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Page 1: 34 Ways to Turn Writing into Profit (0.63MB)

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How Can You Turn Your Writing Skills into Profit? Here Are 34 Ways to Get You Started

We’re so glad you decided to download your free copy of 34 Ways to Turn Writing into Profit.

Our goal is to give you plenty of ideas for turning your writing skills into a profitable business of

your own.

This guide includes a quick introduction to each writing market and a handy tip to make the

most of the writing opportunity. But this really is just the beginning, we’ve got plenty more

market advice and strategies for building your writing career, so stay tuned.

Meet Your Write for a Living Experts, Alice Seba and Ron Douglas

There are plenty of resources out there that will teach you about

writing and even how to write for pay, but few do it like

WriterHelpWanted.com.

Combined, we have over 27 years experience using the Internet to

grow our incomes through writing. Alice has a built a business

around creating content for over 20,000 customers and Ron is a

New York Times bestselling author who has sold over 1.5 million

books and ebooks.

We both live our dream of having freedom in our lifestyles, working when we want and without

having to answer to editors or employers, just to ourselves. Alice enjoys that lifestyle in

Vancouver, Canada with her husband and 3 children, while Ron does the same in Long Island,

New York with his wife and 2 children.

Now we’ve taken all this experience and put it into a resource that will help you find quality

writing jobs to earn extra income or even replace a full-time income, but also elevate you to a

business that provides you with the freedom you desire. Where you go from here is all up to you

and it would be our pleasure to serve as your guides.

To get you started, let’s look at 34 markets where you can start earning from your writing…

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Market #1: Article Writing

As an article writer, you can write for online publications and magazines, but you’ll probably find

more opportunities online. There are so many publishers, small, medium and large, online that

it’s relatively easy to find work if you look for it.

Tip - Look for publications that accept reprints: Many publications expect original work

submissions. However, you can find others that will pay to reprint your work. These are a

great source for income because essentially you are getting paid for work you’ve already done.

Market #2: Biographies and Memoir Writing

Here’s a unique opportunity that allows you to help people tell their story. Many people want to

publish biography or memoir, but don’t have the writing skills to put it together. In fact, many

famous biographies were not written by their “authors”. Instead, they are ghostwritten and that’s

where your services come in. In some cases, you might even get credit as a co-author.

Tip - Make passive income: Instead of doing all the hard work of putting together a

memoir or biography, teach people how to write their own, so they can do it themselves.

You can create an information product about the process that you can sell repeatedly. Or once

you’ve achieved success on your own, you can teach other aspiring memoir writers to break into

the market.

Market #3: Blogging

You’re probably familiar with the concept of blogging. However, you might not know that many

bloggers don’t actually write their own content. They hire someone to write it for them. Bloggers

can make a great living working for a handful of chosen blogs. Some bloggers are ghostwriters,

while others are “guest bloggers.”

Tip - Get ongoing work: Offer blogging services from your own website and set up a

monthly subscription plan where you write a certain number of blog posts each work. Give

your monthly subscribers a special retainer rate, so they are encouraged to keep their

subscription active.

Market #4: Book Proposals

Writers who want their books to be published by a publishing company, need a book proposal.

This proposal sells the idea of why the book should be published and includes an overview of

the book, its market, and competition. A book proposal is a specialized type of writing that

needs to be detailed and persuasive. Proposals can be used for fiction and nonfiction work, so

there are a variety of types of clients you can work with.

Tip - Focus on results: While not all of your clients will get book deals because of your

work, the success rate you do achieve will be critical in growing your opportunities. Always

follow up with your clients to find out how things went and use those success stories as case

studies to showcase your expertise.

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Market #5: Business Letters:

Businesses need professional correspondence and that’s where your persuasive writing skills

can come into play. You can get paid to write to sales letters, prospecting letters, query letters

and more. Many businesses are willing to pay top dollar for letters that are going to be used to

get new or repeat customers and business.

Tip - Get ongoing work: Keep growing your portfolio and if you can couple that with

conversion numbers that show you get your clients results, you’ll have clients lining up to

work with you. Create a service website that focuses on your being a results-driven business

letter writer.

Market #6: Business Plan Writer

If you have experience with writing business plans and know what investors look for in a

business, writing for a living could be a possibility for you. You can focus on a specific business

size or type or you might choose to specialize in an industry. For example, you might help small

home businesses or work with startups only.

Tip - Get to know the markets that your clients are working in: If they operate a

tanning salon, you should understand the business, its potential and understand how your

client can succeed.

