Based on all that you've learnt along the way over the past few years, what advice do you have for budding content creators who would like to pursue a side hustle like this?

I feel compelled to answer this even though I have not made my mark as a content creator yet. Nonetheless, I'm building a slow and steady following as a blogger on this site called Publish0x (which rewards authors in cryptocurrency). So far, I have 308 followers, which is comparable to my IG account, haha.

Anyway, here are the things I learnt along the way:

1) Consistency is key, so I recommend that you blog every day because of the wide array of benefits. Firstly, blogging every day helps you hone your writer's voice. What style are you most comfortable writing in? Funny? Sarcastic? Serious? You can only find that out by writing regularly. Also, habit forming is important. When you write every day, you instil a sense of self-discipline and keep your momentum and motivation going. Once you internalise the habit of writing, you will be less inclined to give up because writing as a side hustle doesn't reap you benefits immediately. Thirdly, when you write daily, you activate your creative juices so that your sub-conscious will help you link seemingly unrelated topics together and be inspired. This will help you inject originality into your articles.

2) You don't need to be an expert. I think we are conditioned to think that only thoroughly researched thought pieces are favoured in the world of blogging. No doubt, everyone wants to be educated but I realise that there is no need to pretend to sound like an expert when you don't know enough about the issue. Readers are often more happy to share what they know, so I think another facet of being an engaging writer is to ask pertinent questions so as to encourage interactivity among your readers. For instance, I learnt just yesterday that "swags" is commonly used in the events sector as attendees are given a bag of freebies known as a swag bag when they attend a conference. Writing thus becomes a knowledge-building avenue.

3) Know your audience. What is the profile of your audience and what kinds of content do they like? Audience engagement is key. In order to generate more tips, I do post my book reviews from Instagram on Publish0x. The one book review that garnered me the most likes on IG - "Before the coffee gets cold: tales from the cafe" - attracted the least amount of tips on Publish0x. Well, this was entirely unexpected, for Publish0x readers patronise that site to read news about crypto. I was surprised to learn how IG readers seemed to be fond of Japanese literature though.

4) Develop a thick skin. You can't please everyone, so as long as you feel that you are putting your best content out there, don't take it personally when you see negative comments or dislikes. For every negative comment that you receive, you will probably receive a positive comment. This is not to say that we ignore the constructive criticism but seriously, dwelling too much on the negative comment can be sapping to your morale. So stay focused on the insights gleaned from other readers' comments.

5) Optimise your effort. Time is a finite resource, so you want to get the most amount of bang for your writing. Case in point: I will post this comment as a Publish0x article. Don't feel embarrassed about cross-posting on multiple platforms.

6) Have fun! You become a content creator because you are likely to be passionate about writing and/or the topics you choose to specialise in. Never let this passion die down.

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Dan Ng Wei Hao

12 Aug 2021

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