Most people dream about becoming a professional writer someday, but it’s a daily struggle to earn a living as a full-time journalist. If you’re looking for a way to make some extra cash, you’ve come to the right place! In this blog post, we’ll give you the insider scoop on how to get paid to write stories for a magazine or blog.
The Basics
As the name would suggest, a professional writer’s job is a lot like that of a professional journalist. You’ll most likely need to do some initial research to find the most popular or relevant topics to write about. Once you find a topic you’re interested in, you’ll need to do some more research to make sure you understand the subject well enough to write something valuable about it. As a rule of thumb, you should always try to do your research while sitting down with a hot cup of coffee – nothing worse than pouring over boring documents or articles while trying to focus during the day.
However, even though the responsibilities are similar, the way you go about monetizing your work is a bit different. For the sake of this post, we’ll assume you’re a freelance writer, so you’ll most likely need to build up a portfolio of various publications before landing any paying gigs.
Find A Magazine Or Blog To Pitch Your Work To
The easiest and most effective way to make money as a writer is to find a magazine or a blog that’s willing to pay you to pitch your work. There are dozens of platforms out there where creative people can share their work with the world, and many of those platforms will pay you to pitch and write for them. If you’re not sure where to start, simply Google ‘pay to pitch’ or ‘pitch your work for money’, and you’ll get a host of results from which to choose.
In the meantime, you can also try reaching out to the editorial staff of reputable magazines and newspapers and pitching your story ideas to them. Many times, these are the very same publications that need your services, so you can help them out with their content while earning a decent side income from your creative writing hobby.
The More You Know, The Better
Aside from finding a magazine or a blog that’s willing to pay you to pitch your work, one of the most important things you can do for your writing career is to learn some valuable lessons from those who have gone before you. Even though you’ll be pitching your work to highly reputable publications, it doesn’t hurt to know a little bit about the business side of journalism, such as copyright law, financial issues and negotiating with publishers and editors.
With more people turning to digital storytelling, it’s essential that you know how online publications work – both how they make money and how they operate. In short, the more you know, the better!
Avoid Free Articles
Anyone in the online journalism world will tell you that content is king and that you can’t put a price tag on words. This is especially relevant when it comes to freelance writers, as many publications will offer you free articles in order to attract new audience members and retain current ones.
While it’s amazing that publications will give you free reign to write about what you want, the problem is that most of the time these articles aren’t worth much. According to Jane Coast, a freelance writer and content strategist, “free content can usually be found in the form of blog posts, which are typically short in length and lacking in research.”
When someone hands you free content to write about, it usually means that either a) They don’t have enough faith in the quality of your work to publish it for free or b) They want to grab some content to add to their own website’s blog before the end of the year and don’t have the time to find a high-quality writer to do the piece.
Focus On Monetizing Long-Form Content
If you’re looking to make money as a writer, you’ll probably want to focus on long-form content such as reports, features and long-form blog posts. When it comes to the digital sphere, people are consuming content in bigger and bigger chunks. According to HubSpot Blogger Dr. Jenny Blake, “people are constantly on the hunt for knowledge, with many opting to consume content in shorter, easier to digest chunks.”
When you have longer format content, you have the luxury of padding your text with extra information. This makes it much easier for someone reading your piece to understand and remember the key points you’re making. Plus, there’s more room for longer-form content due to the nature of the medium.
The Perfect Pitching E-Mail
One of the best things about finding a magazine or a blog that’s willing to pay you to pitch your work is that they’ll usually send you a pitch package that contains all the information you need to get started. When you’ve found such a publication you’re interested in, take the time to read through the pitch package thoroughly, as it will contain important details about the project you’re being asked to contribute to.
Once you’ve found a publication you’re interested in working with, take the time to read their guidelines and pitch packet carefully. This will help you determine what kind of content they’re looking for and how to best pitch your work to meet their needs.
Sometimes, publications will give you specific guidelines on what to pitch them. For example, if you’re asked to write about political issues, you’ll need to ensure that your articles align with their stance on current affairs. If you don’t have a clear idea of what the need is for the content you’re creating, it can be difficult to know exactly what to pitch them. This is where taking the time to think it through and read the guidelines closely comes in handy.
Make sure to always introduce yourself as a freelance writer in your correspondence with the magazine or blog you’re working with. Doing this will help them understand that you’re not attached to any specific publication and that you can pitch various content to them as and when it’s available. Being a freelancer also allows you to easily build up a portfolio of various content types, from short-stories to long-form features to pitch for various publications.
Getting Paid To Write Is A Long Process
Unless you’re lucky enough to land your first gig right away, getting paid to write is a long process. Many writers who get paid to write for digital publications will tell you that the key to success is to “earn your chops” by pitching to different publications regularly. Even then, it can take a while to get paid for some of your work.
If you’re looking to make an honest living as a writer, the best strategy is to continue building up your portfolio, pitching regularly to various publications and networking with other writers on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter.
As you gain more experience as a writer, becoming a freelancer, and pitching regularly to various publications, the more options you’ll have in terms of making money from your writing. Plus, it’s always nice to have more than one way of making money!