Writing online is one of the most lucrative ways to earn money online especially if writing is your passion.
Although, it is can be very discouraging if you don’t know how to do it right or where to get started.
Figuring out how to get started and get to reap maximum benefits is another battle altogether as there are certain important factors that you need to put into consideration.
This post brings you up to speed with all of them so that you are off to a good start and ensure you have a rewarding writing adventure in the online world.
Without any delays, let’s get started with this.
Table of Contents
Understanding Online Writing Better
In essence, online writing is also referred to as digital writing or online content writing.
With the help of your mobile device, be it a smartphone, tablet or computer, you get to create content for people out there who need content and get money in exchange.
So you are basically selling your writing services online to those who need them.
There are different types of online writing and each type comes with its own method of action.
Let’s take a look at them.
* Feature/article writing – The first one has to be the feature or article writing. This is one of the most common forms of online writing and it is based on writing about various topics that you are well versed with or you are passionate about. You get to do this as a freelancer.
* Blogging – A blog is actually a short form of the word ‘weblog’ and it entails sharing choosing a particular topic and sharing your views about different aspects of it.
Blogs are mostly simple websites that readers can scroll through and the content in it is usually arranged in a chronological order such that the newest content appears at the top of the page and the older posts archived in other pages of the blog.
The content in a blog can be written by the owner of the blog or another writer can be paid to do it, which could be you.
A recent statistical record revealed that every month, around 409 million people view more than 20 billion blog pages.
Therefore, having this in mind we see how lucrative blogs can be if utilized for online writing because they are frequently visited by readers and more content is needed to make the blog successful.
So if you can get a person who owns a blog and needs content for it, you can make good money doing the blog’s content.
* Corporate business writing – This is the type of writing that is facilitated by the need for content marketing by businesses. As a result such businesses require the services of writers in order to help with content related needs such as marketing of their services and products, promoting these businesses, engaging clients, among others.
Social media content creation – Since businesses in this day and age must be on social media in order to be successful, businesses are also paying writers to manage their accounts on social platforms content wise.
It is therefore crucial that the writer is able to understand how various social platforms work because they are different and also how to engage with the readers in order to deliver great content to them according to their needs.
* Press release writing – This one entails writing to the media to announce various notifications for example new products, an accomplishment, a scheduled event among other important events.
This form of writing is mostly short but can also be long depending on the need of the clients. Writing press releases will earn you some good cash, so if you are conversant on the same, you can venture into it a lot more.
* Ghost writing – Ghost writing also pays and entails writing without taking credit for whatever you are writing. Therefore, as a writer you cannot market that piece as your own on social platforms as reference.
As much as this is the case, this form of writing is highly lucrative because you can charge as much as you want for each piece.
* SEO writing – To start with, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
The goal of this form of writing is to help websites get ranked highly on google, and this is the reason behind online businesses hiring skilled SEO writers.
Those seeking SEO content include, those that give you keywords to use in order to create content around the same for ranking as well as those that require short posts with the relevant keywords placed throughout the article.
Either way, you get paid for these articles and improve your writing skills in the process.
* White paper writing – White papers are mostly used by businesses for the purpose of marketing because these papers are designed to market a product or service as they are very informative.
They are quite time-consuming and not really for everyone but very lucrative with the average price ranging from $5000 to $7000.
* Email marketing writing – The work of an online writer here is alerting subscribers of the developments in things such as new products and deals for a given business through emails.
It definitely pays but requires one to put in a lot of work in order to increase customer interaction and trust so that the company you are writing for can be seen as a reliable and trustworthy brand.
To determine which type of writing is good for you among these different types, you should take your time and figure out which one you are passionate about and more conversant with and then aim to be the best at it.
Sites That Will Pay You To Write
Now that we are done with the various types of writing you can get into and make money with, let’s take a look at the websites you can use to get writing jobs of different kinds.
Here are websites that will not only pay you to write but ones that are also legitimate and which writers have had a good experience with.
1. iWriter
IWriter is a website is considered to be one of the fastest websites to get writing jobs done professionally by writers who are skilled differently.
As a writer you get to join for free, take a writing test and get started writing right away.
You begin at the standard level and after you have written a good number of articles and have rated well by your clients, you are promoted to the next level, the premium level.
And if you do a good job there as well, you get to the elite level and then elite plus level where you are paid more and have the chances of getting a long term client.
2. StrongWhispers
StrongWhispers is an organization that focuses on creating content around subjects that are current, interesting and thought-provoking.
Their article fees are negotiable and will definitely pay for a good article. They publish 2-3 posts per month and pay $50 each.
3. Link-able
Link-Able is a website that allows writers to earn money through publishing for various clients as well companies.
The platform acts as a link between writers that are able to publish on a wide range of sites and companies that seek to earn traffic, links and mentions to their sites.
They pay between $100 to $750 per project depending on the sites you are able to work for.
4. The Barefoot Writer
This is a writing and publication community that helps people get started with their writing career.
