7 Ways to Make Money as a Writer
You need multiple streams of income
Most writer’s want to make money with their work.
And you know what? That is okay. Don’t feel bad if you want to earn some money with you writing. Especially the way the economic climate is right now.
Over the last four years, I have add streams of income and made more and more every year. So, today, I wanted to share with you a few of my streams of income.
7+ Ways to Make Money as a Writer
You will need to create multiple income streams to make decent money as a writer. There isn’t a singular path that will make you all the money in the world.
What I have learned over the years is that it takes five to seven income streams to help you make decent money. And I would encourage you to build one at a time, especially if writing is a side hustle.
This list comprises seven income streams that will help you make money and are in no particular order. However, I will advise which ones might work best for starting.
Medium
Medium is a platform where you can write about whatever you want. And, if you sign up for the membership program and reach 100 followers, you can start making money. It is by far one of the easiest ways to start.
Medium alternatives
You can try websites like Simily, Vocal Media, NewsBreak, and others. Each one of these has its ups and downs and will pay you to some degree or another. Remember, doing money writing is a long game.
Freelancing
You can be a freelance writer and make some serious money this way. You might not be writing about things you are interested in, but you can hone your craft and make some cash. If you don’t know where to start, Fiverr and Upwork are some great places to start.
Substack
This is an exciting place that has a lot of potentials. You can start a free newsletter, grow it while you hone your voice and message, and then monetize it with a paid subscription. This has excellent potential for writers and may be the next big thing.
Tip/Donation Websites
Websites like Patreon, Ko-if, Tipee, Buy Me A Coffee, and others exist. These websites are places where people can donate or tip you for your writing. Some people make a lot of money, which can be very lucrative.
Digital Product Sales
You can sell digital products with Gumroad, PayHip, Etsy, Podia, and others. These sites allow you to create digital products that you can sell instantly. These are great sites for the beginner too.
Amazon KDP
If you are a writer, you may have imagined yourself writing and publishing books. Amazon KDP is the best place to go for this sort of thing. However, to make money hear, you need to write several books, and they need to do well. This might be one of the most challenging ways to make money writing.
In this list of seven income streams, I have given you 16 websites you can check out to help you make money as a writer. These are all the tip of the iceberg.
Final Thoughts on Making Money as a Writer
What I have learned over the years is how important it is to start now. Don’t wait. Set up one or all of these, but focus on one or two at a time. For example, I am focusing a lot on Substack and digital products through Gumroad.
Though, most of my income is from Medium, NewsBreak, and Amazon KDP. However, I have worked at those three platforms for quite a while.
This is the key, work on a couple at a time, build it up, work on the others. The more you do this, the more income streams you develop. The more the better.
One last thing: I make money writing so I can create more helpful things. This is a side hustle, but I want to try and make it all self-sustaining. So I try and make money on my products to create more without taking out of what I make with my day job.
Ultimately, I want to make things for you. That’s why I create products on Gumroad like the Writers Starter Pack and the Three Box System.
What income streams do you have? Which ones do well? Which are you working on? Share in the comments!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!
Definitely some good points here including the most important one: multiple streams of income.
You're not just a writer or an author! You've gotta diversify your offering and work all the angles at once.
Great stuff for anyone just starting out. This will get you leaps and bounds ahead of square one.