How I Make $200 an Hour for Articles I Don’t Even Write
Surprisingly not clickbait
I make $200 an hour for articles I don’t write.
It sounds suspiciously like clickbait but I promise you that it is very real. In fact, I just finished another $200 hour right before I sat down to write this article.
This article is about how I make $200 (or more) per hour from articles I don’t even write.
Here’s how I do it.
Good News: There Are Actually Two Ways To Do It
There are actually at least two ways to make hundreds of dollars per hour from articles you don’t write.
Those two ways are:
- The Multiplication Method
- The Sci-Fi Method (Aka, the Scare Elon Musk Method)
I’ve used both ways and they both work very well.
Let’s look at both methods because each one comes with pros and cons. The first way is cheaper at first (usually) but the second way is often more dependable and easier to scale for a single individual.
The Multiplication Method
One way to make $100-$200 per hour from articles you don’t write is to use the Multiplication Method.
You find a lucrative contract through networking, job search sites, and recruiters. You negotiate a price of $100-$300 per article. You don’t settle for less.
You go for big fish.
Then, once you secure the contract and know how to deliver the results they want (usually by writing the first few articles yourself), then you outsource to a second writer at a lower (but still respectable) price.
As you might suspect, this method isn’t for everyone.
Here are the downsides:
- It requires some upfront investment in time and energy to find the right contract and learn how to deliver what they want.
- You need to find a good writer at a lower cost. This can be difficult and you might not feel good about paying someone less (even though that’s how most businesses work from a top-down perspective).
- You’ll probably still need to edit and fact-check the outsourced work. After all, it’s your contract on the line.
- While this approach is cheaper (money-wise) on the front end, scaling quickly gets expensive and time-consuming. You might end up managing a team of writers.
- You might want to keep more of your profits. If you pay someone $50 for an article that earns you $100, you’re losing 50% of your profit.
But if you’re up for the challenge, and don’t mind the downsides, the rewards can be great. In a moment, I’ll share some tips on how to make it work for you even better.
But, for now, let’s look at the second method — the one I use most of the time.
The Sci-Fi Method (Aka, the Scare Elon Musk Method)
Those are funny names for using intelligent robots to write articles for you. By now, you probably know that artificial intelligence can create content, write stories, and even auto-generate images from text.
There are a ton of AI writers on the market.
Most are pretty good (I’ve personally tested many of them). However, the one that works best for me and that I use every single day is called Jasper (Not an affiliate link). With a tad bit of guidance, Jasper writes almost all of my contract articles for me.
Yes, Jasper even wrote the 500-word article a moment ago that made me $200.
Before I go into how I use Jasper, here are the upsides to this method:
- A good AI writer will do 100% of the writing for you.
- You can easily write 3–5 short articles per day.
- The content is readable and original (I always check for plagiarism and Jasper always comes out clean).
- The price for AI tools stays the same, month-by-month, even if you generate more content.
- I find it very fun to use AI tools (but maybe that’s just me).
It’s not all roses and rainbows, though.
Here are the downsides of this method (with my notes in the margins):
- Jasper is not free. There is a monthly price with several pricing tiers based on how much you plan to use it. I use the highest tier (which is $59 per month right now). The good news is that you can write multiple contract articles at $100-$200 per article for the same monthly price. You’d have to pay a writer at least $50 to write each article for you. That’s $150 of lost profit at a minimum.
- There is a learning curve. You can’t just push a button and Jasper will spit out a 2,000-word data-rich article with citations. That’s a fantasy world (for now). But Jasper gets pretty close to it. You’ll need to learn how to use Jasper.
- You may feel like you’re cheating (even though you are not). An AI writer is like any other tool (computer, calculator, smartphone). It’s a tool to make your work easier, faster, and better. You could sprint five miles across town but you’ll probably drive your car or ride your bike. That’s not cheating. That’s an intelligent use of an available tool.
Next, let’s go through how to make the most of each method.
3 Tips for the Multiplication Method (Personal Lessons Learned)
You can make the Multiplication Method more effective with a few small moves.
Here are those tips.
Pay More, Not Less for Good Writers
The more you pay, the better your results.
Anyone who has ever hired a freelance writer knows that the quality of the finished product can vary widely. In some cases, you may get lucky and find a talented writer who produces great work with minimal supervision.
On the other hand, you may end up with a subpar writer who requires constant editing and direction in order to produce acceptable work.
Needless to say, the latter scenario is much more time-consuming and frustrating than the former.
