As I was setting up Quora today to be monetized (I’ll talk about that a little later), I started thinking about how many income streams I have going on.
I’m now up to 8!
I’ll take you through each one, and maybe this list will give you some ideas for yourself. You’ll also begin to see how they all work together.
1. Medium
I am lucky that Medium has been a fairly consistent income stream for me since late last year.
But it isn’t just the income that makes Medium so great. I can also use it to build my email list, promote my ebooks, promote my Amazon book, and add affiliate links.
(Not to mention it’s a great place to connect with other like-minded writers and marketers!)
2. Intellectualists newsletter
My newsletter is great for many reasons.
My favorite thing about it is that it’s super easy to put together because it’s a mini (atomic) newsletter. I only include a few links to resources or tools that I think can help my audience.
Here’s a sample of what it looks like:
The first link almost always goes to one of my Medium articles. (That helps boost my reads and earnings.)
The p.s. is almost always an affiliate link.
(By the way, that link goes to Matt Brady’s program he’ll be running soon, Build & Launch Your Newsletter in 30 Days. Check it out if you want to get a newsletter up and running!)
You can see how having a newsletter can easily help boost your income.
I also have links at the bottom of it that help promote some of my other content:
3. Gumroad
Gumroad has quickly shot up to one of my favorite income streams. I used to dread even thinking about writing ebooks.
“I don’t have anything worthwhile to say. Who’s going to pay for my nonsense?”
Turns out, I really enjoy creating ebooks!
I highly recommend trying this income stream out!
I promote my ebooks in my newsletters now and again, on Medium, and Substack.
And…
Here’s a top secret for you.
Your ebooks can promote your Medium account, Substacks, affiliate links, etc.
I have loads of ebook ideas that I need to sit down and create!
(These will be a part of my million-dollar experiment I’m hosting for my paid Substack subscribers. My goal is to make one million dollars in sales on Gumroad! I don’t have a goal date in mind, but I’m guessing it’s going to take me a minute. lol In any case, it’s going to be fun to try!)
4. Substack: Hustling Housewife
Speaking of Substack…
I’m pretty new here, but I’m starting to fill in my Hustling Housewife site:
I have two paid subscribers so far, but I expect to attract more once I get my experiment going.
(I’ll be showing everything I do, plus deep dives into my results for my paid subs. They also get 50% off every ebook I create.)
Substack is also a great way to promote everything else on this list! Affiliate programs, my Medium account, my newsletter, and my other Substacks, too!
5. Substack — Masters of Manifesting
This one is so brand-new, that I haven’t finished setting it up yet.
I love the topics of the Law of Attraction and manifesting, and it’s something I’ve been using my entire life.
I want to help people remember that they also have this power! Here’s what I’m planning for this Substack:
Copy any of my manifesting stories from Medium into Substack. I will keep these under the paywall, but I’ll add a link to Medium so Medium members will be able to read them.
The majority of posts will be fresh content.
I will put the paywall up on any non-Medium content. And the reason I’m doing this is to reduce the amount of trolls and haters. For some reason, this topic gets a ton of negative naysayers, and I’d like to keep them out. (Unless they want to pay to tell us we’re wrong.)
I will also have member-only chats where we can talk about success stories, ask questions, and talk about what’s worked and what hasn’t with manifesting.
Paid members will also get 50% off any of my ebooks. I’ll be creating some manifesting ebooks, and those will also be a part of my million-dollar experiment.
So this one isn’t an income stream yet, but it will be!
6. Affiliate Marketing/Benable
Benable is a site where you create lists of your favorite things. You can add affiliate links to each of your products.
All of the products in these lists have affiliate links connected to them. I link to my Benable account through my newsletter, on Substack, and in some of my Medium posts.
Affiliate marketing in general is one of my favorite income streams. I have a long list of affiliate links I use stored in a Google doc. (And I’m always looking for more!)
I come in here almost daily and pick a link for my newsletter, add it to Benable, or include it in a Medium article.
7. Amazon KDP
This is also a new one for me, but I recently made my Medium Money ebook into a paperback to sell on Amazon:
It’s made a few sales so far:
My real goal with this book was to:
go through the process to see how it all works
establish myself on Amazon
Now that I’ve done that, I would like to turn some of my other ebooks into physical books. I envision having a nice library like
, , and !I promote this book via my newsletter (do you see why you need one of these?), Medium articles, and Substack.
8. Quora
Quora is brand, brand, brand new. (Sort of.)
I’ve been on Quora since 2018, but I didn’t realize they now have a monetization plan until I saw this post on
’s Substack.I logged in today and realized I still have people viewing my answers from long ago!
So I turned on monetization and now I need to figure out how to use it properly again.
I added a bunch of new categories in “Knows about”, and I’m excited to explore what’s there and how I can add my 2 cents while making a few cents.
Final Thoughts
I hope this gave you some new income stream ideas. It may look daunting, but I love finding new ways to add to my income. And I only work on them when I feel like it. I never stress about any of this stuff!
Plus, I love how they all work together. I can use Medium, my newsletter, and Substack to promote each other…and my affiliate links and books.
I see these income streams as being one step closer to total digital dominance. Muahahaha.
As I mentioned before, we bored housewives are taking over the internet!
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through my link, I’ll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Did you know I also share short lists of links to everything I learn about creating $5k+ per month in this mini newsletter? → intellectualists.com
This is eye opening. Thank you. I have been looking to get on Gumroad. Now I have the impetus.
that's really great - happy that Medium has been consistent for you! :)