The author found her formula to be a money-making writepreneur and shares 6 ways you can do it too
How can you make a living from writing?
It’s a question I often get asked when I say I’m a writer, but I don’t actually write books or work freelance.
So let me list all the ways I know of that can help you become a full-time writerpreneur. Or, as I like to call it, become a “writing entrepreneur,” because writing today is not limited to being an author.
I will also mention how you can get it to give you deeper insight.
It’s the most common way to write and make money as a writerpreneur. Plus, it’s a side hustle you can start right away. I, too, quit my job to freelance full-time. But I didn’t know I wouldn’t like it.
That being said, a lot of people love it.
You write for a living and you get paid for it. From $5 to $50 or $500 for a 1,000-word article, you decide how much money you make.
I didn’t like it because I realized that I love writing, but not so much for others.
How to do it:
I still recommend going on Upwork and looking for jobs. Josh Burns Tech is an informative YouTuber who helped me land my first job by learning how to create a unique proposal that helps you land clients.
An advice:
Have a catalog of content ready on a blog or Google Drive. It’s easier to get gigs when you showcase your work.
This is how you scale the freelance ladder. Because:
- There is not much you can write
- You still want to earn more, right?
This is where you hire writers. You get jobs and delegate them to other writers. This way, you can expand your freelance business by writing more than you would if you were doing it alone.
I don’t know of any other way to grow as a freelancer yet.
How to do it:
When you get more work than you can handle, outsource it and make money. Maybe hire part-time people on your payroll.
An advice:
It’s not easy. Dealing with multiple clients, meeting their demands, and making sure the work is top-notch is stressful and time-consuming.
This is a term I heard from Ali Abdaal that says someone who creates and has a business outside 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 a few weeks ago.
I like it because it is a mix of active and passive income and I can do what I really like.
How to do it:
Build an online audience and create an email list with free tools like Substack. Then, create a product based on the problems your audience experiences.
100% of my products are the result of questions people ask me.
An advice:
It’s a very long process, so give yourself at least a year or two.
Think of it this way: why would someone buy something from you? Trust and credibility take time.
Now wait before you chicken out.
A friend of mine works as a consultant at Bain & Company and has 35,000 followers on LinkedIn. Every week he collaborates with a brand for $300 per post and earns $1,200 per month.
One of those posts takes less than 30 minutes to write.
$1200 for 2 hours of work… not bad, right?
Now, he wants to grow in his field of work so he doesn’t need to think too much about branding and niche as long as it resonates with him and his audience. So it works well.
For someone doing it full time, you’d want to think about being relevant so you don’t lose the respect of your audience.
How to do it:
Build an audience on one platform (I recommend LinkedIn for this) and pitch to social media agencies for jobs.
An advice:
Be careful with the brands you choose. I have turned down work worth thousands of euros because it didn’t appeal to me and I knew my audience wouldn’t identify with it.
Let’s say you’re a freelance writer who’s worked with big clients in the financial sector, and people are curious about how to reach them.
You can always teach that in a self-paced or cohort-based writepreneur course.
I teach how to be a consistent writer using sustainable systems and without “writing every day.”
I started because consistency is my strong point, but I’m also lazy, so I help students create processes that don’t require so much effort and fit well into their busy lifestyles.
Last year we did very well and all the cohorts filled their places.
Last weekend I launched a pre-recorded course on how to grow on LinkedIn, because I’ve grown quickly, earned a Top Voice award, and my content typically performs well on the platform.
How to do it:
Is there something you’re really good at that others struggle with? Then pick a group of people and teach them for free. See if what you teach works and delivers results.
If so, ask for opinions and set a price.
If you want to take a self-paced course, assess the demand and put it online.
An advice:
Solve a problem that really exists. Some people start a course thinking it’s a source of income. But if you solve a problem that doesn’t exist or you don’t solve it well, why would anyone pay?
This is being a writepreneur as it has always been done: writing books or writing for magazines.
I don’t need to explain anything, right?
Finally
No, it’s 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 writing. Or even, if they don’t make a living, to just write and be rewarded by the public.
There is no better feeling than doing what you love and being loved for it.
I hope this inspires you to think about your path as a writerpreneur.
