16 Different Ways to Earn Money Writing!
Freelance writing
Under the freelance writing category, there are three different ways to make money with your writing.
Be a copywriter
According to mediabistro.com
A copywriter creates clear, compelling copy to sell products and/or educate and engage consumers, flexing persuasive writing muscle on websites, blog posts, product descriptions, email blasts, banner advertising, newsletters, white papers, PSAs, social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram, and other marketing communication vehicles
If you have a talent for selling or convincing someone to buy a product then you should become a copywriter. Businesses are always looking for people to write compelling copy for them.
As a ghostwriter
Some people want you to ghostwrite a story or book for them. Your name doesn’t go down as the author and you don’t get the royalties for the work. But you still will be paid for writing it by the person who hired you to write it.
Be a content writer
Wikipedia says that…
A Website content writer or web content writer is a person who specializes in providing relevant content for websites. Every website has a specific target audience and requires the most relevant content to attract business. Content should contain keywords aimed towards improving a website’s SEO.
As a content writer, you're not selling anything. You only provide content for websites and social media for other businesses and individuals.
Turn your book into an eBook
Do you have a book that has been published? Why not offer it as an eBook too? This will give you another income stream. It opens up to a whole lot more people. Some only read in eBook form.
I have been moving toward this practice more and more over the past few years. My eyes are bad enough that I have trouble reading small print. Even with my bifocals.
With an e-reader or app on your device, you can enlarge the font size so you can read it better. You can also carry hundreds of books around on a device that fits in your hand and weighs less than a pound.
Turn your book into an audiobook
As with the e-book some people only listen to audiobooks. If you offer your book as an audiobook you open up the possibility of more sales and more profits.
People can consume your books on the go. Just as they do with podcasts. They can listen in the car. They can listen while they go running or walking. They can even listen while sitting on the beach.
Write songs from singers
You can write songs for recording artists. If they like your song they will buy it from you and record it on their disks. You may even get royalties if it goes big. If this sounds like something you want to do, research it more. Then write some songs.
Monetize your blog
If you’re blogging on your blog you will want to monetize it. Put it to work for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When you become an affiliate for different products and services you can write reviews about them. Then when someone clicks on your affiliate link and buys the product or service you will get a commission. This is a great passive income.
Write short stories and flash fiction
You can write short stories and flash fiction. These stories can be submitted to magazines for publication.
You can also publish them yourself on Amazon. These short stories usually sell for around 99¢. I know this isn’t a lot of money but when you publish a lot of these short stories and sell them, it adds up.
With them being short you can write lots of them in the same time it takes to write a novel. The neat way is there are several ways to publish them:
Individual stories
A collection in eBook form
A collection in print book
Audio forms both in a collection and individuals.
Create a membership site
Substack and Patreon are two sites where you can create a membership site. You sign up to create a site of your own. Then you write content on that site. Premium content. You then charge people a monthly fee to be able to get access to your content.
Become a travel writer
By becoming a travel writer you can see the world and write about it at the same time. This can be very exciting and fun.
You can tell your readers about the places you see and the people you meet in your articles. You can also tell about the different foods you tried and where all the best restaurants are.
Create a YouTube channel about writing
Create videos about writing. Your experience as a writer. Or how to write. You can also talk about the publishing options and how to go about it.
The way you monetize your Chanel is through ads and affiliate links. You can review different products and services in your videos.
Create online writing courses
Create your online writing courses to teach others the art of writing. You can deliver them through email. Or there are sites that you can sell them on. They don’t have to be too elaborate. You can also create printables to sell that help with writing or any other topic.
Become an editor for other writers
Many people are looking for editors to edit their work. Either they are not any good at editing, they don’t have the time to do it, or they don’t like to do it themselves.
This is where you come in. You can offer your services of doing the editing for them. There are sites like Upwork and Fiverr where you can advertise your services and get clients.
Tutor others on writing
If you don’t want to create your courses, you can tutor others on writing. Sometimes those who are in college and taking writing classes need help. This is where you come in and help them with their class.
Apply for writing grants
There are grants available for writers that you may be able to get. They can help you get to the point where you can spend more time writing while spending less time working. Some offer a small amount while others can offer $15,000– $20,000. Some are part of a retreat.
If you are interested in finding out more about any of these grants just google grants for writers.
Enter writing contests
If you are a little competitive and want to earn prizes, there are contests for writers that you can enter. They offer all kinds of rewards but mostly monetary rewards. Some are free to enter, and some require an entry fee.
Just like grants, if you are interested in entering writing contests, you can google writing contests. You will find lots of them. There are even articles that list several different ones.
Conclusion:
In this article, I mentioned several different ways to earn money with your writing. Most of these will take time to begin to earn money with them. It won’t happen overnight.
You can do one of them or several of them. The more you implement, the more you can earn. Each one has a different income stream. Some are passive and some take a lot of time.
Look at it as investing. You will want to diversify your income streams. You want some that are passive. Those will make money for you 24/7. Then you want something that you have to work to make money.
You don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket. If you do and something happens to that basket you could lose your entire income. This is not good.
Go forth and write!