I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
You need to get bored to be successful (online)
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Hey Reader, Last week, I wrote about how I'm using some of MrBeast's most effective strategies to grow my business. Today, I'm thrilled to share that thousands of readers have loved the piece and that it has already generated over $1,000 through Medium's Partner Program: If you're not familiar with Medium, the Partner Program, and how to easily monetize your writing, take a look at this brilliant video by my friend Zulie Rane. In a nutshell, you make money on Medium if readers discover and like your stories. Users pay a small subscription fee to be able to read on the platform, and that fee turns into your payment when they engage with your work. Readers are on the platform, paying money and attention to discover new writers and great stories. So if you enjoy writing or have an interesting message to share, Medium might be the perfect platform to get started and reach millions of readers. I recently hopped on an interview to share how (and why) even brand-new writers can grow an audience on Medium:
😴 Boring is Good Most people fail to grow an audience and make a significant income online because they're impatient. I've been writing online for over five years, and I constantly meet writers who tell me they've given up on Medium because "it doesn't work anymore." In reality, they're just looking for an excuse not to do the work. 😅 The truth is, your first few pieces might barely make enough to buy a cup of coffee. ☕️ If you're expecting to become rich overnight, writing online is the wrong path, and Medium is the wrong platform. But if you're excited to share your ideas, knowledge, and passion with the world, you might fall in love with the journey and make a decent (side) income. Imagine making an extra $500, $1,000, or $2,000 while doing something you genuinely love and connecting with brilliant people from all over the world. 🌍🌎🌏 That's what opportunities and platforms like Medium are all about. It's not about quickly making money. It's about allowing you to do what you love and build a community of like-minded thinkers and readers. I recently interviewed Mike Blankenship, the founder and writer of The Tonic for my private membership, and one of the brilliant messages he shared is that boring is good. Most people fail to build an audience because they get bored too quickly. They want to write about a dozen different topics and constantly try new platforms. 😵💫 The truth is, you don't get any better if you always change your strategy and approach. You become a great writer by doing the same thing over and over and over again. My writing is worth reading because I published over 600 articles on Medium, not because I tried ten different platforms. I built an audience of over 70,000 readers because I kept showing up with the same messages, not because I wrote about new, trending topics all the time. We all love familiarity and being able to trust our favorite writers and creators by knowing that their work is worth our time. To quote Mike, you'll have the most fun when you're making money, and you'll only make money if you're good at what you do. To be completely fair, there are a gazillion other reasons why people fail to build an audience and make money online. One of them is that they don't know what they want. They don't have clear goals or a specific vision. If that's you, the following quote by Derek Sivers might be as inspiring to you as it was to me: “Please don’t think you need a huge vision.
Just stay focused on helping people today.”
Building a successful content/writing business is rarely about doing things perfectly or knowing exactly what every step of the way will look like. It's about helping people. The internet is loud and crowded. It's hard to know who we can trust and who's selling false promises. There's an abundance of content, but most of it is useless and repetitive. If you can focus on genuinely helping people for long enough, you'll be one of the few to stand out. ❤️ Big love from my screen to yours, 👋 Want more?
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Write • Build • Scale with Sinem Günel
I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
Hey Reader, I'm on vacation right now, but as a ✨ responsible creator, ✨ I typed this email when I was at home, so all I had to do was plug in this stunning photo and press send: As we've already made it through almost half of European summer, I want to share an idea that I've been talking about for years: Summer is the perfect time to tap into content creation, grow your audience, and test new ideas. Most people are lazy and busy during summer. They have to take care of their kids, are on...
Hey Reader, I've worked with thousands of writers over the past five years, and even though every writer's journey is different, many of us face the same struggles. One of them is idea generation. Even experienced writers can sometimes feel stuck in a creative rut and experience writer's block. Click here for a new perspective on how to constantly come up with great content ideas. 🖍️ I'm in week #2 of publishing Notes on Substack, and my excitement is still high! After nearly a decade of...
Hey Reader, most of the emails I send you don't have a clear theme or topic, but today is different. This week, I want to encourage you to allow yourself to show up as your authentic self. When we start to publish our work online, we're usually afraid of being judged. And to minimize the risk of being judged, we pretend to be someone we're not. We put on a mask to be professional, smart, or cool. But you know? The easiest way to stand out and share your message with the world is by being you:...