As a writer we strive to make a living with our craft.
We hone our skills and put endless hours into our projects. Wouldn’t it be nice to write a blog that goes viral and earn thousands of dollars? How about a novel that lands on Oprah’s reading list and go on a worldwide book tour? I would love to be able to call my family and say, “I’ve got a big problem here. I can’t close the cash drawer because it’s full of 50s!”
Ah, to dream!
Here are some legitimate sites where you can earn money to write.
I assure you – I will not link to them unless I’ve tested them – and gotten paid.
Disclaimer: None of these are get-rich sites. You have to work. You have to play by their rules. You have to be patient.
eLance:
This is a great place to create a profile, upload your portfolio and find jobs. If you are a business owner, you can find a variety of freelancers for your needs. Obviously I want you to hire me for your writing jobs but this is a great place to find web developers and programmers, site designers and illustrators, translators or virtual assistants. It costs nothing to get started. The pits: You have to bid on jobs and sometimes you never hear back. Learn the ropes. Your first three months you have a green “new freelancer” banner on your profile. Sometimes a client might interpret that as newbie writer and not want to pay you what you’re worth.
Bubblews:
Their motto is: Speak Freely. Write your World.
When I found this site I thought “It’s too good to be true.” First of all. Minimum requirements is 400 characters. Not words. Characters. You get paid (a penny) for every like, dislike, comment, and post. Yes, it’s only a penny, but the more connections you generate and the more you interact, the faster you can earn. I kind of had a snowball effect there. It took me 2 months to earn my first $50 *but* it took me under a month to earn my second $50. My connections are growing and I am finding a great group of people that I interact with nearly every day. It’s actually a great online community. The pits: It has server issues and there are SPAMMERS and plagiarists.
HubPages:
This is a great place to post articles, pictures, video, poetry, and recipes. I have 20 featured articles. I have meek to modest earnings there. Let’s just say it’s not paying any bills right now but your “evergreen” articles do find traffic – and with traffic comes search engine pings – and then you will start earning. Having an Amazon link is also nice because you get commissions off the sale. It takes some SEO writing, creativity and time. Sometimes HubPages offers great writing challenges – sometimes for money! The pits: Must have a Google AdSense account to get traffic-generated income. Making money takes a while unless something goes viral.
My recipe: Super Duper Hoagie Rolls Recipe is Editor’s Choice
My article: Praying the Anglican Rosary was given the prestigious Rising Star award.
Several of my articles on Asperger’s and coping with ASD are listed on page one in search engines.
If you know of other legitimate sites that pay for your content let me know! I would be happy to test them out and write down my findings.
Professional Web Content 