Do you think these 26 writing side hustles are profitable enough to cover your monthly expenses? Let’s find out!
Disclaimer: This is a 4k-word post. So, please prepare. 🙂
How much income do you have to make to consider yourself financially stable?
These questions pervaded me most of the time whenever I sat down on the balcony chair.
Rather than asking myself, “Why don’t I feel the same passion to go to work like everybody else does?”, what I do is to figure out how to make writing a source of our financial stability.
You have the skill. You can write. You’re a writer.
With the increasing demand for writers to participate in an increasing number of online businesses, you’ve got to be in there. You’ve got to get the share.
Now, the question is how.
How can you market yourself as a writer against hundreds of thousands of us?
How can you prove that you’re better than most successful writers?
Once you understand this well, trying these 26 writing side hustles in this post will be easy-peasy for you. Do you get me?
Why The World Needs More Writers?
Understanding the business transition on a macro-scale will help you comprehend why more and more businesses, run by private individuals or a small group of people, hire more writers to join their team.
I scrolled through several writing jobs on Upwork and I saw a lot of varieties when it comes to the type of tasks they ask for you.
For instance, a company wants to start an online business selling sex toys. To add more creativity to their promotions, they want to hire a creative writer to write short stories featuring the products they sell.
Others want you to rewrite landing pages or enhance their application letter to submit to universities or a company offering a high-paying job.
Whatever reasons there may be, many people and companies will ALWAYS look for writers who can do a better job in creating content in every way you can think of.
Be it for writing books, short stories, application letters, rewriting landing pages, or blog posts—I mean, anything. They need writers. THEY NEED YOU.
What Are The 26 Top Writing Side Hustles You Can Try?
I scoured the internet and found out the top writing opportunities you can try either on content mill providers, cold-pitched clients, or writing gig providers.
As such, I’ve come up with 26 top writing hustles to try and start making a good side income.
- Copywriting
- YouTube scriptwriting
- SaaS blog content writing
- Content rewriting
- SEO content writing
- Translating
- Technical writing
- Research writing
- Curriculum writing (development)
- Essay writing
- Writing on Medium
- Freelance writing in different languages
- Contribute articles
- Magazine writing
- Offer writing services
- Searching for writing gigs
- Building an authority website
- Starting newsletters
- Affiliate marketing
- Cold pitching to potential clients
- Creating an online course
- Ghost blogging
- Self-publishing
- Producing and selling an audiobook
- Ghostwriting for books
- Writing erotica
1. Copywriting
This would sound silly but when you start a blog and run it, over time, you unconsciously trained your copywriting skills. Even if you don’t have previous copywriting projects in the past, you can definitely do the job.
I’ll tell you why.
Yesterday, I applied for a company in the search for copywriters to revise their landing pages. The truth is I’ve never had experience with it professionally.
Over the years, I only wrote content for online magazines, news websites, and blogs. No copywriting. Well, professionally.
Though I don’t have previous experience, I understand how content marketing works after 6 years of online writing. Especially that I own and run my professional website to feature my services and my thoughts.
What I didn’t realize is that when you run a blog, it’s like your training ground for the high-income skill set of most high-paying writing opportunities such as copywriting.
Designing your landing page requires copywriting skills. Creating call-to-actions within a blog post also requires the same skills. How is that so?
What makes a good copywriter?
A good copywriter needs to understand how the human mind works, specifically as to what makes people take action. That’s according to Joe Vitale, a highly-respected copywriter and author of the bestselling book “Hypnotic Writing”.
What I didn’t realize is that when you run a blog, it’s like your training ground for the high-income skill set of most high-paying writing opportunities such as copywriting.
He said the first thing one must know is simply 2 things to guarantee the effectiveness of a copy. First, introduce the pain. Second, give them a solution to achieve pleasure.
Nobody wants to lose something. That’s a fact. And one perseveres to make sure he won’t lose it—even if he has to purchase an expensive premium program to achieve that.
Whatever you’re promoting, you have to sharpen your persuasion skills without being sleazy or pushy.
You don’t even have to bombard them with promotions to guarantee results. No. You don’t have to.
These principles apply when you blog because you’re also trying to convince people to click on the link (on Google search results), read your entire post, and sign-up for your newsletter.
With these being said, it’s not impossible to land on a copywriting job even if you don’t have previous experience.
2. YouTube videos scriptwriting
Have you noticed that more and more people are getting hooked into setting up YouTube channels to say whatever they want?
