The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Profitable Content

How part-time writers can build a $100,000 writing empire

Today, everybody’s an online writer.

But not many are actually making money, replacing their full-time job, and living the online writing lifestyle.

They’re posting short-form brain farts into the void. Get 1 like. Sending blog posts to their 12 subscribers. Pouring heart and soul into “valuable” content that makes $0.

This isn’t a guide for writing better.

This is how to stop wasting time and start writing stuff people actually pay attention to—and pay for.

1. Write about this

Every day, I see people on this platform writing for the sake of writing.

That's cool if it's your hobby. But if you want to turn it into a business, you need a better strategy.

Content that’s just about your selfish interests doesn’t help anyone else. It’s background noise, unless you're Lady Gaga.

Nobody’s waking up hoping to hear about what you had for breakfast.

Don't get me wrong: Your story should be part of the content. But it has to exist in service of the reader’s problem.

Your story is seasoning. The solution is the steak.

What does that mean in practice?

It means before you hit publish, you ask: what problem does my content solve?

And here’s the irony: the moment you start solving real problems, people will start caring about your story.

2. Dress up your content

When I first started writing I thought that good ideas were enough.

I hate to say it to you. But how you package your ideas matters even more. Your audience craves novelty, surprising stories, and shortcuts.

Writing about 7 ways to quit smoking is good. But if you can show me 7 quick ways to quit smoking (even if I have been smoking for a pack per day for the last 10 years) it's even better.

See the difference?

The best way to get started is to study the platform you're writing for:

If you're writing short-form, it's your hook.
If you're writing articles like this one, it's the headline.

Now, go and study for the next three months how to become good at this. It'll serve you for life.

3. Give your ADHD the finger

The internet ruined our attention.

How many "content creation gurus" are you following? 10, 20?

You probably noticed that everyone's beating the drum of their own causes. Me included.

One day it’s X. The other it’s LinkedIn. Then it’s Medium. Oh look—someone made $10K from Substack? And God knows what else.

Result? Overwhelm. Confusion. Overthinking. And a graveyard of half-baked posts and zero traction.

You’re not building anything when you’re scattering your energy across every platform like confetti. Especially if you have a full-time job, you have to be smart about how to invest your time. You cannot be everywhere at the same time.

Even with AI.

You’re just burning time and wondering why nobody notices your brilliance.

Pick one. Stick with it. Give it six months of focused effort. And give yourself the time just to become good at it.

The keyword right here is to pick a platform that you enjoy being on and creating content for.

I've always hated X and LinkedIn.

And every time I forced myself to be consistent there, I failed miserably. So I gave them the finger.

It was one of the best decisions of my life. It didn't prevent me from creating a six-figure business by merely writing long-form articles like on this platform.

The algorithm isn’t your enemy. Your ADHD is.

4. Get your readers into your universe

It’s cute how people chase likes and shares as if those mean anything.

But real money is made with one medium: Email. I’m won't roll out numbers like toilet paper. Because you should already know that.

The part most people mess up is what they do after people join their list.

Are you emailing your list at least 2 to 5 times a week? If not, they'll forget about you – and you'll have to start from scratch.

Now you might be thinking: "I just don't have time to do everything at once. "

And you know what? That's a legit objection.

Instead of thinking each of your emails should be a blog post, simply make it drumroll… an email.

Share an insight, a thought, a brain fart – something that talks to your audience, and simply send it out.

You could simply repurpose specific parts of your article, or you can simply share your thoughts on the fly.

I go for daily walks and usually during my walks, I have some spikes of inspiration. So what I do is I simply whip out my phone, ramble for 10 minutes into a voice dictation app called Letterly, polish it with one tap, and send it to my email list.

Newsletters can become extremely fun if you stop following the guru advice that makes you feel guilty if you don't vomit 1500-word essays that include quotes from Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, or Naval Ravikant.

5. Never send an email without this

I used to piss my pants off the advice I'll give you.

But since I applied it, I feel more aligned, and my audience is more engaged (and profitable).

The advice is this: Pitch In Every Email.

Be helpful. Be human. And yes, make an offer.

The easiest way to make an offer is to simply conclude your email with "If you want to learn more, click here".

At the beginning, you probably don't have a product. Don't create one.

Start with coaching. It’s fast to launch, easy to deliver, and flexible. You don’t need a landing page. Just write a damn email. “I’ve got 3 spots open to help you with X. Hit reply if you’re interested.”

You’ll learn more in one week than in six months of overthinking.

→ I've created a simple cheat sheet that will show you how to create 5 coaching offers in under 15 minutes. Click here to get it. (It’s free)

6. Scale with "A La Carte Courses"

If you're anything like my clients, you want leverage. You want to reach a broader audience and you want to productize your knowledge.

Coaching doesn’t scale. Courses do.

At some point, you’ll hit your limit. Too many clients. Not enough hours.

That’s your cue to productize.

But don’t build some bloated 34-module monstrosity. Simply take the coaching offer that performed the best and turn it into a course.

Think “a la carte.” Like ordering sushi. One bite-sized course. One specific outcome.

The best part? You already know what works—your coaching offer. You’ve tested it. You’ve seen what people ask. What they struggle with. What they’re willing to pay for.

So turn that into a course. Record a few lessons. Add templates if needed. Upload it. Done.

Next month? Do it again. One offer per month. One product per month. That's how I've created 20 courses in the past 2 years.

Suddenly, you’ve got a menu of solutions: a course catalog. They pick what they want, pay, and start.

And you have more offers to pitch in your emails.

Do you see how this is taking shape?

Now go and make some more excuses (I'll wait.)

Now you can roll your eyes and yell "That's too simple!" or "You didn't reveal EVERY tiny little detail!" or simply click on the next article that shows up in your newsfeed.

But that's the playbook. I've been using it for years. And it just works.

As the late Charlie Munger said, "Take one simple idea, but take it seriously."