If you haven't already done so, wouldn't you just love it if you could quit your job and work at home as a writer instead?
The only problem with this dream is that you can't 'quit the day job' because it's what pays the bills until you can earn enough money from your writing.
But you can't earn enough money from your writing because you're too busy going to work to pay the bills.
Sound familiar?
I was once in that position myself. I had 2 jobs, 2 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 rabbits, 3 chickens, a house to clean, food to buy, meals to make and all the one hundred and one other jobs that go with having a home and family.
I also managed to squeeze in a few hours of writing every week. But what I really wanted to do was quit my jobs and work at home as a full-time writer. But with so many other demands on my time, I just couldn't find enough time to write.
So I pondered it for a while but it just seemed like a Catch 22 situation.
The writing I was doing was freelance work for magazines which was good money, but I just couldn't do it enough to make it pay.
Then I thought about the internet.
At the time the online world was still evolving but there were more writing opportunities opening up as people published websites and were looking for writers who could provide the content.
I did manage to get quite a few online writing assignments but it quickly occurred to me that if someone was willing to pay me hundreds of dollars to write their web page content and ebooks, how much were they making from it all? Probably a lot more than I was.
I decided that instead of writing for other people's websites, I wanted to write for my own.
So I bought some website designing software and created my first site - which was about weight loss.
I got such a kick out of seeing my work online that I took a course in writing HTML code, to give me more control of what I was doing, and started creating more sites.
Making Money Online
I also looked for ways to make money online and found the four easiest ways for writers -
• Pay Per Click advertisements
• Affiliate Marketing
• Selling your own books
• Selling your writing services.
Pay Per Click Advertising
Placing PPC advertising on a website doesn't actually take any writing skills because all you do is copy and paste a small amount of code onto your web pages.
Using Google AdSense is probably the simplest and quickest way to get PPC ads displayed on your site and every time a visitor clicks on an ad, you earn money.
Affiliate Marketing
Selling affiliate products for commission is a great way to earn extra income. It's best to look for products on large affiliate networks such as Commission Junction, ClickBank, or eBay. These networks list thousands of products for you to choose from.
As a writer it's easy to produce some really great marketing copy for each product to help increase sales.
Selling Your Own Books
Whether you want to sell ebooks or print books, your website is the perfect place to sell them.
If you don't have a lot of money to start with it's free and simple to start publishing print books and ebooks through Amazon.
But however you sell them, having your own website means you can write, publish and sell as many books as you want without the need for the expensive middleman - the publishing company.
Selling Your Writing Services
The best way to find writing clients is by having your own writer's website.
You can create a site all about you the writer, show samples of your work, have an online resume and even provide a price list of your approximate charges for different writing projects.
I used to have such a website myself when I was first starting out and it was amazing how much writing work I was offered through my website.
You can also sign up to freelance sites and point prospective clients to your website for more information and to see you work.
Use the Internet for All Your Writing Income
It doesn't matter what you use your website for, whether it's to find work, sell books, sell other people's products or to earn money through advertising, it can all help you to earn money.
I began with one website (that I no longer own) and worked my way up to eleven sites.
The income I generated from them allowed me to 'quit the day job' and spend my time writing freelance, writing books, and ebooks and, of course, writing web page content. And I was having a blast doing it all.
I don't have all those websites any more, but whatever I'm doing, I'm writing.
And being a full-time writer was my always my dream. And it's my reality for over 20 years.
And my websites made it all possible.
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