Excellent advice! I think it's the cornerstone to coming up with products, too, which you see and hear being lamented all the time in IM (lack of ideas and "nothing is new"). There really aren't that many new things coming along at any one time. Most of the strategies and "things" are set for pretty long periods of time in Internet Marketing (at least).

The trick is to come up with a unique approach or perspective. If you can couple that with your own direct experience, you've got a winning formula. Sure, you might essentially be repeating, but so what? One person might learn and actually DO something that improves their situation because of the way you explained or told your story. Maybe that same person already knew the nuts and bolts, but lacked a way to tie it all together or become motivated enough to take action on that knowledge... and you just inspired that in them. How much is THAT worth?

It's not just about info products. Same holds true for building a blog following, email list loyalty, video channel subscribers, etc. etc.

In my experience combining writing about what you love with a keen understanding of WHO you are writing for and WHY you are writing (what's in it for them) is key. In that sense writing about what you love - OK, writing for yourself about what you love, that's a hobby and isn't likely to earn you very much dough.

A good formula I have always used is... start with what you love then help others with transformations in that area, they could be transformations you have gone through and can help them with, transformations that you go through together or transformations that you research/get from secondary research and help others with even before you go through them.

Jeff

I think that it is important to be passionate about what you are writing about. I feel it is important for my own self to be passionate about what I write about. But we each are able to make this decision for our own selves, ultimately.

Nice idea! But, at the end of the day, the WIIFM - what's in it for me - principle applies. Most people in the make money online niche, or the Internet marketing niche, just Wanna make money and won't be that impressed about an attempt to improve their relationship.

This is the fact of the matter. Most people online I talk to, at least in the IM niche, are making hardly any money and just want an answer for them to do so. Once they're making more money then they figure they'll sort their relationship out, I guess.

So, a real nice idea, but my own feedback is I think it's a little bit idealistic.



Malc

I see what you're trying to say but in my experience I need to be real passionate about what I'm writing or I just don't finish/stick to my blog. I've started & stopped at least 10 blogs before I learned this.

Now I like what I'm writing about and feel I'm somewhat helping people/providing value which is the only reason I continue with it.

~ Mateen

Not always... sometimes you just have to do what's profitable.

...or mull it over at an $8/hr job at the local grocery store.... 80 hours a week.

I was just talking about this with my wife earlier. I read so many books that tell you to do what you love for a business, and I just watched a video by Alan Watts that says the same thing. Its called "What Do You Desire" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLD0P372xxQ) - Watch it. Its awesome.... He says the trick to life is to follow your passion....work out what you love and do it... and do it enough and become so good at it that you eventually get paid top dollars for your skill...

Its a great idea but I also love the "4Hr Workweek" by Tim Ferris and consider this my bible. In this the idea is that you build a muse - just a quick way of making money based on something you know and then go off and do what you love as a hobby...

I'm torn between the 2 concepts - If you write about what you love then the passion will keep you working into the night enjoying the time, you;ll love talking about the book, you'll love promoting it... and you'll love doing radio and TV interviews... so chances are it will be succesfull...

Plus if your passion is also your business then you get to put your passion through the books and make it tax deductible... if my passion was boats for example and I wrote books and had a blog then I could maybe make my boat tax deductible.... or at least any equipment I buy to review in the book.

But.... If you make what you love a profession there's also a chance you'll burn out and no longer enjoy it. I used to do photography as a hobby and then became a wedding photographer - and burnt out and I can no longer pick up a camera for fun...

I'm kinda on the side of creating a muse that makes money and then doing what I love for fun only. But then you run the risk of not being passionate about the muse and therefore not following through like you should (hands up to that - guilty as charged ha ha)

Tricky Tricky Choice.

Great Post!

Yes I agree. When you write about what you love, the whole process is almost 'effortless' and I find that my hands and fingers take on a life of their own.

