How to Earn Money as a Freelance Writer in 2024

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Editor’s note: One of the most common questions we are asked here at WritetoDone is how to earn money as a freelance writer. And now the new year is in full swing,  the question uppermost in many of our readers minds is: how do I earn money as a freelance writer in 2020? To this end, we’ve updated one of Mary’s most popular posts…

Writing is rewarding. It’s exhilarating, fun, and satisfying.

And at times it can be frustrating, right?

But can writing reward you financially?

Can you earn money as a freelance writer in 2020? I don’t mean pin money, like $25 here and there. My question is: can you create a whole life-style through writing?

The short answer is ‘yes’, but there are some steps you need to take to achieve this goal.

The good news is that there are many different tracks to earning money as a writer. Whatever your particular writing talent is you can find a pathway that fits. In a moment, I’ll walk you through the various tracks you can choose.(You can find infographics about the four main tracks down below.) 

But first, let’s consider the main ingredients of creating an income with writing.

What do you need to earn money from writing?

1. ADOPT THIS MINDSET

The first important step is to adopt a new mindset. As successful writer Sean Platt says  : 

“If you want to build a career on writing, you have to treat it like a business.”Sean Platt

It doesn’t matter whether you are a fiction – or non-fiction writer; you still have to treat your writing like a business.

I think this is the step where most writers falter. And this is obvious to us editors in the WritetoDone team. Articles about content marketing (which is a factor of regarding your writing as a business) are not nearly as popular as inspirational articles. 

Earning money as a writer means selling something. Selling a book, or selling freelance articles, or selling content, or selling related products.

You don’t like the word ‘selling’? You’re not alone. 

However, if you want to make a sustainable career from writing you’ll need to get to grips with selling the stuff you produce. 

WRITERS DON’T HAVE TO BE POOR

Find out how to earn $$$ as a freelance writer right now.

2. LOVE THE LEARNING CURVE

As writers, we need to learn our craft in order to earn an income. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, there are important skills you need to develop in order to succeed. 

There are many ways to learn. You can learn by trial and error, for example. This is a slow way of acquiring skills. And it can be disheartening. 

Or you can tap into the knowledge and experience of successful writers who have broken through and created a career as a writer. The best way to fast-track success is to join courses and add particular skills to your portfolio. 

Some aspiring writers don’t want to embrace the learning curve which making a living as a writer demands of us. This attitude will most likely result in failure.

3. GENERATE YOUR AUDIENCE

For every writer, there is an audience online. Whatever you want to write, there are people who want to read it and people who want to buy what you produce. 

But how can they find you?

You can generate an audience by creating a blog, or an author website​, as well as using social media to become known. It takes time, but it works.

There are also alternative strategies to build an audience. For example, Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, two of the most successful indie authors, found that creating a podcast became the tipping point of success because it helped them to build their particular audience. 

Once you’ve built your audience, you can alert them to a new piece of content, or your new book, or a new product. But only if you…

4. BUILD YOUR LIST OF FANS

Building an audience only reaps success if you can reach your fans when you need them. The best way to do this is to build a list of email addresses. You can see in my article about creating author websites  how nonfiction, as well as fiction writers build an email list by giving away something for free in return for an email address.

The email list enables you convert the influence you’re building into action. After all, you need to sell your content or products to make a living. Here is what Jon Morrow has to say about this: 

earn money as a writer

If you can master creating content that generates influence, and then you back up that content with marketing that converts influence into action, you’ll have built a “machine” that prints money for years or even decades into the future.” Jon Morrow

Which Earning Track is Right for You?

1. TAKE THE BLOG TRACK

If you want to take the Blog Track, check out the infographic below. 

You can also tap into the following two excellent resources. Glen Long wrote an article, called The Five Most Realistic Ways to Make a Living as a Writer.  And Jon Morrow wrote How to Make Money Blogging 

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About The Author

Mary Jaksch

Mary Jaksch is best known for her exceptional training for writers at WritetoDone.com and for her cutting-edge book, Youthful Aging Secrets. In her “spare” time, Mary is also the brains behind GoodlifeZEN.com, a Zen Master, a mother, and a 5th Degree Black Belt.

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