Got this in a DM and since I've been getting a few of these lately wanted to lay out some advice (I'm by no means an Authority on this but this is how I got there in a healthy way without a whole bunch of tournament results)

Thread:

First: If you enjoy doing this and the money is truly secondary, keep doing it. Create content for what you want to talk about, share it where you can, and network a bit (a lot).

Practice and experiment while you're only beholden to yourself and find your style.

As you practice and improve people *will* notice Good Content, and people tend to want to share that.

Remember that the primary goal of these sites is to get clicks, and while their secondary goal is indeed good content, getting known and having a following helps a lot

The pricing structure of most large sites is they pay you x$ per piece of content and then set a frequency they want from you (once a week/two weeks/month).

Produce content regularly and on a schedule. This is not only better for your audience growth, but demonstrates to potential employers that you can regularly produce high quality content on a schedule. This matters a lot.

Have a portfolio somewhere. Even if you create for some site for free for a while, have a google drive or local backup of every article/video you make and a list of links to your best pieces. These are your best friends when applying for jobs. Show off your quality and range

Lastly: don't force it. People can tell when content is forced because the quality and tone are noticably different if your heart isn't in it.

(Also forcing content feels bad and you'll be unhappy with the result)

To any aspiring content creators: good luck, and feel free to reach out to me to chat. I'm not always available but I'll respond where I can and I like to retweet Good Content myself (but please don't flood my mentions too badly)

Content creation is fun, I hope you enjoy it