Are you a writer that wants to make money with your writing? Good for you. You’re not alone. Thousands of writers are trying to achieve the same thing, however, not many writers know how to achieve it.
Writing is a very rewarding career. You’re able to express yourself in an almost endless number of ways, with no limit set on how creative you can be.
Are you interested in learning how to make money as a writer? Are you fervid about writing? Here are the best ways to make money as a writer.
Quick Review
Using this section will help you to gain quick insight into key points if you are on a tight schedule.
- Handle legal documents for people in exchange for a fee
- Offer editing and proofreading service
- Offer freelance writing & copywriting
- Write grants-proposal
- Become a ghostwriter
- Write resumes for job seekers
- For songwriting services
- Write business plans for startups
- Start blogging
Detailed Review
The following section provides a comprehensive overview of the key aspects. The suggestions here have all proven to be effective for writers who wish to make money. Besides, you can also come up with your ideas and strategies. The world is your oyster.
1. Handle Legal Documents for People in Exchange for a Fee
There are many reasons people hire lawyers. The most common is to handle legal issues such as an upcoming divorce or personal injury case. It could be that they’re just unsure of the law, but for whatever reason, it costs money to have help writing documents. And this service can be very helpful for you as a writer to make money.
You can secure many clients who need you to manage their legal documents if you have a law degree or simply enjoy reading and writing. You’ll get paid to complete basic legal briefs, handle digital contracts, write clauses, and more.
You may be thinking – what kind of legal documents do I need to handle? This could be anything: wills, contracts, agreements, or any kind of written confirmation.
SEE: Best online legal services
2. Offer Editing and Proofreading Service
Mistakes happen. Small typos, wrong word usage, or grammatical errors can have a huge effect on readers. When readers see mistakes they lose interest in the article and possibly the author. One way to make money as a writer is by editing documents for people who don’t have time to do it themselves or just can’t spot their own mistakes.
Since people are too busy to do it on their own, this is an opportunity for you to serve them. If you can work with bloggers, new media entrepreneurs, editors working in English-speaking countries, etc., your reach will be vast.
And of course, some companies need freelance help, so if you have the expertise to do it then reach out. If you proofread for a living, or you don’t mind proofreading as a hobby, then this idea is for you. Some proofreading companies offer as much as $40 per hour for proofreading services.
3. Offer Freelance Writing and Copywriting
Freelance writers are always in high demand. There are lots of people who want to hire freelance writers to do their web content, or to create custom blog posts for them. If you have copywriting skills, you can provide a service where you collect ideas from clients and write content for them.
Everyone knows that making money on the Internet is easy. The difficult part is doing what you love and figuring out how to turn your passions into profits. As a freelance writer, you will be able to make more money as you learn how to write and offer compelling content.
Those with ample experience can earn substantially more. The good thing about freelancing is that it offers many positive outcomes. You can supplement your current income, take on a new career venture or simply work on things you enjoy.
SEE: Best websites to find your next freelance gigs
4. Write Grants-Proposal
Writing for a grant is not easy. You have to make your project sound important and appealing. You should also make a great first impression if the person making the decision does not know you. Present your idea in a manner that will appeal to the person.
Considering the rising number of government-funded social and educational programs, grant-writing services should continue to be in demand throughout the decade. As a writer, you can tap into grant writing and make money.
I know writing grant proposals may sound like the last thing you want to do. The truth is that you probably already have some knowledge of research, communication, and persuasion that can assist you with grant writing. And if you haven’t already done so, getting trained in grant writing now might be a good idea.
To write a grant proposal, you need a good understanding of the person who makes decisions on grants, and their goals for funding projects. You also need work experience in the subject area for which you are requesting funding.
SEE: How to write an outstanding project proposal
5. Become a Ghostwriter
Ghostwriting is a great way to make money as a writer. As the name implies, you write for someone else under a set byline. For a fee, ghostwriters write books, articles, stories, reports, blog posts, web content, promotional material, and other work officially credited to another person.
For example, let’s say Carolyn E. Field needs a book written. She contacts a ghostwriter who meets with her to discuss the details of the project and the deadline. The ghostwriter creates an outline and then writes the manuscript based on Field’s direction. Field receives all writing credit whether or not she contributed material to the book.
Working as a ghostwriter is considered a respectable profession of writing and there are quite a few of us doing it nowadays. So why not make money online as a ghostwriter?
SEE: Best guest posting strategies to scale up your guest posting efforts
6. Write Resumes for Job Seekers
For writers who are looking for writing jobs online, writing resumes is an excellent way to make money. The process of writing resume samples for potential job seekers is very similar to writing essay samples.
