How I Make a Full-Time Blogging Income With Unicorn Content

My complete strategy guide

Christopher Kokoski
The Startup

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Colorful unicorn — How I Make a Full-Time Blogging Income With Unicorn Content
Image by the Author using DALL-E and Canva

Gone are the days when simply pumping out a “skyscraper” post with thousands of words is usually enough to compete for the top-ranking positions on Google.

AI (like ChatGPT and Jasper) make long posts absurdly easy.

Ditto for posts about quotes, examples, or long lists of…well, anything. If it’s easy for AI to answer or do, you’re up against a well-funded AI army that can generate, edit, and post dozens of articles per day.

You need an edge. You need content that is not so easy for AI to replicate.

You need Unicorn Content.

What Is Unicorn Content?

Unicorn Content is a term used to describe exceptional, high-quality content that stands out from the crowd and gets noticed.

It is the type of content that is rare, unique, and valuable to its target audience. The term “unicorn” comes from the idea that such content is as rare and valuable as a mythical unicorn.

Unicorn Content is typically well-researched, comprehensive, and provides value to its readers.

It is written in a clear and engaging style, making it easy to read and understand. It is also visually appealing, with the use of images, videos, and infographics to make the content more engaging and shareable.

Unicorn Content is created with the goal of attracting organic search traffic and generating leads for a business.

It is optimized for search engines with the use of relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and other SEO techniques to ensure that it ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs).

It is also designed to be shareable on social media platforms, with the use of social sharing buttons and attention-grabbing headlines.

Creating Unicorn Content requires a significant investment of time, effort, and resources. It involves thorough research, planning, and execution to ensure that the content is of the highest quality.

It also requires a deep understanding of the target audience and their needs, interests, and pain points.

All of this makes it more difficult for AI to compete with you.

How I Make a Full-Time Blogging Income With Unicorn Content

I like to start these types of articles with a big-picture overview and then drill down into the nitty-gritty details.

Here are the big steps I take to make a full-time blogging income:

  1. Find Unicorn Content Ideas
  2. Produce Unicorn Content
  3. Optimize Unicorn Content
  4. Monetize Unicorn Content

The first — and arguably most important step — is to identify a Unicorn Keyword or topic.

How Do I Come Up With Unicorn Content Ideas?

Coming up with Unicorn Content ideas can be challenging, especially if you’re new to blogging.

To generate ideas, you can start by researching your target audience’s interests, pain points, and questions. You can also look at your competitors’ content and identify gaps or areas where you can provide more value.

Additionally, you can use keyword tools like Google Trends, Google Autocomplete, YouTube, and Quora to find trending topics and popular questions related to your niche.

You can use my personal keyword strategies that I’ve listed at the bottom of this article.

One of my favorite methods is to use Google search:

  1. Type in a subtopic related to your niche
  2. Look at the questions and phrases that Google suggests
  3. Check those suggestions for competition (and Unicorn Qualities — more on that in a second)
  4. Choose the best Unicorn Content idea to write

It’s not enough to just pick a popular term.

You might still want to write that piece of content but not all popular content is created equally.

You want popular content with low competition AND that is hard for AI to easily beat. Notice I didn’t say that AI couldn’t beat it. The right person with the right prompt engineering and information might still beat you.

Unicorn Content is rare and magical — but it’s not unbeatable.

Next, let’s look at the qualities that make up Unicorn Content.

How To Produce Unicorn Content (All My Best Tips)

Examples of Unicorn Content include long-form blog posts, e-books, whitepapers, case studies, and guides. These types of content are typically in-depth, well-researched, and provide actionable advice and insights for readers.

They are also visually appealing, with the use of graphics, images, and other visual elements to make the content more engaging and shareable.

And harder to easily and quickly produce with AI.

I say “produce” instead of “write” on purpose. When you produce content, you are doing original research, going the extra mile, and including elements that set your content apart from the mere information on the page.

As you’ll see, you can still use AI tools to help with Unicorn Content but you will probably need to do much of the heavy lifting yourself.

Here are 10 ways to produce Unicorn Content:

  1. Unique Angle — Find a unique angle or perspective that sets your content apart from the rest. Instead of creating a commonplace blog post titled “10 Tips for Remote Work from Home,” consider producing a more specific and unique content piece such as “10 Tips for Remote Work from Home with Multiple Kids Under 5”. By adding a specific qualifier to your title, you make your content more relatable, targeted, and helpful to a particular subset of your audience.
  2. Comprehensive — Create content that is comprehensive and covers all aspects of the topic. For example, if you’re writing about “How to Train a Puppy,” cover everything from basic obedience training to potty training and socialization.
  3. In-Depth — Go in-depth on a topic and provide detailed explanations and examples. For example, if you’re writing about “How to Start a Blog,” provide detailed instructions on how to choose a domain name, set up hosting, and install WordPress.
  4. Data-Driven — Use data and statistics to back up your claims and provide credibility to your content. For example, if you’re writing about “The Benefits of Meditation,” include statistics on how meditation can reduce stress and improve mental health. Better yet: Use rare stats from your own original research.
  5. Visual — Use visuals such as images, videos, and infographics to make your content more engaging and easier to understand. For example, if you’re writing about “The History of the Internet,” include a timeline infographic that highlights key milestones.
  6. Interactive — Make your content interactive by including quizzes, surveys, and other interactive elements. For example, if you’re writing about “The Best Destinations for Solo Travelers,” include a quiz that helps readers determine which destination is best for them.
  7. Actionable — Provide actionable tips and advice that readers can implement immediately. For example, if you’re writing about “How to Improve Your Writing Skills,” include practical exercises and tips that readers can use to improve their writing.
  8. Storytelling — Use storytelling to make your content more engaging and relatable. For example, if you’re writing about “How to Overcome Failure,” include a personal story about how you overcame a failure in your own life.
  9. Humorous — Use humor to make your content more entertaining and memorable. For example, if you’re writing about “The Benefits of Laughter,” include funny anecdotes and jokes to illustrate your points.
  10. Emotional — Create content that evokes emotion and connects with readers on a personal level. For example, if you’re writing about “How to Cope with Grief,” include personal stories and advice that resonate with readers who have experienced loss.

