As someone that's been working online for over 7 years now, I'm glad to say that if you are a writer, you will have access to lots of different ways to make money writing online. The main value of the internet is the exchange of information, and the vast majority of that information is done with text. Even in other formats like video or audio, there's a written element to those mediums like scripts, translations, and subtitles.
The methods of payment will vary too. Some will pay per word, some per completed article. Some gigs you can get paid simply for a completed piece of text, while others will require that you have a knowledge of website CMS (WordPress, Joomla, etc) so you can upload relevant photos and videos. You can make a lot of money freelance writing if you really put your mind to it. People are making over $100k per year doing this!
Of course, income like that won't happen overnight! But you can work towards a significant income with online writing, just like any other “traditional” career.
There's every type of working relationship out there too. As an editor that outsources writing for some of my websites, I have some people that I work with for a set amount of articles per week. Every week is the same number of articles, and the same payment for each article regardless of topic. Some freelancers I work with are paid per word, some are paid per hour. If I have a specific topic I want expert writing on, I'll bring someone on to write a few articles for a short term project.
The subject matter you can write about is limitless. Anything from political opinion pieces to Amazon product descriptions can get you paid. Health and fitness blogs are just as popular are end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse blogs. You can stick with what you know, or do the research and write about anything that comes across your plate.
Enough rambling. We get it. But how much can you get paid to write online? That depends on a lot!
Let's dig into each type of writing and see how to land gigs, as well as how much money you can expect to get paid for each style of freelance writing online. Before you dig in though, I'm keeping a list of online writing opportunities that I review. So you can browse through those posts and see if there's a specific item that you're interested in. Topics range from writing song lyrics, to obituaries, poetry, essays for students...
5. Pay Per View Articles
There are a number of publications online that will pay you for your content. Many “pay per view”, while some may pay a flat fee. For example Listverse offers to pay $100 to any qualifying article they can publish on the home page of the website. That's a pretty good deal, considering pretty much ANY list is possible. Just browsing their page right now, I see topics ranging from 11 Masoni Ritual Connections to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing to 1o Incredibly Boneheaded Blunders.
Personally, I find it hard to believe someone got paid $100 for that second article, considering it's only got 21 shares so far, and is a very general, very boring topic.
I have a feeling there's some kind of catch with the $100 payment, so proceed with caution, but it's definitely worth looking into!
Another similar option is writing for Cracked.com. They will pay for a variety of types of content, including lists, image editing, videos, infographics and more. Comedy is what they're looking for, so unfortunately you won't be able to produce just anything for this website. Plus, they only pay for what they deem shareworthy, so as with this type of gig, you're only getting paid for what's good enough.
But these are just the two options I found in about 5 minutes of research. You could potentially collect 20+ of these websites and submit articles to each one by one until you get paid. If something you write gets rejected everywhere, you can publish it on your own website and potentially make income there.
4. Writing For Online Publications
People get their news online. There are thousands of publications out there. Some are widely known like Forbes and Huffington Post, while others are popular but off the radar due to their niche audience like Kotaku. What a lot of folks don't realize is that these sites pump out an insane amount of content. They probably have some core staff writers and editors, but a lot of their writing is done by freelance writers like yourself.
The good news for you is that although these used to be exclusive and in-demand jobs, taken by only the best writers, the need for daily content means that just about anyone can publish on these sites. I once hired a link building service to write an article for me that was published on Forbes, which linked to my website. It cost me $1000 for said article, but it was as easy as that. So the lack of integrity of these “news” outlets works to your advantage (albeit to the detriment of subscriber experience).
Here's an article on how to get into Forbes, and here's one for HuffPo. Search your publication of choice, and they'll have a page on their site on how to get published there, or you'll find someone with experience explaining how it's done.
It's very likely you'll need some kind of proof you're a writer, which is another reason you should own your own website with examples of your writing.