It's like the 'creativity' just pours out of my hands and my results are much better.

i prefer the 1st option. i dont write for myself /my own passion. i write for the buyers passion (which ultimiately is my passion of making money). with this approach, its not about whats your passion but whats your target markets passion.

but excellent technique for the opposite approach.

I like writing what I love. But as this is my bread and butter, I have allowed my perception to evolve into:

I LOVE WHAT I WRITE.

Whenever I write something someone paid for, I always appreciate the fact that I am learning something new (during research) and I get to exercise my writing skills. The other day I wrote about exotic wood (which I knew absolutely nothing about) and was glad I took on the assignment. When the words in my head start to build into paragraphs, I step back and marvel at the fact that I wrote a good piece that I'd be proud to send back to my client.

Then I realize, "hey, I got paid to do this, too!" What a bonus!

After a few days or months, I see my piece published, that sense of pride and fulfillment is doubled.

So again, I LOVE WHAT I WRITE, and I earn from it, too!

Some people will be able to write about literally anything with no problem and have a great success. Others won't write until they find something that interests them. Not everyone can compartmentalize the writing function so that it's directly tied into the desire or need to make money. For those people, it's essential to blog or write about subjects which they love. Only then, will they find happiness and financial success.

Always write about what you love. Chances are, there's a built in crowd of others who want to read about what you love too. When you love what you write about, you'll be more productive and publish more which could lead to an increased chance of selling and earning money. In turn, the financial freedom will create a greater sense of personal pride and accomplishment as well as provide the ability to spend more time with family/loved ones or on leisure activities.

If you're writing for clients........ I guess it depends how much work you have. With enough work available, you can pick and choose your projects and get the best of both worlds.

Otherwise it's a issue of enjoyment vs. money and your checking account balance.

[DELETED]

What if writing to help others find what they are seeking is your passion?

I have come to one major realization in the five or six years I have been studying online marketing, unless you are primarily writing to a specific blog audience, and build a relationship as a result, in many cases... most people (consumers) don't give a rat's ass about YOU!

You can write under a Pen Name, be a dude pretending to be a chick to reach a female audience, or what not.

Hell, Ben Franklin did this with the Silence Dogood letters, right?

At the end of the day, it boils down to YOU knowing what YOUR objectives are with YOUR online business.

BUT... in order to have an online business, YOU need to realize; the public wants expert advice, guidance, and to find that WIIFM golden nugget at the end of the bread crumb trails you lay out beforehand.

To me, depending on what it is you are marketing and the audience you are marketing to... the best bet is to remove yourself, your feelings, and your objectives from the equation altogether, and start focusing (and researching of course) on HOW to provide your audience with that which they seek... viable solutions, products, and/or services.

Anyone who writes successful ad copy, might find things they have experienced or relate to, and add that into the sales copy, but big marketing firms hire guys to write copy to sell tampons, and women to sell mens watches...

At the end of the day... when it comes down to it, YOU don't matter to your audience, neither do your feelings, nor your passion for writing!

What matters IS: You can provide viable solutions to resolve that audiences problem or fuel their desires, hunger, or void!

Now, if you love teddy bears, and French Poodles, and can write about that all day and still make money online... congratulations to you, I can't because I remove myself from the equation and focus solely on the needs of a specific niche group or audience's expectation, and direct them to that which they seek.

Most of my niches are NOT in topics I share an interest in, or am passionate about, outside the fact that I do concern myself with delivering the highest quality solutions their money can buy, and as such my commissions are actually starting to improve....finally.

WHY?

Because I stopped trying to be me, and started researching what they want, not what I want and it works.

Lastly, like I said; it all boils down to what you are trying to accomplish. I am trying to actually make a living, and like any other job... it requires doing things and writing about things that may not always be what I am personally passionate about. Outside of IM I have no passion for writing about weight loss, relationships & dating, sports betting, and sleep apnea... but guess what, there's a paycheck there!

