Is it difficult to monetize on note? My monthly revenue exceeded 500,000 yen in half a year.
Hello, AI FREAK here.
This is my monthly note revenue report, which has become a regular thing.
As the title suggests, my monthly revenue on note exceeded 500,000 yen last month (June).
As mentioned above, I started operating note in earnest from January 2025.
Considering that my revenue in the first month was about 38,500 yen, it is quite moving.
I am realizing once again that I am glad I kept at it steadily, even during the period when I was barely making any money.
"Is it really possible to monetize on note?"
I think many people are wondering this.
I myself had doubts before, wondering if you could really make money on note, but now that I have proven it, I can proudly say
"Monetization on note is possible."
to you.
So, in this note, I will summarize once again the things I have valued in order to go from 0 yen to achieving a monthly revenue of 590,000 yen.
As I always say, I basically do not place importance on superficial techniques. I hope to convey essential information carefully.
"I want to seriously achieve results on note"
If you are thinking this, please read through it carefully.
Prioritize being 'useful' over 'making money'
First, let's start with the most important concept that serves as the foundation for everything.
It might sound contradictory at first, but if you want to make money on note,
"Don't just think about making money!"
It is better not to overthink it.
Of course, revenue is an important motivation.
However, if "making money" becomes your primary goal, your writing will lose its appeal.
Furthermore, there are other issues:
・Thinking "I can't make money with this article..." and running out of topics to write about
・Chasing only trending themes and losing your own unique voice
・Your writing becoming stiff and "sales-oriented," causing readers to lose interest
・If you don't see immediate results, thinking "I'm working so hard, yet I'm not making money..." leading to mental exhaustion and stopping updates
As mentioned above, you become trapped by various constraints.
So, what should you do instead?
"Write to solve the problem of just one person."
Or,
"Share what you truly find fun and interesting, along with that passion."
It is important to write your note with that mindset.
I believe it is important to prioritize those feelings over the desire to "make money."
Money is a "result" that follows later, and a "token of gratitude." It is best not to get this order wrong.
Why would someone pay for your note? How to create a "reason to pay"
If your note is paid, readers are always unconsciously asking themselves this in their heads:
"Why do I need to pay for this article (or magazine)?"
How clearly and convincingly you can present a "reason" in response to this question will determine the size of your revenue.
When I operate my 980-yen-per-month magazine, I am constantly asking myself:
"Am I providing value that exceeds the 980 yen the reader is paying?"
That is what it comes down to.
And I have prepared several "reasons to pay" that I can explain with confidence, demonstrating that value.
For example,
Reason 1: "Freshness" of information
Books take months to publish, but in the AI industry, that time is fatal. My note delivers the latest AI information, updated every few days, in real time.
Reason 2: "Risk avoidance" for readers
I spend over 100,000 yen a month (nearly several million yen in total so far) on various AI tools for research. Based on that, I share honest reviews like "this tool is unnecessary for people like X" or "this one is essential." By reading my note, readers canavoid the risk of spending tens of thousands of yen on tools and failing, for just 980 yen.
Reason 3: "Uniqueness" of information
It is not just an explanation of how to use tools, but "primary information" that cannot be read elsewhere, obtained through the filter of "me" or "my work" by actually creating works and going through that process, which isprimary information.
How about your paid note?
"My note is worth more than this price for the following reasons..."
Can you proudly recommend it to your friends and family like that?
If you struggle to answer that, you might need to take a little more time to increase your content or raise the quality of each article to the absolute limit.
The resolve to endure the "tough start" and the power to envision the future
As I have mentioned in past notes, monetizing note is,extremely tough for the first few months.
My revenue in the first month was 38,500 yen.
"Isn't 30,000 yen enough for a side hustle?"
Some people might think that, but I was posting every day in January.
Considering that this was the result of working nearly 3 hours a day, it comes out toabout 333 yen per hour.
Could you work for 333 yen an hour? If you don't even make 38,500 yen, it's like working for free for 3 hours every day.
Many people cannot endure this "period of no results" and quit.
From my experience, about 80% of people can't even write 10 articles, and less than 5% can write 30 articles.
"I can definitely achieve the goal of X on note."
Having this kind of groundless confidence is super important. (It's even better if you have grounds for it.)
It's not limited to note, butif you lose to yourself, you can't achieve anything.
For me, my future vision was "1 million yen per month over the course of a year," so even if my monthly revenue was around 30,000 yen, I viewed it as a natural growth curve and a passing point.
“It’s impossible for me anyway”
“There’s no point in continuing”
When looking at social media, I see many people venting such words.
However, I feel that the majority of people saying that are either “not taking action in the first place,” or “even if they are taking action, the volume is overwhelmingly insufficient.”
So-called successful people all say, “Take action, put in the volume,” and I 100% agree.
Because only the accumulation of action can turn groundless confidence into genuine confidence. that is why.
A little shortcut, a tip that accelerated my growth
I’ve been talking about steady efforts, but that said, there was one little “trick,” or rather, a strategy, that caused my revenue to jump significantly in the last few months.
That was “strategically utilizing external traffic sources.” Specifically,
For the first four months, I focused solely on writing and accumulating high-quality articles within note. While keeping SEO in mind, I concentrated on building “trust” within the note platform first. Once I had enough articles (in my case, after exceeding 100 articles), I began full-scale traffic redirection from other social media platforms.
This was extremely effective.
“Why didn’t you redirect from the beginning?”
If you ask that, it’s because if you bring in customers from outside when you only have a few articles, reading those articles is the end of it. that is why.
It’s because even if it leads to one-off sales or views, they won’t become long-term fans. However, if you have dozens of valuable articles, it’s a different story.
A reader who feels “This is interesting!” after reading one article will read several other articles,
“If I subscribe to this person’s magazine, I’ll likely continue to get useful information.”
and the probability of it leading to a monthly subscription increases significantly.
First, line up many attractive products in your shop called note, and make it ready to welcome customers at any time.
And once you are fully prepared, go set up a sign for your shop on the big roads outside, like YouTube or X.
I think this is a very important point as a medium-term strategy.
Summary: How to monetize on note?
This has been a long post, but to summarize what I have truly valued in order to go from 0 to 590,000 yen per month in these six months:
・Prioritize the feeling of being useful to others over
earning money・Be able to explain the reason why people should pay
for your note・Accept the reality that you won't earn money at first
, believe in yourself, and overcome it with the volume of your actions・Always be conscious of the uniqueness
of information that only you can write・Once the foundation is solid, it is okay to rely on external traffic
It feels something like that. Ultimately,
"Whether it is useful to others"
"Whether you can continue doing it while enjoying it"
is what is important.
Of course, there are ways to earn money in the short term using superficial techniques.
However, that doesn't last long, and from a long-term perspective, it doesn't become any kind of asset, does it?
Great results await only after steady value provision.
I hope this note provides even a little bit of support for your challenge.
If you look at my past notes, I think you will find them reasonably helpful or motivating, so please check them out if you like.
Well then, see you in another note!