I’m not your make money online guru.
But it hurts to see so many writers who can’t make the content they create enough money. They’re stuck on the writing treadmill without achieving anything significant. I’m not saying this to sound smarter. I’m saying this because I was one of those broke creators a few years ago.
And I know how much it sucks.
There are many reasons for this. Here are the most painful ones. I’ve distilled them into a quick 4-minute read to save you 4 years of struggle.
Routines are good, until they aren’t anymore
I’m a stubborn donkey. Ask my wife if you want factual proof.
Humans hate changes. That’s why being stubborn is the safest path, because it’s the path you know. But the world moves fast. So many times, you need to shift gears.
I’m kind of weird: I love learning new things but have a strong aversion to implementing new routines and new ways to do things.
Fact is: You grow outside your comfort zone. Sometimes, it’s okay to blow up your routine for the unexpected.
Want a real-life example? I was one of the first writers who openly mocked ChatGPT in my content. I even renamed it to “CrapGPT.” Until I understood that I was wrong and that AI is going to be the future of content creation.
Above an image of me openly mocking ChatGPT in an email.
Bottom line: Don’t sacralize what writing gurus say. Experiment. Try. Find what works for you. And keep your mind open to novelty.
Your writing will keep you broke forever until you understand this
You can craft the most eloquent, beautifully structured content in the world and still be broke.
It’s harsh, but true.
Humans are selfish jerks. Nobody cares about the time you’re investing in creating content. I’ve been there, pouring my soul into articles that were literary masterpieces—or so I thought. But they flopped. Why? Because they didn’t solve a single darn problem.
Humans are motivated by pain. It’s pain that will make them open their wallets. Ignore this at your own peril.
You see, writing isn’t just about showcasing your talent. It’s about being a problem-solver. Readers come to you with a need, a pain point, or a question. They’ll pay you if you can solve it.
Are you solving a problem or simply writing about your passion?
Stop worshipping the writing process
You’ll hate me after this one.
Many writers roll their eyes when I’m talking about creating content faster. The reason? They want to put on their chapeau and start writing on their wooden desk, burning the midnight oil.
They’re stubborn writing junkies. They enjoy thinking and playing with ideas. They love the inspiration.
I don’t say this is bad. I simply say that you can’t build a business on merely inspiration.
Writing is NOT only about not enjoying the craft. It’s also about being efficient, reliable, and consistent, like a Swiss watch.
When you rely on content to make money, you can’t afford to run a business based on your emotions. Because emotions are like weather: you have no control over it. Ask your landlord if he’s willing to delay your rent until inspiration strikes. Good luck with that.
Instead, you need tools and processes. You need to think like a content architect and build processes for everything.
In fact, I use processes all the time for:
– Writing headlines
– Coming up with content ideas
– Creating digital products (like online courses)
– etc.
Think like a factory owner, not an inspiration junkie.
Write faster using cheat codes
Here are some tools I use today to create content faster:
– note-taking system
– templates
– AI
Let’s see how they help, specifically:
I use my notes to distill my ideas and use them in my content. And when you create content, you need to keep writing about a lot of the same ideas but in different ways.
So why not store your best ideas so that you can re-use them several times?
Write the idea once and then re-use it for an unlimited amount of time across hundreds of pieces of content.
I don’t repeat my ideas verbatim.
I simply re-use the core idea then add a new spin to it, like:
– adding a new story
– changing the examples
– providing more specific context
The same goes for AI: writing first drafts is damn hard. Plus, I have chronic back pain after having surgery 10 years ago. I can’t sit at a desk for more than 90 minutes straight.
So if AI can write a great first draft for a blog post in five minutes based on my ideas and save me 45 minutes, why spit on that?
Creating content faster is not about being lazy. It’s simply about having a system to be consistent. Do you want your income to be tied to your mood or time?
I don’t.
This also comes in handy when you want to go on vacation or when stuff hits the fan and you don’t have time or bandwidth to spend hours in front of your keyboard writing that post.
Your biggest leverage point isn’t writing
Stop feeling guilty about working smarter.
When you know that your biggest leverage point is in articulating ideas and finding solutions to other people’s problems, you can embrace the time saved without feeling guilty.
It’s all about setting up a system. It’s about a safety net to be more efficient so that you can actually enjoy the Internet lifestyle to make the income you deserve.
Want to write content faster with AI? Take my free course below