A great strategy could also be to cold-pitch any website that produces blogs in a topic you're knowledgable about or have expertise in. If you are a vet and think you can write great content about natural remedies for common dog illnesses, make a list of 100 websites writing consistent blogs about dog illnesses. Email them your pitch and see what comes back. Cold-emailing is sure to get a lot of rejections, but all you need is one or two to respond!
3. Content Farms & Mills
Writing for content farms does not have a very good reputation since it doesn't pay much, but the pay is consistent, and more in the vein of a typical job. Examples of content farms are:
- iWriter
- TextBroker
Though you definitely won't get rich writing for these sites, and they don't have the passive income potential of owning your own website, payment is fast, and you don't have to search around for jobs or bid against other writers like with freelancing gigs.
Typically you'll get paid per word, ranging from $0.01 to $0.05, though this may vary based on the topic and length of assignment.
The upside to working for the farms and mills is that you will have a constant stream of work. The downside is that it's going to be pretty low pay. Also, you may end up with projects like one-off articles. Those can be more difficult because you have to become an instant expert in random topics, rather than choosing long term projects that allow you to learn about a subject that you write about.
2. Fiverr
Using Fiverr is another alternative way making money writing online. In this case, clients will find you! You can post your services on the website, and write however much you feel comfortable for $5. Most gigs nowadays allow for a variety of packages that go beyond the basic five dollar order. So you could write a 300 word article for $5, then offer a 200 words more for another $5.
The upside is that you can just take this work as it comes, and people that hire writers on Fiverr usually have pretty low expectations for content. Many will be non-native speakers looking to save a buck, you can probably slam out some quick work. Even two gigs, making just $10 per day would be an extra $300 per month.
The downside of using this site is that it's highly competitive. Many sellers already have established profiles with thousands of reviews and special seller status that gets them place at the top of the page where most people click. However, they are also swamped with writing, so you may be able to compete on turn around time.
1. Starting An Affiliate Blog
If you need instant payment for your writing, then starting an affiliate blog isn't for you. If you want to be paid per word or per article, then this is also a strategy you don't need to look into. But if you want to create passive income with a long term strategy in mind, then starting an affiliate blog is the best way to make use of your writing skills.
First and foremost, you own your own content. Once it's published online, it will stay there for another decade with your name on it, and you can choose what you want to do with it. You can benefit from it in a number of ways that spell $$$ for you. You can directly promote products through links, or indirectly through display ads from Google or Bing. After years of publishing, assuming you have traffic and an online following you can sell the website for another level of profit.
Imagine making $1,000 per month for the next couple years, then turning around and selling that asset for a $200,000 one-time payment? It's possible!
Of course you won't be making that right away. It could take 1-2 years or more to reach that point, assuming that you are creating consistent, high quality content along the way. Do you have the patience to write 5-10,000 words per week for two years without any payoff? It's unlikely you would see zero profit during that time, since income usually increases gradually as you're building your site. Still, the hypothetical scenario shows the kind of mindset you need to make money writing for an affiliate blog you own.
A secondary benefit to owning and writing for your own website is that you can provide truly helpful information to an audience on a subject you feel passionately about.
Doing one-off jobs or even long term projects for a client may mean you get stuck writing about cat bladder infections for three months. When you make the choice to start a website, you can pick any topic you find interesting, including health, gaming, natural healing, travel, fashion, or online security.
You also have full oversight and editorial control of the project. You decide the conclusion of each article, and you decide the direction of the website. If you think the best way to potty train a toddler is to let them run free without diapers, that's great. Publish! Think that's disgusting and believe the diaper route is the best way to go? Publish!
Who ever thought you could make such good money from simply writing your opinion online?
I got into affiliate marketing, blogging and all that stuff I just described through a training site called Wealthy Affiliate. The specialize in teaching people how to start affiliate websites on a topic of their choice. Training includes how to build the site, how to write articles that rank, how to find affiliate programs and make money from links, and how to create a social media presence online.
If you're at all interested in starting your own website and making money from it, Let check here
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