Reader-First Monetization
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- —
Reader-First Monetization reverses the traditional writer’s process. Instead of creating what you personally want and then searching for buyers, begin with a specific reader, question, or desired outcome. Publish useful answers, observe which problems generate engagement or direct questions, and package the strongest answer in a form people can buy. The mechanism is service: readers do not primarily pay for a book, newsletter, or course as an asset; they pay for an answer, saved time, expertise, or a result. Writers may still pursue personal projects, but Cole argues they should distinguish those from work intended to produce a predictable commercial outcome.
Origin
Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal
How to run it
- 1
Choose the intended outcome
Decide whether the writing is personal expression or a business intended to produce revenue, reach, or another external result.
Pro tip Personal and commercial projects can coexist, but label them honestly.
Watch out Do not demand business results from work created solely around your own interests.
- 2
Identify a reader question
Find a concrete question, recurring problem, or desired transformation experienced by a defined reader.
Pro tip Direct emails, comments, and repeated questions are stronger signals than assumptions.
Watch out A broad topic such as productivity is not yet a specific reader problem.
- 3
Publish the answer
Create a useful public answer that demonstrates your ability to solve the problem and lets the market react.
Pro tip Start with a small post or answer rather than spending years building an untested asset.
Watch out Do not hide all useful information until someone pays.
- 4
Read the demand signals
Look for repeated follow-up questions, unusually strong engagement, or direct requests for additional help.
Pro tip Pay special attention when many readers ask the same two or three questions.
Watch out Views alone may indicate broad curiosity rather than purchase intent.
- 5
Package the next answer
Turn the requested information into an ebook, service, course, newsletter, or other appropriate delivery vehicle.
Pro tip Choose the smallest format that can provide the promised result.
Watch out The asset is only a delivery mechanism; it cannot compensate for weak demand.
In the wild
Cole published a short Quora answer about going from a sick, scrawny teenager to bodybuilding. After it reached more than a million views, readers repeatedly asked for his workout routine and diet. He spent the weekend writing two ebooks that answered those questions and connected them to the viral post.
→ He said the ebooks generated his first roughly $5,000 online.
Common mistakes
Writing first and hunting for buyers later
This begins with the writer’s preferences rather than evidence that readers want the result.
Confusing expression with a business
Writing freely is valid, but it should not automatically be expected to produce virality or revenue.
Selling the format instead of the answer
Readers care less about whether something is a book or newsletter than about the problem it solves.
From the transcript
“you are not the main character of your story the reader is the main character”
“a huge part of monetizing your writing is you need to write things that people want answers to”
“what do you need what what answer are you looking for what question do you have and can I provide it”
From the episode
5 Ways To Make $1 Million As A Writer - Nicolas Cole
Nicolas Cole