How to make money as a writer

For most authors the dream is to hit it big and spend your days as a full-time writer, so, if you have written and published a book, you’ve certainly made a start towards realizing that dream. But there are other ways to make an income through writing (although you’ll still want to keep working on your next book, I’m sure).

​There are plenty of places where you can sell your work and at the same time grow your skills (along with your writing portfolio), here are four areas where you should also be considering if you want to become a full-time writer.

1 – Start a Blog

​Now, just like the get-rich-quick articles that I’m sure you may have read, the ones that boldly state ‘Become an overnight millionaire by writing an eBook’ or ‘make $$$$ with your own website’, just writing a blog and sitting back to let the money come rolling in simply doesn’t work. You have to put effort in, and it can certainly be a slow burner, but does this mean that you shouldn’t consider a blog? No, having a blog gives a writer a great platform to highlight/advertise your talents, you will need to self-promote through social media, on-line advertising and even word of mouth, but with time you can grow your visitors. It’s at this point that you can integrate your blog with Google Adsense or use programs such as Clickbank to market products & services which you’ll earn a commission from.

2 – Are you an expert?

There are countless online magazines (both large and small) that publish many new articles each and every day, these magazines are always on the look out for experts who can share their knowledge within a certain area. So, if you have specific skills in one or two areas (or even more), look for the magazines that serve that interest and write to them. If the area of your interest is very niche, then that’s great, with most of the mainstream bases already being covered (over and over again), it makes it a little easier to stand out in a field where there are currently less knowledgeable writers.

3 – Write for other people’s/business’s blogs and websites
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If you run a website you’ll already know that content is king, having a site which offers quality content (relating to your area of interest/business) is so important to ensure that SEO is being taken care of and that you offer information of value to your readers. However, for many small businesses this is another job on an already long list of things which need to be completed, so, lots of businesses out-source their blog writing, social media and content creation for their site. This of course is great news for you, even if you’re not an ‘expert’ within their specific field, you just need to be able to do some in-depth research (using multiple references).

4 – Freelance on gig sites

With the phrase ‘side-hustle’ being so widely used and understood, we now live in an age where people juggle multiple ways of creating income for themselves and their families, there are many Freelancer websites where you can advertise your services as a writer and make money. There is a lot to this subject and to find out even more, you may want to check out this great article on being a Freelancer https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-being-a-freelancer/

You can certainly make money through writing (and not just with a book), many writers have great careers (and in an areas which they are truly passionate about), but it does take work and effort, the more effort that you can put in to your career in writing, the more you'll get back out again.