Volatility might be up, and the stock market might be flirting with a correction, but investors remain desperate for information about what will come next. This creates an opportunity as you don’t need to be in the market to make money from the market.
Now, this isn’t some get rich quick scheme. Instead, it is a chance to put your research skills to work without risking your life’s savings on the ebb and flow of the stock market.
What is it? Blogging. That’s right, writing about the market is a great way to make money even when the market is down, and this article will give you some tips on how to get started.
Be Relevant
Let’s face it, if you want people to read your research, then you will need to be relevant. As such, don’t write about topics which have little or no bearing on what is going in the market today.
One example would be the market impact of the recently announced United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Sure, the announcement was big news, but the agreement is meaningless until it is ratified. In fact, the only short-term impact of the USMCA is the apparent reduction in trade tensions between the three largest economies in North America.
As such, choose a topic which will be of interest with your intended target. This could be how the agreement does little to address tariff concerns in the short-term, or it could be the impact of a strengthening U.S. Dollar on markets in Mexico and Canada.
Doing so will help you to build an audience who will come to see you as an authority in the areas you cover.
Focus
This brings us to the next lesson – focus. Like successful analysts and investors, you shouldn’t try to be all things to all people. Instead, pick one or two sectors and spend most of your time tracking them.
Doing so, will not only help you to increase your knowledge of the sectors you are tracking but it will help your investors in these sectors know that you are someone they should follow.
Beyond this, it can also open the opportunity to track stocks which might not receive the same attention as large caps in the same sector as the biggest companies are not always the best companies. This could open lines of communication to the management of these companies and give you a further advantage when trying to make money writing about the stock market.
Pick the Right Platform
While you will probably want to raise your profile as a contributing author, you might also want to set up your own site as this will offer the opportunity to publish customize research reports and other information.
If you do decide to set up your own site for publishing research then you will want to choose a technology solution which makes it easy to maintain your site without spending needless amounts of time doing administrative work – after all, you are not running a design blog.
In addition, you might want to set up a way that others can follow and share your research on their sites. Sure, this might sound like you are giving away your research for free. But you need to give to get and, in this case, it is all about raising your profile.
If you are using WordPress for your platform, then you might want to consider creating a WordPress plugin. According to the official whitepaper on this open source technology, a plugin is a “way to extend and add functionality.” As such, you can reach an audience large enough to open the door to start making money.
Cashing In
Good research can be hard to find; as such, standing out with relevant content, focusing on one or two sectors, and with distribution on the right platforms will open the doors to making money from writing about the stock market.
But how can you cash in? For starters, you might get paid for your articles; however, don’t expect that you can retire on this alone. Instead, you might also be commissioned by small hedge funds or other investors to perform specialized research and while you might only complete one or two reports per year, these custom reports are usually completed for a premium.
Another way to make money it to investigate ways to monetize your blog. This could include offering subscriptions or even to incorporate banner ads and other money-making options. These will not only help you to make money from your research but also from your readers. Finally, there is the exit as building up a successful research site with a large following will lead to offers from investors.
Don’t let a market correction stop you from making money; instead, start publishing your research and watch the dollars begin to roll in.
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