Learn from my mistakes (and don't give up)

It's all about the long game when it comes to online content creation.

In 2008, I finished up my English BA at Sussex University and got ready to step straight into a paid film internship; the first rung on the ladder I’d quickly climb.

Only, my application was rejected.

This would be the first of many, many rejections.

Next, I wrote to local newspapers, asking if I could come and write for them. But again, I was ignored or rejected.

I didn’t get it.

Here I was, with my degree that I’d been told was the ticket to a career, and yet no one wanted me.

Fortunately, my main skill in life is finding back doors. So without much thinking or planning, I decided to launch a blog.

If no one would pay me to write, I’d still do it - and get it out in the world.

I called it ‘Annie Loves’ and wrote about feminism, music, art, film and fashion. And I shared the posts on Facebook.

Soon, it was getting 200+ hits a day.

I wasn’t looking at the stats all that much, as I just enjoyed writing and sharing it.

When a friend in France who’d seen my blog posts on Facebook said: how is your job going? and I realised she meant my blog, I blushed.

Oh, it’s a not a job, I said.

Not realising that, in fact, it could be one.

I needed to become a professional writer so I joined a journalism MA course.

And now that I was going to be a news reporter, I deleted my personal blog.

That was the first mistake.

I could have pivoted the blog to be more news and current affairs-focused. Or even deleted all the old posts. But I’d have kept the SEO from all that traffic.

If you have an online space and lots of people head there, Google sends even more people there. You rise up the Google ranks. And you can then monetise your platform.

But too late, it was gone.

Also: I didn’t become a news reporter. I liked the idea but I’m a features and opinion writer, not a news reporter.

I then got an actual job - as a copywriter in tech - and launched my personal website, annieridout.com, which is still going. It gets a lot of traffic and several people have tried to buy it (I’m never going to sell it).

When I became pregnant and lost that copywriting job, I wanted to start afresh, so I launched a new content platform: The Early Hour, which was culture and lifestyle with a parenting focus.

Now, I understood how to write articles and share interviews that people wanted to read and how to send traffic to a digital platform via social media.

In its first month, The Early Hour had 15,000 hits. And it went up and up. I interviewed some big names. But while I saw it as my business, I couldn’t properly monetise it.

I did the odd sponsored post but mostly just had PRs wanting to send me free stuff to promote on it, which was nice but didn’t pay my bills. And also, I’m not an influencer.

I wanted to be paid to write.

So I pitched to write articles and books and my career as a freelance writer all started to come together.

But - next mistake - I then shut down The Early Hour.

Someone had tagged me in a post in Facebook looking for mummy bloggers and I thought: oh right, that’s what everyone thinks I am. Fuck this.

< Delete parenting platform >

I wanted to be a journalist and author, not a ‘mummy blogger’ and I forgot that all my journalism commissions and my first book deal had come from The Early Hour.

As I said earlier: ‘back doors’ are my thing. And these digital platforms I’ve launched are back doors into the publishing industry.

If editors see that you are writing and sharing it online and growing a community - they want in.

In fact, the editor of my most recent book, Raise your SQ (out in paperback this month, pre-order your copy here) said publishers are very interested in authors on Substack.

They are seeing a direct correlation between Substack and book sales.

(Thinking of starting a Substack? Here’s what you need to know.)

So, really, I shouldn’t have closed The Early Hour. But, as I said, I couldn’t work out how to monetise it.

I wanted to add a paywall, but this wasn’t happening back in 2015.

And because I like to reflect but not regret, I can see that actually, by closing The Early Hour, I made time and space for writing on a new platform.

Also: there’s no real ‘mistake’ here - it’s all a learning curve. The evolution of running an online business. And you’ll make your own mistakes and learn from them.

Now, I’m earning a monthly income from my personal essays, business articles and self-development exercises on Substack.

(You might like this piece I wrote on Substack, a year in - what's worked, what hasn't.)

I share poetry on Instagram, which sends people to my Substack essays.

Some of them are interested in joining courses like this one on the business model I’ve created, called The Creative Way (to earn a living online).

While others want one-to-one Zoom calls with me, so they sign up for coaching sessions, with a touch of online business consultancy thrown in.

Learn from my mistakes

If you have a blog or a newsletter or Substack, I’d recommend you don’t delete it. I know it can feel demoralising if it’s not growing as fast as you’d like.

And I know it can lead to burnout, working so hard and not making enough money for it to feel worthwhile.

But instead of deleting it:

• Take a break.

• Have a rest.

• Seek inspiration.

• Talk to people.

• Email me, I’m always happy to brainstorm business ideas with people in my community.

Keep the website with the good SEO. Or the Substack with the subscribers and followers - whether you have 10, 100 or 1000. It doesn’t matter.

Keep the website or blog, while you try launching on Substack. It doesn’t need to be one or the other.

Ultimately, what matters is that people are there for you and your writing.

And if people like you and your writing, eventually, you will be paid for it.

But you have to find those back doors and - most importantly - persevere.

Annie x