I do draw a distinction between sales copy meant to get someone to purchase a course, ebook etc. and writing meant to be worth reading for its own sake. Certainly, one can make significantly more writing sales copy. Do you enjoy reading Denning’s pieces? Do they help you understand the world we live in? Do they inspire you? If so, great!
I’ll never make what he does. My top month here earned me $1,700, and I have to do other freelance gigs to meet my budget. But I believe if you hand any 10 pieces of his writing and mine to anyone who loves to read, they’ll enjoy mine more.
But without a doubt, I’d make more money if I wanted to explain to people how to make money writing. I’ve been making a living as a writer for 30-plus years. I know all about journalism, writing and marketing books, SEO, magazine monetization etc. I could write about that and sell courses if I wanted to. I could make lots of money and convince people they could do it too, but I won’t. I would fully understand that the only way for my course purchasers to make the big bucks would be for them to all teach the same kind of thing. Almost nobody makes a lot of money writing about life, politics, the human condition, society— the things that matter. Selling dreams of making money is the way to make money. If I were to sell a course, it would be about how to write better, and it would essentially boil down to remember what your grade school teachers told you about grammar and read lots of high-quality writing every single day of your life. That’s my course!