13 High-Paying Writer Side Hustle Ideas to Try in Your Free Time

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Last updated: February 25, 2024

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Freelance writers don't have to limit themselves to just one type of writing. In fact, your freelance writing business can be as robust as you want it to be. As long as you have the writing skills to prove your worth in the marketplace, there are tons of opportunities for growth and expansion of your services. What writer side hustle can you get involved in to put more money in your pocket?

Stick with the skills you possess and try out some of these freelance writing opportunities.

Let's take a closer look at what you could do to earn more money with freelance writing.

Contents

13 Best Writer Side Hustle Ideas to Grow Your Income
Final Thoughts: What's the Best Writer Side Hustle for You?

13 Best Writer Side Hustle Ideas to Grow Your Income

Writing gigs are plentiful, no matter what your specialty may be. You can find them on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. However, you can also take advantage of other writing side hustles - and some don't even require deadlines or clients. You can get creative juices flowing and make the most of your skills.

Here are our thirteen top writer side hustle ideas to help you scale your writing business.

1. Blogging and Affiliate Marketing

Content writers might have lots of experience writing for blogs on behalf of their clients. Chances are that you get paid to write blog posts and articles for others, so why not use that skill on your own behalf? You could start your own blog on a topic that interests you, making money writing on something that actually excites you to sit down at the keyboard.

If you are thinking about starting your own blog, be sure to check out our Affiliate Lab review. Matt Diggity's online course allows you to learn the ins and outs of starting a blog, monetizing it, and even flipping it when the site has run its course for you.

Get Started With The Affiliate Lab Here

Affiliate marketing on your blog is a great way to make money promoting products or services that you highly recommend. In exchange for each purchase or lead, you may receive either a flat rate or a percentage of the sale.

For more ideas on blogging, here are our 27 best blogs about blogging to inspire you!

2. Advertisements and Copywriting

As a freelance writer, you might have experience writing compelling copy that converts readers into customers. If this is one of your writing superpowers, there is a lot of money in copywriting and even managing advertisements. It's one of the most lucrative freelance writing gigs that you'll come across.

How much can you earn from copywriting?

Some sources say that you could make an average of $60,000 annually for copywriting, but some lucky and talented writers make close to six figures.

Here are some other resources that can help you put your writing skills to good use as a copywriter:

Some writing jobs won't require you to spend hours of your time crafting content. Instead, you can keep things short and sweet with social media writing. Your freelance writing business could have multiple clients for whom you manage their Facebook, Instagram, or X feeds.

Managing social media platforms as a freelance writer offers good money: you could make an average of $65,000 per year or $31 per hour.

Many people are also starting to incorporate AI into writing side hustle ideas. Get more ideas for creative ways to utilize artificial intelligence in our article about how you can use ChatGPT for social media marketing.

4. Write Your First Book & Self-Publishing

Freelance writing is an active business. You always have to be producing new content in order to keep a paycheck rolling into your bank account. What if you could get away from freelance writing and start to earn passive income from a writer side hustle?

One of the best ways to scale your income is to write a book and get into self-publishing. Having your name adorn the cover of a book is a great way to establish yourself as an authority in whatever niche you choose to write about.

Is writing a book profitable? Self-publishing allows you to earn more royalties on your sales, but you'll have to do the heavy lifting of keyword research using tools like Publisher Rocket.

If you've never written a book before, here is our guide on how to write a book with no experience. Check out our Novel AI review if you're interested in tools that are specifically tailored for novel writing.

5. Write Reviews

No matter what you choose to spend your money on, you can give honest feedback on the product or service you use. Freelance writers can start a profitable side hustle writing reviews. You may not get super rich off of reviews, but it's easy content to write.

You could write a review for a blog post, an online website like CrowdTap, or even local magazines and newspapers. The only catch is that you will have to actually purchase the items, spend time using them, and have a detailed knowledge of how they work.

Here is a quick guide on how to get paid to write reviews.

Your freelance writing side hustle could be as simple as writing content for a blog post or website. Many people who take on a writing job quickly learn the ropes of search engine optimization (SEO). If you are skilled at naturally integrating keywords into a piece, then SEO writing could be the right fit for you.

Within this high-paying writing niche, you can find several different types of work. You might be paid to write the content, or you could be paid to simply create a content plan. This involves making a list or a schedule of topics to write about, including keywords that you want the page to rank for.

You may want to invest in some of these tools for SEO content writing if these side hustles for writers appeal to you.

7. Write Short Stories

Maybe you have a more creative mind and want to explore stories instead of writing jobs. If this is the case, you don't necessarily have to write a novel to start bringing in some extra income from your fiction. Writing short stories can be a great way to get your name out there and earn money writing on the side.

