How to Make Money From writing: 11 Ways to Get Paid: Writing is a passion that can be extremely fulfilling, especially once you begin to make money from it. Following this, we will go over 11 of the most effective strategies to monetize your writing skills.
Writing may be a lot of labor and effort, regardless of whether you’re doing it to make some additional money for pocket change or to work towards a long-term goal of having a career in writing. However, the reward is well worth the effort.
At university, writing can be a very lucrative source of income for students. You’ll be able to bring in some cash while while getting valuable experience that will serve you well when you start looking for graduate-level writing jobs.
We have compiled a list of the best ways to generate money from writing in order to assist you in converting your wordsmithing abilities into some well-deserved cash.
How to Make Money From writing
The following are some of the most lucrative opportunities available to writers:
1. You may make money by writing reviews of movies, items, and even music.
If you are aware of the proper procedures, getting paid to write reviews is fairly simple.
When it comes to writing reviews, you might immediately think of full-time occupations that demand a significant amount of prior experience, such as reviewing movies and television shows for a living.
However, if you sign up for a few different rewards websites, you may start getting money from reviews in a very short amount of time. On these websites, you can end yourself writing reviews on a wide variety of topics. Anything you can think of, from music to gadgets to stationery.
On Slicethepie, for instance, you may make money by penning brief critiques of various musical works and pieces of clothing. Signing up is the only thing that’s required of you before you can get started right away.
Or, if you sign up to become a product tester or a panel member on a paid survey site, you can find that you wind up receiving money by reviewing things that you would otherwise have to pay to purchase. This covers stuff like electronic devices, clothing, and beauty products.
Some few are listed
- Watch video ads on WeAre8 for earnings or charity
- Watch videos for money on Swagbucks
- Make money watching videos on InboxPounds
Product testers are given the opportunity to keep the products they evaluate, which is an added perk of the job. Therefore, you may be able to improve your revenues by selling them to another party.
2. Write articles for money
If you have a passion for writing and are skilled at it, journalism is an excellent choice for a professional path to pursue. If that’s what you want to do, we wholeheartedly encourage you to give it a shot.
However, it is essential to keep in mind that this is a highly competitive business environment. For younger authors who are just starting out in the industry, it has a well-deserved reputation for being rife with low-paying jobs and unpaid internship opportunities.
However, it is feasible to generate money as a student journalist, despite the fact that it is not always easy to do so.
It is not necessary to be enrolled in a journalism program in order to begin earning money for your writing articles. However, you will need to have a strong writing style, a good ear for stories, and an excellent attention to detail if you wish to succeed in this field.
It is in your best interest to build up your portfolio of written work. You could accomplish this goal by making contributions to the student newspaper or magazine that is published at your campus. It is also a good idea to start a blog (more on this later), as this will allow you to demonstrate both your writing ability and the things that interest you.
You will be able to approach commissioning editors with article ideas after you have a strong portfolio under your belt. These are the journalists at the newspaper who are in charge of commissioning stories. If they like the article ideas that you pitch to them, they may decide to contract you on a freelance basis to write for them.
The amount of money you would make per article would change depending on the publication, as well as the length and format of the essay you wrote. On the other hand, commissioned pieces in top papers may cost you more than one hundred dollars.
Providing editors with pitches for freelancing article ideas
Are you prepared to begin approaching magazines with article ideas? It’s a good idea to look commissioning editors up on LinkedIn and then follow them on Twitter so you can keep up with their work at your favorite newspapers.
You may also try pitching article ideas to trade journals that cover news about a specific industry if you want to write something that is directly relevant to your degree. You can uncover trade magazines that are pertinent to your studies and interests by conducting a simple search on Google for the phrase “[industry] trade magazine.”
On a regular basis, editors will tweet about issues or subjects that are currently capturing their attention. If you come across a call for an article that you have the expertise and ability to write, take the time to thoroughly plan out the pitch, making sure that it is specifically catered to the newspaper, and send it off to the journalist in charge of the commission as soon as you can (ideally within an hour).
It is not always necessary to wait for editors to post call-outs for articles before approaching them with a pitch. But if you have a clear notion of the kind of product they’re searching for, it increases your chances of getting commissioned to create something for them.
When pitching, make an effort to keep your emails brief while also persuading, focusing on why the idea is a good fit for the publication. In addition to this, it is a good idea to provide a link to your online blog or website so that editors can see what you are capable of.
Due to the many different reasons, it is recommended that you do not provide whole articles along with your pitches.
When reviewing pitches, editors won’t have a lot of time, and it’s possible that they will ask you to take a different approach with the story. Do not send them too much information too quickly because there is a possibility that they will run an article with comparable ideas on their own.
