How I make money from writing.☝🏾😉☺️

I’ve always loved to write, so after graduation from secondary or high school, I trained as a journalist between 2000 and 2004.

I worked as a print, news, and technology journalist for Irish newspapers and radio stations. I earned an income from writing in the traditional sense—getting paid by an employer for my work.

During the recession in 2008, many freelance journalists were let go, and some prominent Irish media publications went out of business, including a few I worked for.

I worked in social care (or in a residential care facility) for a few years, and I wrote mostly fiction as a hobby. I entered my stories into writing competitions that paid winners a small amount, but I didn’t have much luck.

So while out of work, I decided to start a blog about technology, thinking I could start the Irish version of popular US technology and productivity blog Lifehacker. 

I called it WorkReadPlay, which was a terrible name for a site.

After I relaunched my site, I wrote articles that no one read. Wondering how I could find readers, I started reading articles and then taking courses in blogging.

I also worked with the owner of a successful site who later became a mentor, Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger. His articles and courses laid out the path to earning a living from writing online.

After I’d found some readers, I faced extra costs like website hosting and my email service provider.

Next, I wondered how I could pay for these. So I studied how other online writers earn an income from their work on my own time.

Today, I earn money from writing through self-publishing books, freelance writing and creating courses.

I also earn money as a copywriter and content marketer in the B2B industry. I spend about 10-15 hours a week on freelance writing activities.

I earn money from recommending courses, software, and services that writers on my email list find beneficial. I

In some cases, I review these services for writers, and in other cases, I simply explain how I use them in my business via a video, email, or article.

I’ve taken dozens of courses in online business, entrepreneurship, and self-publishing.

They all recommend variations of the same business model: Figure out your ideal audience, create content that helps your audience then create or recommend relevant products, services or even books.