Side Hustles for Writers

Side Hustles: Why Content Creation is So Important

If you’re thinking that side hustles for writers is not for you, please think again. When I got started online in 2006 I thought of myself as a non-writer, or at least as someone who was not accustomed to writing each day. That all changed once I understood that creating content to build and grow my online business was the most logical way to achieve all of my goals around financial freedom and time management.

Creating Courses, eBooks, and Other Content for Income

When it comes to the world wide web, content is king. Fresh content on the web increases visibility and ranking with search engines as well as supplying important information to a targeted audience. Online business owners must produce content regularly to keep their sites relevant, visible, and build their brand. Some business owners are savvy writers, but many aren’t. Of those who do write, they don’t always have the time to regularly create fresh content. That creates a market for freelance writers and other content creators to provide content for online business.

Business Owners Need Content

There are all sorts of content solutions for businesses. Some of the typical needs include blog posts, email campaigns and other marketing materials. Other businesses require bigger projects which can earn freelancers more income. Some of the bigger projects include online courses, workbooks, eBooks, and short reports.

These products tend to have higher word counts ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 words which makes it possible to earn an excellent income. It’s great when a writer is an expert in a specific area, but it isn’t necessary to produce high-quality content. Most savvy writers can create stellar work in a variety of fields with enough time and resources.

Where Can Freelancers Find Gigs?

Reach out directly to others you know, online or in your community. If you’re already aware of individuals and/or online businesses you’d like to write for, reach out to them personally. If they typically hire freelancers, it may be an easy yes for them. If they have never considered having someone create content for them, be sure to have a pitch and samples of your writing ready to help them see the value in hiring you. These side hustles for writers can be both satisfying and profitable.

Get to know some virtual assistants. Virtual assistants, and project managers are great resources to connect business owners with freelancers. When business owners hire VA’s and Project Managers, they are generally more open to having help with their business and see the value a freelancer can provide. Be sure to be clear on your specialties and send samples of your work to preview so they can make a confident recommendation to their clients.

Build your own site. You can also create a website of your own offering freelance work. Using keywords and offering samples of what you provide makes it easier to target and attract online businesses looking for content.

Be Sure to Set Yourself Apart

There are plenty of writers out there vying for attention. Be sure to set yourself apart and create a buzz about your work. Here are some tips that help:

• Have samples of your work. Be sure to keep a current portfolio of your work. Make sure your portfolio offers a variety of content so you can show your versatility, expertise, and writing styles.
• Offer a first-time discount. Customer service is key. Doing something special like offering a first-time or one-time discount can help start a relationship that may result in ongoing work.
• Ask for referrals. If you get a great gig, be sure to ask for a referral and endorsement or testimony. Being able to include testimonials in your portfolio will help build your clientele.

Writers can find themselves some lucrative side hustles creating content for online business owners. Creating courses, eBooks, and other content can be a fun and rewarding way to earn extra cash while helping business owners offer their tribe more content, more often.

Develop a Freelance Writing Hustle with Fiverr

Fiverr is an online platform that offers over 500 digital services to consumers world-wide. It’s a great way for writers to connect with businesses looking for a variety of work. Fiverr gets its name from the starting price point for services, which is an affordable $5.00, and increases from there. Fiverr is ideal for writers who are creating a new side hustle and need to develop a portfolio. While it’s possible to earn full-time income on Fiverr, most writers use it as a supplement to their main source of income. I know three people personally who think of Fiverr as a side hustle for writers and offer their services at premium prices in areas ranging from health and wellness to relationships to marketing and technology.

Fiverr Offers Limitless Opportunity

While everyone starts off offering $5.00 “gigs,” Fiverr allows freelancers to create packages or offer special pricing which can lead to much bigger earnings. Upselling is the key to making more money on the platform. Writers capture 80% of their fees for services while Fiverr keeps 20%.

