Ragged Riches

Sarah* is a friend of mine who is an incredibly talented writer. She has the moxie and talent to be able to make it big, if she’d only believe in herself. While she’s considered doing the whole thing on Medium, she’s been sticking to free forums for her work…for the most part.

Once in a blue moon, you can find Sarah’s work on Medium, earning a small sum on the stories she somehow chooses as “good enough.” In an ideal world, Sarah says she’d be working as a full-time writer.

She just doesn’t know how to start.

Every other day, she hears that she should consider becoming a writer. Yet, she doesn’t feel comfortable with it. She hears the same thing most other content creators hear: that it’s entitled to expect to make a full-time living off the work she does.

Newsflash: she should be making a full-time income with the hours she’s put in.

I’m going to say this once, and I’ll always say it again: you are not being entitled when you’re asking people to pay money for things you create. Yes, even if it’s just your “casual blog,” there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get money for your work.

If you have heard other people say it’s “entitled” to expect payment for work you do, recognize these things:

1. They do not have your best interests in mind. I guarantee you that they would want to have a paycheck for their work too. People who talk this way are often jealous, have reason to use you, and don’t believe they could see success. So, they try to either exploit you or try to muzzle you so they feel better about yourself.
2. They are wrong. You DO deserve to be paid for work you do, especially if it offers some kind of benefit to others. Blogs, animation, art…those all bring enjoyment and education to the masses. You deserve that compensation.
3. People who talk this way are part of the problem. They’re widening the gap between the haves and have-nots. Don’t let them poison your mind.

So when should you start asking for money as a content creator?

Funny you ask. I made a video about that and more.

TLDR: You should be asking for money immediately.

Your fans will want to support you. And you are going to want to make sure that they get into the understanding that your content is there as a way to make money. Content is a business and people need to treat it like one if they want to make a major source of income.

But, how do you ask for money?

Very simple: you just do it. There are several different ways to make it happen if you’re shy about actually asking for money upfront:

• Use services and platforms like Buy Me A Coffee or Ko-Fi to get people to donate and tip you. These services have downloadable button pictures you can use to link out to the platform of your choice.
• Drop links to your payout/tipping/subscription platforms every time you post new content. I do this on all my platforms, including Substack and Medium. You can’t expect people to tip you or buy your content if you don’t show them were to pay!
• Enable paid subscriptions on your sites. This is an easy thing to set up on almost any site platform, including WordPress, Substack, and even Vocal.
• Do the classic YouTuber thing and just tell them the classic line. The line is, “If you like what you read, please help support this publication. Like, share, subscribe, and consider becoming a paying supporter!”
• Thank people who are paid subscribers. Twitch streamers are amazing at this. They are great at showing gratitude and it tends to get them even more subscribers, tippers, and fans. Live interactions work.
• Have exclusive content for people who pay to see it. It’s coming soon on a bunch of platforms. I just have to find the time and money to make it happen.
• Do not act ashamed when you ask. Life favors the audacious.

Don’t forget that “Ask and you shall receive” is the whole of the law.

No, really, that is the whole of the law here. You don’t even have to stop at asking for cash. A lot of models I know also use Throne to receive gifts from their fans.

I have one too. So far, I’ve received one major gift on it, which I am forever thankful for.

Wait, how do you make buttons out of images?

If you’re the “button” type of asker, it’s good to know to do this. It’s very simple and these instructions can work on most platforms.

1. Upload and post the image of your choice. In the case above, I’ve uploaded a Throne button.
2. Use your mouse to highlight said image, then press Control+K. On Medium and Substack, this will bring up the box to edit the link connected to the image. On WordPress, you can simply highlight the image and click the chain link icon that appears on the editor.
3. Next, copy and paste the link to the platform that you want to lead to. This is the most reliable way to ensure it works. I sometimes type it out, but it doesn’t always work.

If you want to make money in content, get ready to ask.

Ask, ask, ask. You may get a thousand no’s before a yes, but it’s the only real way to make that money happen at a decent pace!