My secret formula of earning $ 1,927 every month on Medium
(1) There is no formula. There are no formulas. (2) And I do not earn $ 1,927 from Medium.
As already clarified, I have no formula and I don’t make $ 1,927 every month from my Medium articles. Not even 1/1927th of that number.
But that hardly means I can’t share advice, right?
Sure, I’m a sucker for such clickbait titles (‘Here’s how I made $2,500/mo, and so can you!’), but almost all that I’ve read have been terribly disappointing (unless it’s Sean Kernan or Tim Denning, who, in any case, don’t promise such stuff).
Ok, enough of parentheses. Enough of cribbing.
Whatever my credentials, I feel I’m qualified on sharing tips on how to write such fluffy articles.
Here’s my 5 tips:
1. Use non-rounded numbers
A price tag of $753 sounds more convincing than $750.
Pretty much the same way, your readers will find it easier to believe if you use odd numbers.
Scream ‘Here’s how I made $ 1,899 selling used egg shells’ and you’ll see lots of clucks — I mean clicks — for your post.
In today’s world, $500 is not believable. But $1,149.73 is.
2. Give generic, non-actionable advice
Like the one you just read.
Write things like: ‘Find your niche’, ‘Write like you talk’, ‘Keep it easy to understand’, ‘Figure out what your readers would like to read’ and so on.
Notice how these tips are empty unless I show you how. Like, how to find your niche, how write like you talk, and so on.
Such advice is as useful as saying, ‘If you’re making a movie, make one that people would pay to watch’.
Wait, what?!!!
Isn’t that supposed to be obvious?
The what is easy. The how isn’t.
3. Leave a few grammatical, spelling errors in your post
Come on, your two busy to check everythin.
Your anyways doing them a favors by sharing you’re knowledge. You dont hvae to do the silly proofing and grammar check and all that.
Show, don’t tell.
Show you’re so busy you don’t have the time to check things, because you’re busy making money.
Show, don’t tell.
4. Claim expertise in bizarre topics
So say something like,
‘I have developed skills in claustrophobic bovine ligaments. That way I can charge a premium. You too can, once you discover your calling. Spend time honing your skills. Like a master woodcutter spends 9 hours in sharpening his axe and only 1 hour cutting the tree.’ (Amazing! I never knew that!)
Awww! So sweet! So motivational!
Or hide your expertise completely.
Drop vague hints like, ‘When I began, I used to write on everything under the sun, like exoplanets for instance (which, incidentally, are not under the sun). Over time, I realized I had developed a knack for writing about a specific segment. And I haven’t looked back since.’
(And neither have your clients.)
5. Just fill up the numbers
Like I just did.
I only had 4 tips for you. But then the number 5 sounds better than 4, so I cooked up this one.
And since I’ve anyways said ‘5 tips’, allow me to ramble.
So my 5th tip is: chalk out the outline before you begin writing.
You don’t want to end up with a title like “21 ways to tame the indigenous elephants of Antartica” and then have only 13 ways of doing so.
Always plan way ahead in advance. Writing is all about thinking, and you don’t want to sound hollow and empty-headed when you’re putting words on paper.
Over to you
Things won’t happen immediately. Good things take time shaping up.
But once you discover your mojo, you’ll find freelance writing for Medium both fulfilling and rewarding. Money will start pouring in.
One last advice.
Before you put any of my tips into practice, make sure you’ve got an expert tax attorney. Because once you start writing the way I recommended, you’ll earn lots of money and you don’t want to pay the government a dime more than you really, really need to.
So first, go get an expert tax attorney. And an investment advisor.
Writing can wait.