Stephen King, one of the most successful authors of our time, got his start by writing and selling short stories to magazines in the 1970s. This not only helped him build a fan base but also provided a steady source of income as he worked towards publishing his first novel. So don't underestimate the power of short stories!

Even if you don't have a knack for telling stories, you can utilize AI tools like Jasper to refine your stories and make them the best they can be (and check out our Jasper review to see what else this tool can do for you).

Magazine writing is a great way to get started with short stories. Here are a few places where you can sell short stories for money!

8. Ghostwriting

Did you know that some authors don't really write their own books?

Some of the authors who are the most prolific in today's marketplace use ghostwriters to keep their production levels higher and keep the wheels turning on their media empire. As one of the best side hustles for writers, ghostwriting can seriously help pay the bills.

A ghostwriter can expect to make anywhere from $39,00 0 to $63,000 per year.

The only catch is that you won't get credit for this writing job. If you were hoping to grow your career and influence, ghostwriting might not be the right fit for you.

9. Editing & Proofreading

Some writers might start to feel burnt out on writing jobs if it's what they do for a full-time job. Instead, you can take your talents and switch gears a little bit to embrace editing and proofreading. Many writers have an eagle eye for typos, grammar mistakes, and other ways to spruce up a piece of prose.

You could be a line editor, picking out individual errors and correcting them. You could also be a developmental editor, looking at the big picture of a story to see if there are plot holes or shortcomings that need to be corrected prior to publication.

Be sure to check out these places to find proofreading jobs from home!

10. YouTube Video Script Writer Side Hustle

Maybe you don't feel comfortable in front of the camera, but you can write a great script. YouTube channels are on the rise, and many people don't want to take the time to plan out their own content. This is where writing gigs like scriptwriting can really come in handy.

In fact, it's one of the best ways to make money on YouTube without making videos.

Of course, like many of the writing gigs found here, you can harness AI tools like Jasper to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Then, you can refine the script and personalize it for the YouTuber and nobody has to be any wiser that you're using AI for your freelance writing gigs.

11. Transcription

Most freelance writers have superior typing skills, so why not put them to good use? You could earn a few hundred dollars doing transcription as one of the best-paying writing side hustles. You don't have to specialize in something like resume writing or grant writing to get this done. All you need is the ability to listen and type.

It can be a nice change of pace from having to create content all of the time.

Instead, you can use your command of language and grammar to polish an audio file and bring it into the written word. Keep in mind that this may be more challenging than it sounds, especially if you have a hard time listening and typing simultaneously.

If you have a particular subject you want to write about, another writing side hustle idea is to start a regular newsletter. One of the best places to launch a paid newsletter is through platforms such as Substack.

Here, readers can pay a subscription fee to have access to your newsletter, bringing in revenue for you that might have been lost before. Some people say that Substack is the new blogging, and it certainly holds a lot of promise.

Before you dive headfirst into a Substack newsletter, you might want to know whether the platform is really worth it. Check out our detailed Substack review to determine if this is the right method for you to earn money writing apart from job boards.

13. Technical Writing

Writers who have experience or education in a highly technical field might want to consider pursuing technical writing as their side hustle. Often used in STEM subjects, technical writing allows you to really explore the depths of your knowledge and make it more easily accessible to readers.

Make sure you have a firm grasp of language as well as detailed knowledge of the field in which you will be writing.

Oftentimes, this isn't suited to beginners who need to work on their craft and style prior to writing something that requires more technical and specialized knowledge.

Many clients will want to see writing samples to prove your proficiency in this area. Be sure to practice writing on topics that interest you or that you have experience with. This is a great writer side hustle for someone who has an advanced degree in a highly technical field.

Final Thoughts: What's the Best Writer Side Hustle for You?

Are you tired of combing job boards for new writing gigs or submitting a writing sample just to be told you aren't a good fit? It might be time to take the bull by the horns and integrate some of these writer side hustle ideas into your career. Some even earn passive income, allowing you to make money while you sleep.

If you have a particular niche you want to work in as a professional writer, these side hustle ideas will give you what you need to start working toward a higher income!

Side Hustles

By Ashley Simpson

Ashley is an experienced freelance writer with an enthusiasm for finding creative ways to earn money online. She uses her passion for words to share what she has learned with the world.

She spends most of her time blogging for a multitude of websites and consuming everything she can get her hands on in relation to personal finance and side hustles.

Want to learn step-by-step how I built my Niche Site Empire up to a full-time income?

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13 High-Paying Writer Side Hustle Ideas to Try in Your Free Time