writing – Take on Life After 50

How to Spread Your Digital Wings for More Earning Potential

Designing products is so much fun!

Now that the community history book project is on its way to the publisher I can once again concentrate on my own work. Had I known it was going to be so time consuming I never would have agreed to being a part of it in the first place. But for what it’s worth, it was a learning experience for me.

I invested in another program that makes repeat patterns from a simple design or graphic. I really like the look of the black and white made from a simple mandala. I think it’s so neat that I added a mug to my Zazzle store. I can honestly say, there isn’t a mug exactly like this one anywhere.

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I am a firm believer we should all have eggs in a few baskets. There’s no guarantee that one source of income will always be there. Life happens, online platforms change their policies, and businesses close. And sometimes, those we rely on are suddenly no longer with us.

As you know (especially if you’ve been reading this blog from the beginning) I have a few things on the go at any given time. I can honestly say none of them have made me millions yet, but what I do earn helps pay my bills each month.

5 ways to spread your digital wings.

If you’re a digital product designer, you can sell your designs as printables, or incorporate them on physical products through a POD platform (such as Amazon or Zazzle).
Another way is to create designs and sell them with commercial rights. (I listed my first in my Etsy Shop last night.) This opens up new avenues because you can charge more for your designs. On Creative Market there is an application form you’ll have to fill out to open a shop, but it appears quite simple. I haven’t opened my own shop but continue to buy elements from others. You’ll have options as a seller because you can sell your designs for personal use, commercial use, or extended commercial use. Each level commands more fees, which you set.
Create and sell templates. This is not something I’ve done (yet) but have purchased a few over the years, so I know there’s money to be made. You can sell these with personal or commercial use licenses.
Create low-content books such as journals, planners, notebooks, etc for POD platforms such as Amazon. This is something I’ve mentioned before, and the numbers show some people do really well with it.
Sell PLR which you create. This could be articles, templates, planners, journals, colouring pages, motivational cards, etc. This is especially nice if you enjoy writing but don’t want to submit your articles to different platforms. You do the work and give the buyer the rights to use the materials however they see fit. Oftentimes a limited number of the same package is available, so higher prices can be commanded.

As you can see, the digital world offers unlimited potential. As much as I enjoy creating physical products for sale (crocheted items), the digital creations offer much more profit potential. I can create the product once and sell many copies of it. Plus, by uploading my designs to be incorporated into physical products I can increase both my visibility and revenue.

What are your thoughts on creating digital products to be incorporated on tangible items? Let me know in the comments below.

Become an affiliate and earn 50% commissions promoting my digital paper packs (which come with commercial use licenses). For more details please visit https://takeonlifeafter50.gumroad.com/affiliates.

Why It’s Good to Think Outside the Box

Do you ever have a “Why didn’t I think of this before?” moment?

I’ve had a few of them lately, and it’s annoying. And mostly because it’s been such simple stuff.

For example, I’ve been concentrating on making printables for my Etsy Shop and just came to the conclusion the same files can be used in Goodnotes or other notetaking apps. It looks like I have some listings to revamp.

Sometimes we get too set in our ways.

I’m the type of person who likes things as they were. It’s hard for me to make drastic changes in life willingly. However, those changes have happened whether I wanted them to or not.

When Ross died I kept as much the same in the house as I could. His clothes were still there, everything on his nightstand, and so forth. It took a long time before I gradually started giving away/tossing his things. When I moved, I probably kept more than I should have.

Getting settled into my new place has been an adventure to say the least. Once I wrapped my head around the fact I could change the colours of the walls, replace the flooring, and make changes as I see fit, it has been easier to do.

Me and my wanting things to stay the same is interfering with how the yard is going to change this summer. I love the grass (over an acre of it I’m sure), but the practical me knows that space can be better utilized for growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables. I even have trouble changing things other people did.

The point I’m trying to make is we all too often get in our own way. Just because something has been done a certain way for ages doesn’t mean that’s the only way. The older I get, the more I’m realizing it.

In order to improve, we have to be willing to make changes.

Improvement doesn’t miraculously just happen. We have to make it happen. Whether it’s improving our health or financial status, we’re the ones responsible. And the improvements also mean hard work on our part.

Sure, we’d like to think things will just fall into our laps, but that does not happen. And if by some chance it does, the circumstances haven’t been the best to make it happen. (Ask me how I know.)

I’ve spent the better part of the last 2 1/2+ years taking courses, reading, and working to improve what I do and how to do it. I have also ventured into some unknown territory regarding my writing and creating, but I know better things are in store.

