I earned over $35,000 with online writing in July. Months like these are becoming common, but it took 4 years to get to this point. If I were starting over, these are the 7 steps I’d take to “make it” in half the time:

Solid advice on building a successful freelancing business.

via @timstoddart

Tim Stoddart of Copyblogger and SoberNation runs several profitable businesses.

He’s now going all in on content creation. He is quickly growing his newsletter and podcast while building a following on YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn. This is how he does it all.

Big Idea: The top creators invest a lot of time and money into building their audience.

Big Idea: It doesn’t take much extra work to really stand out as a freelancer. Here are some simple ideas to differentiate yourself.

“Take it from me, a ten-year veteran self-employed creator: If you are looking for security or reassurance, I do not recommend this line of work. However, if you are burning with curiosity – if your heart and intuition lead you to do things that don’t make sense – well, then you don’t really have a choice in the matter, do you?”

via @paulmillerd

“If you’re charging 2 figures for a coaching program, you’ve already lost.”

Big Idea: Professional coaches charge thousands of dollars per month. Charge more and you’ll get better clients and they will churn less.

“I love the game of business. Like, to me, it’s like a video game. Right? You unlock levels and, and you figure out new things. And I think the most interesting thing is it’s not just a one player game, it’s a multiplayer game. And I think the best players who are playing that game have unlocked sort of that multiplayer, you know, way of playing.”

Big Idea: “The reason most creators fail is that they voluntarily stop playing the game.”

Related Link: I wrote about how I’m playing the Creator Game.

Jay Acunzo interviews Andrew and Pete of the small business membership Atomic.site and the Atomicon event.

“So often, what we need to see greater results in our business isn’t an improvement in productivity. It’s not about just working harder, or even working smarter. Instead, often, it’s about conquering fear. ”

Big Idea: Take bigger risks if you want better results.

Comprehensive guide to creating and promoting lead magnets to get more email subscribers.

via @5minutemonday

Ayush Chaturvedi publishes the Listen Up Indie Hackers newsletter to more than 2000 subscribers. Every week he provides actionable insights to help you build and grow a business.

Here is a selection of the best links I’ve found this week to level up your creator skills.

How to create a killer YouTube video (to blow up your channel) jondorman via @fortheinterested

I replaced all our blog thumbnails using DALL·E 2 for $45 via @stackedmarketer

4 simple ways to retain new subscribers – growthcurrency

Why you should learn to market stuff (including yourself) – thewokesalaryman via @brainpint

50 content creator tools – sproutsocial via @fortheinterested