There are plenty of ways to get paid to write. From crafting resumes to email marketing campaigns for new online entrepreneurs, there are a wide variety of ways to make money. Some of the most popular side hustles for writers opportunities include…

• Articles and Blog Posts
• Copywriting
• Translation Services
• Ghostwriting
• Resume Writing
• Industry Specific Website Copy
• Product Descriptions
• Scriptwriting
• Books and eBooks
• Speechwriting
• Technical Writing

Side Hustles for Writers Require You to Set Your Profile up for Success

There are no barriers to entry as a writer on Fiverr. Creating a profile is simple, and free, but you should take extra steps to get noticed. Here are some tips that can help:

Take a look at Fiverr from the buyer’s perspective. Before you create your profile and offer a gig, check out the experience from the buyer’s side of things. You can easily purchase a $5.00 gig from a freelancer and experience what it’s like to hire someone. Pay attention to what draws you to their profile and be mindful of what you’d like customers to see on yours. Be on the lookout for:

• What services they offer
• How they describe their services, including key words
• What could be missing from their offerings that you can provide

Check out the bestsellers. When you set up your profile on Fiverr it’s important to choose the category and subcategories that cover your niche. Once you have determined the best location for your style of writing, pay attention to the best-selling gigs. You can view gigs from the buyer’s perspective and review the most commonly sold gigs. Profiles share how many gigs a seller has completed and what ranking they have as a freelancer. Pay attention to the high-ranking sellers because they are maximizing the platform successfully.

The Key to Success with Side Hustles for Writers is Being Slow and Steady

You won’t get great exposure on Fiverr in the beginning, even if you come to the platform with an outstanding resume as a writer. Since there’s no barrier to starting a selling account, anyone can offer gigs. You’ll need to be savvy with your marketing and provide exceptional customer service. Ratings will boost your visibility on the platform as will referrals and repeat customers.

In the beginning, you’ll be selling mostly $5.00 gigs, but if you’re patient and steady with your output you may join the ranks who generate six-figure incomes on Fiverr every year.

Content Management for Websites and Social Media

Did you know many of your favorite online brands and personalities don’t manage their own content? It’s true! Savvy influencers and online businesses use outside sources to manage the content for their websites and social media platforms. That means there are gigs out there for writers who have the ability to adopt a variety of voices.

Your Writing Skills Can Make Money

If you have a wide range of writing styles, content management can be an excellent side hustle. Being able to mirror the vibe of a brand is the first step to creating content for businesses and influencers so they can focus on other things. Here’s how:

Bloggers need fresh content regularly. In order to stay relevant, blogs need to be updated with SEO-rich content all the time. The current standard is around fourteen posts per month. Creating content can be time consuming and overwhelming for bloggers who have numerous responsibilities on their plate. That’s where content management comes in. Being able to create consistent blog posts, link to and from relevant blogs, and manage the posts is a great support for busy bloggers.

All types of blogs and websites need support. Foodie blogs, tech blogs, fortune 500 companies, and independent start-ups all benefit from content management on their sites.

Influencers need posts and engagement. When it comes to social media, engagement is key. Whatever the platform, being an influencer requires consistent daily engagement, and sometimes multiple touch points per day. Not every influencer has the time or the talent to captivate their audiences over and over again. That’s where great writers can help! Content management can include posting on behalf of an influencer or brand to excite and engage their audience. It can also include helping create a marketing plan from conception to crafting content and delivering it over time.

Online storefronts need sales copy. Ever head to Amazon for a purchase? Believe it or not, Amazon is made up of thousands of “stores” selling goods. Each storefront is responsible for creating product descriptions for their offerings. Many store owners hire writers to create captivating sales copy that helps them stand out and beat their competition.

Where to Find Your Next “Side Hustles for Writers” Gig

Now that you know there are opportunities for writing online, finding them is often the biggest challenge to starting a side hustle. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to find connections. Here are some favorites:

• Indeed.com is a great place to upload your resume and let SEO connect you with the perfect gig.
• Facebook groups are a perfect place to network with other writers or businesses looking for content creators.
• Upwork and Fiverr are platforms where you can post gigs and build repeat business.
• Job boards are a great way to find work. For blogging, check out the ProBlogger job board or the BloggingPro job board for gigs. For product descriptions and copywriting try Scripted.com.

Managing written content for businesses with an online presence can be a lucrative side hustle. Get to know the clever ways to support websites and social media and make it a win-win for everyone.

Unexpected Ways to Make Money Writing

By now you are getting comfortable and familiar with a variety of ways to get paid to write. Once you get creative, there are actually a lot of opportunities out there. I’ve covered the typical gigs writers use to make extra income or build a business. From hosting a blog, to writing product descriptions, to becoming an eAuthor there are tons of ways to get paid. Typical gigs aside, there are also some pretty unexpected ways to make money writing too.

Writing Jingles, Ads, and Songs: Short-form writing is a thing. Whether it’s advertising or crowdsourcing scripts, songs, and more, there are opportunities to get paid to write. Platforms like WriteLabel connect corporations and businesses with short-form writers for gigs in a wide variety of genres.