With 31 million YouTube channels today, according to Tubics, it’s interesting to note that the increasing number of users who perseveres to create the best video content for views and, of course, income also equates to the number of people who search for someone to write their video scripts.
Do you really think the people you see on the videos are always the ones who created and designed the production alone? Nah, it isn’t like that.
Try to look at the results when I just typed in “YouTube script writing” on the search button. This one is a screenshot from Upwork.
As you can see, a lot of people are looking for someone who can write scripts for topics related to their niche.
Imagine 31 million of them are looking for you, my friend. Doesn’t that sound like an opportunity for you?
3. SaaS blog content writing
SaaS stands for “software as a service”, which is a software distribution model in which it hosts applications for consumers to use for their businesses.
MailChimp is a good example of a SaaS company. Why?
It uses a software application to aid clients in their email marketing needs. Another example would be Google Apps, ZenDesk, and others.
Because of the increasing demand for more efficient systems to run online businesses, Nick Ismail of Information-Age.com explained the reason behind the dramatic and constant increase of SaaS companies.
With the aid of Sid Nag, vice president of Cloud Services & Technologies at Gartner Research, Ismail wrote that companies today adopt SaaS solutions primarily for business functions.
It’s efficient and definitely a booming market with an expected roughly $105 billion income in 2020 and $141 billion in 2022.
Virayo mentioned that there are already 11,000 SaaS companies as of 2020 and the numbers continue to increase. In 2023, it’s expected to reach a $623 billion exponential rate.
In simpler terms, more companies will need your help in creating the best content to compete against the Giants of the industry.
That means they need you to write content, pages—anything they ask as long as it’s related to online content.
Do you want proof?
See this screenshot.
On Upwork’s top feed, tons of jobs are waiting for you, my friend. As such, it’s best to give this side hustle a try.
4. Content rewriting
As far as I have seen on online writing job platforms, many people ask for help to rewrite drafts. Some of them are fiction writers or university students.
I know you’ll say, “Are you serious?”
But, well, yeah, it is what it is. What can we do? Besides, it’s also a great chance for us to earn bucks for simple work, right?
The one I’ve seen was rewriting marketing materials. They have already written a draft. All they need is someone who could enhance the draft for a more acceptable tone or format.
Others want you to rewrite their Shopify listings, eCommerce product descriptions, and a lot more, my friend.
If you think you need to be an authority first before you can earn money from your writing side hustle, you’re wrong.
As petty as these jobs sound to you, it’s what the current demands truly speak.
People think you have the talent to transform their boring writing into something magical that ONLY you can do the job.
5. SEO content writing
If you aren’t familiar with how SEO is applied to content writing, read my post about the basics of this complex bubble. 🙂
Anyway, going back to the topic. Mastering how SEO works for online businesses is the fundamental, if not, the vital skills most companies are looking for in a writer.
They’re not only focusing on how beautiful the descriptions and how effective the headlines are. But they are also into the results. Traffic.
Websites NEED the traffic to invite more users to come into their page and wander. To survive.
If there are more users, there are also more chances to earn more income.
More users mean more sign-ups to their newsletters, more affiliate link clicks, more people watching the ads, so on and so forth.
That’s why most private companies, as well as, individuals, require SEO skills when it comes to hiring writers.
Therefore, to increase your chances to get hired as a content writer, understand and master SEO whether you like it or not.
If you want my help, I’ll teach you the process of designing content that works for online businesses and private blogs.
Click the button below and sign-up to get access to these tips I only share with my members.
6. Translating
Did you see the photo below?
Aside from the noticeable increase of startup companies looking for writers, there’s also an undeniable increase in translators. From Swedish to Chinese, there’s always a market for these.
If you know how to speak the language they’re looking for, it’s a great chance for you to show those skills and impress them.
And if you are well-knowledgeable about content writing, that’s a BIG plus.
7. Technical writing
In my previous post about the third-world writers’ need to acknowledge their previous non-writing experience as high-income skills, this is where technical writing comes into the picture.
You see, everything you’ve experienced in life has a reason regardless of how boring it is.
If you are knowledgeable on the legal side of things, that’s a big bonus. The same way for pharmaceutical, medical, financial, economics, and other intimidating areas.
They need your well-adept skills in these fields of expertise. It’s your time to shine.
That’s why I encourage you to sign-up for my email list and learn how to design a piece of content that works well online regardless of the niche.
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8. Research writing
Oh, I love research! Do you love to do some detective work online?
If you feel enthusiastic about researching anything—literally, anything you can think of—you’re definitely in for this job.
