Economy
How to Make Money as a Writer
By Emmanuel Udom
The coming into existence of computers and the internet has indeed reduced our world to a global family. Every profession and vocation has therefore gone online.
These days, it is common to hear words like e-commerce, e-books, e-banking, e-governance e-relationship and of course, e-marriage.
This is indeed a digital age, where with a click of the mouse, you can successfully seal a business deal; get information, network for friendship, marriage etc.
Reflect deeply on what I am about to tell you here. Are you a medical doctor, business person, journalist, fashion designer, plumber, teacher, entertainer, computer expert, entrepreneur, or even a pastor or an Imam? The truth is that regardless of your profession or vocation, you and I are marketers.
The bottom line of our networking, daily hustles, bustles and runs is to market our knowledge, talent, skill, passion, products, services, or ideas. Therefore, with the internet in place, the entire world has become our marketplace. Geographical location is no longer an issue.
Let me now zero in on you, as an aspiring writer, if you are not yet one. It takes a burning passion, focus, discipline, pain and a raw, determined spirit to work towards becoming a world-class writer.
Writing is not, has never been and will never be a piece of cake, or tea party. Ask those who have attempted times without number to write an article, a book, a novel, a script, and documentary or a research paper.
Why do you want to be a writer? This is a personal question that you alone should answer, not me. There are a thousand and one reasons why people aspire to write for the public. I am sure you can list some of the reasons.
However, you as a writer must add value, benefits, information, education, and insight to your readers to remain relevant.
In this computer age, it is not about writing to impress but writing to sell. A writer is a marketer, just like the sales representatives, who go from place to place to market their products or services.
Writers are not expected to move from one locality, state or country to the other. They are expected to sit down and graft quality, promotional articles that will attract traffic (visitors) across the globe.
To graft goes beyond writing to impress. You have got to get the right words and carefully build them into powerful and attractive articles, books, scripts and documentaries.
In my e-book: How To Make Money As A Writer, I have outlined some of the steps budding writers must take to bring their dreams of becoming world-class writers to fruition.
Let me pause here and say this. If your aspiration as a writer is to make quick money overnight, I suggest you drop the idea. Like every legitimate business, it takes pains, commitment, focus, passion and determination to grow your business. Becoming a world-class writer is not exclusive here. Ideas come before money. So, your income from writing will come in trickles and grow with time and
The Basics
As a writer, you are aspiring to publish quality, attractive content for your clients and readers. Whether you want to write hard copies, or e-books, or post your articles on blogs or sites, there are some basics you must know that will help you in bringing your dream to reality.
Discipline
Nobody can achieve much in life without discipline. It has nothing to do with your profession or vocation. You must be focused, not easily distracted, organized and time-conscious to be a super writer.
Read Wide
Content writers are versatile fellows. Read everything and anything on your core, competent area.
The aim is to acquire more knowledge to write as an authority, even if you are a school drop-out or a PhD holder. This is the starting point for attracting visitors and ultimately the money.
Roadmap
It is one thing to aspire to become a writer. It is a different ball game to have a clear plan on how to move from where you are to where you want to be a world-class writer.
So, if you want to write content on fashion, engineering, journalism, business, entrepreneurship, and social media, that will sell and bring you money, you must first and foremost have a realistic and workable plan on the ground.
Challenges
You may not agree with me here. Most of the so-called challenges or problems that come to us daily are self-created.
Remember, I say most, not all. Take it or leave it, challenges are necessary for growth.
It is when you overcome challenges that you grow, not by avoiding them. People will try to discourage you when they see that you are trying to break away from the crowd.
Therefore, when n you make up your mind to become a writer, you have got to have this iron-like passion that no discouragement or run-down words from people could break. Great writers today were ones called all sorts of names by their friends, colleagues, family members etc.
Mentorship
Read the works of great writers and become inspired to be like them. But, there is a nag here. Do not at any point in time try to copy your mentor hook, line and sinker.
You must still the suggestions you receive from others to the test and see whether or not they tally with what you have in mind.
The late Dr Sunny Obaze-Ojeagbasi, the publisher of Success Digest, said: do not attempt at any point in time to copy your role model up to the point of losing your identity. He is right here.
Emmanuel Udom, a journalist and private investigator, can be reached at [email protected]
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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