Admit You Want To Make $10,000 Per Month Blogging And Get To Work

The headline is what I wrote on a Post-It Note that is attached to my computer. “Admit You Want To Make $10,000 Per Month Blogging And Get To Work!”

See, for a very long time I’ve dreamed about attaining “full time blogger” status. I never really wanted to admit it to myself. I don’t know why. Fear of failure?

“I could be a full-time blogger if I really wanted to.”

And if I go 100% in on blogging and fail, that’s a hit to my ego?

Maybe, but now that I think about it, being honest with myself…

When I attended Trinity Christian College I played basketball there, which was important to me. I was on a team that couldn’t break through, there was an invisible wall, or something.

Our coach huddled us at practice one day and asked, “What’s stopping us from being a successful basketball team?”

There was hemming. There was hawing. There was shuffling of feet.

So coach went around the circle, one at a time, to say what was stopping each of us short of our potential, and the barrier immediately emerged.

Toward the end of the pow-pow, my good friend, Pete, on his turn said, “Not to be a broken record, but confidence.” (Confidence was my problem too, and almost to the man everybody identified confidence as their problem).

We were a team that lacked confidence and it showed on the court.

However, once we knew the root problem and worked through it, we found success: winning our year-end conference tournament, therefore earning an automatic seed in the Men’s NAIA National Basketball Tournament, first time in school history.

It all started with being honest about what was holding us back.

Lack Of Confidence

And now, reflecting during the writing of this blog post, I realize it’s lack of confidence that has been holding me back in my writing for years.

If you lack confidence you never really go for it, do you?

I think that’s why my Post-It note has been helpful.

“Admit You Want To Make $10,000 Per Month Blogging And Get To Work!”

It reminds me to admit I want to be a successful writer, you know, a writer who actually makes money. It reminds me a writer who wants to make money isn’t a dirty thing.

Even the man himself, Shakespeare, wrote to make money.

“Oh goodness! I’d never try to make MONEY from my writing!” said Shakespeare never.

So now—open a google doc, and write on that big blank beautiful electronic page with the blinking cursor, in big bold letters:

I WILL MAKE $10,000 PER MONTH WRITING WORDS, BABY!

Or whatever combination of words that motivates you. I’ll leave it to you because, after all, you are a writer and you know exactly what it is you want to achieve with your writing. (You can also do this little exercise after finishing the article first, totally fine).

Whatever you write, though, don’t lie to yourself.

Be honest.

Yes, you love writing. Yes, you deeply want to help and move people with your writing. Yes, you want to get paid for your writing–and you 100% should!

Why Is $10,000 Per Month The Magic Number?

First, we all know $9,999 is not the same as $10,000.

Second, $10,000 is a psychologically pleasing number.

Third, we all intuitively know $10,000 per month is the number that allows us to go full time and sets us free.

Fourth, it’s how you got here, isn’t it? You were googling “How To Make $10,000 per month blogging” and ended up here. Because you already know you need at least $10,000 month before you can quit your job and blog full time.

So, why is $10,000 the magic number? It just is. It’s self-evident.

Okay, good. It’s established—$10,000 per month is our blogging target. Now, let’s talk about the game plan.

Below is the “bare-bones” outline, which I will thoroughly fill out in detail in future blog posts. But for today, I want to give the overview of what’s going on in the world of blogging and what I think is the best path forward in our $10,000 per month blogging quest.

Non-Localized Blogging

The future of blogging is decentralized.

Or, as I have been referencing it to myself lately: non-localized blogging.

What the heck does that mean?

Essentially, the days of making BIG MONEY as a solo writer on a single, primary blog (aka your local blog) are over.*

If you are starting out today and want to go pro in blogging, you will need to blog on multiple platforms. It will be a mix between blogs you own, third party sites, and social media.

I will teach you how to build this out.

(Don’t be intimidated, we do this the old fashioned way: one step at a time…or actually one blog post at a time, one platform at a time, one ebook at a time).

Riddle: What do all bloggers who preach to never blog on third party platforms and social media have in common? Answer: Being broke.

The Blogging Game Plan

• Home Base Blog (Optional): I love having a “home base blog.” Which is, of course, AustinJames.Blog. Truthfully, though, this step is completely optional. I built this blog because my long game is to be a thriller/crime novelist and also an author of children’s books. So, I wanted to start building out a website with my name on it. This is also my blogging laboratory. I can write about reading, writing, and what’s working in the blogging game, or anything. However, there are a ton of “shadow bloggers” who are completely decentralized, unknown, and ghosts making A LOT of money that don’t have a home base blog. Total: $1,000 – $2,000 per month.
• Niche Blogs: We aren’t looking for home runs, just singles (if you do hit a home run, definitely take a W). We are looking for about 5-10 extremely niche blogs that earn $500-$1,000 per month, earning you ~$5,000 per month. If you are able to manage more blogs go for it and ramp it up to $10,000. Everybody reading this has at least 2 niche blogs they can build now with minimal research–a blog leveraging knowledge from your day job (Stephen King: “People love to read about work. God knows why, but they do.”) and then a blog about your favorite weird hobby (e.g. nerdy board games, the fish aquarium you obsess over, the action figures you collect). The weirder the better, it’s gold. Total: $5,000 – $10,000 per month.
• Third Party Platform Blogging: Think LinkedIn, Medium, Reddit (currently on fire), Substack, X, etc. There’s a lot of platforms out there, but stick to the big ones. The play is to blog seriously on one or two of the third party platforms, build an audience, drive traffic to your blogs, and to make money on the third party platforms themselves (eBooks). LinkedIn, for example, is a great place to blog about your day job and offer an eBook that helps people advance in that field in someway. Total: $2,000 per month + driving traffic to your blogs.
• Social Media: I hate social media, you hate social media–but it’s where the people hang out so that’s where we need to be, bringing light into the darkness; and promoting your stuff, of course. Your writing will never take off without a social media presence. Sorry, that’s just how it is. I view social media as an extension of my blogs, rather than the cesspools that they are. You can’t skip on this. Pitch your blog and your eBooks. Total: $1,000 per month + traffic.
• Substack: Writers are making real money on this newsletter platform, where you provide deep insight into a subject and then people pay to subscribe to you. Politics and Money are big subjects here, but there are plenty of very interesting niche newsletters too that are doing well for themselves. And since you are funded by reader subscriptions, you don’t have to pitch affiliate links all the time to make ends meet. You just focus on providing the best possible content in your niche and that’s it. I don’t currently have a Substack, I have a couple good ideas, but it’s not time yet. I don’t know how much profit to expect, but I think $2,000 / month is reasonable (400 subs at $5 per month). Yes, there are people making $10k, $20k, $30k per month. But I doubt that is the norm. Total: $2,000 per month.
• Kindle eBooks: Writing an eBook and pairing it with a niche blog is one of the simplest ways for us writers to make money. There are many writers making $10,000 per month exclusively from publishing Kindle eBooks. This needs to be part of your game plan! Total: $2,000 per month.

Obviously, if any of the above items really take off for you double down on that thing. If a niche blog takes off, double down on it. If a series of Kindle eBooks takes off, double down. Spend your time where it is most valuable.

It’s All About The Readers

This should go without saying, but never lose focus on the fact that it is about the readers. It is about serving them. Yes, we all want to make money, go pro in blogging, and be free–but all of that is merely a byproduct of serving the readers. Don’t lose sight of this important fact!

Well, there you go. The outline to $10,000 months for writing words. Choose a place to start and get to work, baby!

*Yeah, yeah, exception to the rule, blah, blah, blah.