Market #7: Blog, Forum & Group Commenting

While commenting isn’t usually high-paying work, it’s easy to do. Whether it’s commenting on

blog posts, Facebook updates, or forums, many businesses will pay you to do this. If it’s their

website or social media profile, they might need someone to generate discussion and to give

the appearance of a thriving community. On the other side, business owners like to comment on

other people’s websites because it allows them to showcase their expertise and gain awareness

for their brand.

Tip - Position yourself as a business building service: If businesses see the value of

what you’re doing for them, they are more likely to pay well. For example, if they have a

Facebook Group that is part of product they are selling and they need to keep the group active

to maintain the value of their product, you can help them do that.

Market #8: Copywriting

Copywriting is the art of writing material that helps convert readers into customers. Copywriting

can encompass everything from email messages to advertisements to online sales pages. Any

marketing material often entails some level of copywriting. You can do things like slogan writing,

brochures, ad copy, sales letters, product descriptions and more. Copywriters are in high

demand and once you have a proven track record, you’ll have clients knocking on your door.

Tip - Track your results: Copywriting is a results driven business and your clients want to know you can get them more leads and customers. Keep a record of conversion rates and help your clients improve those rates as part of a value-added service.

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Market #9: Creative Writing

If creative writing was one of your favorite subjects in school, you’ll be glad to know there are

opportunities to make money doing it. The different types of opportunities are abundant. You

might ghostwrite fiction, do songwriting, write jokes and humor, poetry, greeting card messages,

jingles and more. Here is a look at some types of writing you might do.

Tip - Treat your creative writing pursuits like a business: You need to build your own audience by growing and marketing to your email list. These are fans you can contact

directly about your works for sale and send other product recommendations where you earn a commission. Treat like you would any other business…just writing good content isn’t enough.

Market #10: Ebooks

The ebook industry is thriving and there are many opportunities for writers. You can write for

clients or for yourself. There are opportunities in fiction and non-fiction. The important thing is to

find a niche for yourself.

Tip – Find a lucrative market of clients: Look for business owners who want to use a

book as a marketing tool. For example, a professional coach can publish a book that they

can use to build awareness for their services and establish credibility. When they are directly

building your business from the content you write, they are willing to pay well to get that service

done.

Market #11: Editors

With all the publishing being done these days, the opportunities for talented editors are

abundant. In addition to traditional publishing, think about all the blogs, books, and newsletters

people are publishing. If you’ve got an eye for making writing more succinct and clear, this could

be an opportunity for you.

Tip - Hang out with writers: Many writers need editing services, so make sure they know

who you are. Join online communities and groups. Attend local writing events to connect

with them.

Market #12: Emails and Newsletters

Email is a very commercial medium that produces a high return on investment, so clients are

often willing to pay well for you to write for them. According to the Direct Marketing Association,

email produces a return on investment (ROI) of nearly 4300% .That means, for every dollar they

spend, they get $43.52 in return. This is your opportunity to write for clients who want to

generate income from their email marketing or to make money from your own email list in a

niche of your choosing.

Create retainer packages for your clients: For email marketing campaigns to be

effective, they have to be consistent. That means your clients need more and more emails

written. If you can get your clients to sign up for a subscription for your services, you get

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ongoing work, they get more success and you don’t have to constantly hunt for new clients and

work.

Market #13: Essays

Believe it or not there are jobs writing essays for customers who need articles, school papers,

dissertations, help with their master’s thesis, doctor’s dissertations and more. While there are

some less than ethical websites out there that will hire you to write an essay for a student, who

will provide no input into the writing and are essentially cheating, you can explore the more

legitimate aspects of this niche.

Tip - Narrow your target market: Avoid trying to write essays for everyone. It’s too much

work for you to learn a topic from scratch. When you focus on a certain subject area or a

specific type of client (ex. biology majors working on their master’s degrees), you are continually

growing your knowledge and it becomes easier to serve your clients effectively.

Market #14: Eulogies and Obituaries

While it may seem like morbid work, writing eulogies and obituaries is all about exploring the

positive contributions a person made in their life and is often a very positive piece of work that is

appreciated by friends and family.

Tip - You can write with the living, not just after people have passed away: Many

people who plan their funerals and burials in advance, so there is another opportunity to

work with the subject of your writing directly.

Market #15: Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting is actually a lot more common than the average person might think. A ghostwriter is someone who writes content for their client who then publishes the content under their own name as if they wrote it. Many of the markets we’ve mentioned in this report can be done as a ghostwriter. Ghostwriters write anything from blog posts, to ebooks including fiction and nonfiction, screenplays, scripts, speeches, articles, stores, and more.

