6 Paths To Becoming a ‘Writerpreneur’
And how to get there.
How can you make a living out of writing?
This is a question I’m asked often when I say I’m a writer, but I don’t actually write books or freelance.
So let me list all ways that I know of that can help you go full-time into writing. Or, as I’d like to call it, become a ‘writerpreneur’, because writing today isn’t limited to being an author.
I’ll also mention how can you get there to give you a deeper insight.
1/ Freelancing
This is the most common way to write and earn. It’s also a side hustle you can start right away. I too quit my job to freelance full-time. Little did I know back then that I wouldn’t enjoy it.
That being said, lots of people thrive on it.
You take up writing gigs and get paid for them. From $5 to $50 or $500 for a 1000-word article, the ball is in your court on how much money you make.
I didn’t enjoy it because I realised I love writing, but not as much for others.
How to do it:
I still recommend hopping onto Upwork and looking for gigs. Josh Burns Tech is an informative YouTube that helped me get my first gig by learning how to create a unique proposal that converts into clients.
One piece of advice
Please have a catalogue of content ready in a blog or Google Drive. It’s easier to get gigs when you showcase your work.
2/ Freelance Agency
This is how you scale from freelancing. Because:
- there’s only so much you can write
- you still want to earn more, right?
That’s where you hire writers. You get gigs and delegate them to other writers. This way, you can scale up your freelancing business by getting more writing done compared to what you’d otherwise be able to do on your own.
I’m yet to know another way to scale up as a freelancer.
How to do it:
Once you get more gigs you can handle, outsource them and take a cut. Maybe hire folks part-time on your payroll.
One piece of advice:
It isn’t easy. Dealing with several clients, fulfilling their demands, and making sure work is top-notch is stressful and time-consuming.
3/ Creatorpreneur
This is a term I’ve heard from Ali Abdaal who says that somebody who creates and has a business out of it is a creatorpreneur.
I think I’m a creatorpreneur because I sell digital products, teach a cohort-based course and launched a self-paced course last weekend.
I like this because it’s a mix of active and passive income and I get to do what I truly enjoy.
How to do it:
Build an audience online and build an email list using free tools like Substack. Then, productise a solution based on problems your audience experiences.
100% of my products are the results of the questions people asked me.
One piece of advice:
This is a really long process, so give it a year or two minimum.
Think of it this way — why would somebody buy anything from you? Trust and credibility take time.
4/ Influencer
Now, hold up before you cringe.
A friend of mine works a fancy consultant job at Bain & Company and also has 35,000 LinkedIn followers. He takes up a brand collaboration every week for $300/ post and makes $1200 a month.
One such post takes him under 30 minutes to write.
$1200 for 2 hours of work… not bad, right?
Now, he wants to grow in his field at work so he doesn’t need to overthink the brand and niche as long as it resonates with him and his audience. So it works well.
For somebody doing it full time, you’d want to think of being relevant so you don’t lose your audience’s respect.
How to do it:
Build an audience on a platform (I recommend LinkedIn for this) and pitch to social media agencies for gigs.
One piece of advice:
Be careful about the brands you choose. I’ve rejected gigs worth thousands because they didn’t appeal to me, and I know my audience won’t resonate with them.
5/ Teacher
Say you’re a freelance writer who has worked with big clients in the finance niche and people are curious about how they can get there.
You can always teach that in a self-paced or cohort-based course.
I teach how to be a consistent writer using sustainable systems and without ‘writing every day’.
I started this because consistency is my strength, but I’m also lazy, so I help students create processes which don’t take as much effort and fit well around their busy lifestyles.
We’ve done well in the past year with all cohorts selling out.
Last weekend, I launched a pre-recorded course about growing on LinkedIn because I grew quickly, got awarded Top Voice, and my content regularly performs well on the platform.
How to do it:
Is there something you are damn good at that others struggle with? Then take a group of people and teach them for free. See if what you’re teaching actually works and leads to results.
If it does, ask for feedback and put a price on the seat.
If you want a self-paced course, again, assess the demand for it and then put it up online.
One piece of advice:
Solve a problem that actually exists. Some people start a course thinking it's a cash cow. But if you solve a problem that doesn’t exist or you can’t solve it well, why would anybody pay?
6/ The Old-School Way
This is being a writerpreneur as people have always been — by writing books or writing for magazines.
I don’t need to explain anything here, do I?
Lastly
No, you’re not too late to start writing.
I love how the internet has opened up so many opportunities for all kinds of writers to grow and make a living out of writing. Or even if not make a living, to just write and get rewarded by an audience.
There’s no better feeling than doing what you love and getting love for it.
I hope this inspires you to think of your writerpreneur path.
