Spurred by high speed technology solutions, there are now a lot opportunities for almost any creative person to make money as a writer and build a career professionally from scratch. A lot of young writers have cashed in on these opportunities but even more people are still figuring ways to navigate their writing journey.
From working as Freelancers, Virtual assistants, SEO writers, Technical writers etc. young people in Africa, India and many developing countries are bracing the odds to offer writing services that gets them paid while building a career on their own terms and in their preferred locations.
As a writer who started off an influential digital brand and a business from writing, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years is that nearly anyone can make a headway as a writer, if they are ready to learn and put in the work. And you can start right this moment.
But, before you get right in to start building a career as a writer, I’ll be sharing with you some of the key insights I’ve learned, the steps you can use to start a career and earn a living as a writer and how you can navigate your writing journey as a beginner.
Learn the Skills
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First, you can’t make money as a writer without having writing skills that people can easily pay for. This is why the first step to get started on this journey is to learn and gain mastery as a writer. It’s very simple and straightforward.
Without the skills, it can get pretty difficult to make a decent headway in your writing journey so you need to sort out the skills first. You can start this by signing up for writing trainings, courses and certifications.
There are quite a number of these trainings and courses for aspiring writers. Both the free and paid courses. Depending on your overall goal, choose a training or writing programs that aligns with your niche and subject your self to learn the skills.
Do not merely learn the skills. Practice it. This is very important. Write and share content on your social media platforms and find ways to get feedback both from your audience and instructors while you’re learning and building your writing muscle.
Define your Niche
A niche is a specialized segment of the market carved out for a particular product or service.
As a beginner, one of the best steps you can take before you start to make money as a writer is to define your niche. This is very crucial because it makes it easier for you to actually get on the journey to earning an income as a writer.
The moment you define your niche, it becomes easy for you to define your target audience. When you identify your target audience, you get better positioned to target and create content that appeals to this audience that’s actually interested in patronizing you.
Defining your niche also gives you the chance to establish your brand or become a thought leader in a very specific niche, compared to targeting the entire industry. This makes it even easier to get more niche defined jobs.
PS: Defining your niche might also mean attending some trainings to get specific writing skills associated with that niche, getting writing certifications and real hands on experience you can showcase in your profile.
Create a Brand
After identifying your niche, you also need a brand. Something recognizable and distinct from other writing brands because there are so many writers out there competing to get visibility like you so you have to distinguish yourself.
The more it is easy for your audience to identify your brand from the others and get the jobs over to you, the easier it is for you to eventually make money as a writer.
So, you have to think carefully about creating a brand that is unique to you, distinct in your industry and one your audience can easily connect with. This should reflect in your brand name, logo and even your choice of domain name among other details.
You can get on a research to understand a brand outcome that will align with your potential clients. This can include checking out what the clients would prefer by using polls, surveys or even researching other existing brands in your preferred niche to have a better understanding.
Get on Social Media
For so many aspiring writers, the social media is one of the top places that can shape your writing skills and build your brand as a writer. The social media ca also serve as a very useful platform to gauge audience feedback from your writing especially when you’re just getting started.
So, you want to head on the social media and create a page on key platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. where you can easily share your writings as posts, engage with your audience and build a following.
Beyond these, you can also use your social media platform as an avenue to experiment your write to earn goals, learn audience preferences and build credibility, using powerful storytelling and engaging content.
The following are steps you can take or the things you can do to start, make money and earn a living as a writer:
Publish a Book
Although everyone may not have a story that will become the next Harry Porter series, if you’re highly skilled or experienced in a specific area then you definitely have what it takes to write, publish a book people can gain value from and with this, you can make money as a writer.
Even where you don’t have an experience or you’re not highly skilled in any specific area, there are ways you can still create books and sell them online on platforms like Amazon, Lulu, Kobo etc.
These could be ranging from items like; low content books to books to tutorials, guides, ebooks and other kinds of books.
With the unprecedented avalanche of information and endless search for knowledge today, publishing and selling books online could actually be your best avenue to earn a living as a writer because there’s a ready market for these books.
And when done well, you can write, publish and get your books out there in front of your audience, using online stores, without paying anything upfront.
Write for Others
Another easy way to make money as a writer is to write for others and get paid for it. And there are many ways to do this.
For example, there are a number of businesses looking for writers to boost their publications. These could be blogs, Newspapers, Magazines, Newsletters etc. And most of these platforms are willing to pay you to write for them.
There are also a number job boards for local and international firms in search of remote writers and contract writers for their projects. You can opt to write for these, in addition to others.
Outside these platforms, another way to earn a living as a writer is by writing for platforms, websites and blogs currently on the lookout for writers and content creators who are willing to manage and create content on their platforms.
Just like the others, this is an option you can consider. And you can negotiate how long you want to be writing or how often, based on your agreement with the firms.
Start a Blog
Starting a blog gives you a platform to create and share content with your audience. It is one of the popular options almost anyone can use to make money as a writer, especially on the long term.