It is important to keep in mind that not every pitch will be effective; yet, you should never give up trying. Take what you can from the negative feedback you receive, work on improving your pitches, and keep applying for paid writing gigs until you finally land one.
If you do well as a freelance writer and bring in money, you are required by law to file a tax return using the self-assessment method and report all of your income.
3. Sell your revision notes
You might be able to generate some revenue from your editing efforts if you are particularly skilled at producing lecture notes that are both clear and succinct.
If you are interested in generating money by selling your notes to other students, our guide to making money includes some recommendations for websites that you can utilize. Listing your notes on one of these websites will typically not cost you anything to do. However, depending on the business, you might have to pay a commission on any sales you make.
You can also make money by launching a studygram account on Instagram if you have exceptionally attractive review notes. This is an option for everybody who is interested. In addition, it will keep you motivated to complete your revisions, which is an added plus.
4. Enter writing competitions to win cash prizes
It is possible that participating in writing competitions will appear to be an overwhelming endeavor. But there must be a victor in the end. Why not you?
If you were the winner of a writing competition or prize, or if you received high praise for your work, including that information on your resume will appear very impressive. If you win a monetary reward, it will not only be a nice addition to your student bank balance, but it will also help you save money for the future.
Writing contests and awards can come with monetary rewards that range anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand pounds.
There is a list of journalism awards and creative writing competitions that can be found on this page.
How to win writing competitions
Your chances of succeeding in writing contests and obtaining awards will be improved if you follow these guidelines:
- Be creative- Use your imagination since you need to grab the attention of the judges right from the beginning of your submission if you want to win the competition. Make an effort to begin with something that is unexpected. If you are able to, you should think about experimenting with traditional writing styles and presenting your thoughts in a way that is unique and distinctive.
- Read previous winning entries- Read the submissions that won in the past. If you want to see the types of writing and arguments that have been effective in the past, you should look for winning entries from previous years and try to find them. Writing in a creative manner is still very important. However, keep in mind the essential qualities that the judges of the prize might search for in a piece of writing to determine the winner.
- Check the competition T&Cs- Check the terms and conditions of the competition, as this is an extremely vital step. Make sure that you meet the requirements to participate in a competition before you even begin to think about submitting an entry. In order to be eligible for some competitions, you could be required to fall within a given age range, originate from a certain region, or have a certain amount of previous writing experience (e.g. be a published writer).
- Proofread – Editing and proofreading your work requires you to look it over multiple times before you hand it in. If you want to find any mistakes or errors in your argument, reading it out loud may be of assistance. Also, have your loved ones and close friends look it over in case they see something you missed when they were reading it.
5. Make money writing translations
Writing translations is an excellent method to capitalize on your linguistic abilities and bring in some extra cash.
If you have the ability to translate text on a freelance basis, you should have no trouble finding companies eager to pay you for your services.
There are some languages that will increase your earnings more than others. Take a look at freelance marketplaces such as Fiverr to get an idea of what the going rate is for translators working independently, taking into account the languages they are fluent in.
6. Monetise your blog
- It takes some time and work to transform your blog from a side project driven by your passion into a profitable business. Nevertheless, the effort may be rewarded (literally).
- Your website, once monetized, will serve as an online portfolio of your work while also enabling you to earn some income for your efforts.
- There are a lot of minor adjustments to your blog that you may make in order to get started making money from it. Affiliate marketing, advertising, sponsored content, and other forms of sponsorship are included.
- Bluehost is a website that you might utilize to develop your own website (you can get a 70 percent discount and a free domain name by clicking here). You can learn more about this topic by reading our guide to establishing a website in under twenty minutes.
Earn money writing social media content
A woman seated in front of a laptop displaying her social media likes and loves
Are you interested in putting your knowledge of social media to good (and profitable) use? Creating content for social media platforms has the potential to be a lucrative career path. Anyone who has a solid understanding of how to establish online followings and make social postings that go viral is the perfect candidate for this course.
You might want to look into affiliate marketing if you have your sights set on earning money from the social feeds that you manage.
In our comprehensive guide to making money with affiliate marketing, we explain it in further depth for you. When you offer information on a product or service on social media, you should include a specific kind of link in your postings. This is an outline of the process.
You are eligible to receive a commission of some sort on any purchases made through that link by other people (with no impact on the buyer).
You also have the opportunity to make money by creating content for businesses to use on social media. This might be accomplished by composing their tweets, creating interesting captions for Instagram photos, or modifying the bios on their various social media sites.
To accomplish this goal, it is important to make direct contact with local companies. You can use your personal achievements on social media as examples to convince them to hire you on a freelance basis as their social media assistant by pointing out the triumphs you’ve had on social media.
You might also try using websites such as Fiverr to locate customers. Our guide to simple gigs that can be done on Fiverr contains additional information about this topic.