Teach Writing Courses: If you’ve found success as a writer, teaching others how to find their success makes sense. From teaching how to write, how to get paid to write, or any other aspect of the business of writing, you earn by paying your experience forward. Try starting a YouTube channel, host in-person and virtual workshops, or offer one-on-one coaching.

Become an Award-Winning Author: There was a time when becoming a best-selling author was reserved for the minority. While there’s no guarantees with traditional publishing, there’s plenty of opportunity online. eBooks are being uploaded to the net every minute and they offer the opportunity for passive income for long periods of time. You can become a best-selling author with some savvy marketing and planning. Consider starting a series of books that build in the likelihood of repeat purchases.

Building a List of Readers: Newsletters are a great way to build a list of loyal followers who say yes to receiving a weekly, sometimes more, touch point from you. You can capitalize on the contacts by including affiliate links to goods and services you endorse or offering a subscription to your newsletter.

Creating PLR: PLR, or private label rights, content is white labeled content sold to content mills and business owners who have their own customers. These pieces can include eBooks, courses, emails, social media posts, and more. PLR is purchased over and over again and can be customized to the buyer’s specific needs. In this case, the writer claims no authorship and buyers claim the work as their own. I invest thousands of dollars every year in private label rights content to use in my business.

If you’re a writer, there is no limit to what you can provide to a willing marketplace. Be on the lookout for what people are asking for. Look for gaps in the market and offer a solution. Being creative and open to jumping on opportunities is the key. Be confident in your abilities and don’t be afraid to offer your solutions and services to others. In a short time, you can have a side hustle bringing in extra cash.

Proof Reading and Editing… Getting Paid to Support Other Writers

Being a great writer is a powerful thing and can lead to extra, or full-time, income if you’re savvy. Creating content is an excellent way to start a side hustles for writers lifestyle and there are a wide variety of writing options out there. While writing is an art and takes talent to create, even writers need help making certain their product is top notch. All writers need support, especially when it comes to proof reading and editing. Having someone available to review their work ensures they hand off top-notch writing that delights their customers.

Put Your Grammar Skills to Work!

Some people have a knack for sentence structure, punctuation, and other technical aspects of writing. For them, a misplaced comma jumps off the page. They also know exactly when to use a semi-colon and which type of parentheses. If this describes you, it may make sense to consider a side hustle as a proof reader or editor.

Proof reading has been around for ages, there’s even an association called the Editorial Freelancers Association which is a great resource for networking and finding work. Membership can also boost your credibility.

Get Started Building Your Portfolio

Starting a side hustle as a proofreader or editor begins with building a portfolio. You may or may not get paid gigs out of the gate, but the more work you do, the more examples and testimonies you can offer potential clients. It’s also important to beef up your skill set and share your qualifications with clients. There are resources out there to help master proofreading and editing and add to your cache of skills. Learning new skills can help you work better on and offline, making you faster and more efficient.

Where to Find Work

Finding work as a proof reader or editor is similar to finding work as a writer, perhaps even easier! Start with sources you already know. Since editors tend to notice mistakes and content issues easily, it’s not difficult to see who needs help. Try some of these clever ways to get gigs…

Networking: One of the easiest ways to find potential clients is to…read. If you subscribe to blogs or newsletters and see frequent mistakes, consider reaching out and offering services. Be sure to curb your enthusiasm in a way that doesn’t scream you can’t write! Writers can be sensitive to unsolicited feedback. Offer to screen their work or review their content for a flat fee. Always ask for referrals and use word or mouth to let others know you are looking for work.

Independent contract work: Some sites like Scibendi hire independent contractors to pick projects for proof reading and editing. There is no cost to use their platform but there are minimum requirements to join. Other sites like ProofreadingPal have more vigorous onboarding criteria but they pay well and have a wide variety of project categories to choose from.

UpWork and Fiverr: Both sites let you create profiles for gigs at a variety of price points. They do take a portion of your payment, 20% in lieu of charging fees for having a profile. This can add up depending on how many gigs you accept.

If you have a knack for spelling, sentence structure, and grammar, creating a side hustle as an editor or proofreader may be an exciting way to earn some extra cash. I hope you can now see why side hustles for writers are so important and can make a difference for your business!

I’m Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, independent publisher, and serial entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you’re new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my training on how to make your first income online at 3 Day eBiz (Use Code: MAKEITHAPPEN to Save) and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.