My Quick Guide to Becoming an AI/Tech Writer
Do you like AI and other tech topics? Start writing today.
Hi guys! I saw many of you like my previous article on how to write better article using AI, so now I’ve prepared a guide on how to become a tech writer. This is based on my own experience and knowledge that I have accumulated over the past years.
Enjoy!
Writing articles is an overlooked yet powerful activity anyone can do.
If you’re used to writing emails at work or documenting your code, believe me, you’re qualified to start writing today.
When I started writing tech articles back in 2020, writing was more like a hobby to me. Back then, I’d learn new stuff in programming, solve a project, and then share it with everyone through an online article. Writing articles was like documenting my own journey.
Then that hobby became my full-time income.
However, online writing has more benefits than just money. In fact, there’s one thing that most people don’t know about writing online and, before starting this guide, I’d like to talk about it.
A hidden benefit of online writing
When it comes to online writing, the first thing that comes to our minds is probably writing long articles and getting paid for it.
I’ve been doing that for a long time on Medium and let me tell you, it’s indeed very profitable, but there are different options nowadays that might be more suitable for you.
If you have little time, you could write small posts on LinkedIn or Twitter (X). You won’t make so much money on such platforms, but you can still get a priceless asset: email subscribers.
If you have some free time, you could write one or two articles per week on Substack or Medium. You might earn more on Medium in the short run, but on Substack, it’s easier to collect email subscribers. That said, in my experience, Medium has more traffic, so if you’re new to online writing, I’d recommend exploring both.
Now, regardless of the platform you choose, have you noticed some words I’m repeating constantly? Email subscribers. This is more important than YouTube subscribers or social media followers.
I’m a full-time content creator. Here’s what I’ve achieved over the past years.
I have over 100k followers on Medium.
I have over 30k YouTube subscribers.
I have over 11k online students on Udemy.
Those numbers look nice, but let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart, those numbers don’t matter too much because they aren’t actually my followers, subscribers, or students.
They belong to Medium, YouTube, and Udemy.
This means that if YouTube dies tomorrow, most of my subscribers will “die” too. Yes, you can tell everybody through a post on your social media account that you’re now on a new platform, but you won’t be able to migrate all your subscribers.
I experienced this firsthand when I explored new options for Medium. Yes, I have 100k+ followers there, but I couldn’t take them to Substack or anywhere else. Fortunately, I’ve been collecting emails through my Medium articles for many years and I was able to take 35k+ email subscribers to Substack (that’s a lot!).
Collecting emails has different benefits and we’ll see that later, but at this point, I want to make clear that even if you don’t make money directly by writing, you can still make money later if you collect the emails of your subscribers.
Now let’s see how to become a tech writer.