You can search on Upwork or Onlinejobs.ph (if you’re a Filipino) and search for them.
Case studies are also on the rise these days. If we refer to the increasing number of SaaS companies and other online businesses, there’s also an increase of demands for writers to do the tumultuous task for them.
SwitchVideo explained how important case studies play in their business, which is to convince people to include videos in their marketing strategy.
Rather than spending time telling how effective and useful the product is, they allow the success stories from their users to do the work.
In that light, case studies are vital and play a big role in keeping the business up and increasing conversion rates.
9. Curriculum Writing (development)
Susan Riley of Institute for Arts Integration and Steam summarized the process of designing a curriculum, which will look like this:
[insert an image which portrays your vision of the curriculum, designing the curriculum based on overarching topics and current curriculum, draft a new curriculum with lessons, materials, and assessments to use]
If you are a former educator or have at least an educational background, then, creating curricula will be a fantastic opportunity for you to join several teams online and put yourself into practice.
10. Essay writing
Do you think life’s done with essay writing after high school, college, or university? Sadly, it’s not.
However, if you enjoy writing essays for other people, this writing side hustle could be a great way for you to make at least $30 for a 1,000-word piece. It’s not that bad, right?
11. Writing on Medium
In my previous post (link below), I wrote about how writers on Medium can earn as much as $8,000 on a single article.
As shocking as it may sound, it’s possible to earn it depending on the number of readers your post can attract.
The longer they stay on your post, the higher your income. And the more readers visit your link, the higher the payment as well.
It’s free to sign-up on Medium and to apply to their Partnership Program. All you need to do is to comply with their requirements and wait for their approval.
So, I suggest you read my separate post about this wherein I discussed how this works in detail.
Suggested post: How To Make $8,000 A Month With Medium?
12. Freelance writing in different languages
This is what I tried to point out earlier. If you are skillful in different languages around the world, there’s a market for that. Especially if you know how great content writing quality is done.
Not all freelance writing is available for native speakers unless you are fluent in several languages, such as Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Dutch.
Others look for someone who could write articles, essays in Native American or African languages.
When you visit Upwork and scroll through writing gigs posted, you’ll see posts where private individuals or companies search for the best candidate to do the job.
Probably, they’ve already been waiting for you, my friend. So, why not give this a try?
As you can see, you don’t have to be as fluent as native speakers to earn money from a writing side income.
13. Contribute articles
Nothing is greater than contributing articles, particularly on bigger websites.
However, you need to have a portfolio to show your writing skills to your clients. It’d be bad if you just say you’re a great writer without showing proof, right?
Many of these websites are always on the search for great writers and hear different and unique thoughts.
Highly Sensitive Refuge and Introvert, Dear are some of them that pay per post. I believe they pay around $40 for each article via PayPal.
So, to make sure you earn from your turnarounds, have your PayPal account and bank account prepared.
14. Magazine writing
I began my writing career by writing articles for online news magazines. You can read my story here.
Although they paid low, it paved the way for future high-paying writing jobs like content writing.
It was also the time when I first learned about SEO and formatting my content according to the acceptable editorial guidelines.
Certainly, I love writing and have been doing that for a long time, but this time, it’s on a different scale.
When writing for news websites or online magazines, in general, it’s a must to follow the editorial guidelines, which are different from one company to the other, regardless of the topic assigned to you.
This type of job might be stressful for you but if you love writing entertainment, gossip, sports, and other trending topics, it might be a good opportunity for you.
15. Offer writing services
Other than Upwork, some websites offer similar writing services. But instead of having you propose, you have to sign-up and leave samples for review.
Websites like Great Content, Textbroker, and Linkedin are the perfect examples of what I’m talking about. You need to apply directly to their site before you get the chance to work with them.
Textbroker is among the interesting platforms I’ve seen. You don’t have to be an experienced writer to apply and enjoy thousands of writing opportunities for any topic regardless of your background. Native-speaker or not.
Great Content also follows the same system. When I didn’t have professional writing experience back in 2013, this German company still accepted my application and wrote a few articles for the clients.
Although I didn’t earn much as I did when I offered full-time writing services, it’s still a great way to start making money out of your words. The thing is, though, the better content you provide, the higher earnings you’ll get.
16. Searching for writing gigs
Onlinejobs.ph, Fiverr, and Upwork may be the top or, I should say, the most popular options for beginner writers as these are the first platforms that come up on their minds.
However, other platforms, too, also exist such as:
- The ProBlogger Job Board
- FlexJobs
- iWriter
- Craigslist
- Penny Hoarder
The difference between these platforms, especially The ProBlogger Job Board, the clients feel assured getting high-quality applicants in comparison to Upwork or Fiverr.
