I Found The Best Side Hustle For Writers

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And I wonder why no one is talking about it​

I know the word “writer” sounds way too fancy and professional but trust me, anyone can actually start the side hustle I’m about to introduce today.
As long as you attended your high school English classes, this side hustle is perfect for you.
In fact, I tried this side hustle myself and my results so far still shock me.

And I’m definitely not the best of writers.

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash

So what exactly is this side hustle?​

Well, it might shock you to know that the very platform you’re on right now is a real money maker.
Yes, you heard that right. Medium can make you a whole lot of money. And no, I’m not talking about the Medium Partner Program.
I’m talking about a very sustainable business you can build using free traffic from Medium.

So if it’s not the Medium Partner Program, what the heck is it?

Now, Have you ever considered starting a newsletter.
Well, now’s the time to do that because people are making lots of money, with some even hitting six figures.

Photo by Adam Nir on Unsplash

Okay so where does Medium fit in this side hustle?

To start a newsletter, you need an email list and to build an email list, you need traffic.
Now, medium happens to be a powerhouse for driving traffic to whatever you want to promote.
To give you a clear idea of what you can achieve by writing on Medium, these are my own stats.
I published my first Medium post on the 7th of August

My Medium stories average over 105,000 views per month and that’s all free traffic.

Screenshot by Author
All these without Ads or Publications.
Believe me or not, small businesses spend thousands of dollars on Ads to get the type of traffic Medium freely gives.
And what’s even better is that these views have actually made me hundreds of dollars from affiliate income and digital products.
All of these in just under 3 months.

But Why A Newsletter, you might ask.​

Of All of the ways to make money with Medium.com, why do I think newsletters are the best?
Well, because they are.
I recently saw a YouTube interview by Morning Brew, a newsletter that went from an idea to a million-dollar sensation.
It was Started by two college buddies, Alex and Austin.
The result? A million subscribers by 2019.
In 2020, they made headlines again when Insider Inc. acquired Morning Brew for a reported $75 million.

Revenue and Valuation of Morning brew by https://growthmodels.co/morning-brew-marketing/
And it’s not just him.
So many average writers have started newsletters and are now reportedly making thousands of dollars.

So the foundation of this side hustle is simple

• Drive traffic from Medium to your list
• Make money with your list like I’ll show you.

So how can you make this your reality?​

Step 1: Pick Your Passion​

If you’re serious about going viral on Medium, you’re going to need to be consistent.
And trust me, you can’t consistently write about a topic you’re not passionate about.

So first things first, choose a topic that genuinely excites you.

Preferably a topic people would typically pay to get tips on.
So whether

• it’s the secret recipes only you and your grandma know about
• or fashion tips your girlfriends keep asking you about,

your enthusiasm will shine through your words.
Your topic is the foundation of your newsletter empire, so go with what sets your heart on fire.

Step 2: Define Your Audience​

Who are you writing for?
The reason I grew so fast on Medium was because I chose just one Audience and wrote only for them.

Photo by Wan San Yip on Unsplash
Now, Your Audience will depend highly on the topic you’ve chosen to write about.

Busy moms will prefer to be written in a much different way than tech entrepreneurs.

So know your audience and write for them accordingly.

Step 3: Choose a Catchy Name​

Your newsletter needs a snazzy name that reflects your vibe. Keep it short, memorable, and relevant to your chosen topic.
Don’t overthink though, there’s always ChatGPT if your ideas fail you.

Step 4: Set Up Your Platform​

This should be easy. Choose a reliable platform to send your newsletters.
Substack is a user-friendly option, but feel free to explore others.
They’ll help you design and send out emails like a pro.

Step 5: Start Driving Traffic​

This is where Medium comes in. But don’t get these two things mixed up.
You’ll be in fact writing for two platforms

• Your Medium readers
• And your newsletter.

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash
Medium is how you will get traffic while your newsletter is how you’ll get paid.

So what’s going to be the difference between your newsletter and your medium page?

To simply put, your Medium Page is going to act like a portfolio for potential newsletter subscribers to see how much they stand to gain from your newsletter.
Now, I came up with the idea for my newsletter four weeks ago and only promoted my email list on one of my stories on Medium.
Just from that single story, I gained 91 email subscribers,

Screenshot by Author
And it doesn’t seem impossible to reach a thousand email subscribers within 30 days on Medium.

So how do you make money with an Email Newsletter?​

1. Brand Sponsorships:​

It’s been reported that a newsletter with around 50,000 subscribers can charge between $3,000 to $5,000 per sponsored email.
With just four emails a month, that’s a potential $12,000 to $20,000 in earnings from brand sponsorships alone.

2. Affiliate Marketing​

Next, there’s affiliate marketing.
Imagine having a newsletter about gardening, where you insert affiliate links to products you recommend.
When someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
The targeted traffic from a newsletter can work incredibly well for Affiliate Marketing.

3. Ads​

Did you know that Newsletters can also host ads, much like popular websites.
Platforms like Beehive offer tools to integrate these ads seamlessly into your content.

4. Subscriptions​

If you’re feeling super confident, you could try creating a paid newsletter.
People will then pay a small monthly fee for access to exclusive content. Medium can help bring in readers, so it’s a good way to make stable income as a writer.

Let’s say you have a $5 per month with 100 members, you’ll be making $500 per month on Autopilot.

Conclusion​

In less than three months, my Medium following reached 4.3k, just with pure content.
You can do it too, and remember, you don’t have to be a super pro writer.
On Medium, everyone’s welcome, so go ahead, start your Medium Page, and share your stories.

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