Tip - Listen to and Apply Feedback: Writing is such a personal thing and it’s easy to get defensive about our talents, but when you’re ghostwriting, you become irrelevant. Your job

is to write what the client wants and conform to what they’re asking for. Of course, you can provide your professional advice if you think they’re moving in the wrong direction, but ultimately, it’s in their hands.

Market #16: Grant Writing

Grant writing is the process of helping an individual, group, institution, business, or non-profit organization fill out applications for funding. These are usually called grant proposals. Groups like foundations, educational institutions, government entities, and even individuals get a lot of their funds from grants.

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Grow Your Portfolio: Many companies want plenty of experience before they’ll hire you.

This seems like a catch 22 since it’s difficult to get experience when you can’t get a job.

However, you can offer to work with local nonprofits or organizations that you’d like to help in

order to get your feet wet.

Market #17: Journalism

Journalism is a specialty type of writing in which the writer writes for newspapers, magazines,

news, radio or television. The purpose of journalism is to provide the consumer with information

that they need to make a decision about anything. Journalists need to be very ethical,

understand how to conduct proper research, and how to be unbiased. Journalists want to

empower and inform the public.

Tip - It’s all about the query: You can be the best journalist in the world, but if your query

letter falls flat, you won’t be considered for the job. You can find plenty of query letter

samples to study and work from. Just do a Google search or look at these samples from

FreelanceWriting.com – they’re updated with fresh samples each month.

Market #18: Media Kits

Most businesses, online and off, should have a media kit. A media kit allows anyone looking at

a brand’s website to download information about the business, organization, company, or

person in an easy to digest format. Promotional tools like media kits are an important way to

promote a company, brand, and business. They’re used by the media, potential advertisers and

others interested in the particular business.

Tip - Make passive income: Instead of working on a client-to-client basis, you can create

media kit templates and do-it-yourself packages. You can couple that with an information

product that teaches people the importance of media kits and how to leverage them.

Market #19: Personal Letters

Believe it or not, there are people out there who will pay you to write personal letters for them. They might be love letters, or other personal letters that they want to be very special to express deep emotions to another person. Think apology or encouragement letters. In addition, some people may need personal letters written for a special application for college or a job interview. Look for a clientele with plenty of disposable income that is willing to pay well for such personal services.

Tip - Get personal: When you write similar letters all the time, if you’re not careful, you’re writing can sound canned. Be sure to research your subject and the target market of your

letter thoroughly, so you can make something truly unique. Come up with a questionnaire of important questions to ask your clients. They may prefer to receive this questionnaire verbally because after all, they’re hiring you to write and they may not want to write.

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Market #20: Press Release Writing

Press releases serve the same function today that they have always served. Businesses use press releases to build their brand, increase awareness, and to sell products or services. While the basic anatomy of a press release is not different in terms of how they are laid out, today’s press release often encompasses the elements of a traditional press release along with additional visual content and social media material.

Understand the story: In order for a press release to get noticed, it needs a strong hook that the media will be interested in. Talk to your client and get to know their business and

understand their objective with their press release. The more background work you do, the more successful the press release will be.

Market #21: Private Label Rights (PLR) Content

Private label rights (PLR) content is pre-written content such as articles, blog posts, ebooks,

reports, and any type of content, which multiple people purchase the right to use as their own

work. Typically, the buyer is responsible for altering the content to make it their own, but they

can put their name to it as the author. This differs from ghostwriting work where someone hires

you to write on a specific subject and they pay you for exclusive rights to use that work. With

PLR, you sell the same content to multiple buyers over and over again.

Tip - PLR Customers Keep Buying: PLR is inexpensive for the individual buyer, so they keep buying more. If you keep coming up with great topics and offers, your customers will

buy repeatedly. This is why memberships also do well for PLR. Set up a subscription-based program. You deliver content every month and they pay you every month.

Market #22: Proofreading

With the growth of web publishing (just about everyone has a blog or website these days), there

is a great need for people who want to make money proofreading. Proofreaders check for

grammar, typos, and spelling errors, fixing them as they go along. It doesn’t matter if the content

is online or offline someone has to be responsible for ensuring that these types of mistakes are

fixed to help improve readability and understanding of the content.

Tip - Become an Editor: Proofreaders can make decent money with their work, but if you

develop and market your editing skills, you can make even more. Proofreaders simply

correct errors, while editors assist with improving the style and overall quality of the writing.

