) A one-stop current events sort of thing would likely be very popular as well. 
, articles written for vendors are not independent).
I didn't realize you were a professional writer.Where to start...I've been a professional writer for a very long time. I've written for newspapers, magazines, websites, freelance and as a hired gun. It's not easy. A few thing off the top of my head--You're starting cold, which is a good thing and a bad thing. First off, pick your target. The places you've listed are very different.
Bonsai Nut is not Wigerts, or any bonsai business. There are different goals for both. Here people are looking for detailed, FREE information. Nurseries like Wigerts, bottom line, want to sell stuff. Writing for a commercial client means you largely take direction from them (even if you're writing for free--at first) Here you are your own voice (the difference in the "real world" is newspaper journalism is independent-you steer --until the city desk editor gets your copy
I'd advise writing to nurseries like Wigerts asking if they're looking for someone to write articles for their web site. You have to "pitch" yourself and your knowledge and what you can bring them that they don't already have. You can pitch story ideas as well--don't just say "i want to write for you." WHAT do you want to write? WHY do you want to write it and why do you want to write it for them? What is your value-add for them--inform new bonsaiists on what's what? Knowledge about specific trees/techniques, etc.
Prepare yourself for a lot of rejection. It comes with the territory. You can lessen that by doing research on what the business you're pitching is doing and how they do it. Write towards that end.
Writing here is up to you. You'd better be on your toes, though. There are some folks here who have pretty detailed understanding not only of the science of bonsai, but also of the esthetics of it.
A way to get a foot in the door professionally is to write a blog of your own and show it to prospective clients to display what you know and how you write.
And FWIW, be meticulous with your words, spell checks, grammar, terms, species, etc. Details matter. Also, don't aim to be a poet. Purple prose is a turn-off for the most part (I can't read Ryan Neal's web page without rolling my eyes or outright laughing at the long-winded Longfellow-wannabe stanzas)..Most paying customers don't like that kind of thing either. Also don't consider what you write for commercial businesses as "yours." It ain't. They're paying. You're an employee.
Good luck!
Well, yeah, but target your trying. What I posted wasn't to discourage you, but to get you to think in detail about what you're after.
I have made a living by specializing, tech industries primarily. Generalist journalists are a rare species, even in mass media. Almost all of the TV/newspaper reporters have specialized 'beats' they cover and become experts at (mostly) Congress, cybersecurity, economy, foreign affairs, etc. For every mainstream TV or general reporter out there, there are a hundred others working for niche industry or specialized publications that are consumed by individual industries. Been that way for a while. Bonsai is one of those niche markets. FWIW, there used to be a bonsai "business" newsletter that covered the nuts and bolts of the business side--nursery concerns, markets, etc. It went toes up a decade or more ago. Good idea, no one willing to pay for it.
I think this might actually have viable marketability if done correctly.
Absolutely not. A lot of times a sentence or two that can be read in seconds are more succinct than a ten-minute video.
Agree. The OP isn't asking about videos, FWIW. They're asking about WRITING. Videos are overrated (And possibly one of the reasons the world is in the shape it's in--but that's another story).
I don't remember how they monetized it, but since it was late 90's early 2000's (If memory serves) it was likely ad-supported. Problem then was limited number of bonsai vendors. That's changed, but so have the dynamics of ad support and online publishing
It took human thousands of years to develop the written language to accurately describe our observations, feelings, and convey our knowledge.
Yeah, something like that at the time would've been mostly a b2b market, and 25 years ago it was smaller and very hard to find. Today such a publication would have a relatively easy go of it, and if you pulled on parallel markets some - garden plants, international live plant trade, etc. - you could tap a pretty reasonable market.
So much awful information being exchanged that success rates are lower, and quality seekers quickly seek elsewhere.
Yesterday AI cost American Airline beaucoup money!Yeah, something like that at the time would've been mostly a b2b market, and 25 years ago it was smaller and very hard to find. Today such a publication would have a relatively easy go of it, and if you pulled on parallel markets some - garden plants, international live plant trade, etc. - you could tap a pretty reasonable market.
On AI writing, it's like cheap Chinese made plastic crap. The only market is what retailers shove down our throats as the economy flounders. The consumer wants better.
On the internet it's easier to see what people are actually looking for, and no, social media doesn't count. I'm talking about the REAL internet, the 2nd page of the Google search results. Compare BNut to r/bonsai and you'll see what I mean.
AI by it's design hits that lowest common denominator. That's the 50th percentile +/- 10. So in a bid to get the lower 60% of the potential market you ignore the top 40%. That 60%, in the case of bonsai, is largely one-offs and mallsai; previously saturated markets with very limited growth potential.
We see similar things in other industries, and we're seeing the fallout. To target 60% to maximum effect they attempt to dominate 80% of retail avenues and communications with poor quality products. Remember when the only jeans you could find were skinny jeans? It's because they took 20% less material to make but sold for the same price. So everyone tried to push the cheaply produced product on us as the "fashion."
The world is hitting a point now where the logistics costs of moving crappy products to market is going to eat through any potential profits. The entirety of the retail business sector is on the verge of bottom lining itself into the ground, all while the consumer screams for better options.
Bonsai and all related markets are separated from the game, though. Your business model can't compete with the free weed tree dug out of the yard, and the person typing it out with the dirt still under their nails. AI can't tell you how to cook a good meal because computers don't eat, nor can it properly design a garden, and it'll never write a decent plot twist. It'll take over technical writing, but not teaching children.
The bottom will drop out as soon as they realize that people will people regardless of the CEO's opinions.
