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Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

blog.pragmaticengineer.com

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Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#31

Post by ilrwbwrkhv »

bolt7469 wrote: post #11
sakopov wrote: post #3

I've been wrecking my brain how to make $10 on anything online for a good part of the past 10 years with a couple of failed startups and even more side projects that went nowhere. I envy anyone who can do this and I think it is truly an immeasurable amount of effort to make any kind of side income let alone something that replaces your salary. But I think articles like this one advertise it like it's something you ca…

The classic YC advice is "make something people want." This video dives into how that looks in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C27RVio2rOs The guiding principle is simple, but in practice it can be hard and complex.

I think a more succinct point would be to identify someone with a hair on fire problem. That I feel is more concrete. They do talk about this a bit later but I feel this is the starting point.

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#32

Post by kebsup »

sakopov wrote: post #3

I've been wrecking my brain how to make $10 on anything online for a good part of the past 10 years with a couple of failed startups and even more side projects that went nowhere. I envy anyone who can do this and I think it is truly an immeasurable amount of effort to make any kind of side income let alone something that replaces your salary. But I think articles like this one advertise it like it's something you ca…

I'm getting 10 USD once in one or two days from my project https://gifmemes.io. It meant spending a few hundreds of hours of programming without any validation whatsoever and then hoping for the best.

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#34

Post by rozenmd »

sakopov wrote: post #3

I've been wrecking my brain how to make $10 on anything online for a good part of the past 10 years with a couple of failed startups and even more side projects that went nowhere. I envy anyone who can do this and I think it is truly an immeasurable amount of effort to make any kind of side income let alone something that replaces your salary. But I think articles like this one advertise it like it's something you ca…

I think what most people miss in replies to your comment is "building trust at scale".

Folks will launch courses that net $1m a year, sure. But what you miss is the years beforehand building goodwill with their community by helping out, writing articles, attending conferences and giving talks, etc.

I do this myself with React at https://maxrozen.com, and most folks that end up buying my book found my site dozens of times first.

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#35

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

> My newsletter is the #1 paid technology newsletter on Substack.

good for you but is this another survivorship bias thing...

reminds me of the 4-hour workweek, getting rich by giving advice others how to get rich

added: if you try to be in the creator economy, you will always be at the whim of some gatekeeper like youtube or instagram who can erase 90% of your income in an instant

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#36

Post by msadowski »

I think this post is a treasure trove of good advice. I’ll have to do some deeper reading of this as the advice seem solid.

Since I’ve quit my last job in 2018 I feel like I’ve tried it all when it comes to revenue sources:

* consulting - still my main source of income

* writing a newsletter - brings about $400-$600 a month but there are some dry days on the horizon

* selling newsletter merch - I’m in red every month with only one t-shirt design

* evaluating EU project proposals - nice side gig 1-2 times a year

* writing a course with a publisher - after 3 months I’m nowhere near getting a good return of investment on the time spent but it was fun and I’d do it again

* writing an influencer posts on LinkedIn - was a one-off thing but paid really well

I feel like doing too many things at one could be a problem for me and focusing on a subset of things could bring better results.

If you are in a position to work for yourself then I would highly recommend it.

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#37

Post by klodolph »

throwaway202288 wrote: post #27

Just a word of caution from someone who paid a ton of money to a lot of the people mentioned in the article in the last 2 years and was part of more than a few of these communities. Note these are my observations and opinions. - Read any testimonials these people out with a dollop of salt. Success rates seem to be around 1-2%(if you are lucky) with most of the others leaving or barely getting by. Easier to make way m…

> - There is a TON of luck. A million people put in the same hard work but do not make it. But most of these people spin it as hard work.

The “Excel Girl” also spins it as manifesting. You can see more of that at r/lawofattraction, or you might be familiar with The Secret (2006).

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#38

Post by rexf »

jsemrau wrote: post #17
asicsp wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been wrecking my brain how to make $10 on anything online If you are really serious about $10 (and not some other larger number), here are some tips: * Pick a topic you know really well (programming, cooking, sea diving, whatever) * Make an infographic (get started on the topic of your choice, some specific and useful practical tip, etc) - picking a template from free tier Canva will go a long way in producing…

I've been doing that for the last 12 months and tbh, it does not work unless you already had an audience before. Highly likely I am the worst social marketer on the planet. But in terms of RoI your advice doesn't work for 99% of the population.

I agree. Marketing is hard.

With nearly zero Twitter followers, posting to Twitter is a black hole. Even posting to reddit is posting to a black hole unless you get really lucky (lots of upvotes and engagement).

It's a chicken and egg problem. How do you get the word out when nobody listens to what you have to say?

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#39

Post by dmitriid »

> When I left my job as an engineering manager at Uber in late 2020, I had nothing lined up on purpose, and decided to spend the coming 6 months writing a book, and then found a startup related to platform engineering

All these feel-good stories should start with "this is how I managed to save enough money to not worry about anything for at least 6 months"

Re: Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer

#40

Post by t_mann »

Followed the link to the Miss Excel story, it's pretty wild overall, but this just stood out to me:

> whenever I run a sale, it’s usually $297 typically, but when you cut it in half, it looks nice at $149

When asked why her courses were priced at a 'weird' number like 297. That's just wild coming from someone who self-reportedly makes up to 6 figures a day teaching people how to use software for basic arithmetic.

Free Excel tip: use =ISEVEN() to check whether a number will halve to a whole number.

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