27 Ways a Beginner Can Make Money Writing Online

Are you wondering how you can make extra money with your writing skills?

The magic word is the internet. If you love writing, this should be good news for you. Imagine getting paid to do what you love. Others are already doing it; I have done it for many years, so you can too.

Below are 27 ways to go about making money online with your writing, even if you are a beginner.

1. Blogging

Blogging is one of the oldest ways to make money writing online. It is actually a gateway for other money-making opportunities as a writer online.

You may be worried that it is out of fashion or not so lucrative because there are so many blogs, and the steep competition makes it hard for beginners to find it profitable.

That’s not really the case. Your blog can get enough traffic and make you some money if you write what people want to read and you are consistent. 

The quality of information on your blog can draw people’s attention to your writing expertise and get you hired. 

Also, you can focus on a niche rather than generic content. Your crowd will find you.

1. Create affiliate marketing content

This is one of the ways to maximize your blog or website content to make extra money. 

Affiliate marketing allows you to make money from promoting a product through a special link. When people buy through your link, you get a commission.

For example, when you write content on healthy diet plans for weight loss, you can link a diet product on Amazon and get paid as an affiliate marketer.

1. Publish an Ebook

One of the ways to show credibility as a writer online, is through Ebooks. Even better, you get to make money doing so.

You can write fiction, non-fiction, self-help books, or guides and self publish it online.

Self-publishing platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing can help you keep making money with your eBook as passive income.

You can market your ebook on your blog or website to improve your sales.

1. Write on a revenue-sharing site

Revenue-sharing sites are great for putting out your content without having to own your own site. That means they host your content for free on their own site. 

Even better, you get paid a percentage of their ad revenue when you post your content.

You can try the Medium Partner Program to get paid for your content on Medium.

1. Use a freelance marketplace

Freelance marketplaces are platforms where freelance jobs are published by those needing the services, and freelancers can easily get hired. 

If you are just starting out, a freelance marketplace may be good for you to get writing gigs that pay while you build your portfolio. 

Some of the popular freelance marketplaces are , Fiverr, and Peopleperhour.

1. Join a freelance writing agency

Freelance writing agencies do the work of finding a suitable client for you. You simply get to write and be paid monthly or per writing gig. 

There are lots of freelance writing agencies out there, but you may want to find one within your region for ease of payment and other factors.

1. Guest blogging

Guest blogging is simply writing a blog post for another blog. Some blogs may need a guest blogger to improve their blog traffic, niche relevance, or any other reason, and they pay for it.

The benefits are more than just making money online. You can link your own blog posts to your guest blogging posts and drive traffic to your blog as well while improving your SEO ratings.

When trying out guest blogging, you have to familiarize yourself with the blog to know its content style and how your content can be relevant to them.

1. Write sponsored content

Sponsored content is just like influencer marketing. Brands pay you to write a post on your blog that promotes their product without making an outright advert for the product.

For example, a beauty blog that writes a post about using a particular mascara and how that brand product is great.

Sponsored content can make you a ton of money online since your potential clients are businesses. 

1. Write content for local businesses

Who says you can only make money writing online by searching for opportunities online?

The world around you is full of opportunities; you only need to milk it. 

There are lots of local businesses near you that lack proper online credibility, and you can offer your services to help them.

For example, your local gym center may have a blog or website that has been lying dormant; you can propose a writing contract to help them boost the activity around their online site, which can, in turn, give the business a boost. 

Trending ways to make money writing online

1. Ghostwriting online content

Ghost writing is a great way to make money writing online if you have what it takes. 

You have to write in another person’s tone, and you relinquish rights to your work. This is also why it pays so well, because writers need a lot of money to allow someone else to take credit for their hard work.

Ghost writing gigs can go from ebooks to blog posts or online articles. You might want to try it out.

1. Transcribe video content

Transcribing requires you to produce written words for video content. It is easy work if you have the right tools and expertise. 

But you may have to build your portfolio with lower-paying jobs before you can start making big money. The important thing is to have a good number of high-quality works in your portfolio first.

1. Start copywriting

Copywriting is where the buzz is right now for most freelance writers trying to make money online.

This is because it pays so well and there is no shortages of work to be done. Businesses are constantly looking for great copywriters to market their brands and products through content.

You can get a piece of the action too. You only need to brush up on your marketing and creative skills.

1. SEO writing

SEO, or search engine optimization is still an important marketing tool for businesses. And, many businesses are ready to pay good money to freelance writers who will know how to use content to make businesses rank for relevant keywords.

This makes SEO writers one of the best-paid freelance writers because they know the trick to getting great SEO results for their clients.

You simply have to understand how SEO works, and you can become a sought-after SEO writer and make money online with it. 

1. Write product descriptions

Most companies need writers to write informative product descriptions that can give customers a clear understanding of the product and also push them to buy.