Market #23: Report Writing

Many business owners use informative reports to help provide value to their customers or give

them away to generate leads for their business. They offer a free report in exchange for an

email address and get new subscribers to their list and prospects to follow up with. A report is

usually at least 2500 words and is generally written on one topic to explain a concept, tell a

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reader how to do something, or explain the benefits of a particular product or service. You can

write these types of reports for client or profit from them yourself.

Tip - Understand the objective: When you know the objective of the report, you can

create a more effective piece for your client (or your own marketing purposes). Whether

they want to presell a product or service or make product use easier for their customers,

knowing the purpose ahead of time will be helpful. The more you can help your client meet their

business objectives, the more valuable you are to them.

Market #24: Research

The act of researching is essentially to investigate a topic and report on the available

information. Some clients want research so they can create content on a particular topic. Others

might have you find statistics or do market research, so they can make important business

decisions. Today, it’s easy to learn new things online, but, how do you know if the information

you find is accurate or a good source? A good researcher knows the answer to that question. If

that is you, you might enjoy making money researching.

Make passive income: Some savvy writers and researchers conduct research on specific

niche-related popular topics and then sell that research to numerous buyers. That strategy

allows you to do the work once while you get paid multiple times.

Market #25: Resume Writing

As you know, most people who are looking for a job in a specific career field need a resume and

this is a prime opportunity for you. A resume is a person’s job history and job biography rolled

into one succinct 8 x 11 inch piece of paper, which is not easy for many people to do. Effective

resume writing is a skill that most people don’t possess. Being able to summarize someone’s

skills, experience, and goals in a concise manner is very valuable skill to a job seeker. The

ability to write clearly and persuasively is essential for resume writers, as is attention to detail.

Tip - Specialize in the executive. If you’re writing resumes for people looking entry-level

jobs, you can’t expect to be paid a lot, but if you’re helping people who have high-paying

opportunities on the line, you can command a very attractive rate.

Market #26: Revenue Sharing Sites

With revenue sharing sites, you write an article on a particular topic or niche, depending on what

the site wants you to do. Once your article is published on the site and people start reading it,

you will earn a share of the advertising revenue generated by the readers when they click on an

advertisement. This is a useful way to break into and learn more about online writing as well as

get work under your byline to help market yourself as a writer to the world.

Tip - Make passive income: The income you get from these sites can become passive if

traffic continues to visit your older content. A natural progression from writing for other

sites is to create your own site. Not only do you keep 100% of the revenue, you also build a

valuable asset that can bring in additional money in other ways.

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Market #27: Scripts, Speeches, and Presentations

Scripts, speeches, and presentations are often used by many different types of professionals

such as actors, coaches, authors and more. Presentations, both online and off, need scripts and

many presenters don’t prepare their own material. They outsource it. You can write scripts for

everything from keynote speeches to “how to” videos published on YouTube. If you have a good

understanding of public speaking, then this type of writing may be a good niche for you.

Tip - Be open to constructive feedback: Just like with ghostwriting and other content the

client will use in their name, this is ultimately their work and has to be done according to

the client's specifications. Listen to and apply the constructive criticism you receive, but do also

provide the client with feedback and ideas that they can consider too.

Market #28: SEO (Search Engine Optimized) Content

Writing content to help business owners drive traffic to their websites is a very lucrative market

and it can be achieved through search engine optimization (SEO). One component of SEO has

to do with the text and words on your website’s pages. It includes product descriptions, articles,

blog posts, and “alt” text accompanying images. These words are indexed by search engines

like Google to help their audience find search term related pages.

Tip - Get ongoing work: Set up your website and include testimonials and results from

previous clients. Set up a retainer plan or subscription payment to deliver a certain number

of pieces of content for a fixed price each month. The more clients you have who pay you

regularly, the more you can focus on just writing instead of finding new clients.

Market #29: Social Media Content Writer

Social media writing consists of writing blurbs to introduce memes, blog posts, contests and

other content ultimately leading the customer toward the client’s websites or email lists. If you

have the talent to make people want to “click” and read more, you can become an effective

social media content writer.

Get Ongoing Work: Set up your own website and include social media management

services. Some of your clients might just want you to write their content, but many others

will want you to handle the posting and interaction on their various accounts. The more hands-

free you can make this for your client, the more likely they’ll want to work with you on an

ongoing basis.