8. Become a copywriter
If you have already started investigating the many kinds of writing jobs available, you have most likely already come across advertisements for copywriting positions. This is not a quick way to make money, but rather a possibility for a long-term career path down the road.
According to Glassdoor, the average compensation for copywriters is approximately £29,00, which is more than $10,000 less than the average salary for technical writers.
Here is an outline of what copywriters do, in case you are unfamiliar with their work.
What exactly is copywriting?
- The process of producing written content for a company, both for online and offline resources, that accurately conveys the personality of the brand is an essential component of copywriting.
- It’s possible that, in your role as a copywriter, you’ll be responsible for writing content that will be viewed by the company’s customers, clients, or even other employees. Whoever reads the content, they will hear your brand’s voice echoing through it. This is true regardless of who reads it.
- This type of writing, known as business-to-consumer copywriting, refers to the process of creating information that will be viewed by customers (or B2C). And this kind of writing, known as business-to-business copywriting, is what you do when you’re aiming for an audience that consists of other businesses (B2B).
- Look at the written content that is provided on the ASOS website for an illustration of copywriting. Their newsletters, order confirmation emails, and product descriptions all have a lighthearted, conversational style of writing that is directed toward a younger demographic.
- Another illustration would be the dating app Bumble, which maintains a consistent brand identity throughout all of its touchpoints, including advertisements, notifications, emails, and blog posts. The emphasis is placed on making the content humorous, uplifting, and positive. Once more, copywriters play a significant role in this process.
- The ability to modify one’s typical writing style so as to adopt the distinctive tone of a company is a skill in and of itself. Nevertheless, it is absolutely something that can be improved with further practice.
- If you want to prepare yourself for employment that require copywriting, attempt to contribute to a number of publications that cater to a variety of audiences. Develop a portfolio that is as varied and adaptable as is humanly possible, and make sure that the tone and arguments contained within your work are adapted to each specific channel.
09. Write a book
On this list of ways to make money quickly, writing a book is most certainly not the quickest way to do it. Neither is it the easiest option. However, it is not impossible (and perhaps not quite as difficult as you might think).
There is such a wide variety of subject matter that could be the subject of a book. You might choose to compose a work of fiction, such as a novel, or compile a collection of poetry or short stories into a book. You may even try your hand at writing something that is not a work of fiction, such as a handbook for students that is based on your own experiences at university.
It is possible that you should follow the path of acquiring a book deal by first locating a writing agent to represent you. However, keep in mind that this is not the only method for making money off of a book.
You can generate an income from your writing that is passive by self-publishing eBooks, which are rather simple to do. It is a useful method for publishing a book, and it enables the author to begin making money from book sales rather soon.
Not sure how to get things rolling? We have instructions that will walk you through the process of writing and publishing an eBook, as well as the best platforms for eBook publication. In addition, we have advice on how to make money off of your eBooks.
10. Work as a technical writer
Are you curious in the work of a technical writer? The precise nature of the labor would differ from one organization to another, as well as depending on the sector in which you are working at any given time. In general, though, you will be expected to communicate complicated technical information in sentences that are easy to understand and succinct.
Writing instruction manuals is a common assignment for technical writers. [Citation needed] In order to accomplish this, you will need to conduct extensive study on the procedures that you are writing about. The next step would be to explain how they operate in a manner that the intended audience can comprehend in a straightforward manner.
If you want to pursue this line of employment, you should probably have some prior expertise in the field of writing. To get started, you can attempt some of the other ideas on our list to build up your writing portfolio. This can be done by trying out some of the other options.
According to Glassdoor, the typical income for a technical writer is somewhere around forty thousand pounds once they have established themselves in the field.
A job in this field could be very rewarding for you if you are skilled at conducting research, if you are good at communicating with others, and if you don’t mind working with complex and technical material.
11. You can get money by working as a ghostwriter.
- A lot of people have excellent writing talents, but they don’t like the attention that writing can garner from the general public. If this describes you, ghostwriting might be the perfect fit for you.
- You would collaborate with other people to help them write texts (such as books or speeches), but you would not be publicly credited as the creator of the work you produced as a ghostwriter.
- It is difficult to estimate how much money you could make working as a ghostwriter because the industry is not regulated. It is highly dependent on the business sector you operate in as well as the customers you write for. On the other hand, if you’re working on a major, high-profile literary project, it could be rather lucrative.
- To begin ghostwriting on a full-time basis, you will require previous writing experience, much like with technical writing. In order to strengthen your credentials as a writer, it will be helpful if you can put up a solid portfolio.
- It is going to take some time. On the other hand, you might one day end yourself working with famous people or politicians while making a living doing what you truly enjoy, which is writing.