Product descriptions are usually short, so it is easy to find companies outsourcing it to freelance writers. You can make a few extra dollars per hour or per gig writing product descriptions.

1. Write technical guides

Tech writing is one of the ways writers make a lot of money online. The catch is you need to have a level of expertise in a particular industry before you can work as a tech writer.

If you don’t already know about the tech industry you want to work in, it will be difficult to get a job as a tech writer. Also, you need to be able to break down your writing in such a way that readers can understand. 

Once you get these sorted out, you can start making money online as a technical writer.

1. Create social media content

Most businesses rely on their online presence to gain new customers, boost sales, and maintain relevance. This is where your services become handy.

Offer to manage social media platforms for small businesses that are having a hard time keeping their social media handles active. 

Or, you can take up any of the numerous job offers on job boards for social media managers and content creators. 

Creating social media content means that you have to understand how social media works and how best to reach the demographic of users your clients need.

1. Video scriptwriting

The trending rush for video content comes with the need for video scriptwriting. You can make money online writing scripts for video content.

The good thing is you have a wide range of target clients to choose from. Video script writing can be for video tutorials or marketing content for businesses, or even online courses for people and brands.

Other ways to make money online with your writing

1. Start online coaching

Many people are looking for guidance on their writing careers, and you can help them. Start an online coaching series to teach beginners the nitty-gritty of writing.

If you already have a niche, you can extend your coaching to more than just the writing aspect of your niche.

You can promote your coaching program on your blog site through ads or content that hints at the program.

This is excellent for boosting your brand as an authority in writing while also making extra money online.

1. Create your own informational products

Informational products can range from PDF files, short e-books, videos, or any other material that contains useful information for people to buy.

This is different from coaching, which is more personalized and may require one-on-one sessions. 

For informational products, you can create a course that is open to anyone to buy, and you do not have to do anything more than put the product out to be accessed by users.

This is great for making money online passively with the knowledge you have.

1. Place Ads on your site

If your site is already getting traffic, then advert placements might just be right for you. 

Ads generate money based on cost-per-mile (CPM) or cost-per-click (CPC). This means that you can either make money for every impression on the ad or for every click on the ad.

The more traffic your website or blog has, the more money you can make from ads. 

1. Use old clients

Your clients can be your gateway to making more money with your writing. This is why great customer experience is vital. 

Delivering high-quality work for your clients can get you referrals to high-paying clients and constant jobs. 

This is even better when your client has a circle of professionals who need your services; you can become the circle’s go-to writer, and it can only grow from there.

Try giving out referral benefits to your old clients, like discounted services and more.

1. Cold pitch

Cold pitching is one of the most effective ways of keeping yourself in business. It involves reaching out to potential clients without them asking.

To use this technique, you need to know how to write a captivating pitch or risk getting rejected.

Research the writing needs of the business you are pitching to, let them know why they should hire you, and be professional about it.

1. Tell people

People are your greatest resource, so use them. Tell people what you do; you’ll be surprised to find out who has always had a need for your services or who would refer you.

To effectively use this means to improve your income, you need to network a lot. Meet and interact with other freelance writers and professionals in the industry where your target clients are.

1. Promote your writing on social media

Social media allows you to reach a larger audience than your immediate circle. This means you can get more exposure on social media.

Promoting your writing on social media opens doors to getting clients to write for you and make money online.

1. Offer other related services

If you are a writer online, chances are you have developed other helpful skills through writing online. 

For example, graphic design is one of the skills that accompany online writing because you have to make appealing designs for your content cover and product promotions. 

You can leverage these extra skills to make money online as a writer. Some of the skills that come with writing that you can make money from are digital marketing, content strategy, virtual assistance, content editing, web development, and more.

1. Answer professional questions online

Answering questions online is a way of adding value to others and boosting your image as a reliable authority in your industry. 

Basically, you promote yourself while giving value. Most professionals do this, and it opens up doors to getting paid jobs. 

For example, on Quora, most people will add links to their blog for users to get more information on a particular question being answered, which drives traffic to their blog while creating more opportunities.

Also, there are platforms like JustAnswer where you get paid to give professional answers to questions. But you'll have to prove that you are a professional before getting started.

1. Offer free services

Sometimes you can create value for your services and attract paying jobs through free offers.

For example, I once gave free consultations to a client who needed my writing services for marketing a product. Due to the quality of consultation I gave and the results it yielded, she hired me to give marketing consultations for other products and referred me as a marketing consultant to two other brands.

Let’s Make Money Writing Online

Now you know the drill. As a beginner, you can improve your chances of making money writing online. 

There are so many opportunities out there and so many ways to attract the jobs you need to make money writing online.

With the few insights from this article, I hope you know what you can do now about making money online with your writing. It is now time to take a leap!