Personally, when I write about something that I love to write about I can write with more passion and the reader can really feel the passion behind the article. It helps create a more personalized message.

Hi,

Here's my take on this...

...Every human being naturally falls in love with something and wants to do
more of what they're GOOD AT.

So GET GOOD at something that makes you the most return on your
investment.

Whether that be time or money that you invest of course.

So instead of just going for what you love and not seeing any real results
from it because that particular niche has no money in it.

Do something that will make the incomes you really want to see, get good
at it then have the world as your oyster my friend.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

You are already there, just get in and ride it you have NOTHING TO LOSE...

...BUT EVERYTHING TO GAIN!!!

All the best
Gavin

people do not get this for some reason.....you make money because you do things you do not want to do or because others will not do....
that is what sets apart from the rest of the population.....i love what someone said, i have a passion for making money...not building websites or being on the net 24 hours a day.
we are a special breed. none of us like going to work everyday but we do to raise our families, same with im

I have a passion for writing.

Sometimes I get to write about subjects I love; but often I write for clients on topics that I'm not passionate about. But I try to think of the reader and why they would be passionate about the subject. I build on that to tell stories and find little known facts or explain "how-to" do something that will ultimately help the reader in some way. By focusing on them and their interest in the topic I can write from their view of the subject; not my own.

This has helped me tackle a lot of topics that were not my personal passion.
Rose

Well if you have a true calling, I believe you need to be writing about it and not just writing to make money because there is a demand.

You can try to squelch a calling, but it will rear up and make you miserable until you listen to it and obey. If you just "love" football say, but its not your really passion/calling then maybe you can live with that.

If you think you have a choice to write about stuff you don't love, then try it and see how bored you get and how you wish you were doing something else.

So you will only really know until you try it and listen to yourself and what make your feel "in sync" with yourself.

When I am writing as part of my business, even here, right now, I feel in my bones that it is exactly what I should be and want to be doing. So you need to ask yourself that.

So whats interesting is that I am not writing exactly about music right now, but I am writing as part of that business... so for me that feels right. But to others maybe not. You will only know when you do it.

I think it can bet tricky at times. The 4 hour work week and the eMyth Revisited (I think) talk about the pitfalls of passion. Someone may adore making quilts by hand (or baking pies, as in one of the book examples) but as soon as you start trying to sell them on Etsy or in a shop, you're often in for a rude awakening. Hand quilting can take two or three months to complete one project, yet it's extremely unlikely the craftsman can sell it for the equivalent amount of wages/profit. Or you may find yourself so swamped with orders or related work that you begin hating what you were once passionate about.

Sure you can write about the thing and sell your knowledge, but that doesn't always work quite the same.

Photography and gardening are two of my biggest passions. Photography can be a lucrative writing topic, particularly if you write about software and gear. That, for me at least, is drudge work that takes time away from the photography itself. I personally prefer the actual creative act of making images in the camera. My compromise is to make commercial images that sell to other businesses.

Gardening is less lucrative but has a huge audience. Writing on that topic works best when you're more personal and intimate with the audience, unless you've made a name for yourself as the go to person for given techniques.

Being passionate about something definitely shows through in your writing. Just be sure writing about it is as enjoyable as doing it before you commit too far.

If you're in for the money then you'll have to make some compromises and go out of your comfort zone. Simple as that.

I don't think it is necessary, but it is nice to love what you write about. As a freelance writer, I write on any topic under the sun (almost) and my clients are very happy with the results.

For my own projects, however, I try to focus on areas where I have at least some passion.

I see what you did there. Well, sometimes it's possible to combine them, but sometimes you won't be so lucky. And, unfortunately, your favorite topic won't always pay the bills.
I don't think that's such a tragedy though. You can have a personal blog where you can write only about what you love in your spare time.

"Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being."

- A. A. Milne

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to write for the sake of writing then go ahead and write about what you love. If you want to create a business around writing about your passions then you need to enter a market where people are spending money.