Expert Tips for Writing Personal Finance and Side Hustle Articles That Drive Results
There are many ways for writers to make an income through content writing. But truthfully, only a few of them really works. At the end of this article, writers will be able to learn more about how to maximize their earnings. They will learn how to market your content, how to package your content, what affiliate to use that has a high conversion rate, and how to end an article with a high bounce rate(FYI, it is not just ending with a goodbye).
You Got to Improve your Writing Style
There are many different writing styles to talk about personal finance and side hustle. But in this article, we will be going through the commonly tackled titles such as “how-to” and “here’s how I” post since they are the most commonly written stories.
P.S. I might edit this content to add more writing style in the future
The “How-to” writing plot
Probably the most commonly used title is the “how-to”. Reasonably so since most searchers on the Internet are looking for answers. But most how-to article sucks, here are some of the common problems:
- Lack expertise
- Your information is basic
- Not able to back up your claims
- Provide reasonable and sound solution
- can’t make decisions for the reader
Will be going through all these issues in the subheading below.
Do I have the Knowledge?
One of the main issues that writers face is the lack of expertise. A 500-word article isn’t going to cut it as a “good” how-to article. A proper how-to article needs depth and valuable information that only someone with experience can write about. Based on Google information, a proper how-to article should at least be 1,500 to 3,000 words long.
2 Minute Read is NOT LIKEABLE!
Here’s a better place for short-form contentmedium.com
So before you put your pen down and write a how-to article, ask yourself whether you have enough knowledge and information to write at least 1,500 words long.
Identifying Problem
Probably the easiest part of an article to write, everyone loves to share about the problem. It’s easy to go about ranting about problems online but it is hard to make it relatable to the masses.
To get your “problem” more eyeball, it needs to have an emotional connection with the reader. A great example of this is how the news media always talk about the stock market.
Oh the stock market is crashing! Businesses are taking massive hit and force to lay off thousands of employee.
Notice how the problem snowballs?
This story can relate to three different groups of readers. The investors, the business owners, and the average working class. Summary: Identify a problem, make it relatable, and emphasize the problem.
Elaborate the Issue
Now that you got the problem down, explain why you feel the need to point out the issue. This is an important detail some writers fail to point out.
It creates depth and builds up the importance of tackling the problem. Detail as much of the information as possible in order to provide more value.
8 Instant Ways to Get your Article over 5 mins Long on Medium
The secrets to getting way longer read time on Mediummedium.com
Break it down as much as possible
To make every how-to content do well with the audience, it needs to be broken down into smaller chunks. Most writers generalize a problem, making it hard to relate to as much. You can do that by:
- Taking small steps
- Pointing out problems along the way
- Address these issues may cause
- Write how to resolve them
Solution
Once that is done, you can follow up with the climax of the essay, which is providing the solution. Most writers leave this part of the story blank.
I get it, it’s way juicier to write about the problem and issue of the world rather than find solutions. But the truth is writing a story that leads to a solution is the money-maker of content writing.
Outcome
Every how-to article has to have a result. Whether it is about making more money, finding a new side hustle, or learning better skills. Writers need to write about the outcome to let the readers know the expected outcome from the solutions. That boosts the reliability of the content.
The “Here’s how I” writing plot
Content writers love to write about “here’s how I” posts in personal finance and side hustle because they provide a unique opportunity to share personal experiences and insights that can be helpful to readers.
I Broke My Leg to Become a Better Content Writer So You Don’t Have To.😵💫
Yeah! I had to break my bone to realize why I needed to become a better content writer.medium.com
Common starting plot
The struggle, the flex, or the secret are the usual ways to start a “here’s how I” writing plot. It works because people that are interested in your content would most likely click on it.
Story build-up
The “here’s how I” article follows a basic plot line that is used in almost every article.
First, is the evidence. Writers will need to share their findings as proof for their readers to feel validated.
Second, they need to hear about the journey. Which is what you did to get there.
Third, is the perspective. Adding in the perspective of the writer helps to build a relationship with the reader to let them know how the journey will be.
Secret Sauce
Finally, every “here’s how I” article will need to end with the secret sauce or the trick to your success. This is similar to the “how-to” article on providing solutions and landing the outcome.
Write this well as the reader depend heavily on how you will spill your beans. The more reliable you bring yourself as the higher your conversion rate will be.
How to Increase Readership (Be Informative and Valuable)
The problem with most new writers is how they package their writing. They would go on by sharing their “6-figure business” without any proof or evidence.
That’s just straight up lying!
Yup! Sadly in this digital age, readers tend to fall victim to this get-rich-quick content. However, these types of content don’t make money in the long term and would usually get reported easily.
Be real with yourself
So if you are looking to get followers that stay for your content, readers who would recommend your content, or grow an honest business. Then just BE HONEST WITH YOUR WORK!
Genuine articles posted online tend to do a lot better and readership last a lot longer. That’s why most writers that have real-life experiences in a particular field tend to write better content than someone that is writing for someone.
Detail YOUR experience
So if you have the expertise, write it.
