripts. I created a publication to help writers to achieve this goal. In addition, repurposing books as articles is another goal of this publication. It is called ILLUMINATION Book Chapters on Medium.
Here is an article titled "How To Create A 30,000 Words E-book In A Month". This article can guide you in compiling your articles as manuscripts and publish as e-books.
Repurposing helps you scale your writing business.
Personal Writing Platform
Every writer needs a well-functioning platform. Your platform aggregates content like books and articles from all other platforms, hosts your blogs, and has landing zones for your mailing list and your newsletters.
Starting a basic site like NameCheap and extending it to an e-commerce site like WordPress can be significant.
You can also monetize your site with ads which can bring extra income to your site. For example, Google ads and WordPress ads are popular for websites.
Automation
You can automate your workflow, marketing funnel, and your social media. For example, I automate my tweets, Facebook posts, and LinkedIn posts. I use tools like dlvr and IFTTT.
Some media influencers use link automation tools such as Magic Submitter to take social media posts to the next level.
I plan to post an article on how to automate content distribution using various tools, including Flipboard, which I use for my publications (e.g., SYNERGY) and my content on other platforms, such as Vocal Media and News Break.
Mailing Lists and Newsletters
Mailing lists and newsletters are essential tools for freelance writers, indie authors, and bloggers.
Platforms may change; hence writers, authors, and bloggers need to take ownership of their readers. The best way is to develop a mailing list and promote your work via newsletters.
I discussed the importance of mailing lists and newsletters in this article. It will be great to collaborate with other writers as recommended in this story. We have a channel in our Slack workspace for writers to share their details and support each other.
Monetizing Special Content
Mailing lists and newsletters are excellent tools to monetize your unique content. Many readers are interested in specialized content in niche areas.
Accomplished writers share such content using subscription services such as Substack, Patreon, Ko-Fi, and Revue. I linked my sample pages for information only, as I do not monetize my sites at this stage. However, some of my regular readers recommend that I monetize my special content, especially on the topic of digital marketing strategy.
Some writers provide 70% of content free and 30% paid. This arrangement helps them to build their mailing lists and gain new paid subscribers.
You can also monetize your content on your own websites. I will share my experience on this in a different article in detail.
Join Writer Collaboration Sites and Tools
External collaboration sites create a fallback position for writers and bloggers. They are excellent tools to grow by networking and staying in touch with the members.
For example, some friends lost their accounts on some online platforms, but we maintained connections via Slack groups and my blogs. They kept their sanity in those difficult times by receiving support from the writing and reading community.
You can also promote your content on these sites. For example, I created five promotional channels on the ILLUMINATION Slack workspace for writers to promote their products and services.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an effective way for writers to earn passive income.
In addition, your articles and blogs can generate extra income, especially if you write on niche topics and promote relevant products that you have experience with.
You can use your website as an income generator. Here is a sample website that I do a proof of concept for digital affiliate marketing as a case study. I plan to post a detailed article on creating an automated website like this.
I introduced affiliate marketing in several articles on various platforms. I also shared chapters of my recent book titled The Power of Digital Affiliate Marketing for Authors on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters on Medium.
Delegation and Co-Creation
As a writer, your main goal is to produce content. However, a writing business requires undertaking many other activities. Some of them can be tedious and time-consuming.
For example, not many writers want to deal with accounting, marketing, negotiating, and selling. You can delegate these activities to others who can perform them for you at an affordable cost.
Your time is the most valuable asset. Delegation can save you time, keep you motivated for the things you are good at, and help you become more productive.
You can also co-create with other writers. This can help you tap into new customers and keep you motivated with the spirit of collaboration.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
I left this point to the end as previous points require you to think like an entrepreneur. This is a critical skill to increase income and create passive income streams.
Not many creators are entrepreneurs, unfortunately. However, there is no reason for an artist not to become an entrepreneur and think and act like an entrepreneur. I know some artists undertaking MBA education and distinguishing themselves from the crowd.
And there is no shame in becoming an entrepreneur. They are the ones who run this world. Entrepreneurs create new products and services using their leadership skills.
Let's face it: in this economic climate, making money from your writing requires you to take on the challenge of acting as an entrepreneur. Be proud of becoming an entrepreneur. Only small thinkers can criticize you, but you don't need their approval for your success.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Freelance writers, indie authors, and bloggers need to think differently to stay competitive in this economic climate.
Unless they take personal responsibility, work hard, and are smart, they will remain unable to meet their financial goals.
Using practical approaches, new tools, and innovative techniques is critical for growth. Smart diversification, effective repurposing, and automated distributions can take you ahead of the game.
The key to tripling income is scaling your business. So, learning to delegate and saving time for high-impact work is crucial.
An entrepreneurial mindset is essential.
I wish you all the best in your entrepreneurial journey. As a creator, you deserve good compensation. Be proud and enjoy your success!
Thank you for reading my perspectives.
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