Is it essential to have a journalism degree to show you how to make money with writing?
No! And that is excellent news because writing is one way you can create an income stream without laying out cash to get started.
Writing can be a powerful tool for generating income. From creative writing to technical writing, your words have the power to engage a reader and influence their thoughts and feelings about the topic you’re writing on.
As an author or content writer, or person who is good with the words, you can work from home, building your own business during your available time.
In addition to content and copy writing, here are 13 ways to show you how to make money with writing that may be new to you.
This list is a way for you to think creatively about creating a business for yourself or to run as a side hustle.
The Two Most Obvious Ways to Make Money With Writing
To make money as a writer, you can either work for yourself or find a job. But, seeing as this blog talks about trading in the 9-to-5 for your own business, let’s change the word job to the word client. So, you can either work for yourself or find a client.
You can use your abilities to write to generate income by either creating content that will be published on someone else’s website, or by having your own blog.
The two most obvious ways to make money as a writer is through copywriting and content writing.
Copywriting
is writing to promote a product or service. Copywriting uses sales language and follows a specific style guide.
Content writing
Content writing, on the other hand, is more targeted towards building a brand or an idea through engaging words and storytelling. The content that you create should solve a problem, be entertaining, or teach something.
As you write about what your clients need information on, they will begin to feel like you’re the go-to expert in their field and trust you. This is a brilliant way to build a relationship with your potential clients.
These are the two most common ways for writers to make money, but there are many more options available for those who want to use their skills as an author.
Here are 13 other ways to show you how to make money with writing
1. Writing Ebooks & Self-Publishing Books.
eBooks on all of our devices make us more portable but they’re also making more people want to write them for money.
2. Podcasts and YouTube video scripts.
Write about how writing can turn podcasts or YouTube videos into written collateral that the owner can then repurpose into blog posts, social media posts, LinkedIn content, and more.
3. Grant proposal writing
Many non-profits and causes need funding for their projects, and they actively seek out grant proposal writers.
4. LinkedIn profile writer
Many people don’t understand the true value of using LinkedIn to connect with other businesses, so companies have started hiring writers to help their clients develop a profile that will bring in business.
This is a valuable skill to bring to the table for your own side hustle or freelance gigs. If this interests you, go deep into LinkedIn and learn everything that you can. Have a look at Cristy Martin from Hawthorne House Media as this is one of the services that she offers her clients.
5. Ghostwriting services for books and eBooks
Ghostwriting is a great way to earn income as many people have a story or an idea for a book that they just don’t know how to write. Being a ghostwriter means that your name is not accredited to the finished piece of work so if you are happy to not receive any acclaim from your work; can be well compensated if there’s demand for your niche.
For example, Urban Writers offers writers the opportunity to ghostwrite for their clients, both for businesses as well as for personal brands. You do have to fill in an application form and then pass a screening test before being accepted, but once you are in, there is a lot of work available.
6. Social media writer
A lot of businesses, even small ones, realize the importance of social media but just do not have the time to dedicate to it. If you can help a business with copy that will create engagement and increase their brand awareness, this could be a very good long-term strategy for your business.
7. Scriptwriting
Scripts are not just for Hollywood anymore: e-learning, training videos, YouTube videos, podcasts, and online courses all need scripts to help retain the learner’s attention throughout the course (or show). Even if you only have a few hours available per week, this can be a lucrative way of adding to your income.
8. Proofreading
.As a proofreader, you’ll read the text and make corrections as necessary. You need to have an excellent grasp of English, a good eye for detail, and an eye for inconsistencies.
Before you only had to know the rules of writing; now proofreading also requires a good understanding of grammar and punctuation.
9. Editing
The purpose of having your written work edited is to ensure that your piece of content is presented to your reader as clearly as possible. It involves revising the content, grammar, adding or deleting text, rearranging words and letters to create a more presentable piece of content.
10. About pages
Most bloggers, as well as businesses, have an About page on their website. An About page allows readers to get to know who you are and how they can work with you. Some people struggle to conceptualize this and put it into words, and that is where you step in.
11. Fortune cookie writer
If you have an interest in the zodiac signs and astrology, you have excellent descriptive writing skills and enjoy bringing happiness to people, this could be a job for you! You’ll be writing out fortune cookies to send out as messages of motivation or inspiration. In 2017, fortune cookie writers in the US were earning between $28,000 and $106,000 a year!
12. Listicles
Listicles are pieces of short-form writing that are structured as a list but is content-sufficient to be published as an article or a blog post. This blog post, for example, is a listicle. They do require some research but are quite an easy form of writing. Listverse https://listverse.com/write-get-paid/ is a popular website that pays freelancers for articles if you are accepted.
13. Writing product descriptions
Think of the products listed for sale on Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, Faire, and more – all of these products need compelling product descriptions written about them in order for them to sell. This could be you! If you don’t know how to write compelling product descriptions, use Jarvis https://www.jarvis.ai/free-trial?fpr=sam04. He will do it for you.
Conclusion
If writing is something that you want to do so you can create a business or add another income stream to your portfolio, there are three pieces of advice I want to leave you with:
The first is to start your own blog so you can practice writing often. The more you write, the better you will become.
In addition to becoming a better writer, creating your own blog will help you to build a network of people who will buy your products and engage with your content. You can also use your blog and learn how to make money with writing).
The second is that you need to promote yourself and create your own portfolio to show to potential clients. . If no one knows about the blog, no one can read it. Promoting yourself isn’t easy.
And lastly, use an AI to help with your writing. Jarvis is THE best AI for this – I personally use Jarvis and definitely recommend it.
Jarvis is a brilliant robot that can improve your writing skills, assist when writer’s block has set in, and supercharge your writing. YOu will be creating blog posts literally within minutes. It’ll save you so much time and can really help when you’re feeling demotivated.
If you’re the sort of person that enjoys looking for work on job boards, take a look at these three for possible writing opportunities:
Writers Work
Problogger
Freelance Writers Den
If you do choose to start your own blog, then you’ll probably find these articles interesting too:
1. Choose a great niche for your blog
2. What to blog about when you run out of ideas