They help writers improve their writing skills and also pays them for submissions to their blog.
Their requirements include a submission of original work that ranges from 400-900 words and payment ranges from $100- $300.
5. Post Loop
This website gives beginner writers a chance to earn cash by simply starting discussions on forums or commenting on posts on certain sites.
What they need from writers is a complete understanding of the English language and follow strictly the guidelines of the site they are posting on.
They pay $5 per 100 points.
6. Fiverr
Fiverr is another website that’s majorly focuses on a wide range of freelance jobs including writing.
Using the website, you are able to create your own account and then wait until you get a project.
Once a client puts out work, you work on it as per the requirements provided.
After the client has approved your work, the payment goes into a 14-day clearance period. Once your payment has been cleared, you can withdraw it.
To get started with the website, create your profile and describe the kind of services you offer.
You then promote your services on various platforms to get any future opportunities.
7. Cracked
Cracked.com is a humor website that pays writers that can convert their humor into jokes.
To get started, simply register on to their website if you are interested to write for them great jokes, and if you are picked, you will get paid $50 – $250 depending on how creative and funny you are.
8. The Green Parent
The green parent is a website dedicated to helping parents in things such as raising a good child among other things parents as well as chatting with other parents.
They pay writers a rate of 75 pounds per 1000 words.
How Online Writing Works
Here are the major elements of online writing that see the process successful.
One there is the writer, you, that ensures that content is well written and is informative enough to the audience.
A good writer should be captivating, to the point, informative and well versed with the topic of discussion so as to deliver good work.
Next we have the content itself. This is the major component of the writing process as its the tool used to address certain issues of the audience and if well-developed garners more readers for the author.
Any content should always be well detailed, accurate, honest and interesting to read.
We then have the clients. These are people who own platforms that has people coming to read the platform’s content.
They look for skilled and experienced writers to write for their platforms to help them keep growing by addressing the various needs of the readers through their content.
Freelance websites also count. Without freelance websites that act as the meeting point for clients and writers, it could be very hard for these two parties to meet.
Lastly we have the readers. Their reading needs must be met because they have a reason why they open a certain post.
It is therefore the work of the writer to ensure that he or she captures their attention well enough to a point that they don’t have to go anywhere else to look for the same and adequately answers the questions they have about the topic they are interested in knowing more about.
Benefits of Online Writing
* The writer is generally very flexible
This is because, as a writer, you are in charge of your schedule and hence you write during the time you feel works for you and you are also able to write from wherever you want.
You are also able to pick a job that you are most comfortable with and on availability.
* Provides employment to people
This can either be on a full time or part-time basis based on what the writer wants. In cases where a writer writes for a client, both agree with the payment terms.
Payment is can be done through various platforms like PayPal among others.
* No certifications needed
Therefore no one is limited when it comes to starting out.
Though experience and skill may be factored in at some point, they rarely make it hard for you to get started and so you can start on some beginner friendly articles and write your way up to the more advanced levels so that you can get paid more.
* Provides a sense of fulfillment for the writer
Those that write in areas they are experts on or those they are passionate about find writing enjoyable.
Writing Articles That Actually Earn you money
Here are some handy writing tips to keep in your writing toolbox if you want to succeed with online writing:
* Plan beforehand and structure your articles well so that use your writing skills to the best of your capability.
* Use catchy language to entice your readers. This will see you get more reader to your articles and hence get to earn from them just as the client wants.
* Stay relevant to the topic and ensure you are thorough in regard to providing all the necessary details that the readers need in a given topic.
* Always proofread your word to ensure there are no grammatical errors. Content with errors will make you appear less serious with your work.
* Avoid repetition and filler content that tends to bore your readers.
* Always ensure your work can be shared by others and has a call to action.
How You Can Get Started As An Individual
To step foot into online writing, here are the steps you should take:
Step 1. Choose the kind of articles you want to start writing about. You should aim to work with the type of articles you feel most comfortable with and which you love too.
Step 2. Get good at those types of articles. This will need you to learn how to write those articles in the best way possible by taking an online course or doing extensive research and then do frequent practice.
Step 3. If you are going to do freelance writing, you should use the list of freelance writing websites mentioned above to get freelance writing jobs. You can sign up to one or two of them and start looking for jobs that best match you.
However, if you want to make money through writing on your own, you can find someone who could help you build or come up with a good website if you are not conversant with web development and designing.
This will ensure that you come up with a good website.
After that, you should then choose a topic you are knowledgeable about or one that you love and then talk about it in your website or blog.
Then when you get many readers reading your posts, you can monetize the website through Google adWords or affiliate marketing.
Step 4. Start writing and keep going! And not just any articles but an article that actually resonates with the readers.
However, it’s worth noting that it will take some time to become good at it but it will all be worth it.
And that is all for now.
I hope you now understand how writing online works and what you can do to get started.
Now it is up to you to take the information you have gained here and make it work.
I wish you well in all your writing endeavors.