Of course, it’s not always easy to tell how good a writer will be before you actually work with them. However, there are a few factors that can give you an idea of whether or not a particular writer is likely to be a good fit for your needs.
One such factor is the rate.
In general, writers who charge higher rates tend to be more experienced and produce better work than those who charge lower rates. This is not always the case, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind when evaluating potential candidates.
The bottom line is that the more you pay, the more likely you will find a better writer faster, the less you will need to train the writer on how to deliver the results you want, and the less you will need to edit what they write.
This means fewer headaches and time-drain for you. Of course, it also means less profit.
Write the First Few Articles Yourself
When you’re first starting out with your contracts, it’s important to get a feel for the type of content that your client wants to see.
The best way to do this is to write a few articles yourself before you outsource the work to another writer. This way, you’ll understand the style, tone, and requirements of the contract.
Once you’ve got a good understanding of what your audience is looking for, you can then start training your outsourced writer.
By taking the time to write a few articles yourself, you’ll be able to ensure that your content marketing strategy is on the right track from the very beginning.
Write a Detailed Brief
It’s essential to provide your writer with a detailed writing brief so that they can produce the best possible article.
A good writing brief should at least include the following:
- The topic of the article and any sub-topics that need to be covered
- Style guidelines, such as the required tone and voice
- Words to use and/or avoid
- Formatting requirements
- An Outline
- Keywords (if applicable)
- Estimated word count (I like to give a range)
The more detailed the brief, the better.
It may take some time and effort to put together a comprehensive writing brief, but it’s worth it if it means getting a great article in return.
I continue to tweak how I create outlines and briefs for the writers I use for my portfolio of websites. Sometimes it feels easier to just write the article myself.
That’s why I lean toward using Jasper for almost all of my writing.
3 Tips for The Sci-Fi Method (Lessons Learned Using Jasper)
My best three recommendations for using Jasper all revolve around how to guide the AI tool to produce better content.
Here are my three tips:
- Use the Long-Form template and the Paragraph Generator template
- Feed Jasper details and specific instructions
- Use content-type for the tone of voice
When you first try Jasper, the first thing you want to do is go through the Bootcamp and training videos.
Jasper works on a credit-based system where you pay for words generated.
So, you want to make sure you know how to use Jasper before you start punching out thousands of words you may or may not be able to use.
Do yourself a favor and teach yourself how to use the tool before you write your first article.
Then test and experiment to see what works best for you.
Use These Two Templates
My two favorite templates for producing quality articles are the Long-Form and Paragraph Templates.
You can access all of the templates (including the paragraph generator) directly from the Long-Form editor. I find that it saves me time to generate all of my writing in a single location.
The Paragraph Template allows me to write one or more paragraphs at a time on a very specific topic or subtopic.
I use it to write each subheading in my contract articles.
Then I copy and paste the paragraph into the Long-Form editor. When I’m done, I copy the entire article into a Word or Google document.
Here’s a Gif of me using the paragraph template:
Feed Jasper Details and Instructions
The better details you give Jasper, the better the output.
That’s why it’s so important to learn how to use Jasper before hitting the “Generate AI content” button.
As you can see from the Gif above, I like to say:
- Write a long explanation…
- Use multiple paragraphs….
By using these two phrases, I tend to get longer content and finish my contract articles more quickly.
Use the Content-Type for the Tone of Voice
In the Tone of Voice box (see the Gif), you can write anything from Big Bird to Tony Robbins.
I like to play around with different words and short phrases to see what I get.
However, I found out that you can use the content type for the tone of voice. For example, I might use “blog post,” “case study,” or “testimonial.” You can even put “sales letter” in there.
My current favorite is “blog post.”
Other Ways To Make Money By Not Writing Articles
You can use either method in this article to produce content on gig marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork. You could even combine these methods with videos to start a YouTube channel.
The options are almost limitless.
Along with my contract articles, I publish content to a portfolio of websites that make money through display ads and affiliate commissions.
You can copy that strategy, too.
I have a whole playlist of articles about building money-making websites.
Final Thoughts
Again, it sounds too good to be true but it isn’t. You really can make $100, $200, or even $300 for articles you don’t write yourself.
Finding lucrative contracts can be difficult but not impossible.
Hiring writers involves testing a bunch of writers who will probably not work out but still want to be paid. Using Jasper costs money and you must learn how to use it.
No matter what you choose to do, I hope that you find it as profitable as I have.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I wrote this article myself. 😄
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