Packaging your writing for profit — tips and tricks for success
Start expecting more from your content.
Writers, I need to you to understand something. So much of your monetary success as a writer is not just about how well you write. How you earn money and the amount of money you earn will depend on how you package and present your writing.
You may be thinking that you write books or blogs or short stories or whatever and that’s it. But I need you to open your mind, take a step back, and understand that monetary success isn’t just about what you write, it’s about how you get people to value what you’ve written or what you can write.
Understanding Your Audience
Before we even get into ways you can package your writing for profit, you need to understand your target audience. Who are they? What are their pain points and desires? What do they need and want?
This goes for any kind of writing you do, even if you’re just blogging about your life or current events. You aren’t journaling. People are reading your work, or at least you want people to read your work. And since that’s the case, then you need to get hyper-focused on who is reading your work and their needs.
You also need to be clear what you want to get out of your writing. This post is speaking specifically about monetizing aka making money. If writing serves a different purpose for you, then you don’t need to follow any of this advice. But if you want to find ways to start making a living, then understand that value is in the presentation.
Types of Writing Packages and How to Leverage Each
Do you read self-help books? I used to devour those books, usually over audio, so I can say this with a high degree of certainty: Most self-help books are nearly the same. The point of focus might be different, but what they teach essentially remains consistent, regardless of the author.
So why can a book like Atomic Habits succeed in a world where 7 Habits of Highly Effective People already succeeded? Because each of these books presented and packaged the information in a way that felt fresh.
That’s what you need to do.
And there are opportunities to make your work stand out, depending on what you’re doing. For example, if you’re writing a short story or e-book, your title is one way to signal that this is something different. Your title should be exciting or reflective. It should stir curiosity in someone that randomly scrolls past it. Titles are a huge part of presentation.
Maybe you’re an editor offering your services on a freelance basis. Actually, you’re not just an editor. You transform clients’ writing from good to great so it can help these clients better achieve their content goals. Or you’re a content editor who helps clients find the right angle to tell their story so it better connects with their intended audience.
Are you following?
How you present yourself and your work matters. And you should be thinking of ways to elevate the experience for readers or prospective clients. For example, are you using multiple images in your posts? Why not? Are you structuring your posts in ways that are visually appealing or that’s just different than a typical post?
If you’re writing a book or have written a book, have you considered releasing one of the chapters in audio format? Maybe you record a video series that creatively expresses the book’s themes.
We’re at the point now where writing alone isn’t enough. Artists in other industries already know this. Musicians, specifically, know that how they present and package their music is directly connected to its success. Writers are not exempt from this reality.
Creating High-Quality Content and High Quality Service
As much as I’ve just stressed the need for presenting your work more effectively, none of that will matter if the content itself isn’t high quality. You need to take the time to make sure that whatever you’re offering or whatever you’re putting out is done to the best of your capabilities. And if your capabilities aren’t enough, then keep learning and improving until it is.
If you have clients (or hope to have clients), then the idea of high quality can be expanded to your customer service. What is the client’s journey from the first time they engage with you to you complete the project? What kind of experience are you creating?
I compare this to inviting someone to your home. You want to create an ambiance that matches what you hope to get out of the evening. You might decorate oyur home, adjust the lights, wear a certain outfit. All of this is part of what will make the evening feel right. Same goes for customer service. Create an experience to match the intended outcome.
Is all of this making sense?
I hope so. We need to step things up, writers. We need to prove our value. The work can speak for itself but it needs to be put on a pedastal so people can actually hear what it has to say. Presentation and packaging is that pedestal.
