Some people tell me I give away too much stuff.
A long time ago, I learned from pioneering Internet entrepreneur Eben Pagan that one of the smartest things you can do online is give away as much as possible.
And he’s right. It’s a great way to build a platform and let the world know what you have to offer.
When you look at the biggest online successes like Gary V., Mr. Beast, and even offline megastars like Taylor Swift, you see a pattern: over-the-top generosity. They shower us with their art, their advice, or whatever they have to share with the world. They’re irrepressible.
In that spirit, I’m excited to up the ante. Not only am I going to continue to offer a lot for free (including several ebooks on the How to Write Funny website, these daily missives on Substack, and occasional free promotions), I’m now going to provide a way for people to actually make money, too.
There used to be a couple of apps, ComedyWire and Pitch, that paid writers to write jokes. I was a consultant for ComedyWire (they based their process on my How to Write Funny book), and I used to work with the Pitch founder, Matt Klinman, at The Onion.
Both of these apps were a great idea and provided a great service, but they’re gone now. (ComedyWire is still a thing, just not an app.)
I’m moving into this business that was vacated by the ComedyWire and Pitch apps, the business of crowdsourcing jokes for clients. We’ll gamify the creation of jokes, and the people who write the winning jokes will get paid.
If you’re interested in performing comedy or writing humor, or if you’ve taken my advice to write 10 ideas every day, I’m pleased to announce this new way for you to potentially monetize your work.
Join the How to Write Funny Facebook group, if you’re not already a member, to see the details as they unfold in the coming days.
I hope to see you there!
I can't really afford to give anything of substance away right now other than reading and supporting other people online. I hope that's enough.
Great idea! I'd love to take a stab at writing jokes to see if they're good enough to get a little coin.