So you have decided writing is your passion and you want to make money from it. The truth is writing can be exhilarating, fun, and rewarding. On the other hand, it can be a frustrating profession. But the real question is, can you make money writing? I don’t mean getting 50 dollars here and there, but constant money that can sustain your lifestyle and meet your needs? The answer is yes, you can.
But what does it take to really make it in the writing business? Just like any other profession, writing requires you to be good at what you do. You don’t necessarily have to be a wordsmith to make it in the industry, but you definitely need to have some writing skills, an excellent understanding of English and some creativity depending on the niche you focus on.
The good thing is the demand for online content is tremendous and continues to grow with each passing day. What does this signify? It means you can start earning as a freelance writer as soon as now. It is also good to know that making it as a writer is not as puzzling as it may seem.
In actual fact, if you have polished your writing skills, have a niche to write about, you can start getting your first gig the soonest time possible if you know where to look. Apart from the incentive of money, other motivations should make you consider making writing as a career choice.
The benefits are endless, including the ability to design your schedule, determine your rate, pick whoever you want to work with, work independently, and flexibility, among others. On the reverse, you need to be prepared for the pitfalls that you may encounter when in this profession, like sometimes unstable gigs, and difficulty maintaining a work-life balance.
Sounds like something you can do? Here are ways you can make money writing in 2020.
1. Starting a Blog
If you want to make a living writing, having a blog is one straightforward way to start. Having said that, making money blogging requires some level of expertise before you can think about monetizing your blog. The first thing is getting a profitable niche to write about.
This element is essential, especially if you look at writing as a business. The reason I say this is because passion and hard work writing on the wrong niche will not make you any money from your blog. For instance, if you start writing about square-shaped onions, there is a likelihood that nobody is interested in reading about this topic. Hence, no matter how much effort you put in your blog, you will not see any fruits.
Now once you are decided on a profitable niche, you can go ahead and create a blog. You don’t have to spend lots of money setting up your blog since there are many free platforms like WordPress that can get you started almost immediately.
2. Make Money Writing As a Guest Blogger
This strategy is a speedy way to make cash writing almost immediately; your blog post gets approval. This process works when your blog post appears in someone else’s blog. There are countless contributor blogs that pay for the content of this nature.
How do you establish places that pay for guest blogs? If you Google ideas for guest blogging, you will find several sites that will pay for an accepted blog. Now once you’ve identified a suitable blog, go ahead and read about their terms as well as their style of writing.
With this information, you can craft a suitable pitch according to the requirements of the blog. Also, pay consideration to the fact that even if your pitch is accepted, some blogs only pay for traffic generated as a result of your post.
Others pay immediately; they approve your content. Likewise, know the period they take to pay for blog posts. Some people take a couple of weeks, others months. A mistake bloggers sometimes make is switching topics after approval. If you pitched using a particular topic and was approved, make sure you stick to that topic when writing the article. Otherwise, you may not get paid.
3. Join Content Mills
Due to the demand for content among businesses to drive online presence, many content mills have popped up, providing ready gigs for writers. If you are a smart writer who can write for a target audience, this is a place to start.
Most of these content-hungry companies require white papers, articles and reviews and are ready to pay well for them. Although some may not pay as much as a guest blog post due to intermediaries, they provide an opportunity to earn easy money fast and consistently. For instance, sites like Fiverr or Upwork will have your money available in at most two weeks.
While initially, the pay may seem low in these sites, with a track record of quality and successful tasks completed, you can break into the league of high-income earners within a short time.
4. Become a Best-Selling Author
Has financial freedom ideas ever crossed your mind as a writer? If there is a way to get you on the journey to financial freedom, this is it. A few years ago, writing and self-publishing a book seemed an impossibility, but nowadays, you can certainly do it on Kindle.
Coming up with a best seller today is much more realistic, thanks to Amazon and Kindle. The market is enormous, and making a blockbuster is a much more achievable feat. In as much as it’s an attainable feat does not mean that it is easy.
The bitter truth is if you try this method without a proper commercial mindset, you will be disappointed. This fact means that you should target a market that has a recognized demand for booklovers. In other words, validate your passion before going in.
Also, be ready to persevere since you may have to publish several books before gaining any substantial income. Whether you want to write about fiction or non-fiction is up to you. Although bear in mind that non-fiction always seems a natural fit for most writers.
Similarly, note that if you have been writing on a popular niche, then there is a likelihood that a book on that topic may become popular too. Equally, if you want to try out fiction writing, which is a bit tougher and requires a different set of skills, know that you could hit the jackpot and your earning potential could skyrocket. So don’t be afraid to give it a try.
5. Make Money as a Copywriter
For newbies, copywriting is a form of writing that drives consumers to take a particular action. It’s good to know that if your primary motivation is money, this type of writing is among the highest-paid. Why? It’s closer to the money.
In fact, if the writing you are doing is directing a reader to make an action such as buying, know that you should charge more for this type of writing. Likewise, know that the more a skill pays, the more practice and expertise you need to have before becoming proficient at it.
For instance, if you want to make money writing through this method, be prepared to learn some sales skills and a select type of persuasive kind of writing. In other words, be equipped to put in the work. If you are a beginner and want to get into copywriting, your success will hinge on how seamless the persuasive language comes to you at the same time your desire to learn.
Moreover, unless you possess some deep background on copywriting, be set to put in some time to learn the building blocks in the craft as well as money. Apart from the vertical learning arc, rewards of this skill can be immense.
6. Becoming a Technical Writer
Not many individuals comprehend the underlying opportunities for writing in this field. Most don’t even know who a technical writer is. So what is this all about? This is a type of writing that involves documenting processes.
It’s mostly used in IT, Engineering, and Medical, among other technical fields. I understand it doesn’t sound as appealing as the other types of writing, but it’s a field that is growing and gaining momentum hence the demand for writers.
So if you think you have what it takes, why not pursue it? Especially for people who have specialized knowledge in certain fields, this provides an opportunity to make money writing on the side. Technical writing can cover summaries, whitepapers, reports and other topics like software too.
Therefore if you are particular at details, it might be an avenue for extra money.
Parting Shot
All said and done, to make money writing consistently, just like in any other field, will require you to treat it as a business. Is it possible to do it as a side occupation? Absolutely yes, you can slowly grow it. But most importantly, put in the effort to master your trade. Now, if you have a passion for writing and have mastered your craft, what other occupation can beat that?