In other words, to get into writing jobs using the above-mentioned platforms, it’s best to stand out and be more personal when applying.
Clients will appreciate the effort of writing a personalized cover letter and specialized profile.
The ProBlogger published tips as to how you can stand out from the rest of the applicants and make your profile more attractive to clients, specifically The ProBlogger Job Board.
17. Building an authority website
I didn’t have a blog when I first started in 2014. That’s why I always ended up getting into low-paying writing gigs. That’s also the reason for fewer writing offers for clients.
Why?
It’s because I don’t have anything to show them.
How can I prove my writing skills if I don’t have a blog?
When I finally did, though the first few websites I’ve had were already nulled, this blog brought me to greater heights.
For the fourth time, I decided to take blogging another try and get serious with it.
Consequently, I started to receive higher income-generating opportunities as more and more people approached me, offering writing jobs directly to my email.
Through my blog, I earned $6,000 as a writer.
That’s why it’s okay without a blog when you have just begun writing. But, as soon as you desire to earn a stable income to cover your monthly expenses, you start thinking to have one.
Trust me.
That’s why I created a vault exclusively for you. A vault that contains the shortcuts you need to stand out among hundreds of thousands of writers out there. Click the button below to get started.
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18. Starting newsletters
This is only possible when you have a website or a blog. But why are there many people into this?
There’s a popular among bloggers saying “the money is on the list.” It’s true.
In the next few writing side hustles, you’ll understand why starting newsletters plays a big role in building a successful and lucrative writing business.
19. Affiliate marketing
By the way, why is this included in the list?
You earn commissions by writing reviews, for example, of the products and/or services you promote. Obviously, you need to persuade customers to click on the unique links provided to make money.
Hence, I included affiliate marketing as the top, not really unusual but creative, but high-paying writing side hustles to do this year albeit the pandemic.
If you haven’t heard of affiliate marketing’s best strategy, let me tell you this. The best way to earn more commissions in this method is by starting a blog.
Why is that so?
Companies preferred affiliate marketers who run websites as a guarantee that they share links to as many internet users as possible.
That also means the more popular your blog is, the higher the chances to earn more than you expected.
In 2019, I earned my first $225 commission through affiliate marketing in combination with email marketing, though I DON’T HAVE 10K MONTHLY TRAFFIC.
This is why it’s best to start a professional website or blog today and create an impressive portfolio (published posts).
The better your website generally looks, the easier the affiliate marketing application process will be.
Do you get me?
20. Cold pitching to potential clients
Again, this is easier when you have a blog for the same reason. Authority. Once you own a website, it shows your reliability to deliver the output the clients want.
But wait, how do you get to do this?
Jessica Collins published an article on Freelancer FAQS explaining why cold pitching is a thing among freelance writers.
She said that you’re targeting the right people to work with when you send cold pitches to companies.
For example, you want to write for a big company. The best way to approach it is by reaching out on LinkedIn, which is a popular option for professional networking.
Wanting to write for any PR companies and other Giants in your niche starts with cold pitches, my friend.
21. Creating an online course
I’ve been thinking of creating an online course to have a win-win situation for me and my members. They get the shortcuts to a successful writing life and income for mine.
True Focus Media revealed that 45% of the students take online courses and will be expectant to learn online.
Online Course How mentioned that an online course could open a 4-figure monthly venture for you. Online course creators could earn up to $50,000 per month.
Doesn’t that wow you?
22. Ghost blogging
From the term ghost, you’re literally an invisible blogger.
I tried this years ago. I wrote for a real estate online magazine and have my post published without crediting my name.
It does hurt when you think about the effort you exert to produce good content. But it’s up to you if you could swallow your pride for money.
Nonetheless, it’s still a great way to make an income through writing for somebody else.
Yet, you can’t deny the soft ache in your gut every time they publish your work without acknowledging you.
If you think you can handle that, then, you can give this a try.
23. Self-publishing
Writing a book can be a profitable business. Joanna Penn, the author of several bestsellers, revealed the following royalty fee percentages on different platforms.
In summary, you’ll get:
- Amazon – 70% royalty fees for books priced between $2.99 to $9.99
- Kobo – 70%
- Apple Books – 70%
- Aggregators (Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, etc.) – 60% to 85%
Not only do you write the book you ever want to read, but you can also earn a lucrative income from writing what you truly are passionate about. Without judgments.
