Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
I Abandoned My 6-Figure SEO Business for a Newsletter
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Hi Reader, For years, I ran a content publishing business. I published 100s of articles a month with the help of a team of freelance writers. I got millions of page views from SEO. I earned five figures a month from display ads and affiliate revenue. Last year, I let my editorial team go. I sold off most of my niche websites. And I changed my business model. Now, I run a daily newsletter. And I provide content strategy and coaching services to a few high-paying clients. When I posted about this change on LinkedIn, one follower asked: “Why are you changing your business model?” “I’m having a mid-life crisis!” I said No… I quit because… AI tools are lowering the barrier to entry for niche website owners. Most people consume content on social media, not on a content website. The Google algo favors big brands like Forbes and Reddit over smaller creators. And… I was tired. SEO content is boring to write and publish. Slam keywords into an over-optimized article, all in the hopes of some more traffic? No thanks. I’d rather write story-driven content for my newsletter. Content that converts a few readers into clients. As for staring at Google Analytics and Google Search Console? I’d rather help a few clients and creators get what they want. I haven’t replaced income from my old business model yet, but my newsletter and revenue is growing. I’m attracting higher-quality readers than from SEO. By higher quality, I mean readers willing to invest in themselves and their creator businesses. It’s more profitable and less work. You can do the same.
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Letters From the Desk of Bryan Collins
Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
I tested Google Gemini’s content creation capabilities. I wanted to see how it stacks up against ChatGPT and Claude for creating business copy. Google Gemini offers two interesting “gems” (think custom GPTs) for content creators: Copy Creator and Writing Editor. Copy Creator helps write taglines, mission statements, and social media posts. Writing Editor focuses on fixing grammar and improving content structure. I put both through their paces using content from my daily newsletter. When I fed...
Your existing content is like an untapped gold mine - most creators keep digging new holes instead of mining what they already have. I’ve spent years writing online, It can easily become a full-time, low-paying job if you keep digging. One method for getting around this problem is building a content library of your greatest hits. It’s easier to repurpose content if you have a library that you can draw from. Another method is tracking a few key weekly stats across each channel so you can see...
I spent years obsessing over niche selection. When I was a Forbes columnist, branding myself as “the productivity and leadership guy” seemed like a safe bet. I covered topics like time management, leadership, and getting sh*t done at work.I mapped dozens of hot niche-specific topics in a spreadsheet and published articles like: The Fastest Way To Accomplish More This Week How To Use The 4 Ds Of Time Management 4 Common Mistakes New Home Workers Make I wrote about these topics not because they...