There are plenty of ways how one can acquire various writing skills. You write different papers in college or university, learn about business communication, use social networks on a daily basis.
Today, writing is much more than just a good addition to your professional skills. It can become a foundation for a really well-paid job if you manage to turn it into a business. Here are only a few of the ways how you can make money by writing.
1. Become a Freelance Writer
Becoming a freelance writer is one of the simplest ways to earn one’s living with writing from the point of view of social responsibility. You are to work as hard as if you would work in the office.
You are to pay even more attention to your time-management. You are to get rid of any thoughts about the household while you are working at home, which is really difficult.
But! You don’t have to invest in such a business. You don’t have to lead others, to team-build, to dress up for work, to think about smiles and handshakes, etc. The rule is simple here – the more work you are able to complete – the more money you’ll get.
2. Join SEO Company
It can be a part-time or full-time job. It also can be remote work. The time it requires may vary a lot. Besides general writing skills, SEO writer has to develop a target-oriented approach, analytical thinking, and at least some knowledge about web content. After some time working in this sphere, you can start an SEO company yourself. Your responsibility will increase with time, so will your income.
3. Start a Blog
Blogging today has a variety of forms: from ‘how my day went’ to international politics surveys. The way of presenting information can be narrative, analytical (one of the best from the reader’s point of view), even mocking.
Blogs can teach readers how to cook, how to write a term paper, and even how to spend your day. And the money a blogger earns can come from different sources. You can use various Internet tools, such as Google Adsense and similar.
Sponsored blogs are not quite trusted after all, but there is a great alternative – affiliate marketing! You are not bound by the salary, so you may promote only the products you trust.
It’ll allow you to be as ethical as you want + still tell about different products + earn money. It can really be a formula for your success. On the other hand, you may prefer private advertising. In this case, you can tell about anything you like, without thinking about advertised products. The ads will be seen on your blog by your readers.
4. Write a Book
Do your personal experience and E. L. James’ incomes keep you up at night? Or do you have a great imagination and have plenty of material to match up to J. K. Rowling? Please, mind that becoming a professional fiction writer requires more than writing skills. Alongside with talent (in the majority of cases), it takes years of persistent work.
And it actually never guarantees that a book you’ll write will be sold out. On the other hand, you can write any kind of non-fictional book. One of the best ways to make writing books business is to create a self-help work.
People of different professions do it, and a lot of them succeed Gretchen Rubin with her ‘Project Happiness,’ Marla Silly with ‘Sink Reflections,’ etc. A lot of researchers publish great self-help books, too. Just think of Daniel Goleman’s ‘Focus’ and ‘Emotional Intelligence’ that have become real best-sellers.
If you decide to make writing your business, here are the skill areas you have to boost:
Style and Type of Writing
It is vital for any text to be written in a particular style. Yes, it really matters if you apply your writing skills to writing a book or researching academic papers. For blogging, it’s not exactly the issue.
Besides, linguists claim that today’s language shows a great number of stylistic shifts. What is really important for non-academic writing is the type of writing. It can be as follows:
– Expository writing, which doesn’t presuppose any opinions, only facts. It is one of the types you can employ if you are a freelance writer;
– Persuasive writing has fewer facts. Using this type, you don’t just share your opinion, but try to persuade readers to follow it. It is perfect for blogs touching upon social and political topics;
– Descriptive writing is ideal for travel blogs and beauty or self-help blogs that don’t deal with associate marketing. It creates pictures in the reader’s mind, but has no persuasive purpose;
– Narrative writing is a form of storytelling. Such type of writing can be used for any commercial purpose as long as you follow the general rule of creating the plot.
Language
The language you use really matters. It’s not even about stylistics or lexicology, it is about your target audience. You really should think about the people you address. The simplest phrase may confuse the reader.
For example, you may use ‘I strongly recommend’ in blogs aimed at general readers, but not at teenagers (too much pathos, might not like it) and not in scientific articles (if you don’t belong to the level of researchers, who are allowed to write ‘I’). The word choice is real art.
The cliches used in many texts on the Web are good to know and can be helpful from time to time. But the more precise your language is, the more interesting are your texts. It will make readers come back to your blog over and over again.
As for ‘strong’ words, using them in some kinds of posts is acceptable. Some people even like it. But note that ‘some’ really differs from ‘everybody.’ Again, mind your audience.
Technology
Writing on paper will always be relevant. Today, we can observe an enormous popularity of fancy stationery, the interest to which is being boosted on social networks. Common notebooks and pens have become a sort of a cult. By the way, this is one of the greatest ways to make money writing blogs.
If you are really keen on writing, notebooks, or calligraphy, you can start a study blog and get engaged in affiliate marketing. On the other hand, writing good articles for your posts still requires the use of technology. First of all, pay enough attention to your typing skills.
They can be improved by exercising and using special programs. Grammar checkers are a great tool, too. They don’t just make your texts grammatically correct but allow you to learn from them. Some mistakes are made automatically. Others show that there is something you don’t know.
There is a great number of applications to make your writing better in every aspect. So, keep pace with new technologies, but remember that they are only tools. The real work should be done by you, day after day.
Our time opens great opportunities for those who believe in themselves. If you are good at something, you can really turn it into a business.
Writing is a basic skill but by using it right, you can make it your profession. Today, you even don’t have to scribble hundreds of pages to be a WRITER. You can earn money per word, per character, per click, etc.
But the work that has to be done is huge. So, develop yourself, improve your writing skills, read a lot, and you’ll reach whatever you want in this field.