24. Producing and selling an audiobook
Just so you know, the audiobook industry, in general, is a billion-dollar industry. Does that shock you?
With an $800 million market size, it’s best to include creating audiobooks on your list. According to Author Media, millennial book readers are fond of audiobooks because of their reading mobility.
Audiobook mavens can do something else without compromising their book-reading habits. Non-book readers can also enjoy books without having them stuck on the bookshelf.
So, if you plan to write a book this year, then, it would make sense to create an audiobook as well to boost book sales.
Does that make sense to you?
25. Ghostwriting for books
As horrendous as it sounds but many people hire ghostwriters to write bestsellers. In fact, I’ve encountered a job post wherein a client searches for a talented writer to write one for him.
Why would I include this unethical writing side hustle?
Why would you write a book for someone and publish it without being acknowledged?
Joe Bunting, the founder of The Writer Practice, said that a lot of books on the bestseller list were written by ghostwriters. Tom Clancy, James Patterson, to name a few.
By the way, why is this a good writing gig in the first place?
Many people, especially the influential ones, have no time to write a book. So, they hire ghostwriters to do the job for them.
According to Bunting, some ghostwriters are acknowledged as “co-authors” but it’s not true to everyone.
But isn’t this unethical?
Not all the time. Though it could, it’s not entirely the case. At times, they formulate the original idea and all you have to do is to create the book based on it.
As long as you’re not coerced to contribute unique ideas to the book, like the one on the screenshot, it’s fine. As long as the clients remain present in the process, there’s nothing to worry about it.
26. Writing Erotica
A few days ago, I got into this writing gig where I have to write erotic short stories as part of their creative marketing strategy.
To invite more women to try their products, they want to hire freelance writers to exude the power of promotion through storytelling, persuading them to try the products. That’s the goal. Their goal.
Now, my point is, many companies like these, specifically in the sex industry, want to promote products that don’t strike a hard blow on the users, immediately connoting porn. This subsequently leads to leveling up their strategy to hire writers to create stories.
Aside from that, writing erotic fiction is one booming business as many people, primarily women, tend to quench their “hunger” and satisfy their unimaginable fantasies.
As Emmanuelle de Maupassant wrote on her blog, writing erotica is entering someone’s inner psyche and tickling the long-time suppressed dark desires, teasing it beautifully.
It’s also worth noting that erotica writers are highly respected as they’re facing not only the default publishing crisis but also the stigma that comes with it.
Nonetheless, it’s included on the gigantic list of top, unusual, and high-paying writing side hustle you can try.
Are These Writing Side Hustles Profitable Enough?
These writing side hustles I compiled here will only be profitable enough to cover your monthly expenses if AND ONLY IF you’re willing to do the groundwork.
To stand out from hundreds of thousands of great writers out there, it’s best to start sharpening your weapon today.
Be adept with SEO.
Learn the basic content writing in its acceptable editorial format, as well as, use engagement. Then, expand your vocabulary. So, better read and write a lot, my friend.
Even if I add more writing side hustles here on the list, it won’t be enough to pay everything you need to pay every month if you’re not willing to learn. Especially for non-native English speakers.
It will be harder. But it’s going to be worth all the work. I promise.
That’s why I suggest you sign-up on my email list and get access to the shortcuts. You will learn the basics of writing compelling content, SEO, and more.
Click the button below.
HubSpot Form (ft. 5 books)
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Conclusion – How To Earn A Stable Writing Income?
How much income do you need to consider yourself financially stable?
This depends on how much you need per month. With that, writing can be your next big thing. As you can see, more and more businesses will want to hire you.
To increase your chances, you must have a portfolio with you. That means to start a blog and commit to writing as regularly as you can.
When you have several great pieces of content on the line, it’s not hard to apply for writing jobs, to offer copywriting services, book writing services, etc. as mentioned on the list.
It’s easier to exercise your creativity and expand more income-generating ventures like creating online courses to share your expertise.
Therefore, to earn a stable writing income, you have to be prepared to spend time on building your writer brand. In that way, it’ll be easier for you.
That’s why I invite you to sign-up on my email list and learn a lot of things you need to do to start a blog for amazing writers like you!
I’ll share tips on how to build a reputable and irresistible writer brand exclusively for my members. So, if you don’t want to miss anything today, click the button below to sign-up.
I am looking forward to having you on board, my friend.
If you like this post, please share it with your friends and family, especially those who want to earn extra income through writing side hustles.
If you have something more to add to my gigantic list, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. 🙂
Footnotes:
Click here to see the whole list of citations.
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