Why I Chose Writing Over Launching A Coin
After 8 years in crypto, 1 pattern remains clear as day. People launch coins to get rich. But I can’t do that. I write posts into profit.
This is not the first time I endorsed this idea. I listened to 8 years of feedback too. My vision for what's possible proves itself a core value. That sort of value creation is like usury. The short-termism deserves a title commensurate in evil. It isn’t productive. It's extractive. Even if it takes longer, I rather contribute through information, evangelism of unique opportunities like the stuff I enjoy myself.
My bookmarks are full of “How I made $1m shrimp farming” and other guides. Ideas, threads, and tactics are abundant.
You can make money doing anything. You won't do just anything to make money. Might as well love it.
I can’t exactly coach yet but with my bookmarks on X, I possess plenty to explore.
I will still have learned something. Even if I fail trying to earn a buck a post, it won’t have been a waste of time. The only waste is doing nothing.
My Writing as a System
All the signs I see about myself point to one outcome. I write more. An average of 13 posts per month does not fully account for all that I ponder. At a minimum, I journaled personal thoughts double that amount.
Then, why didn’t I post?
I happen to agree with Guy Kawasaki here.
Content creation involves writing long posts, taking pictures or making videos. Our experience is that it’s difficult to create more than two pieces of content per week on a sustained basis, and two pieces are not enough for social media.
The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki & Peg Fitzpatrick
I wrote almost daily. I did not post at the same frequency because valuable things to say come from experience. If you shorten all your sentences, everything sounds poignant. That's only because you spend less time getting to the point.
According to Guy, the real good stuff comes in four forms.
- Information
- Analysis
- Assistance
- Entertainment
Truth is, many including myself, agree. Anyone can wax poetic. Not a lot of people need poetic wax, though.
The topics I did cover ranged from crypto reflections, to personal growth and often memecoin culture. In that sense, I could sympathize with my readership.
I lack variety in valuable subject matter. I could expand to different perspectives on different subjects. I see so much more in a day online than I did 10, 20 years ago.
As far as take-home pay over the same period, I pulled down $71.94. That’s like $15 a month.
The breakdown of my blog activity shows several areas for improvement. Albeit less than expected, the figures show there is an opportunity to bootstrap by blogging.
What I Learned from the Metrics
The breakdown in revenue gives context for projections. The projections for June follow conservative estimates from my previous content creation and forecasts its returns.
The assumption that the writer's only cost is time poses some danger. Time is a double-edged sword. On one hand, spend more time per post, earn more. On the other, spend more time per post, and produce less posts.
If I could write 500 words worthy of $1 in 15 minutes, I’d make $4 hourly. Let’s say I do that part-time given I work a day job, so 20 hours a week. That’s still $80 every week, $320 a month.
| Hours | Pay | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4 | - |
| 20 | $80 | 1 |
| 80 | $320 | 4 |
| 260 | $1040 | 13 |
| 1,040 | $4160 | 52 |
Suddenly, locking in doesn’t sound so bad. But is it safe to assume linear earnings? Both my performance and the posts' will vary.
The following projections are from the last 5 months, based on average earnings per post.
I made an average of $1.07 per post. March was my best month, earning $26.01. I posted 17 times, so I did eclipse my average earning per post, with $1.53.
| Posts | Avg. Pay 1 | Avg. Pay 2 | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.07 | $1.53 | - |
| 15 | $16.05 | $22.95 | 4 |
| 49 | $52.16 | $74.59 | 13 |
| 200 | $208.64 | $298.36 | 52 |
The average earnings per hour method forecasts much higher than the average earnings per post method. But, the task increases in difficulty when I account for time spent. How do I clock "writing a blog post"?
The average earnings per post method accepts more of the present reality. I may not post daily. I may not score with every post.
Nonetheless, all of these numbers set a precedent that I could make an impact with consistency, not just frequency.
Where I'm Headed
I noticed an interesting effect when I had a larger stake from delegations. Engagement and influence on the platform grows. To return and exceed my previous levels, I must stake my returns more often. I also hope to recruit delegated HP from growing community support.
I failed to take advantage of an abundant opportunity before it changed. I underestimated the speed of change given it remained the same for so long. The staked HBD previously earned 20% APR. That adjustment came from the decision of witnesses, to which I can't argue.
I can only take advantage of 15% APR while I have it.
I didn't consider this perspective before I reviewed this data. At a little less than a thousand dollars, my blog is worth $944.71 today. Could it rival a memecoin's market cap?
I continue to find questions only I can answer.
I have a tentative strategy forward. It's simple, too. Continue to raise the bar. Improve post quality and visibility to reach $2 per post. Then $3, and so on. The next part of the plan is the post frequency.
I spoke to this earlier. It is difficult to produce 2 pieces of content a week. This is my second and I am flagging already. Then again, my goal is not every day. It's around every other day instead. To be specific, 15 to 20 posts per month will require a concerted effort.
If I succeed, the fun part follows. Earnings to reinvest are a responsibility I misunderstood before. The funds would sponsor and improve the ability to create. A common mistake, funding lifestyles may take precedent for the inexperienced.
The part where I struggle comes last. High and low projections of 200 to 4000 dollars per year look beautiful in text. I buy my own hype like a degen gambles his paycheck.
How could I recruit callers, pay for promotion or develop a website without first building a war chest? My business hasn't taken off because I missed a critical hit. Before I can outsource growth, I have to earn it.
I'm the first and last employee.
