More ways for authors to make money writing

For authors, writing is not just a hobby, it’s a way of life, so if you are passionate about writing and want to make some extra money, or even cultivate a full-time career from your passion, here are 10 ways to make additional income from your craft.

1 – Writing a blog

Starting your own blog may sound like an obvious option for many writers, as it enables you to select a topic that you are passionate about and then give your opinions and thoughts on that subject, over time you should be able to grow your audience/visitors which will help you to make money.

There are several ways to create an income stream from your blog, but the first one will be from advertising, signing up for a Google Adsense account will allow you to place adverts within your content that will be of interest to each visitor to your site, when they click on the ad, you get paid.

You can also look at affiliate products and services advertised within your blog, again, when one is sold using the unique link from your site to the seller’s page, you will get a commission.

The important thing to remember about blogs is in choosing your topic and keywords, if you select something that is incredibly popular, then it becomes harder for people to find (just because there will be so many other more well-established sites already out there).

However, you can use Google Adwords to look up keywords, this will tell you the popularity of a keyword, the monthly searches for that keyword and if the competition for it is either high, medium, or low. If you can select and write about topics with keywords which are high searches with low competition, then you stand a better chance of getting found.

You can make money from writing a blog, but it is a numbers game, the more visitors you get, the greater your chance of making money from it.

 
2- Write an eBook

Self-publishing has become so much easier than ever before, and with the likes of KDP publishing (and others) allowing you to set up a book for free, you can sell your work without having to spend thousands of dollars.

However, this is no get rich quick scheme, writing and then publishing your book does take time and effort, yes it can be done relatively easily, but you will need to ensure that the book is properly formatted, edited, proofread and that you have a professional cover designed for it.

Once you have uploaded the book, you should consider how you will market it to an audience, the authors who are most successful ensure that their books get put in front of as many relevant readers as possible.

 
3 – Become a Ghostwriter

As per our previous article on ghostwriting, there is a way for great authors to write for others, and it’s far more common than you may have realized. Getting opportunities in this area can be done by joining freelance services, or you can strike out on your own, setting up your own site and business as a ghostwriter (of course, setting up any business will require you to do more research into the area of business start ups before you decide, but it can yield a better profit margin).
 

4- Write articles for businesses

Any business with a website knows that content is king, but that content also needs to be added to and on a very regular basis.

For lots of business owners, they have their hands full actually running their businesses, so spending time writing new content for their site can be hard to do, this is where a content writer can really help. As long as you have good research skills (and writing abilities), you can create articles which will be SEO orientated for the specific business you’re writing for.
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There are ways to do this via freelance sites or starting out with your own business, contacting local, national or even international small to medium businesses offering your services as a writer.

5 – Copy for social media

Leading on from writing articles for businesses, are opportunities to write content for their social media accounts, again, for busy small to medium businesses this service can really help. Finding work opportunities here can be done with networking on relevant social media pages, with LinkedIn being a good first step, along with social media channels, freelance sites can also help.
 

6 – Write for a magazine

Submitting articles to the appropriate magazines can be a great opportunity for writers, there are still plenty of high quality online and even print magazines to choose from too. However, you will need to do some research first, ensuring that your article is a good fit and is a relevant choice for your chosen publication.
 

7 – Write copy for products

Being able to take the relevant data about a product or service and turn it into appealing ad copy is a skill that not everyone has, if your abilities as a writer lends itself to creating persuasive text that will help explain and sell a business's product, then there are opportunities for you.

As with many writing opportunities, contacting a relevant business with links to examples of your work, or promoting yourself via freelance site are great ways to reach clients.

 
8 – Write resumes

The resume is still a valuable tool for anyone searching for new employment, and a great one can help you stand out in a sea of other good candidates for a job.

Being able to take all the relevant data about an individual and construct a resume which is both eye-catching and sells the person to a potential employer is a skill which will always be in demand.

Starting your own business as a resume writer or offering your services on freelance site are both ways to gain clients, alternatively you can self-promote your services through LinkedIn as well.

9 – Review other people’s books

If you love to read and have an opinion to share, then writing for companies such as Kirkus can be a great choice, here you have two weeks to read an assigned book and then submit your review of 350 words.
 
10 – Create your own writing business

This does take more work but creating your own writing business can be a great opportunity, you will need to build a site and an online presence to attract clients. Offering a host of services which will benefit them and their business (if offering a B2B package), but it does enable you to control your offer and set fees/timeframes that will work for you and your customers.

Creating your own business will take time and should be something that you are passionate about, and there are lots of considerations that you’ll need to take into account, ensuring that everything is set up correctly and that you offer a great service.

But starting off slowly and getting your business’s foundation set up correctly will help you to build a company which will last. You should also factor in the ability to change your writing services to match the changes in demand for certain content, what is needed today may well be different within the next 4-5 years.