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How to Follow Your Dream of Writing Online and Make Money While You’re At It




Remote Job Hunting



Learn how to make money writing online and put your words to good use. Check out the five best online writing gigs now:

Want to know how to make money writing online?

Eloquent, self-motivated wordsmiths like you have tons of opportunities to earn a living writing online. After all, it’s writers who put all the words on the internet.

So if you have killer grammar skills and an impressive lexicon, you can write remotely full-time or moonlight part-time without losing your steady 9 to 5.

But the learning curve can be steep if you don’t know what you’re doing. Don't worry, we're here to help!

How to Make Money Writing Online and Actually Succeed

These are the five best ways to make enough money writing online that you can afford your rent, cell phone bill, and book obsession:


#1. SELF-PUBLISH YOUR OWN CONTENT

Have dreams of writing the novel of your generation? You can write all day and night, but you won’t get paid until you publish your manifesto.

Writers are still using traditional publishing routes for their work. But more writers are taking their careers in their own hands and choosing to self-publish online.

It doesn’t matter if you want to write fiction or share insider information about what you’re most knowledgeable about. You can make money selling tutorials, whitepapers, printables, workflows, case studies -- you name it.


Before you get too excited, there are a few caveats to becoming a bestselling ebook author:
  • You’ll need to publish several books to see anything resembling full-time income. The best part about ebooks is that your back catalog is always available for sale. Every additional book becomes a bonus to that revenue.

  • Promotion is key. Unless you’re already a bestseller or internet-famous, it’s hard to get press for your indie release.

  • You must build an email list. Once you find your niche audience, you’ll want to keep them informed about your next releases. 

Format your ebook and upload your masterpiece to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and more. Just know you’ll earn more if you create a website to sell to your readers directly.


#2. START A WEBSITE OR BLOG

You know how blogs work. But you probably don’t know how bloggers earn money.

While writing is still priority number one, blogging is a business, and you’ll need to wear several entrepreneurial hats. 

Besides all the back-end website work, you’ll need to find readers, promote your site, and turn your baby into a money-generating machine.


So to make money blogging, you’ll need to rely on:
  • Sellable content and subscriptions like Patreon to keep the proverbial lights on.

  • Ads. Ugly ads litter your blog, but if you’re pulling in readers in the tens of thousands per day, you may generate real cash.

  • Sponsored content. Brands will pay you to write blogs or social media posts mentioning or highlighting their products. 

  • Affiliate marketing is when you promote products and link to them. Each time a visitor clicks that link and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a small commission. Generating revenue with this requires lots of click-happy visitors.

  • Guest blogging. High-profile blogs in your niche are always looking for content to keep their insatiable readers satisfied. Pitch one of your posts and they may pay you as a guest blogger. If you don’t earn cash, you can at least ask for a byline to plug your blog and widen your audience.

Sound like too much work? Learning how to start a blog is easy!


#3. TRY MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA, COACHING GIGS, AND MORE

Writers are excellent communicators. 

So if you have a way with words, you can use your skills to connect and persuade people to take action. And companies will pay you to bring in customers.


The best part about these gigs is that you can start them part-time if you already have a full-time job. Check out job boards for remote or virtual:
  • Content manager
  • Email marketer, marketing specialist
  • Social media coordinator
  • Podcast transcriber
  • Customer support (like chat specialists)
  • Coaching

While you’re on those job boards, you’ll also see ads for freelance writing gigs.


#4. START FREELANCING

Freelance writers work contract jobs, which means they acquire a bunch of clients and work independently on their specific projects. 

But life as a freelance writer isn’t just about writing. 

This hustle takes finding clients, onboarding them and listening to their scopes of work, invoicing, SEO research, marketing, social media, and so much more.

Heads up: freelance writing job boards are super competitive. So you’ll need to act fast when you see a project you want and have an outstanding portfolio of work to land the gig.


Comfortable with cold pitches? You’ll need to be. 

If you don’t have clients, you don’t have work that generates an income. The uncertainty of your monthly income, lack of benefits, rejection, and unpredictable workload scare many writers away from freelancing. 

Yet the benefits of getting to hand-pick clients you want to work with, traveling as a digital nomad, and writing full-time are hard to beat.

Scared about leaving behind a steady paycheck? Start building your clientele while you’re still employed, create a portfolio, and then transition to full-time freelance life.

Check to see if professionals in your network -- like realtors, insurance agents, entrepreneurs, etc. -- have a website or email list. Pitch your services for blogging, email newsletters, and social media posts to get your feet wet.

Ghostwriting (or writing without a byline) typically pays more. But having a byline will attract new clients, and they may pay more than the gig where they found you.

Rather not deal with all this extra stuff? You can find a remote writing job to focus all your energy on your words alone.


#5. FIND A REMOTE WRITING JOB

Every website needs content, and businesses know their words attract visitors to their site and eventually convince them to make a purchase. 

So if you want to earn a decent living writing online, you should find a remote writing job.

Unlike working freelance, you’ll have a steady stream of work from a legit company. It’s just like working a corporate gig, but you don’t have to commute or work in a soul-sucking cubicle.


Sound like your cup of tea? Use these keywords for your remote writing job search:
  • Freelance writer or editor
  • Copywriter
  • Content marketer
  • Product content writer

How successful you are at landing a remote writing gig has everything to do with where you’re job hunting.

Start Making Money Writing Online Now

There are lots of ways to make your dream of writing online (and making money) come true. 

Some require you to become more business-minded than artistic, but they’re all worth trying at least once. Then you’ll know what works best for you and what meshes with your work style.

See what’s out there by checking We Work Remotely now and as often as you can. Your dream writing gig may be just one click away!


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