I Made $500,000+ by Writing on the Internet — Here Are 50 Lessons I Wish I Had Learned Sooner
On creativity, reader psychology, mindset, and much more in ten minutes
If you had told me I'd end up making money by typing words on my computer a few years ago, I would've laughed—a lot. Yet, here I am — having published more than 600 articles on the internet, making a living by writing online and teaching others how to do the same.
That's the beauty of life: It's unpredictable. I never thought I was a great writer (I still don't), and I've never been particularly creative. I studied business administration and quit in my final year because I wanted to do my own thing.
Writing was one of many side hustles I tried, but the only one I really liked. I loved how independent I was. I loved that I could write anywhere, at any time of the day, let my thoughts flow, and share my ideas with people from all corners of the globe.
If I had to start all over, I'd give myself a little notebook with these 50 lessons to keep in mind. I will summarize them under seven headings to make it easy for you.
1 — On Getting Started
In the beginning, your writing won't be good. As a new writer, you'll have lots to learn, but that's okay. You can experience quick progress if you're dedicated and consistent. Just don't expect your work to be amazing right away. Writing is hard, and learning takes time.
Octavia E. Butler says, “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually, you get better at it.”
As a new writer, be mindful of anything you read. Why did you click on a headline? Why do you (dis)like a sentence? Dissecting other people's work is a great way to learn what you want to sound like. You'll discover your own voice and style by analyzing others.
You don't have to feel like a "real writer" to start writing. Most of us feel like imposters most of the time. You're a writer when you write. Ignore labels. Just do what you want to do. The results will follow if you do it for long enough.
Ask yourself these questions to find out what you should write about:
What do you talk about on a Saturday night?
What are you excited, angry, upset, or inspired about?
What's something you find easy that others find difficult?
2 — On Consistency
Consistency will beat luck any time of the day. As a new writer, you'll need lots of reps to improve your writing, sharpen your ideas, and attract an audience. Every piece you publish is a shot you take. The more shots you take, the faster you'll see results.
Being consistent is easiest when it feels right. Find out when and where you create your best work, and stick to a writing schedule that allows you to consistently do your best work.
You might fail to be consistent sometimes, even if you have a perfect schedule mapped out. What matters is that you can get back up and start again.
3 — On Improving Your Writing
Great writing = Great ideas + Great editing. Building an audience and growing a digital writing business is mostly about clearly articulating your ideas and relentlessly editing your work to be clean, clear, and compelling.
Learn from those you want to imitate. Don’t pay someone to teach you if their strategies and approaches don’t align with your desires. If someone publishes lots of content daily, they’ll likely teach you how to rely on quantity over quality. Don’t follow their advice if that’s not what you want to do. Look for other mentors who are growing their audiences in different ways.
Put important words at the beginning or end of your sentences. This is particularly important for headlines because we subconsciously pay more attention to the first and last words of a sentence.
Creating value is only half of the battle. Growing your audience is about emotions and stories just as much as it is about value. You can “create value” within seconds by using tools like ChatGPT. But you can’t replicate human connection, emotions, and personal stories.
Writing is a lonely job. Connect with peers who are excited to support you.
Don’t publish your writing without reading it out loud. If something sounds weird, it needs editing.
Editing tools like Grammarly and Hemingway can help improve your work, but not all suggestions make sense. You’re allowed to disagree with tools and rely on your gut feeling to develop your unique voice.
Your writing will be better when you remove clutter words & phrases.
Every sentence you write needs to get your reader excited about the following sentence. Think of your reader sliding from one sentence to the next one.
Malcolm Gladwell said, “Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else’s head.”
When you write long-form content, compare the first and the last paragraph. Do they match? Do they make sense? Did you deliver on your promise or get lost along the story?
Your writing should be a combination of meal & candy. When you deliver a big meal, share some candy for fun. Don’t make your content hard to digest. Make it easy and nutritious but also sweet.
When you give advice, tell your reader exactly what to do. Most educational content is useless because it’s too vague. Be so specific that it almost feels too simple. It’ll feel simple for you because you’re the expert. Your reader will be grateful you went the extra mile.
Your writing won’t be perfect. There’s no such thing as perfect writing. Even the world’s best-selling authors have dozens of 1-star reviews on their books. Do your best, but don’t obsess over writing something perfect because you won’t succeed.
As Dita Von Teese says: “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”
Study the principles of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to write persuasive content. If you want to be a better writer, listen twice as much as you talk.
4 — On Creativity
If you want to write for a living, you have to treat writing like a job, not a hobby. You can't just write when you feel inspired. You have to train your mind to constantly discover exciting ideas to write about. And you have to sit down to actually write.
According to E.B. White, “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”
Your experiences, voice, and style will make your writing unique, even if you write about popular topics covered by thousands of other writers. As Cormac McCarthy says, “Books are made out of books.”
You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Do what works. Repeat messages that obviously resonate with your readers. Don't be afraid to repurpose your content and drive traffic to resources you created months ago. Most people haven't seen most of your work. Work smarter, not harder.
