Smart Writing Tips To Become A Better Writer
Ever thought of converting your talent into cash?
I mean hard cold cash that you can earn just by turning those thoughts you have been creating all along into words.
For those who have a knack for writing then I got some good news for you. You can use that passion to earn up to $1000/month and here’s how.
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1. Be An Avid Reader
To write content, you need to familiarize yourself with lots of books.
Every writer is a reader and most readers improve, all they need is the right writing tips.
Read books from prominent writers, articles by famous bloggers, or even follow them on their social media pages to learn how they do it.
After all, they have been in the game for so long so it’s an advantage for you to learn from the best.
Even if you are confident about your writing you need to read a book or two here and there just to see how others approach certain topics or present ideas.
Just as how you need to exercise regularly to keep your body in shape, your mind also needs the same thing.
Reading helps to keep your mind in shape and you can also explore different worlds at the same time.
If you are not too lazy to read then you can surely become a good writer whilst earning some money through writing.
Also Read: 15 Best Social Media Management Tools In 2022
2. Be Creative
Whether you are into content writing or creative writing, you need to be creative.
Present your ideas in a more captivating manner that leaves readers with an appetite for more.
Don’t let your writing sound like a boring lecture. No reader will ever spare a second of their time reading such content.
Readers are very good at scanning and skimming before reading so make sure you write in a way that once you hook them, they won’t have anywhere to escape.
They will be glued to your writing till they reach the end.
The more interesting the story, the more you earn so make sure your writing sells you off to many readers.
Don’t forget to use sensory words to bring life to your words. The readers need to hear, feel, and have a taste of what you are talking about.
This skill is crucial in both creative writing and content writing.
If you are reviewing a product or you are writing a story for entertainment purposes, sensory words are essential to creating vivid images in the reader’s mind.
And for business articles, sensory words help to capture consumers’ hearts and prompt them to buy the product.
3. Stay Up To Date With Trends
The writing industry is very competitive just like any other business out there.
You need to stay on top of your game to earn big.
Therefore it helps to keep yourself updated on the latest trends so make the internet your best friend to stay in the game.
You can get all the latest trends on the internet.
Find what is getting readers hooked these days and get an idea of what to deliver.
The secret of every business is to know what clients want so you also need to know what your readers want to write the best-selling article or any other content.
4. Attend Writing Seminars
Another thing to boost your writing experience is to sign up for some online writing webinars and seminars.
That way you can score some free writing tips from experts.
David Steel’s WritersLife.org is an example of a writing platform where you can sign up to receive helpful writing tips or attend some of his webinars.
Some of these needs subscriptions but they also offer free packages at times. If you are wise, those free packages are enough to get you in the game.
5. Make Time For Writing
I know a lot of people who have some ideas they want to write. Great ideas that always end up not revealed to the world. Don’t be like that person.
You have the idea so it won’t write itself.
What’s stopping you from getting that idea from your head and turning it into black and white? After all, Rome was not built in a day but someone initiated the whole thing.
Likewise, you also need to take some time for your writing and if possible create a schedule.
If you have a tight schedule then try to spare a few hours on your writing.
They say no pain no gain so you got to make up your mind and start typing and the cash is all yours!
The good news is that you can write from anywhere and anytime even from the comfort of your home.
Keeping a track record of your writing can also help. That way you can see if you work better in the morning, afternoon or at night.
You can do that by comparing all your recorded writings and then sticking to the time you can work best.
Some people can perform well in the morning while some are nocturnal so know what best works for you and stick to it.
You can only produce quality content when you are at your best so you better stick to your routine.
6. Never Entertain Writer’s Block
Writer’s Block is real but it’s something you should never allow any room for in your thoughts.
If you procrastinate you are technically losing some thousands of dollars.
Tolerating Writer’s block is just like buying goods for sale and then stocking them in the house telling yourself each day that tomorrow you will sell them.
The reality is that the longer you procrastinate, the more you lose as you could have earned a lot if you had used all that time to write.
Time is indeed money and if you use it wisely you can earn more than $1000 per month by writing alone.
So turn off that music, or log out of social media and get your mind back in action.
7. Create Eye-Catching Headlines
This is one skill that will help you sell your work without having to do much advertising.
If you create eye-catching headlines then your work will sell itself.
Be it content writing for blogs, entertainment, or news articles, juicy headlines are a must if you want people to pay for your work.
Your headlines must draw the reader’s attention so that they will read the whole story, and this is one of the most important writing tips included in this article.
For instance, instead of saying ‘Workouts that make you lose weight,’ you can say 6 Workouts that make you lose 10 pounds in seven days!
The second headline is most likely to attract more clients than the first because the headline has been spiced up a bit.
The same goes for books. If you want to venture into writing novels then you also need eye-catching cover designs.
A good design must catch the attention of anyone who is passing by your book.
Readers need to fail to resist your impressive design till they eventually give in and buy your book.
There are lots of free designs you can get from Canva that suit any genre.
