How to Make Money Online From Writing: 5 Awesome Ways! -

The internet has been a game changing for writers, providing endless opportunities. Think about it- you have instant access to writing jobs across the whole world! Writers are needed for a whole range of projects, too- possibly more than you think. In this post I’ll show you just how you can make money online from writing.

Making money online from writing sounds great- but it’s not for everyone. It isn’t a get-rich quick scheme and it takes a huge amount of grit and perseverance. But, if you love writing, if you’re good at it and if you want to make money online and create passive income, then why not put your writing skills to work? It’s a fantastic asset and writing skills are needed. But be aware that there is huge competition- you have to be prepared to work hard to stand out.

You should consider learning how to make money from writing if you:

Loved writing in school
Chose subjects that required writing
Still write for fun
Had jobs where you’ve needed to write
Read a lot!

If you want to improve your writing Grammarly is a fantastic tool with a great baseline offer. It can help you to take your writing to the next level. This will hugely improve your chances of getting paid to write!

Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, so I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to purchase these products. They are all products I know and love. Thanks for supporting Happier With Tea!

How to Make Money Online from Writing

1. WRITE FOR PUBLICATIONS AS A FREELANCER

Writing for a publication is more accessible than ever. There are endless choices so you can easily pick one on a topic that you’re passionate about and familiar with.

However, it can be tough for a new writer to get accepted. Until you have a portfolio of work, there can be the risk that you’re not taken seriously.

These are my tips to get your articles published:

Be familiar with the publication– have a good look at their website and content- see what their style and tone is, the kind of content they cover, and see if you can fill a gap or find new angles.
Learn how to pitch an editor– that sounds easy to say but entire courses exist on this topic! Have a look at these best practices for pitching. Even small things such as using the editor’s name can make a difference. Also aim to pitch a lot! Volume is good as you’ll inevitably have lots of rejections. Grit is important here- learn from your mistakes and fine-tune your pitching… and keep going! It can be hard not to become discouraged- but giving up is the only thing that guarantees failure in having an article published.
Follow the submission guidelines– each publication is different so be sure to check out and follow the guidelines for each article you pitch.
Guest Post for free– this might sound funny, but if you have an area of expertise, guest posting on smaller blogs can build your portfolio very effectively. Then, when you pitch a big publication, you’ll have links to share. You won’t look like a total beginner and you’ll demonstrate that you’ve been proactive.

Get a Website for Your Freelance Business

If you want to get serious with freelancing, have a website. A website adds legitimacy and professionalism to your freelancing career. It’s a platform for attracting clients as you’ll be searchable and can also direct potential clients to it. It will allow you to promote yourself and showcase your work.
It’s a good idea to have this ready as soon as possible- you can start a website with Bluehost for as little as $2.95 a month- and this even includes a free domain name!

Here are some publications to get you started:

Humorous

Cracked– accepts articles, images and illustrations.
Listverse– want funny lists- they don’t pay per article but can offer popular writers a paid staff position
Chicken Soup for the Soul– inspirational personal stories that make you laugh or cry.

Female

Bolde– looking for fresh takes on topics that millennial women are already talking about
WOW Women on Writing– articles on the topic of writing but must fit within the theme for the upcoming month

Travel

National Geographic– travel advice looking for specific themes, want stories not topics

Parenting

Offspring– modern day parenting magazine
Tots to Teens– a NZ based magazine that has both a ‘bump to baby’ and ‘tots to teens’ section
A Fine Parent– an online parenting community that publishes in-depth articles
Just Parents– online parenting site
ParentCo– publishes on topics related to family and parenthood
Red Tricycle– primarily publish first-person essays around the challenges of parenting or cool parenting hacks
Motherly– first person stories on insights and issues experienced in motherhood
ScaryMommy– don’t pay for articles but they are a very popular site that is great exposure

Stories and Poems

Goblin Fruit– short stories, especially mythical
Crazy Horse– stories or poems
Three Penny Review– story or poem
Poetry Foundation– poetry
The Pedestal Magazine– poetry

Children’s

Spider– want energetic, beautifully crafted submissions with strong “kid appeal”
Clubhouse Jr– Christian stories for kids

Also look up publications in your local area. You might be able to cover topical stories or provide local recommendations, or even review events in the area.

You can also find writing work through these job sites:

Write Greeting Cards

If you are witty or good at composing succinct original messages, or if you can find fresh takes on old greeting card messages, writing greetings cards can be a fun way to make money online. Added bonus if you are arty, as lots of companies also accept art submissions.

Check out these greeting card companies that pay.

2. HIRE YOURSELF ON FIVERR

Did you know that you can get paid to write on Fiverr? This is a brilliant source of work for writers with lots of opportunities for you to make the breakthrough on how to make online from writing!

Fiverr is basically an online community of freelancers. You can use them for almost anything and they have a thriving section for freelance writers.

Online writing gigs might involve writing content for blogs and businesses, ghostwriting a novel, poem writing, song lyrics writing or even a letter writing project! You can charge what you want, and their platform is very intuitive and easy to use.

If you love writing and want to get paid to write, Fiverr is a place you should definitely check out.

3. SELF PUBLISH AN E-BOOK

If you have specialized knowledge to share, why not self-publish an eBook? ‘How-To’ guides are popular and don’t have to be long. You can easily write a book, format it, create a cover (I use Canva Pro to create my own- try it free for 30 days with this link), or outsource to Fiverr, and then publish with Amazon KDP.

Self-publishing is an awesome route to passive income. I use Publisher Rocket to boost sales. This tool tells you how many times a phrase is searched for each month. It’s a good way to pick keywords that people are searching for, and even to find profitable book topics and create content that matches the demand.

Also check out: 7 Key Secrets: How to Write an eBook and Make Money

4. START A BLOG

Starting a blog on a topic you are passionate about is a fantastic way to make money. Almost any blog can be monetized through ads, affiliate marketing, and selling relevant products. The best thing is that you have total control of the content.

If you want to figure out how to make money online by writing, a blog is the most diverse thing that you could do.

I’ve absolutely loved starting my own blog. It has allowed me to connect the dots between the other things I’ve been working on such as my Etsy Shop, my Ebook, and my products on Teachers Pay Teachers. You could do this too- write an eBook sharing your knowledge on a topic, and build up a blog with lots of helpful content that will draw in an audience. This will provide very targeted marketing for your eBook or product.

If you’re planning to try out some of the steps above, ask yourself if a blog could work as a platform to promote yourself and show the world what you’ve got.

I use Siteground for my hosting because they have an amazing customer service reputation, but Bluehost are fantastic as well and are a little cheaper overall.

There are so many ‘how to’ guides when starting a blog. I like Blog Tyrant’s Beginner Guide for Starting a Blog.

5. PUBLISH ON MEDIUM

Medium is a subscription site with articles. It’s free to sign up and add articles. If your article is popular and earns ‘claps’, a portion of the readers’ subscription fee goes straight to you.

This sounds easy, but it’s hard to navigate and can be difficult to get your articles seen. However, if you persevere and figure out what works, it can be possible to earn a full time salary through Medium!

Check out these links for more help and advice.

3 Easy to Fix Mistakes All Newbie Medium Writers Make (Blog Post)

And that’s it!

I hope you enjoyed these five ways on how to make money writing online! Let me know if you’ve tried any of these out or if you have any other ideas.

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Thanks for reading! Please share this post if you enjoyed it- every share counts!

Freya x

How to Make Money Online From Writing: 5 Awesome Ways!