If you’re a writer looking for ways to boost your income, there’s good news – there are quite a few ways to make money online. From remote jobs to starting your own blog, the internet offers many opportunities for writers of all descriptions. Some of the suggestions below take a little time, effort, or money to get started, but the payoff can make everything worth it. The best part is that if you have a few basic skills, you can embark on most of these projects without any additional training or education. You could still benefit from advice from entrepreneurs like Noel Cabral, but these projects can also be done as a solo effort.
#1: Become a guest contributor for other websites
Many websites welcome guest posters and even pay them a fixed rate (as long as the articles meet their standards). If you’re a freelance writer with at least a bare-bones portfolio, you could look for blogs, news sites, and others that accept guest posts. Keep in mind that some pay better than others. Newer writers may be tempted to accept lower rates just so they can build their portfolio of published content, but it’s also important to pick and choose which projects you accept. If you establish yourself as a writer who will work for pennies, you’ll have a much harder time landing higher-paying jobs in the future.
#2: Enter a writing contest
There are countless writing contests available for all kinds of writers, so if you think you have what it takes, you may as well apply to a few! In some cases, the prize money is pretty generous. It’s unlikely that you’ll win if you only apply to two or three contests; the trick is to keep trying until you find success.
There are a few things to keep in mind. First, read the rules before entering to ensure that you qualify for the contest. Second, only choose contests that fit your writing genre and style – journalists probably won’t win contests for short story writers. Third, research every contest you’re thinking about entering, so you know it isn’t a scam.
#3: Find remote editing and proofreading jobs
An integral part of being a good writer is being a good editor and proofreader, so you could offer those skills to people who don’t have them. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have plenty of these types of jobs, so you could start applying for them without delay. If you’re serious about making money in this particular niche, it’s recommended that you take a course like Proofreading Palm. This tells clients that not only do you have the required skills, but also that you’re serious about offering professional services beyond just “I’ll correct your spelling errors”.
#4: Start a freelance writing business
Of all the options on this list, this is probably the most popular one. When you’re working as a freelance writer online, you can set your own hours, name your own rates, and choose only the projects you want to work on. How can you find the right jobs, though? There are a few different ways. They include networking on platforms like LinkedIn, cold pitching various websites or online businesses, and looking at online job boards. You can build a portfolio and online reputation after just a few clients, which will help drive your writing career forward.
#5: Make money from your own blog
This will take a bit of time and money at the beginning, but it can also set you up to make a tidy amount of (almost) passive income in the future. To be clear, this isn’t a project that can be run on autopilot; you’ll have to be proactive about uploading new content consistently, looking for new ways to monetize the website, and making sure the site remains user-friendly and responsive. These are the most popular ways to monetize a blog:
- Sponsored posts are made when a company pays a blogger to write about their service or product. These types of posts can earn quite a lot of money upfront, depending on the sponsor.
- Affiliate links are sort of like a miniature version of a sponsored post. You and another company agree that you’ll link to their service or product in a blog post, and you’ll get a commission for every sale that comes from the link.
- Ads like Media.net or Google AdSense pay according to the number of impressions each ad gets. The more people visit your site, the more ad revenue you’ll get.
#6: Sell your writing online
Becoming a self-published author is more popular now than ever, with sites like Scribd and Wattpad allowing authors to sell their works online. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing lets you upload and sell Kindle eBooks, which is another great way to get your writing out there without having to deal with traditional publishers.
#7: Write book reviews
Some websites are actively looking for good book reviewers, and you might be one of them! This isn’t to promote the books; it’s to critically analyze them, and let readers know what to expect. Here are a few sites to check out if you’re interested in becoming a book reviewer:
- The Times Literary Supplement
- The New York Review of Books
- Booklist
- Publishers Weekly
- Kirkus Media
#8: Create your own course
Here’s another way to generate passive income through sites like Udemy. With e-learning becoming more popular than ever, this means that demand is going up for people who can write informative, actionable courses. If you’re an expert in your field, you could end up creating and selling an online course that keeps bringing you income for months or years into the future. Even if it doesn’t become the mainstay of your income, it’s still a great option for building your brand and establishing yourself as a subject-matter expert.
The takeaway
If you’re interested in making money online as a writer, you have plenty of options. Even if you’re fairly new to the game, many of these are accessible to writers of almost any skill level.