Know which cover design to put that matches the story you are telling and it must attract the reader’s attention from afar.
8. Edit And Proofread
Make sure to edit your work before every submission. You can do this two to three times just to make sure you corrected all the errors.
If you are unsure you can ask your family or friends to proofread for you and they might spot something you might have missed.
Unedited work is boring to read and no one would want to part with some cash for your raw draft.
Proofreading and editing also help you to read your story and rate it to see how appealing it will be to the readers.
You will be able to put yourself in the reader’s shoes and ask yourself if tables were turned, would you pay for your content.
The answer you give yourself will tell you if your work needs some touch-ups or it’s ready for the market.
So if you want to get that money you need to edit your work thoroughly before publishing it.
Try Grammarly For Editing And Proofreading
9. Be A Travel Writer
If you are today’s Christopher Columbus then here’s some news for you,
Have you ever wondered how much you can earn from writing travel journals and reviewing some resort places across the globe?
Well, the answer is you can earn a lot. You can write for a magazine and sell your journals and reviews on travel blogs or websites.
Some travel agencies need writers to give insight and suggestions for places or locations around the world.
So if you are quite the traveler, then those agencies must be your next stop.
You can also consider starting your traveling blog and documenting your travel experiences there.
A lot of people go on vacations every year and are always in need of recommendations.
10. Bring Clarity In Your Writing
The clarity in writing involves several things.
First, you need to have proper style, then make sure you give out all the details if you are conveying a message and also use a language that is easy to understand.
Make sure your work is written in a neat manner and a style that is easy to read.
Don’t let readers fumble between a cluster of words trying to make out what you are trying to convey but write in a clear format that is easy to read.
If you are reviewing a product for a third party make sure you state all the details. Don’t leave the readers with lots of questions or get them confused.
If it’s a product, a state where it can be accessed, the price if possible, and anything that the audience requires to know.
Also, refrain from using big words that will make it difficult for the readers to understand your message.
Spicing up your words is necessary but the use of big words that require someone to look for a dictionary to understand your message is a total turn-off to many readers.
No one wants to waste time trying to decipher word meanings.
And no one is willing to pay for such articles so make sure you use language that any ordinary person can understand.
11. Know Your Target Audience
To produce content that will sell like hotcakes, the secret is to know who you are writing for.
Write content that suits your target audience and you are going to create a fan base that would always look out for your writings.
For example, fashion blogs appeal much to the younger generation whilst health and fitness are universal to both the young and old.
If your audience is elderly, then fashion articles are unlikely to be noticed at all.
Writing is also a business so just like any other business, first, survey your target audience before writing any content.
Nowadays most teens or some adults are hooked to gaming so you can consider writing content for gamers too.
You can look up Reddit For Hire where they hire creative writers for games.
If you are a gamer yourself and a creative writer too then you should consider delivering content for gaming sites.
So the art of knowing your audience and what they want helps you to produce writings that are easy to sell.
12. Always Look For New Writing Jobs
To stay at the top of your game, you need to always be on the lookout for more writing gigs.
If you are a freelancer then the more jobs you get, the more you earn.
You can join platforms like Fiver and Upwork to market your skills there. If you are fast you can land more gigs and the money will keep coming in.
Don’t just sit there and wait for things to happen, you need to hustle to look for writing platforms where you can be hired and earn from your work.
You can sign up for more freelancing sites and see which one works for you best. Also, the more sites you join, the more gigs you earn.
However, be careful of biting more than you can chew.
Don’t take up too many contracts that you won’t be able to finish or worse end up producing low-quality content.
Take up jobs that you can handle and make sure you deliver your best so that you built a rich portfolio and that gives you credibility too.
Delivering low-quality content or always missing deadlines gives you a bad reputation in the industry and no one will want to work with you.
So be wise, spread yourself across a lot of platforms but just don’t overdo it.
13. Sprinkle Humour
If you have a rich sense of humor and witty too then you can earn from writing scripts for stand-up comedians or writing on the jokes corner in some magazines.
Your sense of humor can earn you a salary just by sharing those few jokes.
Some stand-up comedians are looking for scripts to perform and you might be who they are looking for.
So if you are into humor then you should try hooking yourself up with a few comedians.
Humour is not only needed for comedians only.
Even when writing content for business purposes, informative or entertainment you need to sprinkle in a bit of humor here and there.
Don’t make your work sound so serious as if it’s a medical thesis.
No one enjoys reading serious articles like they are studying for an exam.
You should know that studying is mandatory and people need to do it or die but with your work they have an option.
Not only will readers scroll away from your article, but they also will never even consider paying for it.
14. Learn SEO
Knowing SEO(Search Engine Optimization) is a very crucial part of earning from your writings.
Understanding the basics of SEO like user intent, keyword research, UX signals is important and if you haven’t mastered basic SEO skills, you should start now.
You can create a very rich article but wonder how no one has ever come across it on their search engines? Then you should look at improving your SEO.
