Building a Personal Platform Online Has Been a Rough Ride
"(But something always makes me come back to it…)"
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Building a personal platform online has been a wild and bumpy ride for me. It started in the early 2000s when you had to code websites in HTML manually. That was “fun”.
Ever since then, I have been fascinated with the online world and how to use it to make some extra income.
It hasn’t always been easy.
There’s nothing more frustrating than working your tail off and writing 300+ blog posts for your website, only to have Google change its algorithm, sending your fledgling website into a slow tailspin of death…
That’s the last time I decided to give it all up, return to a regular job, and forget about this online thing.
But something always makes me come back to it.
And here I am once again…
This time hasn’t been easy either.
I struggled because I didn’t know what to write about. There’s so much conflicting advice out there.
● The riches are in the niches.
● You are your niche.
● Follow your passion.
● Don’t follow your passion — follow the money!
It’s not easy to find clarity in the noise. I finally got clarity, but only after some suffering, a bit of desperation, and a little bit of praying.
Here’s what happened…
After writing on Medium for about 10 months, quitting my job to do it, and being very unsuccessful at it, my husband said to me, “You don’t seem passionate about this. Why not just get a job instead? It’ll be easier for you.”
That sent my mind, my soul, and my heart into a tailspin.
“Yes”, I thought, “I am passionate about this. But I’m confused about the direction I need to take.”
I was at the park the next day and prayed (begged) for God, my guardian angels, or anyone who would listen to give me some clarity.
Then, three events happened one after the other that pointed me in the right direction:
That day at the park, I put on a podcast, and the guest was Mike Dooley. He was talking about a time when he was confused and needed help finding his path. (It was so similar to what was happening to me!) He had asked God to help point him in the right direction and stated his demands. He ended up starting the newsletter Notes from the Universe (a short email of inspiring notes), and now has over 1 million subscribers! He was also featured in the movie The Secret. After hearing his story, I started to feel hope!
I started getting emails from Jamie Northrup of Minimalist Hustler, and I noticed how short — but informative — they were. I thought, “I could do that!”
I had the domain name Intellectualists.com for many years, and I decided to let it go. It was just a few days from expiring when the idea hit me like a ton of bricks, “I can use that domain to send out short lists like Jamie does!”
These three events shoved me in the direction I needed to go and a whole new world opened up for me. Because I have this clarity, I’m now able to enjoy the writing process and building my personal platform online.
The ride is much smoother now, but I can appreciate all the bumps in the road it took to get here. Sometimes a bit of struggle makes the journey even more worthwhile.
About the Author
Hey! I’m Christina, and I love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.
Some thoughts from me
Are you writing on a regular basis? Good.
Are you building a platform for your writing? You should be.
As a writer, the best thing you can do right now (alongside putting words on pages) is grow your online presence.
You do that by building a platform, brick by brick.
The Why
You’ll have more eyes on your work
You’ll have a supportive community around your journey (while it’s in-process)
You’ll have more control over what your community receives from you (and when they receive it)
The How
Create discoverable content
Build your social media following
Add subscribers to your mailing list
Send those subscribers enriching content
The What’s Next?
Start now, if you haven’t already.
I wish I’d got stuck into building my platform sooner — that’s why I talk about it so darn much!
It’s something Future You will be glad Present You started today.
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I've come to understand the importance of building a presence. For years, I wrote for others. It saturated me. Enough to not write for myself.
That's changed now. And I feel good about it.
David: I have subscribed because I supported myself and my family by high-value management consulting. I branched into writing as a form of therapy, and found that I enjoyed it. I want to join your chat, but not sure how to do it. I hate touch surface devices and the feeling is mutual: they hate me as well. Is there any way to join on a Windows machine?