What Makes a 6-Figure Writer’s 2,500-word Pillar Post Different from Yours
Tips and tricks to get more content and value outmedium.com
A salesperson with 20 years of experience is going to have more to write about than a 3-year experienced salesperson. That’s a FACT.
The question you need to ask yourself as a writer is:
How can I build up experience quickly and provide more value?
There is always more to learn about in the open market. A writer can learn about various writing techniques and marketing skills to increase his/her value. Trade experience with skills, skills are infinitely more valuable than experience.
You are way more likely to get hired based on skills rather than experience. The same goes for why a degree in engineering student is worth paying more than an engineer that is in the field for 3 years without a degree. Simply put, he/she has shown the skills needed.
Show your Results
Yeah I get some of you guys out there will start saying how a degree is not important.
The next best thing you could do for yourself is to have photo evidence of your work because, at the end of the day, no one cares about your degree or the skills you learn outside. What matters above everything else is the results.
Do the research and add numbers
It’s easier for the reader to memorize numbers instead of an entire article. Give them something to remember. For example:
2 /10 viewers are notice your article but only 2 /8 of them are going to click on it.
You can go about using infographics as well. They provide great vision retention and make reading more enjoyable.
Internal & External Links
One that is hardly emphasized. Adding links to your article is the easiest way for a writer to build easy creditability. This is crucial especially to target your first-time readers. It creates upfront value and easy information for them to refer to.
Remove the Fluff
At the end of writing each paragraph, go through it again one more time. Chances are, you may have written more than you should.
Clear excessive word count and straighten out your writing to make it easier for your reader to follow through.
Should Freelancers Work to Fill their Wordcount? — Why I Said NO
The story of my buyer being unreasonable and hard to workmedium.com
What Affiliate to Use?
Now, this is the main context of this whole article. Which is how I can make you more money.
There are a ton of affiliate links to use online, but most of them probably aren’t great! Here’s what worked for me that you can copy NOW!
20 Supposingly OBVIOUS Ways for your Content to Get more Readers and Make More Money
I have been working for free for the past 3 weeks as an editor on Medium. Although working on top of my job as a…medium.com
BuymeCoffee/ Ko-fi
The easiest way for any writer to start making money is this. Buy me coffee has a service page that allows its writer to provide a service or sell e-books. They are a great platform for writers to start making a quick buck for a coffee.
All you need is to set up an account and add the small image link below which most writers on Medium are already doing. You can also use Ko-fi which is another platform similar to BMC.
If you want to be fancy with your donation box. You can put in a little more effort by converting it into a GIF. Medium accepts GIFs which is a great way to create a quick animation.
If you would like readers to click on your image to the link. All you need to do is Ctrl+K to add a link to the image.
Membership/ Subscription
If there is one thing a Medium writer can start promoting right away, it’s the Medium membership. For $5 a month, readers get to enjoy unlimited access to the content here on Medium.
This is probably one of the best passive income writers can possibly earn because they will get to enjoy $2.27 a month indefinitely after a reader has decided to join as a member.
Amazon/ eBay/ Alibaba
Go by the order:
1st- Amazon
2nd- eBay
3rd- Alibaba
These are the largest affiliate program on the Internet. Almost every American and the world uses Amazon. They run a lot of products and if you found a product you like. Chances are that these platforms have an affiliate link for you to sell.
Clickbank
Last but not least, if you don’t have any affiliate to recommend, the last case scenario is finding a link on Clickbank. There are pros and cons for you to take note of.
Pros:
- Pay its referral well
- Easy to get links
- Free access for anyone
Con:
- They don’t have many good products/services to sell
- Hard to build a relationship with the affiliate
SEO Tool (For PRO writer only)
If you want to do well with your website or rank your Medium article on Google. You need an SEO tool, I use RankIQ. Unlike the other SEO tools that are out there, RankIQ is considered to be one of the best low-cost SEO tools that I genuinely liked and use.
I’m going to tell you why it is my favorite(FYI, I have used all 3 SEO tools), breaking it all down to show you how RankIQ is out-competing the rest of the other SEO tools that are out there!
Read this article below to know more about SEO tools before committing to RankIQ.
How to Conclude an Article
Okay bye!
No, don’t do that!😅Most writers end their content with a one-liner. For example, they will simply write:
If you like my article, be sure to follow me and subscribe to stay updated whenever I publish.
It works, but it could be better. Writers need to understand that most readers would click away after they have finished writing the information that the writer has written.
Adding this SIMPLE Trick could Easily make you a Better Writer
The problems I noticed as a content editormedium.com
Ask yourself this question: “can I provide more?”
Chances are you do have a lot more you could talk about and you can easily relate to other articles that you have written.
Focus on Bounce rate. Think about whether your reader would bother clicking on another link. This is a crucial step in order to keep your reader stuck in reading your articles.
It is what season writers call “feeding the cheese to the mouse”, which means giving a bit of treat every step of the way before reaching the conclusion here.
If you scroll back up, you would see many of my articles being shared here. This is to keep my readers engross in the reader all my other articles before coming to the conclusion.
So now if you have read all the way to the bottom. Good job!
If you would like to read more about personal finance and side hustle, be sure to follow our publication at HustleVentureSG below!