Build an idea management system and take notes of every (writing) idea that crosses your mind. Don't judge ideas immediately — store them so you can evaluate them when it's time to write. I use Trello to manage my writing ideas and workflow.
5 — On Building an Audience
People are sick and tired of generic and repetitive content. They're desperately looking for interesting and unique ideas that make them stop scrolling.
Your competition is loud but also lazy. Most written content on the internet isn't worth reading. Standing out isn't hard if you're consistent, thoughtful, and deliberate about your practice.
If you don't care about your audience, you don't deserve one. I still reply to most of the comments and answers I receive. These conversations help me stay connected to my audience and get useful feedback on my work.
Your ability to write click-worthy titles and hooks will determine most of your success. If your first few lines suck, you won't get a chance to impress readers through the rest of your work.
Structure and formatting can play a huge role. Make sure the formatting of your content is aligned with the platform you're publishing on. Most readers are looking for content that's easy to digest. Long walls of text are the opposite. Each platform has its best practices, and it won't take you more than an hour to study the rules.
Your bio/profile should tell your readers what you can do for them. Remove irrelevant credentials and tell us why we should pay attention to your work.
Being vulnerable and honest is the most effective way to connect with your readers. We're all sick and tired of boring, robotic content, and AI tools just made it worse.
6 — On the Business of Writing Online
To make money as a writer, you'll have to do things that lead to cash. You can't expect to magically get paid if you don't do any "money activities." There are a gazillion ways to make a living by typing words, but you have to pick your path and focus on money-making as much as you focus on improving your craft.
Build your email list. The best time to start your email list was yesterday. So start now. Here's a detailed guide to launching your newsletter.
You're a writer, so you have a personal brand. Every time you publish something online, you're growing or damaging your brand. Branding isn't about logos or websites. It's what others think about you.
Human connections matter. Other writers can open and hold doors for you, but they can't do it if they don't even know you exist.
7 — On Mindset & Money
If you hate change, don't even start to write online. I've been writing on this platform since 2018. Every year, dozens of writers freak out, claiming it's "the end of the platform" as soon as the platform announces minor changes. Here's a harsh truth: If you hate changes, stop trying to build an audience online. Algorithms and platforms change all the time. It is natural.
Building an audience and income online can be simple, but it's not easy. For most beginners, the biggest struggle is mental, not technical. If you want to be in the top 10%, be ready to give way more than you expect to receive. An audience that loves to read your words is priceless, but getting there takes patience.
Work with platforms, not against them. Don't complain about changes or updates. Platforms don't owe you anything. Make the most of platforms when they work well for you, and leave if you feel like they don't make sense anymore. But don't expect to reach a million followers on a platform if you barely spend time understanding its rules.
Follow Gary Vee's advice: “We have to start looking at these platforms like shows, not like channels.”
Ignore vanity metrics like followers and likes. Reflect on what you really want to achieve and focus on creating an impact and income through your work. You can be a well-paid writer with few followers or a well-followed but broke writer. Pick your side.
If you want to make money through your work, be willing to invest in your work. Buy resources that'll help you improve. Support writers you like. As Taylor Swift sings, Karma is a god.
The biggest "growth hack" is to allow yourself to tap into your uniqueness. The internet is loud and crowded, and you'll have the most fun connecting with readers who resonate with your true message.
You can't avoid haters. The more readers you have, the more nasty messages and comments you'll receive. Learn how to deal with them.
Most of your content will flop, but a few pieces will be outliers that'll be seen by millions of people. The Pareto Principle is in full play for content creators. Don't expect every piece of content you create to go viral. But always act as if it could, so you continue to produce your best work.
Writing will suck sometimes, even if you *really* love it. Just because you like what you do doesn't mean it won't feel hard sometimes. It will.
90% of a successful writing career is putting your ass in the chair and doing the work.
You have to fall in love with the process, not the outcome. Most writers give up because they expect quick wins. But building a writing career is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to keep showing up before you can expect to see the results.
Last but not least…
You'll never be *done* writing, so never stop learning, reading, and thinking about what to write next.
Your writing is a form of service. No matter how exactly you monetize your efforts, you always make money because you're serving an audience.
There's no (honest) way to make money online if you care too much about yourself and too little about the person on the other side of the screen.
I didn't start writing because I thought millions of people would care about my ideas. I started because I was curious about the progress.
Six years later, millions of people have read my words, and it’s still Day #1.
The key point is never stop being a curious student. Celebrate your wins, but don't let your ego outgrow your skills.
Too many people believe that one viral article or one big client will change their entire (writing) career, but they're so wrong. Learn from your wins, but don't let them stand in your way by giving you a false sense of accomplishment.
Writing for an audience is a never-ending game, and you'll only find satisfaction and financial success if you stop looking for big wins and start to enjoy the journey.
Everyday is day 1 🌟 love that for writers
Great article Sinem! Thanks for sharing your lessons.