avatarLaura Bongers

Summary

The web content provides guidance on creating multiple income streams as a writer through freelance writing, blogging, and writing on Medium, emphasizing the importance of hard work, consistency, and diversification.

Abstract

The article "How to Build Income Streams as A Writer" outlines three primary methods for writers to generate income: freelance writing, blogging, and writing on Medium. It underscores the necessity of dedication and effort, noting that while these methods can be lucrative, they require time and skill development. Freelance writing involves creating content for clients and can be highly paid with the right experience. Blogging can lead to income through advertisements, affiliate marketing, membership sites, product creation, and service offerings. Writing on Medium can also be profitable if one adheres to the platform's editorial standards and writes on popular subjects to attract views and curation.

Opinions

  • The author believes that writing can be an exciting and fulfilling career when one has control over their work.
  • They suggest that aspiring freelance writers should be versatile and willing to research various topics to increase job opportunities.
  • The author emphasizes that blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme but requires patience, hard work, and consistency to build a brand and audience.
  • They mention that understanding and applying copywriting skills is crucial for successful affiliate marketing in blogging.
  • The author points out that creating one's own products or offering services can be a scalable and profitable aspect of blogging.
  • Regarding writing on Medium, the author advises following the platform's curation guidelines to increase the chances of articles being widely read and earning more.
  • The author's personal experience suggests that not all articles will be curated, highlighting the importance of adhering to Medium's editorial standards.
  • The overall opinion conveyed is that diversifying income streams is a smart financial strategy for writers and can lead to financial stability and independence from traditional 9-5 jobs.

How to Build Income Streams as A Writer

3 income stream ideas to reach your financial goals

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

Over the past few years, people have become more intrigued to know how they can build income streams while working from home. It’s become one of the most frequently discussed topics on the internet.

No one wants to work a 9–5 job they hate. Work only becomes exciting when we feel we have control over it. It makes us get up every morning with a purpose to create something valuable both for ourselves and for others.

Even if you’re not a writer it is still possible to follow these tips and make money. Don’t be intimidated by the process of writing, you don’t need a Harvard degree. You only need a laptop and internet connection.

It’s never too late to start.

Just imagine... making money while working from home, having control over your time and leading a less stressful lifestyle.

Having the ability to build your own dream rather than someone else’s.

But it’s not going to be that easy. After all, nothing comes from nothing. These options I mention below are real jobs that require time, effort, and hard work if you are serious about earning money through them.

The only thing you need is your ambition, your willingness to improve and to stay consistent. It will definitely pay off.

Here’s how you can build income streams and reach your financial goals.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing has become one of the most popular ways to earn money online. Content is king these days. Many successful freelancers charge 50 cents per word, that’s 500$ for each 1000 word article. But they have gained experience through hours of hard work; they’ve become good at the game.

If you want to start with freelance writing, you don’t need to be an expert on a specific subject. Of course, it could help, but being able to write about any subject, in the beginning, will help you get more writing gigs to gain experience.

How can you write about any subject? Simple. By doing research.

Not having a niche will also help you figure out what part of freelance writing suits you better, and what pays off the most.

You can get into content writing, SEO, proofreading, copyediting, ghostwriting, and technical or B2B writing.

The most important thing you need, if you want to make money with freelance writing, is to find clients. Having no clients means no work.

These are the basic steps you need to start with:

1. Build your portfolio. Write 5 samples of 200–400-word articles on any subject. You can upload your samples on Contently or ClearVoice. Alternatively, you can have your samples on your own website.

2. Sign up on job boards like Upwork, Freelancer, ProBlogger, or Indeed.

3. Ask your network if they know anyone who needs help

4. Be active on social media (LinkedIn and Twitter)

5. Cold Pitching

You can definitely make money through freelance writing, there’s no doubt. But it takes some time.

When you build your portfolio, improve your writing skills, and learn how to pitch clients or have your existing clients come back for more, you’ll start earning good money with it.

Blogging

Because I love blogging, I’m mentioning this option as well.

Blogging is a legitimate way to earn money.

The thing is, most people go into blogging and believe that they will start earning thousands within the first one or two months. Some bloggers even claim they have done so but it’s questionable in my opinion. It’s quite rare to make that much money without spending one or two years building your blog and brand.

Blogging requires patience, hard work, and consistency.

But when you get the hang of it and understand how things work, it becomes a passion that you start to care for and it’s a fun way to create scalable income.

Once you’ve built a nice blog with a strong brand, you’ll start getting good traffic and that’s when you can really start to see serious money from it.

When that happens, these are some primary ways you can monetize your blog:

Advertisements

One of the most popular ways to monetize your blog is through advertisements.

There are two ways to earn money with ads; joining an ad network or selling an area from your blog to specific brands.

Basically you create valuable content, put ads on your site, get people to come to your site, and the ad network pays you.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when you help promote other people’s products and when someone from your site purchases the product, you earn a commission.

These commissions can go from a few cents to several hundreds of dollars, depending on the program and the product.

This might sound easy but it’s quite hard to pull off.

While it is easy to put links on your blog, getting people to click your link and also make a purchase is a bit more difficult. And that’s when you find out that you need to start learning to Copywrite. (Better late than never I always say!). Copywriting is maybe the single most important skill you can have in business.

Membership sites

Some bloggers (like Mark Manson for example) choose to create paid memberships for their loyal readers as a way to monetize their site. That way they offer their subscribed audience exclusive and valuable content every month.

Create products

One of the best ways to create income from blogging that’s scalable is to create your own products. You need to have a basic understanding of who your audience is and what their interests and desires are.

Anyone who’s into blogging long term knows it’s always better to have your own products on your platform.

Some of the best products you can create are eBooks, worksheets, and e-courses.

When your products are filled with great information that solves a problem your audience faces, you can definitely get people to buy them, as long as your blog gets good traffic.

Offer services

Another common method bloggers use to make extra income is by offering services. Coaching, setting specific goals, and financial planning are ones that really pay off.

As long as you can show that your services have effective and practical results, then you’ll get people to purchase your services.

Writing on Medium

Writing on Medium is another great way to create an extra stream of income.

The more views you get on your articles the more you get paid. And the best way to get people to read your stuff is to get curated. Curation means your articles get shared with Medium readers.

Not all articles get curated because they don’t follow Medium’s editorial standards so that’s definitely something you need to look out for before you start publishing your work. (I made this mistake — oops).

To get more views on your articles:

  • Follow Medium’s curation guidelines
  • Write about different subjects, and see which of your articles perform best, and get the most views. Then write more articles on the same subjects.
  • Write about fresh topics that people want to read.
  • Come up with captivating headlines for your articles. You might write an amazing article but if your headline is boring people are not going to click on it.
  • Publish your articles through publications
  • Network with other writers

You can also write about anything you want, but if you want to make money through Medium you’ll also have to write about subjects that are popular, that most people want to read about.

In Conclusion

Diversifying your income isn’t as hard as you think.

You might find that relying on a single source of income doesn’t work out for you. Whether you want to reach financial stability, escape your 9–5 job, or just make some extra income, consider the above options and I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.

The key is to be clear about what it is that you really want. Make a plan and stick to it.

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Writing
Blogging
Income
Work
Freelancing
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