In this post, I’m going to show you 5 ways to earn money writing.
Writing is definitely an underrated skill. It’s one of the few skills in which you can incorporate your interests and hobbies to get better, become more valuable to others, and earn money.
So how do we turn this simple skill we all have been taught to do since we were children into an income generator.
I got 5 simple suggestions.
1. Create a content writing agency
What is a writing agency?
An agency dedicated to writing content for others. Unlike a normal freelancer, you’ll also be managing others that’ll aid you in making sure content is created for your clients.
Who would benefit from starting a content writing agency?
- People that like managing others
- People aiming for a higher financial ceiling than a freelancer
- People willing to take on financial risk
Writing Agency Earning potential
How much you can earn by owning a writing agency is hard to predict. Having an agency doesn’t automatically mean you as an individual will earn more than a freelancer. You have to take into account that the money brought in will have to be split up between your staff.
That being said, you can take on a lot more writing jobs as an agency. It’s not uncommon to earn 6 figures a year as the owner of a writing agency.
How long does it take to set up?
The process of creating a writing agency is a long one. The time it takes is dependent on your efficiency, resourcefulness, and the people you employ. This is an entrepreneurial endeavor that you shouldn’t be surprised if it takes more than a year to set up.
How do you start a writing agency?
As the owner of a writing agency, you’re spinning a lot of plates. You’ll have to decide if you’ll need to cater to a specific niche, launch a business website, put together a team, get the appropriate paperwork, and market your agency.
2. Earn money through freelance writing
What is freelance writing?
As a freelancer, you’ll accept writing jobs independent from a company. These jobs can vary from writing blog posts, to product descriptions, sales letters, etc.
Who would benefit from starting a freelance writing “business”?
- People not interested in working for someone.
- People that don’t want to be bound by 1 organization
- People that want to have full control of when they work
- People interested in a substantial side income or full-time income
- People that aren’t afraid of not having the guarantee of a consistent income stream
Freelance writing Earning potential
How much money you can make from freelance writing is hard to say considering the range between normal writers and best-selling authors. Most freelance writers work hourly rate (which I’m personally not a fan of because if you work fast and efficiently it hurts you).
Clippings came out with a great article in which they breakdown per writer’s group how much they’d make on an hourly basis. Out of the article can be deduced that you can earn a full-time income as a freelancer but it’ll take a lot of work to get paid like that.
How long does it take to set up?
Setting up the business can be done relatively quickly. A lot of people use freelance platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork as a base of operations. You can sign-up and be ready to accept jobs in a matter of hours.
The hard part is getting clients. You’ll have to effectively market yourself and your writing skills which often includes building up your reputation. This can take anything from a few months to years to achieve.
How do you start a Freelance writing “business”?
Decide on what your base of operations is going to be. I’d advise you to create a website dedicated to your personal brand as a writer. After that, create a portfolio that you can use to display your experience and skill as a writer.
The rest is all about marketing yourself on freelance platforms and SEO so you can be found on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
3. Earn money writing blog posts
What is Blogging?
A blog is a website or an add-on on a website on which you can regularly upload content. The act of posting content on a website is called blogging.
Who could benefit from Blogging?
The people that’d benefit the most from blogging are people looking for:
A substantial side income or full-time income
A method that makes it possible to work from anywhere in the world
A method that has low financial risk
A method that doesn’t involve creating a product or performing customer service
Blogging Earning Potential
Blogging when done correctly can bring in a full-time income and even provide you with a 6-figure yearly income. Since you aren’t working with visible products you can easily scale a blogging business with the help of advertising.
How long does it take to earn money with Blogging?
There are a lot of factors that go into calculating how long it takes to earn money with blogging. The main factors are how much competition is in the niche you pick, how much effort you put into your blog marketing, and the quality of your content.
The earliest I have seen people start earning money personally was 4 months but these aren’t typical results. Most of the time you put in a lot of time on the front and after a while, it can bring in money without having to blog every day.
I have seen multiple blogs that post once a month but bring in 5 figures.
How do you start Blogging?
You don’t need a lot to start earning money with blogging. You need a working computer, an internet connection, and a course to teach you how to create a successful blog that attracts people.
Recommended reading: Learn how to start a blog through a simple 4-step process
4. Earn Money Writing through Affiliate Marketing
A great way to earn money writing is with Affiliate Marketing. It is probably the most profitable method for earning money while writing on this list.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is a form of marketing where you make an arrangement with companies to promote their products and in exchange for every sale that’s made by your recommendation you’ll receive a commission.
Who could benefit from Affiliate Marketing?
The people that’d benefit the most from affiliate marketing are people looking for:
- A substantial side income or full-time income
- A method that makes it possible to work from anywhere in the world
- A method that has low financial risk
- A method that doesn’t involve creating a product or performing customer service
Affiliate Marketing Earning potential
Unlike for example surveys, affiliate marketing has high earning potential. People earning a full-time income with affiliate marketing isn’t uncommon. There’s also a substantial group earning 6 figures a year with affiliate marketing.
How long does it take to set up and earn money?
Affiliate Marketing often requires you to put in work upfront up till the point where it starts running semi-passively. Depending on how much time and effort you invest, you can start seeing results after a few months.
How do you start with Affiliate Marketing?
To start an affiliate marketing business you’ll need a few things such as a working laptop, an internet connection, and proper training. Unlike a lot of other businesses, Affiliate Marketing doesn’t require you to have a million things.
The 3 things I have named are the only things you need to set up your affiliate marketing business. After that, you simply earn money by writing reviews and articles and putting them on their blog.
Recommended reading: Get the whole story by looking at the pros and cons of affiliate marketing.
5. Earn Money Transcribing Audio
What is an audio transcriber?
The name itself is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a person that puts audio recordings into text. Surprisingly, a lot of people are willing to pay money for the act of audio transcribing.
Who would benefit from becoming an audio transcriber?
- People that like writing but don’t have expert writing skills
- People that don’t want to take on financial risk
- People that want to work from anywhere
- People that want full control over when they work
- People interested in earning pocket money
Audio transcribing Earning potential
Since audio transcription doesn’t require a lot of skill it doesn’t pay as much as the other jobs I have shared. It’s mostly good for earning pocket money. Most jobs audio transcription jobs pay somewhere between $2 and $5 an hour.
This in combination with the limited number of transcription jobs available results in a low earning potential.
How long does it take to set up?
Audio transcription doesn’t require a sophisticated setup.
You can sign-up on websites that offer online typing jobs and just apply for the jobs available. You might have to do some tests in order to qualify for jobs beforehand but after that, you’re ready to start transcribing audio.
You could have everything you need to start working in a matter of an hour.
How do you start?
You can use search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing to find websites that offer audio transcribing jobs. The easiest way to find them is to type in keywords such as “online typing job websites”, “best audio transcribing jobs websites”, etc.
How I make money Online
As I said at the beginning of this post, I have had multiple writing jobs with which I have earned money but most of them required me to keep writing. If I didn’t land a job or take time off I wouldn’t get paid.
I started looking at methods that made it possible to keep earning money even if I took a day, week, or even month off. That’s when I found out about affiliate marketing.
Proper affiliate marketing training teaches you how to get visitors to your website passively. If your website is created the correct way then after they land on the website they’re being guided to your affiliate offers without having to do a thing.
Sound good right?
I learned how to do this with the help of step-by-step training that teaches you how to create an affiliate marketing business from scratch. It doesn’t matter if you have no experience the program is beginners-friendly.
If you’re by any chance interested in creating an affiliate business I recommend taking a look.
That’s all for today.
If you have any questions feel free to comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
See you in my next post!
