I never dreamed of becoming a writer. I planned to retire from the military and work another government job. Along the way, I realized that working for someone isn’t always the best solution.
One magical day, I read “Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing,” where Robert Kiyosaki said that you could create income-producing assets from your mind. Since that day, I have been fascinated with writing and making books.
My new plan is to leverage as much passive income as possible while continuing to write until I die. Writing is truly something I love, and it is a medium that will never fade.
From Broke to Saver to Investor
Building a platform. You can easily write for someone else and reap the financial benefits quickly. You can be a ghostwriter or write for a platform like Medium.
But at that point, you are just exchanging time for money. Sure, you are becoming a better writer and gaining experience, but you are not building a portfolio of content.
I recommend building your own author platform. It is the long way to go about writing, but it is the most lucrative over your lifetime.
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What is an author platform? An author platform is a collection of assets you wholly own and control. This can be your books, blogs, merchandise, and publishing rights.
The author Joanna Penn is my favorite mentor in building an author platform. I have read a few of her books, which always give me deep insight into writing as a business. Here are the Joanna Penn books I have read to date:
- “How to Make a Living with Your Writing”
- “The Relaxed Author”
- “The Successful Author Mindset”
- “Business for Authors”
When to start building your platform. These words are the most important of this article. You must begin your writing & author platform at least ten years before retiring.
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Writing is the grind of your life. To become relevant, you need tons of content in the writing world. If you want royalties to supplement your retirement, start writing today.
Gaining authority. You can build a substantial income from your words, but the various algorithms require time to trust you and promote your work. We can call this phenomenon “gaining authority.”
Each platform has its version of authority, and you will need to understand each to leverage your words to the fullest. Let’s take a quick look at the different algorithms I continue to use two years into building my platform.
Don’t Gamble with Retirement 7
1) Google Search. I am terrible at using Search Engine Optimization tactics on my blog posts. Currently, my main focus is creating content. Once I retire, I will become an excellent SEO champion and have thousands of books to leverage.
Of all the algorithms, Google Search is the most important. Momentum or trends do not dictate the algorithms long term. If you can find a good niche, you can drive traffic to your website indefinitely.
2) Amazon Search. Amazon is the biggest online book retailer. Content creators will tell you that keywords and categories are essential for getting traffic to your book. Maybe, but building a history of sales and reviews is much more vital.
In truth, Amazon wants you to drive traffic to their site and will reward you if you can. I have a link to My Free Amazon Book Schedule that will take random visitors directly to Amazon.
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Building a following on Amazon will take years, so it is good to create other platforms simultaneously. Eventually, everything will work together in harmony.
3) YouTube. YouTube is the ultimate grind. You will have to keep creating content to build a following on YouTube. However, as a writer, you will not need to have a massive following on YouTube.
You already have a way to monetize your audience via books. Your job, then, is to drive traffic to your books. I have a link to my YouTube videos on my blog; this way, random visitors from search can go to my channel.
4) Online eBook Retailers. I also release my books “wide” to other retailers such as Kobo, Scribd, and Barnes & Noble. I use Kobo directly and all others via Draft2Digital.
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I consider these eBook retailers the most passive income I make. I upload the book once (it takes 10 minutes) and just wait for the royalty payments to come to my inbox.
It seems each month I make more sales than the last. It is an excellent way to make additional income off of your same words and books. These are the most exciting platforms for me.
FIRE writing. But how can you use writing to retire early with the FIRE movement? Writing can be your main revenue stream in retirement if you can build a big enough platform.
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However, you will also have to be smart in other endeavors of your financial life. You’ll need to keep housing expenses low, build an emergency fund, and potentially start consulting or coaching services to round out your online business.
Once you have a strong writing and author platform, you can monetize it in any way you choose. Remember that you have to maintain the respect and trust of your audience, which means don’t “sell out.”
Find your voice. The tricky part of writing is finding your voice. It takes time to learn how to create meaningful content, so prepare for the initial “black hole.”
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For the first year, you will release content no one will gravitate to or follow. It’s okay; it’s because it sucks. However, these are essential days of your writing career.
Here is where you find your voice. Along the way, some bits of your content will hint at what your small audience wants to read.
You will grow an audience if you can continue to hone in on what they enjoy. Sometimes, you will need to write things you know will not push the needle.
For example, I may need to write an article on sales funnels that I know nobody will read. However, it will be important later in my online business articles. This is why you should create a content roadmap.
Turn Your Garden into a Business
If you keep writing, your audience will eventually tell you what they want to hear from you. It’s fun writing something that you know will resonate with the people. You can also stay true to yourself and push out some content that will flop.
Conclusion. Writing is a fantastic form of art. I love writing every day and releasing books to the public. This process has completely changed my life and has taken over my free time.
I cannot imagine a day without writing any words. If you have (or want) a passion, perhaps try writing. It is not for 95% of the people on this Earth.
Become CEO of Yourself 3
You can probably make more money on YouTube in five years than writing for a lifetime, but writing also has more perks.
You can build a massive independent audience in the long run because you are not chasing an algorithm. You can also slow down as a writer one day. You can work in the middle of the night and take nice breaks along the way.
If this sounds interesting, read my “The Publishing Chronicles” articles. It is possible to retire early if you start your writing platform today. Good Luck!
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