The difference being that resumes are written in a more formal style suitable for an employer, while essays are written in a more casual style suitable for school assignments. Resume writing involves all skills required of resume samples, including editing, proofreading, research, formatting, and layout.
You’d be amazed at how many people need help with their resumes. This is where you can come to the rescue. If you’re clear, concise, and compelling in your resumé, you can make between $20 – 40 an hour depending on your writing or HR skills.
SEE: Websites that pay resume writers
7. Offer Songwriting Services
If you can write songs, a gig as a songwriter could be a great side business idea. Whether you do it as a hobby or as a second income stream, writing songs is a time-honored way to earn money.
Use your expertise in songwriting to create original songs for other artists. The more outstanding your song, the more likely the artist will use it. As a songwriter, you can write songs for upcoming artists, work for a radio station or record label, or become an in-house writer of a publishing company.
If you’re a talented songwriter or lyricist, why not leverage your skills to make extra money? Just like any other freelance service, this type of gig will require you to build up your portfolio before companies start hiring you.
SEE: How to make money with your voice
8. Write Business Plans for Startups
Most startups need a business plan to raise money from investors. These plans are also needed to help the founders work out the details of their idea. If you know how to write a business plan, you can make money writing plans for others.
You can usually get started with relative ease, and some people want to hire someone to do this for them. Writing a business plan is a specialized skill. Business planning requires an in-depth understanding of the relevant marketplace and industry sector, as well as years of entrepreneurial experience.
Business plans are often criticized as boring and dry, but they are essential to businesses that want to stand out from the competition. Writing business plans can therefore be an exciting challenge as well as a lucrative way to make money for writers with the talent to do it well.
SEE: Best business plan software
9. Consider Blogging
You’re already aware that you can cash in on your passion for writing. But, as a writer, you may not have considered blogging as a way to make money writing. About 1.5 million blogs are published each day, which means there are thousands of topics within niches calling for articles.
Starting a blog these days has been made easy with the use of various blogging platforms. Some are free, almost free and there are those that you have to pay for. So do your research and choose one that best fits your needs.
Blogging has helped many writers make money. Besides, you can blog about whatever you want, whenever you want – what you write is entirely up to you. The trick is to start making money with your blog as soon as you can.
As soon as you have a few hundred readers, try adding links to other products or affiliate links for products related to your blog topic. You’ll have to work at it, but the longer you are blogging, the more money you can make. Not bad for getting paid to write, right?
SEE: How to start a blog and make money as a total novice
How Much Money Can You Make as a Writer?
Writers expect between $50,000 and $100,000 per year with a bachelor’s degree being the most prevalent entry-level education.?
If you work as a freelance writer, you should expect to make from $25 to $100 per hour, depending on who needs your service and how well-known you are. Some charge per word.
FAQs
Who shouldn’t write for money?
No one. There’s no job that’s beneath you when it comes to making money. However, anyone who is not serious about making money with information products is wasting their time.
What are the benefits of being a writer?
Being a writer means you can write about topics you love and at the same time make money. Some writers want to write as a profession, while others want to do it as a part-time job. As a writer, you can select topics that will be interesting for your readers, and then sell your articles online.
What is the difference between ghostwriting and copywriting?
Ghostwriting is the process of writing a piece for someone else, like a book or an article. A ghostwriter doesn’t take credit for writing a book. Whereas, copywriting is writing ads and marketing copy intending to persuade someone to buy something.
What are the best places to make money as a writer online?
The internet has made it easier than ever to make money as a writer. From freelance writing platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru to blogs, websites, and several money-making opportunities based on your chosen niche. Basically, if you have a writing talent, this is an easy way to get started.
SEE: Websites that will pay you for writing articles
Final Thoughts
The incredible and sudden expansion of the Internet and social networks has led to an exponential growth of online writing. There are articles, content on blogs, tweets, forum posts, etc. For anyone who wants to write and make money, this post has highlighted some suggestions for how to go about it.
One of the major problems writers face is the problem of grammar and structure. Some clients want you to write in different styles, languages, and tones of voice. All of which may seem daunting. But with the use of tools, it becomes quite easy. See the best grammar checkers write like a pro.
Also, one of the best ways to make money as a writer is to become a freelance writer even if you have a regular job. Been a freelance has its perks and there are steps to follow to become a top earner. See the article on how to become a freelance writer for more information.
For more business ideas on how to make money online and offline, feel free to explore the blog. There’s definitely something that will match your needs.
Thanks for reading.