Market #30: Technical Writing

Technical writing is needed for technology-focused businesses like software, hardware and

other companies, but the term also refers to writing instructions for just about any product. This

type of writing might involve anything from articles or product comparisons to technology

product manuals or user guides. Technical writing jobs might be both written under your name

or ghostwritten, depending on the client’s needs and your preferences.

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Tip - Maintain a cutting edge advantage: Technology advancements are made and

implemented at a lightning speed and are ever changing. Even if you've had advanced

formal training, it's easy to get left behind. Stay on top of things in your field of expertise by

practicing your skills, reading reliable tech websites and magazines, joining related groups, and

taking a refresher course at your local college or tech school. But, the bottom line is that when

you interact with and teach others, through writing or by other means, you end up learning

something, too. Stay active and involved.

Market #31: Textbooks

You may choose to ghostwrite a textbook with a professor, or you may choose to write a

textbook to publish with a publisher. Writing textbooks can often take many years of research,

preparation, and planning as well as negotiating with publishers. However, it can pay off nicely

when it is adopted because it will sell many copies since every student needs their own book.

Tip - Get educated: Attend conferences, read the latest academic literature in your field,

but don't stop there. Inspiration and knowledge can come from unexpected places such as

radio programs, newspapers, your favorite websites, memes, tweets, quotes and much more.

Connect with people who are interested in the topics you cover.

Market #32: Trade Magazines

A trade magazine or publication is any publication directed at a particular industry for insiders.

Some examples of trade publications are Accounting Today, Salon Sense, and Equipment

World. They are written specifically for the people who work in the industry. These types of

niche magazines are often looking for writers. Many trade magazines pay lower rates that other

types of print, but people who write for them say that it’s easier to write for trade publications.

The process is much more relaxed, it’s easier to get accepted and there are generally fewer

revisions, so even if you get paid less for word, you can write more in a shorter amount of time.

Add to that, writing for trade publications pays better than most online writing jobs.

Tip - Use your bio box: Most publications will include a bio box or byline for you and

many will allow you to include your website. Be sure to use this opportunity to drive traffic

to your site and have the visitors sign up for your mailing list.

Market #33: Translation

If you’re bilingual, you have a huge opportunity to become a writer without really having to write

your own material. Your job, as a translator, is to take someone else’s writing and rewrite it in a

different language. You need the ability to understand the topic enough that you can translate it

accurately and fluently as there is more to translation than making it an exact copy, you have to

also catch the intricacies of the story or topic in the new language. Translation is in high demand

with today’s global economy and the opportunities are projected to increase.

Tip - Translators are cultural consultants: The most successful and highest paid

translators not only are very familiar with languages but also the related cultures.

Translators are cultural consultants to their clients, identifying inappropriate or conflicting

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activities, events, scenarios, and wording within the material. If cultural inaccuracies are not

caught, clients’ goals will not be met.

Market #34: White Papers and Case Studies

Writing white papers or authoritative reports, and case studies is a good way for business

owners to promote their products and services. Case studies are detailed accounts of activities,

events, problems, or specific situations. They involve an in-depth examination and analysis of

something. Both white papers and case studies are often used to help a business position

themselves as credible resources for information. White papers tend to be written for the

business-to-business market, and case studies can be written for both business-to-business

and business to consumer audiences.

Tip - Get Ongoing Work: Companies that provide a product or service that is expensive

or complex, as well as technology and business-to-business based companies tend to

need more case studies than individuals or nonprofits.

Get Ready to Put Your Plans into Action

We hope this gives you plenty of ideas to start brainstorming your writing career, but sit tight,

because we’ve got plenty more coming for you. On Thursday, June 25th, we’ll open the doors to

WriterHelpWanted.com and then you’ll have access to:

Full Writing Market Profiles: We’ve got even more in-depth research into these 34

writing markets, including how much you can make, tips for success and how to get jobs

and even earn passive income.

Case Studies of Successful Writers: Discover how they found success in a variety of

areas including ghostwriting, screenwriting, blogging, ebook publishing and more.

Expert Advice and Proven Strategies: We’ll guide you from getting your first writing

job to creating your own business that helps you create the lifestyle you want.

Of course, there is plenty more and we have more details coming, but we’ll let you in on a

little secret. You don’t actually have to wait that long for everything. We’ll be releasing some

sneak peeks into some of the juiciest tidbits from our case studies. That’s coming Thursday,

June 25th at Noon Eastern Standard Time, so keep your eyes on your inbox for that.

In the meantime, start brainstorming and get ready for an exciting and rewarding journey.

We’ll be in touch very soon.


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