After starting a blog in a particular niche, you can create and share thoughtful content with your audience. Overtime as your blog continues to grow in traffic, audience and web visits, you can get to start earning from it, using specific earning strategies.
To start blogging to earn a living as a writer, you have to take steps to identify and align your skills, research the niche you want to be blogging about, create a blog and start growing it with content.
As soon as the blog gathers a decent traffic over a period of time, you can then monetize it by creating ad spaces, engaging in Google Advertising, Sponsored advertising, Paid Content creation, amongst other means of monetization.
And of course, you can go as far as publishing your books and creating products that can be sold, using that platform. Here’s a guide on how to start a blog.
Start Ghost Writing
Ghost writing means to write on behalf of or for other people (who will become the real owners of the book or content) while you get paid in return.
It is one of the most well-known ways that you can make money and earn a living as a writer. Oftentimes, this writing niche can also be quite lucrative, depending on your specific target audience.
Considering that today, a lot of influential people, entrepreneurs, ministers, etc. are getting way too busy to sit down and write books, content etc. to share their knowledge, cement their expertise or for PR purposes; this gives you an opportunity to make a living as a Guest Writer.
To make things even better, you don’t necessarily have to sit and wait out your turn to get offers for jobs as a ghost writer; you can pitch books and content ideas to potential authors or send out mouth watering proposals that will get them hooked.
The good thing about Ghost Writing is that the market is quite broad and you can comfortably earn a living as a writer using a specific niche of your choice.
Manage Social Media
Be it text, videos or images, social media thrives on content. And as a creative writer, you’re one of the best fit to manage and create content for other people’s social media accounts while getting paid for it.
Naturally, most people expect to get into social media management merely for busy clients but that doesn’t have to be your story.
You’re not the average social media manager. You’re a professional writer and as a writer, you bring in an extra level of skills to the job of social media management and this in turn gives you an edge over the average social media manager.
Utilizing your creative and writing abilities, you can make money as a writer while managing social media accounts for brands in a specific niche or industry of your choice.
Also, with your skills as a writer and creative storyteller, you can set yourself apart in social media management by taking up your client’s goals and interpreting same to create content that drives engagement and delivers on their expected outcomes.
Become Employed to Write
Apart from working as a self-employed or freelance writer, a number of establishments do have roles exclusively for content writers.
Some of these roles are for local and international workers with flexible working options, including, remote, on site and hybrid alternatives.
If you’re someone that prefers a more formal working environment with steady income, this presents you a good opportunity to make money and earn a living as a writer. And you can make a living this way working as a Technical writer, SEO writer or a specialized writer in a specific niche.
If you have a specialized knowledge or certification this can also come in handy. For example if you have a legal training, this can help you to transition into a legal writing career while medical training can get you into medical writing etc.
Start a Writing Agency
Starting a writing agency is a great option for people seeking to make money as a writer.
As a highly driven entrepreneur that’s out to build a business out of writing, to earn a living as a writer, you can start an actual boutique writing agency, providing a range of writing aligned services to clients around the world.
This could range from providing services like Content Creation, Ghost Writing, and Social Media Management etc. to clients.
Although this may require more initial financial investment but this arrangement gives you more leverage, compared to a one man writing business.
As a writing agency, you are well positioned as an establishment that services different businesses. This affords you the chance to bid for and get jobs from entities looking for established writing firms.
The good part is that you can start this business with yourself and a few staff working on site or remotely while building from the ground up.
Sell your Skills
Another under rated step to earn a living as a writer is to sell your skills. This is one of the hidden strategies used by most experts.
As a writer with a decent set of skills, experience or specialized knowledge, using your strong story telling skills, you can amplify these skills and get people to know about it.
Personally, this is one of the key strategies that led to my first ever income online. A lot of established writers can relate to this.
Regardless of the industry you’re in, you can make money as a writer by writing about your skills, offering tips, guides and other articles around those skills. A lot of celebrities, influencers etc. are already doing this successfully.
And the best part of this strategy is that beside establishing you as a writer, it also positions you as a thought leader in that niche.
Final Words
It’s very possible to make money as a writer, regardless of who you are, where you are or your current financial status. As a matter of fact, a good number of people are already doing this. And what you just read here are the some of the strategies that got a lot of them to where they are today.
As you embark on the journey to earn a living as a writer, keep in mind that to set yourself apart, there are certain specific skills you must learn, experiences you have to gather and a level of expertise you must attain, before you can write for certain brands or in certain niches.
That’s why before you get started, you must outline your goals, set your niche and then learn the adequate skills that will transform your writing journey beyond the beginner level.
And of course, we have a range of these writing related skills and courses that will set you apart and get you the right mentorship, to start earning fast. Sign up here and join a class.
Now, it’s over to you. What’s the biggest obstacle blocking you from making a living as a writer? Drop your comment below.
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