If English was your favorite subject in school, and you are often writing a story in your head, then you may have a future in an online writing career.
Writing jobs are versatile and available. Whether you are a novice, or an experienced writer; making a career from your passion has never been easier. Before jumping into the career space, it is important you start with a portfolio. A portfolio includes samples of your published work. If you don’t have any published work, you can self-publish by using LinkedIn, Thrive Global, or Medium.com. Once you have a portfolio you can start looking into which type of writing you’ll excel in. Here are seven online careers for those who have a way with words and how to get started.
Content writing
Content writers can get inside the mind of their readers. It involves writing content for a business’s website, email newsletters, and more. To get started, first decide on your niche. What’s something you know you can write about non-stop? Technology, sales, home improvement, are examples of niches. Next, you can either reach out to companies in that niche, and offer your services. Also, you can locate a plethora of content writing jobs on websites such as Indeed.com.
Blog writing
If you’ve been online for the past four years, you might have noticed that most businesses have blogs. Blogs help attract business leads, and can help convert leads into clients. As a blog writer, you make sure what is written on the blog drives traffic, and attention to the business. You will also write posts that answer questions and solves problems. Overtime, this will help build trust with the readers. To get started you can create your own blog, or start by guest blogging i.e which is writing on someone else’s blog. In addition, you can reach out to a business that needs support establishing, or maintaining its blog.
Ghostwriting
This can be a very lucrative career. The biggest payouts with ghostwriting come from writing books. As a ghostwriter, you are writing content as if you were the person that hired you. This is a career that usually requires some years of experience, and practice writing in different tones and voices. With ghostwriting, it is vital that you capture the person, or business’s tone of voice and style. If you feel comfortable writing in this area, Elna Cain, Freelance Writer, and Course Creator recommends using Facebook groups to find job opportunities. In her blog post, she says “You can join Facebook groups for writers or solopreneurs/entrepreneurs and search ghostwriting threads or pay attention to threads about ghostwriting.”
Travel writing
This is a career with many possibilities. Travel writers love to travel, and they have a knack for storytelling. They can visit destinations and give insights that the public overlooks. There are many travel magazines and publications, that are always looking for new story ideas. Visit your favorite travel website to see if they are accepting submissions. Another travel writing route is, creating guidebooks and eBooks for certain travel destinations.
Greeting card writing
If you’re one for savvy wordplay, then writing greeting cards may be your thing. This field is all about building an emotional connection. When getting started, familiarize yourself with the style and tone of the greeting card company you want to write for. You don’t want to submit a vulgar yet funny greeting to a more homely and family-oriented company. To find a list of greeting card companies that are hiring, check out this list from Make A Living Writing.
Technical writing
If you can take complex ideas and write them in simple and digestible ways, you’d make a great technical writer. This type of writing includes creating educational resources, instruction manuals, tutorials, and more.
Instructional/ curriculum writing
This type of writing happens within the education field. You can write anything from curriculums, textbooks, classroom materials, and online courses. Education companies, real estate, licensing, and insurance programs often seek instructional writers.
There are many job boards and websites that post writing opportunities every single week.
To get started here’s a list of reputable websites to start your job search.
3. Flexjobs.com
