3 Mindset Shifts that Helped me Build a Succesful Writing Business
And how you can apply them to become a highly paid online writer.
And how you can apply them to become a highly paid online writer.
When I started taking online writing seriously at the beginning of January 2020, I used to make INR 3000 per month (about $35 US). Back then, I’d be over the moon if I could make INR 10000 (about $150 US) per month by year-end.
By the end of the year in December 2020, I was making more than $3000 US per month. What started as an experiment in online writing turned into a thriving business in less than a year.
This article discusses three important lessons that I learned from my journey that helped me fuel my online writing career.
If you are someone who’s just starting to make money from their writing, this article will help you learn three key mindset shifts. When you apply them, they will help you become a high paid writer in just one year or maybe even less.
If you’d like to watch a more candid version of this story in video format, here you go:
1. Detach, detach, detach
The first mindset shift is detachment. You need to be super detached from your work. This holds true for both success and failure.
For example, if you wrote an article that went insanely viral and earned thousands of dollars, if you are super attached to it, you’ll keep refreshing the stats page. You’ll even keep refreshing the earnings page to see how much your income has increased.
All of this is just a waste of time. After that one big viral article, you will feel an insane amount of pressure to make each of your next articles go just as viral, which is not possible because that’s not how the internet works. This might end up being very discouraging and might even prevent you from writing more articles.
That’s why detachment is so important.
The other side of the coin is detachment from failure as well because the journey is going to have its ups and downs. It’s not going to be one straight line where you write something, and then you’ve become famous immediately.
There are going to be times when you feel like your work is not showing any results and you might feel the need to give up, because you know there’s no point in trying.
That’s where detachment helps.
If you can detach yourself from the results, then you can keep on writing. You can be patient, especially when things are not completely in your control.
2. Be ready to adapt
The next important mindset shift is that you need to always be ready to adapt.
I’ve been writing on Medium for about a year and a half now. In this limited time, I have seen so many changes on the platform. Each time Medium changes its algorithm, I’ve observed other writers starting to complain that they’re not getting views or earning enough money.
Their concerns are valid because every algorithm change impacts the writers a lot. But the bitter truth is that in the long run, only the ones who can adapt, the ones who can change as the platform changes are the ones who will survive.
If you keep complaining, you won’t be able to see a road ahead. You won’t be able to figure out the solution because your energy will be so focused on the problem itself, and not on a workaround.
That’s why if you have a mindset that you’re going to adapt to any situation, then nobody can stop you from winning. Because after all, platforms are temporary, but your writing is permanent. It’s going to be there with you forever, no matter how many algorithms change. You just have to find a way to bring your writing in front of the end consumers, i.e. your readers.
If you can adapt well enough, then you’ll definitely find a way to succeed.
3. Don’t treat writing like your hobby
The third and the most important mindset shift, which I see so few writers apply, is that you cannot treat your writing like a hobby. You cannot even treat it like a craft or your art.
If you want to be successful, famous, and rich, you have to treat your writing like a business. There are three important points that come under this, as discussed below.
1. Always think of growth strategies
Keep looking for new ways in which you can expand your income streams. Don’t settle on getting paid by writing on just one platform or for one freelance client.
Search for ways you can expand your audience base.
2. Don’t compete. Collaborate.
Stop being envious of writers who are doing it better than you.
The reason is, you don’t know their journey. You’re not aware of what hurdles they’ve had to overcome, and you’re not aware of where you can reach if you let go of those envious feelings.
Once you stop competing, you’ll start thinking of potential ways in which you and the other person can collaborate. Alone, you might be able to reach a certain height, but when you combine your strengths with the strengths of another creator, you can reach double that, or maybe even reach ten times of that goal.
Always remember, envy takes you nowhere, but collaborations can make you reach the top in half the time.
3. Be ready to experiment
Something might not work today, but maybe five months later, that will be the most viral thing on the Internet. Don’t discard your ideas. Find ways to repurpose them.
If one idea doesn’t work, don’t give up on it. Keep working on it to make it better. Keep experimenting with the time of the day when you publish or maybe the publication or the website where you publish it.
Once you do that, once you get into that mindset of experimenting, even failures will not seem like failures because they will turn into lessons that you can implement to grow even further.
Final words
These are the three key mindset shifts that helped me build my own writing empire. They empowered me to make a bold decision like quitting my stable central government job and pursue a career in writing.
They helped me increase my income month after month while working for the same number of hours every day. And if you can apply these three mindset shifts yourself, trust me, my dear writer friend, nobody in the world can stop you.
A special offer just for you
After receiving an overwhelming response for my free course on how to be a highly-paid writer, I realized people want more personalized guidance and a chance to ask their burning questions to me directly.
That’s why I am launching a live training program on getting started and paid as a freelance writer.
In it, I will cover the basics that shaped my journey and how you can apply the same to get started quickly and get your first paying client. I’m giving away early access to the first 50 students who sign up.
Here’s the link to apply if you’re interested. We will start on 15th December 2021.
If you’ve always dreamed of having a successful side hustle and you love writing, this could be the perfect opportunity to end 2021 on a high and begin the next year with renewed passion and enthusiasm.
I’d love to see you there.