How Do I Optimize My Unicorn Content for SEO?

Optimizing your Unicorn Content for SEO is critical to ensuring that it ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs) and attracts organic traffic.

To optimize your content, you need to conduct keyword research and identify relevant and high-traffic keywords to include in your content.

We already covered most of that in the “find ideas” section.

You can use your gut or keyword tools like RankIQ (not an affiliate link) and Ahrefs to find the estimated search volume for keywords.

You also need to optimize your title tag, meta description, headers, and content for your target keywords.

Additionally, you need to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and has a clear structure that makes it easy for search engines to crawl and understand.

In other words, make it easy for readers and Google to find your content on your website. Create categories and “silos” of information. Most big websites have a clear navigation bar at the top of the homepage.

My goal is to use the “Kevin Bacon” approach to website design. I want readers (and Google) to find my content within three clicks.

How I Make Money With Unicorn Content

I make money with Unicorn Content in two main ways:

  1. Display advertising
  2. Affiliate marketing

You can also sell your own products, sell services, build an email list (for more affiliate marketing), sell leads, or get sponsorships.

Display Ad Networks

Display ad networks like Ezoic allow you to monetize your Unicorn Content by displaying ads on your website.

These ads are targeted to your audience, and you earn money each time someone clicks on an ad or views it.

To maximize your earnings from display ads, you need to have high-quality Unicorn Content that attracts a large and engaged audience. You also need to optimize your ad placement and format to ensure that they are not intrusive or annoying to your readers.

Additionally, you can use ad optimization tools provided by display ad networks to increase your earnings further.

These tools use machine learning and AI to test and optimize different ad placements, sizes, and formats to find the best-performing ads for your website.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a revenue-generating strategy in which you share products or services created by other people or companies on your website.

By sharing your unique affiliate link, you can earn a commission for every sale or lead that originates from your referral.

To succeed with affiliate marketing, you need to find high-quality products or services that are relevant to your audience and align with the content of your Unicorn Content.

You also need to disclose your affiliate relationship and ensure that you are promoting products or services that you genuinely believe in and would recommend to your readers.

You can promote affiliate products or services through product reviews, comparison articles, tutorials, and other types of Unicorn Content.

In my experience, to maximize your earnings from affiliate marketing, you need to build a loyal and engaged audience that trusts your recommendations.

You also need to continually test and optimize your affiliate promotions to find the best-performing products and strategies.

Tools I Use To Produce Unicorn Content

Note: None of these links are affiliate links. The links take you to more information about the tools.

Here are the tools I personally use to produce Unicorn Content:

  1. RankIQ for accurate keyword research. RankIQ is an effective keyword research tool that aids in identifying the optimal keywords to target for your Unicorn Content. It provides data on search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty, making it easy to identify high-traffic and low-competition keywords.
  2. Jasper AI. Jasper AI is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps you write better and faster. It uses natural language processing to generate high-quality, original content. AI tools can’t do everything but they can assist you in producing parts of Unicorn Content.
  3. ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a large language model trained by OpenAI that can provide answers to a wide range of questions on various topics, including blogging and SEO. It can help you research and understand complex topics related to Unicorn Content and provide insights and suggestions to improve your writing. You can write blog posts with ChatGPT.
  4. DALL-E. DALL-E is an AI-powered image generation tool that allows you to create unique and visually appealing images for your Unicorn Content. It can generate images from textual descriptions, making it easy to create custom images that match your content.
  5. Canva. Canva is a graphic design platform that allows you to create and edit high-quality images, infographics, and other visual content for your Unicorn Content. It provides templates, design elements, and other tools that make it easy to create professional-looking graphics without any design experience.
  6. Passive Income Geeks Blogging Program. The Passive Income Geeks Blogging Program is an online course that teaches you how to create and monetize Unicorn Content. It covers topics such as keyword research, content creation, SEO, and monetization strategies, such as affiliate marketing and display ads.

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Christopher Kokoski
The Startup

Endlessly curious| proud word nerd| Don’t miss my next article — sign up to my Medium email list: https://bit.ly/3yy18Bc