Student Question: Hello, Master. I saw you mention building a side income and creating a personal brand in the new group. I’ve been working on it for about three months now. My monthly side income is around 4,000 yuan. But recently I’m running into two problems:
- I put my heart into the writing, but there’s very little engagement. Very few people tip.
- I wanted to write content every day. I kept it up pretty well for the first few months. But I’ve covered so much ground already — now I don’t know what to write.
Master Chi’s Response: Let me share the story of one of our community members.
She essentially wrote around 3,000 words every single day. Most people simply can’t keep that up — so how do you actually do it?
1. The Early-Stage Problem
One of the first things she ran into was that her articles had no real structure.
Some days she wouldn’t write at all — couldn’t find inspiration. Sometimes she’d just give up entirely.
That’s the kind of problem you naturally hit in the beginning.
But building a side income through writing is, in essence, a form of sales. So does that mean you should only write when you feel inspired or when the mood strikes you?
Absolutely not — because that approach will almost certainly leave you with very little to show for it.
Some people succeed through connections or raw talent. But for most of us, the single most important factor is hard work. Volume builds quality.
She got up two hours early every morning, sat at her desk with a sheet of paper, and wrote down everything she needed to do that day. Then she had breakfast and went to work — her regular job completely unaffected.
① Write one original piece on WeChat Public Account every day. Around 500 words. ② Answer one question on Zhihu (China’s leading Q&A platform) every day. ③ Read at least three books per month and take notes.
She kept this up for about half a year. The results were remarkable.
She works at a hospital — a job far more physically demanding and time-intensive than most. Yet within six months, she had made her breakthrough.
Start with Zhihu.
If you’re just starting out, aim to answer 3 to 5 questions per day.
Answers can be short or long — minimum 100 characters — and focus on three core areas. Real estate, self-media, or money-making content tend to carry the most weight. Set a concrete plan and work toward your goals.
2. The Specific Approach
Zhihu is a unique platform. It’s a Q&A community with an intent-driven audience. When do people actually open that app? When they have a specific question. Zhihu content also ranks prominently in Baidu search results.
Good content, well-written answers — these have real long-tail effects.
The Professional Advantage
When you answer questions with depth and earn likes and comments, the system takes note. Next time a relevant question comes up, you’ll be among the first suggested to answer. People will start inviting you directly.
The Algorithm Factor
Even with no prior following, if you stay consistent on a platform like Zhihu, it will eventually enter a growth-support phase. The platform will send you new followers daily, helping you build steady momentum.
Whether you make it to that stage? That comes down to diligence. The same principle applies to WeChat Public Accounts.
A Note on Platform Dynamics
The positioning of each platform — fully public versus semi-public traffic — determines how much sensitive territory you’ll encounter in your discussions. Plan accordingly.
Strategic Analysis
Is there a path to rapid growth without wading into controversial topics?
Start by watching the trending section on the homepage — 50 topics are featured daily. Scan for anything you can genuinely contribute to, then work with those.
Build your content library as you go. The answers you’ve already written can also be automatically converted into videos for a second wave of reach.
Video Creator Opportunities
If you can make videos, it’s worth exploring Zhihu’s partnership program. Some creators are strong writers whose content has already been validated by traffic — they can team up with someone skilled in video production. One person handles the high-quality content, the other handles the technical side and output.
But most importantly: consistency is everything. Take the example I just mentioned — she answered questions on Zhihu every single day. Her follower count grew several times over.
If you’re in real estate, healthcare, law, insurance, or any other professional field — this platform is particularly well-suited to you.
How do you monetize?
Paid Q&A sessions. Zhihu also supports e-commerce integration and business referral links.
Don’t be shy. Don’t think selling makes you lesser. At the same time, genuinely try to help people. When they trust you, everything else follows.