As we all know, everything works in theory. But in order to make it work for real we have to take chances and be willing to make changes.

No matter what we do in life we have to be willing to make changes; or at least accept that sometimes change is inevitable. Plus we have to work on being better versions of ourselves. I have a quote on my office wall that says “It’s not about being the best; it’s about being better than you were yesterday.” It’s a quote I refer to often, especially when things aren’t proceeding like I think they should be.

So when you’re stuck in your thinking, or in a creative rut, take a step back and think about what you can do to make things better. Write it out, talk it out, or colour it out. You never know what will present the “aha” moment you need.

Using AI to help you combat writer’s block.

We’ve had a wee bit of reprieve from winter, but I know it’s short-lived. Why can’t Mother Nature just pick a season and stick with it?

I have to admit, I was skeptical about using AI to help with my writing.

I tend to be one of those people who is afraid to try anything new for fear of losing the old way of doing things. When it comes to AI, that’s not the case.

AI is designed to help write blog posts, product descriptions, outlines, emails, and so on. It should not (in my opinion) be used to completely write everything. The human element should still remain a constant factor in any piece of writing to some degree.

Initially I was skeptical, but after using both Jasper.AI and WordHero I have come to my own conclusions.

Jasper.AI – This is the first one I tried, and after some time spent on it I realized AI isn’t all that scary.

The more information you can provide, the better the content it produces will be. I also found the more I use it, the better it gets at providing me with content that’s relevant to what i want to say.

That’s not to say it just picks something out of a hat when I type in keywords or titles, but it’s as if it is figuring me out.

I also like the fact it gives more than one output (3 on the basic subscription; 10 in Boss Mode) at a time. It makes it easier to compare the results. I did notice there is some repetition depending on the topic. As I said before, the more keywords and information you can provide, the better.

I have used it to write the content for my Birchbark Publishing email list, and am pleased with the results. I typed in a phrase/sentence with a few keywords, and it generated 5 (the number I asked for) complete articles. In order to include the information I wanted, I pulled sentences and paragraphs from the different outputs to make it my own. Personal experiences and thoughts were also added in.

I do have to say it is a bit pricey: $59.00/month US for Boss Mode (which includes 50,000 credits). With the exchange rate that does convert into over $80.00 (on average) Canadian. I am considering going back to the basic package, which is $29.00/month US. I will lose a couple of the features, but I generally do not use the 50,000 credits I pay for each month. (And the unused credits don’t carry forward to the next month.) The referral credits, however, do carry forward and you have access to them as long as you’re a paying subscriber.

If you refer a monthly subscriber, you do earn 30% of their subscription fee each month, which is nice. You do have to be approved to be an affiliate, and you need a LinkedIn account. (It would not let me skip this when I was filling out the form.) You can earn 10,000 credits for each person you refer, even if you’re not an approved affiliate.

Another feature is it will write in almost any tone of voice you wish. I usually ask for friendly, casual, funny, or witty outputs. It’s amazing what the difference is with just changing the tone (and leaving the keywords/phrase the same).

WordHero – I was scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day, and an ad for WordHero popped up. I decided I had nothing to lose and got the lifetime pro membership ($269.00 US), which translates into much less money per month than Jasper.ai. (Note: the lifetime deal is only available for a short time.)

They also have a subscription plan available, which translates into more money over the course of a year, but still more economical than Jasper. (They also pay 30% to affiliates, no matter the plan.)

I got a little accustomed to having more than output generated at a time for me, which WordHero doesn’t do. Mind you, it doesn’t take much to make a slight change for a different output.

I haven’t tried all of the features of it yet, but I do have to say it’s comparable to Jasper. At time of writing, WordHero is $49.00/month for unlimited usage (although they do have a Fair use Policy in effect), and $348.00/year if paid for annually.

I have found that with using AI I have been able to come up with more ideas for blog posts (I have a running list in my notebook). Plus, by using just the outlines generated I find my own words flow much easier. Sometimes a person just gets stuck, and keying in a few words to AI is all it takes to get unstuck.

One final note: AI is not meant to replace writers. Humans are still needed to edit the outputs, and add the emotion and feeling. As advanced as computers are, my thought is they will never replace the human element entirely. (And no, I did not use AI to write any of this post. I did use it to write this post on my Birchbark Publishing site though.)

Have you used AI? If so, what do you like/dislike about it? If not, is it something you’re considering trying? Let me know in the comments below.