For some people, pen and paper bring comfort to scattered thoughts. It calms the mind and helps ease anxious thoughts. However, did you know that words can also bring food to the table? Your passion for writing can help you pay off your car loan and fill your savings account.
If you are ready to make money with your hobby, here is how you can do it. Whether you are a college student or a full-time worker, there is a type of writing job for you.
Table of Contents
Where to find writing gigs
Online blogs
If you are looking to occasionally submit stories and writeups without commitment, you can start with blogs. There are blog sites that accept contributions from everyone. Some pay a flat rate per article while other pay per number of words. You can get $0.110 per word or around $50 for 500-word articles.
Choose blog sites that offer a bonus for articles that do well and reach a number of clicks. Of course, choose topics you know you are good at and you enjoy writing about. If you are a college student, there are blog sites that center around college life, hacks, and tips. If you like traveling and writing about it, you have an endless list of choices.
Online job boards
There are Facebook pages dedicated to connecting clients to freelance writers. In these online groups, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world as long as you can deliver according to the requirements and deadline. There are Facebook groups and other online forums such as Reddit where you can ask about the proper rates for a writing job. Be careful of those who lowball writing talents in exchange for the experience.
There are so many clients who take advantage of new writers. They give you a very low offer and tell you that you can use the writeups for your portfolio. Ask for guidance from experienced writers in your online community.
Freelancing Sites
Of course, the easiest way to connect with clients is through online platforms such as Upwork. However, you have to bear in mind that the competition can be tough. If you put “writer” on your profile, your chances of getting hired can be low. There are so many other people who offer writing services on these platforms.
If you want to stand out and secure clients, you have to find a niche. Experiment for a bit with other types of writing jobs. Research what type of writeups are in demand. Simply go to the platform and search keywords. You will find what niche is in-demand depending on the number of posts.
Instead of offering all kinds of writeups, you can focus on B2B blogs, for example. You can also venture into YouTube scriptwriting since there are so many channels that need a lot of content each day. Writing content for e-commerce sites is also a good niche. There are even personal writing tasks on freelance sites. Some need helps with an assignment or research.
Don’t be afraid to try out for a niche that you haven’t tried before. There are clients who are willing to hire new talents regardless of experience. You just have to prove to them that you are diligent, capable, and willing to learn.
Word of mouth
Once you start writing as a side hustle, you should get the word out to as many people as possible. There may be people in your circle who need a blog post for their business or need a part-time copywriter. Let your friends know by sharing your info, rates, and portfolio on your Instagram story o post on Facebook.
The more people know about your services, the better chances you get at landing a gig. Your friends can refer you to people who need writers. Building your network is key.
Final tips before you start
You need to show a strong portfolio to clients even as a beginner. If you have no idea how to fill your portfolio, you can use the personal essays you made before. You can even share assignments you’ve done for school. Just be sure to let your clients know where the essays and articles were used before.
Your portfolio is the soul of your writing career. Aside from showing your clients what you are capable of doing, this is also a great way you can assess how you have improved in the past. be creative with it. You can put up a personal website so you just redirect your clients to it when they ask for sample writeups.