Know keywords to use that can make your work come up frequently in search engines.
Market your content in such a way that your target audience can find your work through various social networking channels.
Google looks for social validation so try your best to obtain that from as many resources as possible.
Make sure your content is up to par that it will pop up in various searches.
Organic rankings achieved through quality content writing lasts longer and attract a huge audience because people prefer to visit links that appear organically rather than be promoted by advertising.
Also Read: 100 Best Online Tools For SEO and Blogging
15. Research Like Your Life Depends On It
No pun intended here but that’s true.
Your life as a writer depends on your research skills and without those skills, you can never grow.
For you to earn higher as a writer you need to pull up your socks in the research field.
There are instances where you are tasked to write on a certain topic that you have never come across before.
A good writer is flexible enough to produce content on any given topic so in such instances your research skills must kick in.
For example, you can be asked to write a review on a product you have never used. You need to do a lot of research on that product to produce a satisfying review.
Having research knowledge is a jewel in the writing field as you need to know what to look for and where.
If you don’t know how to research on topics, you are bound to produce shallow ideas so researching is essential because you will have plenty of ideas for your content to choose from.
And no one will be interested in paying for poorly researched content so to earn much as a writer, researching must be something you get accustomed to.
16. Consider Tutoring Or Coaching
If you are confident that you have what it takes to be a writing coach so what’s stopping you from becoming one?
A lot of people need guidance in writing and motivation to get out of their Writer’s Block and wouldn’t mind paying for the services.
That way you can earn money writing articles on how to beat Writer’s Block, the do’s and don’ts in writing, and how to be a best-selling author.
You can also create your blog where aspiring writers can read your content or charge for some packages where people would subscribe to access such packages.
So if you have what it takes and know that you can help aspiring writers, then this is your chance to earn money whilst helping others.
17. Use Good Grammar
There is nothing as frustrating as reading content that has lots of grammatical errors.
No matter how thrilling the story is, no reader will continue reading such.
Reading a story with grammatical errors is as irritating as listening to someone singing the wrong lyrics for a song.
That kind of thing sucks and you end up getting out of there just to avoid hearing any more of their singing.
The same applies to written content with wrong grammar, the reader might be patient at first but they will eventually stop reading your content because there is nothing that irritates readers like reading whilst correcting the writer’s grammar.
To avoid this you should make use of free grammar checkers like Grammarly and Hemingway.
That way you are guaranteed to produce a grammatically correct piece and ready to market.
18. Be Fast At Typing
To earn more as a writer you need to be very fast at typing.
Remember the more content you produce, the more you earn so knowing your way around the keyboard enables you to earn more.
If you type faster you can take up a handful of writing gigs at a time and your fingers will be ready to do the magic.
You need to consider improving your writing skills if you want to earn big as a writer.
19. Be Unique
Everybody can be a writer as long as they can convert their thoughts into words. However, not everyone can earn from writing.
You need to stand out to beat the competition.
Have the unique style that sets you apart from the crowd.
It’s like your own secret recipe. Something unique to you and you only.
Don’t get tempted to directly mimic great writers. Admiring those famous writers is a good thing but turning into a parrot is so uncool.
You should learn from them and get tips on how they got to where they are but you don’t have to literary copy them.
You might also get worried that you can’t have anything unique to write about since literary everything has been written about.
Well worry not, many writers can write on the same topic but there is no one else who can write like you.
There were a lot of romance writers during Shakespeare but he stood out because of his unique style.
So nothing is stopping you from writing on topics that have already been written but using your own words and style.
20. Be A Ghostwriter Or Guest Blogger
You can earn money by becoming a ghostwriter. Some people have a great following and need someone to write content for their blogs.
You can use that opportunity to spread your wings as a writer and also make money because you will be paid of course.
You can also get exposure by being a guest on someone else’s blog.
Being a guest is different from being a ghostwriter because if you are a guest, your name will be known through your host blogger.
That can help you with the exposure you need especially if you are starting because people will recognize you and if you manage to win them over, they will be willing to pay for your services.
And ghostwriting can help you build your portfolio and give you the much-needed experience to dive deeper into the writing world.
To those who have stories to tell but are just scared of being in the limelight then ghostwriting is for you.
You just need to write without being scared that someone might recognize your name and try to discourage you.
If you greatly feel that writing is for you but the fear of criticism always weighs you down then try ghostwriting. You can earn while staying away from the limelight.
21. Write Articles For Print Media
You can earn money from selling your articles for print media like magazines or even newspapers. You can sell your articles to magazines like Reader’s Digest or The Guardian.
Although this might require having connections in that area, it’s worth a try though. You never know.
It might be your lucky day and you land that writing gig.
Such magazines have survived being under extinction due to the introduction of digital media meaning they are prominent enough to pay you well.
If follow all of the above-mentioned writing tips and hacks coupled with determination, then you are guaranteed to earn big in the writing industry.
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