Do you want to know how to make money writing online?

When I set out to make money writing online, I did so because I wanted the freedom to be my own boss, work from home, and do something I already loved doing to begin with. I only had one problem: I had no idea how to start. In fact, it took me a good five years until I had enough steady work to stay financially stable and continually improve my standard of living.

In this article, I will provide you with some of the things I found in my quest to live an independent life and do something I love for a living: writing.

1. choose a niche

When you say, “I want to make money writing online,” there are so many options available that it can actually be quite confusing. There’s blogging, copywriting, SEO writing, branding, article writing, ghostwriting, technical writing, and more. I’ve done each and every one of these things throughout my freelancing career, and it’s safe to say that most people will eventually end up branching out to develop a more well-rounded portfolio and client base. However, it is extremely important to make sure you have a niche when starting out.

I didn’t have a niche when I started, which means I was applying for every kind of job I could find. However, later, when I developed a niche, I discovered that it was much easier to get work. My particular niche focuses on branding and marketing copywriting; This includes writing promotional copy, such as brochures, scripts, advertisements, and more, as well as creating slogans, taglines, business names, and product names.

I discovered that I enjoyed writing short texts much more than writing long articles or writing entire books. Eventually, I got to the point where I was able to charge a lot more money for small projects that didn’t take a lot of my time because I built up my reputation in that particular niche.

When you’re starting out, decide what you want to do. If you want to write articles about things that interest you, build your portfolio in that direction and focus on landing those kinds of jobs. If you want to write screenplays, build your portfolio in that direction. Just make sure you’re not one of those “I’ll do it all” people because being selective is better – the riches are in the niches.

two. Job offer every day

Of course, to make money writing online you have to find a job, and that’s the biggest problem most people face, so I’m going to give you a list of the sites I use every day:

*elance: Elance is my number one resource and that’s why it’s at the top of this list. It is the absolute best place to get writing jobs online. If you’ve never been to Elance, it’s pretty simple: People need a job done, so they post what they need and provide a quote (between $500 and $1,000, say) and then people like you submit proposals for that job.

One of the main reasons freelancers don’t get the volume of work that I get from Elance is because they don’t bid every day. They work a few days a week and bid on a few jobs. If you really want to be successful, you have to bid every day because new jobs are posted every day.

*Guru: Guru is my second in line. I have memberships to both sites. I don’t get as many jobs on Guru as I do on Elance, but I bid on both every day. Doing this ensures that I have a steady stream of customers and daily income. Without this constant stream of projects, you will never be able to live comfortably in your home.

When it comes to making money writing online, it doesn’t matter if you’re new to the writing game and only have a tiny idea of ​​what you’re doing, the only way you’re going to make money is to start bidding for jobs and getting paid. constant customers. As your portfolio improves and diversifies, you want to start increasing your prices. Over time, your Guru and Elance member rankings will increase, clients will begin to come to you because of referrals, and within six months, you’ll have the steady work you need to be successful and truly make a living writing online. .

3. Stay away from massive writing jobs

Many people recommend that you write for sites that will pay you around $2 to $10 per 300 to 500 word article. At first, this sounds great: they’ll say check out 20 items a day and you’re making $200 a day.

This is the worst thing you can do. First of all, the money is not worth it. Writing is a creative field and your creativity cannot just generate ideas like an assembly line. I tried these kinds of jobs for a while and they burned me out and made me hate my job. Unfortunately, many people who want to make money writing online think that this is the only option available. It is not. As a writer, you should be able to earn $200 for an hour’s worth of work.