How Can I Make Money Writing from Home

How Can I Make Money Writing from Home

Working from home as a freelance writer is a dream for many people. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get up every morning, and their commute to work is from the bed to the coffee pot?

As a writer, I often get asked, "How Can I Make Money Writing from Home?"Unfortunately, with so much information out there, the answer to that isn’t always readily apparent. But I’m here to demystify the process so you can easily learn how to get paid to write online.

But first, there are a few things you need to do before you start looking for writing jobs.

Choose a Freelance Writing Niche

The first thing you need to decide is what you want to write about. There are several factors to consider when choosing a profitable niche:

• Your passion for a topic

• Other people’s passion for the topic

• Is the niche profitable?

• Your education and career background

The perfect niche for you is one that overlaps in most, if not all, these areas.

Once you’ve decided on a niche, you need a domain name and website.

Choosing Your Domain Name

Sometimes picking a domain name for your website is just as hard as choosing a niche. I can’t tell you how many domain names I bought and decided not to use before finally finding the right one.

Your domain name should make it immediately clear what you do, and you don’t want it to be too long. I would also advise against getting any other domain name than a.com one because they often don’t seem as professional as a.com website does.

Believe me, you want to come off professional and not spammy, or else clients won’t take you seriously or pay you the money you deserve.

You also want it to reflect you and your brand, but this is something you can drill down on more later down the road.

I chose Ritchie Writing because of my name, and of course, I’m a writer, but you don’t have to go that route. You can name your business anything you want; just make it easy for clients looking for a writer to find you.

You could also include your niche, like my business name could have been Ritchie Security Writing. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Create a Business Website

People often ask me, "Do I have to create a website to be a writer?" Well, no, you don’t, but a website is one of the best marketing tools for your business. You can create a blog on your website, and that’s a great way to demonstrate your knowledge on the topic and provide writing samples to potential clients.

Plus, later on, you can monetize your blog to make passive income if you choose a platform like WordPress.org. Who doesn’t want to make money while they sleep?

Your website doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be very simple and straight forward. Just make sure that anyone who lands on your website can tell what you offer immediately, or they will bounce right off.

You only have seconds to make an impression because peoples’ attention spans aren’t long.

After you create your website, there’s one more thing you need to set up before you start looking for those jobs that I know you can’t wait to find right now. We’re almost there, I promise!

Setup Social Medial Accounts

Now you need to let the world know that you’re a writer! You need to set up social media accounts in your business name.

I suggest you only focus on one or two in the beginning as starting a new business is overwhelming enough. It should be where your audience hangs out.

For me, my clients run large security businesses, so LinkedIn is where I find them, or rather they find me. But optimizing your LinkedIn profile, so clients find you is another whole article.

Even if you only plan to use one social media platform, I would set up an account on the primary channels like Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram too. The name you want may be unavailable later when you want it. Trust me; this happened to me with Twitter. And I wouldn’t discount Twitter; it’s a great place for freelance writers.

Now that you’ve finished with your business basics. Here are some of the best ways that you can make money writing online.

Ways You Can Make Money Writing Online

As promised, here that list of ways you can make money writing online.

• Press releases

• Email marketing

• Ghostwriting books

• Popular magazines

• Trade magazines

• Write for good content agencies like ClearVoice, NOT Bid sites and content mills like UpWork.

• Case Studies

• Find jobs on LinkedIn jobs.

• Legal writing

• Copywriting

• White papers

• Use job boards

• Technical writing

• Cold pitching

• Warm pitching

• Social media marketing

• Self-publish books

• Say you’re for hire in your email signature.

And there are many more ways you can get paid to write.

Where to Find Freelance Writing Jobs as a Beginner

I know what you’re probably thinking. Who would hire a brand new writer? Well, inexperienced writers get hired all the time AND make a lot of money.

The best places to find writing jobs for beginners are job boards like ProBlogger and high-quality content sites. Please try to avoid places like Upwork and Fiverr that pay horribly. It’s not worth the time to write for clients on those platforms.

You want to focus on places where you can find clients that value good writing and don’t want to pay for the cheapest writer for low-quality work. There are also websites like Indeed.com, where I got one of my first writing jobs.

Now that you know the basics, I’m handing it over to you. Start by picking your niche and then choosing a domain. Then create a website and social media profiles for your business, and you’re all set. The world is waiting to hear your story, and there are plenty of businesses that need you to write for them!

Heather Ritchie is the Founder of Writer’s Life for You, a blog that helps women leave their 9-5 to work from home as freelance writers. She also runs Ritchie Writing where writes SEO-optimized content for bloggers and small businesses.