In this series, we’ve talked about ten ways to make money as a writer:

1. Book sales
2. Freelance writing
3. Ghostwriting
4. Editing & publishing services
5. Speaking
6. Coaching
7. Courses
8. Products
9. Membership & masterminds
10. Affiliate marketing

These aren’t the only ways to make money as a writer, of course, but these are ten of the most common ones.

Now that you’ve heard about them, what’s next? How do you get started?

While you may want to eventually make money with all of these income streams eventually, you can’t put them all into practice right now. I suggest that you reach for the low-hanging fruit first—meaning the easiest options. For most writers, that is probably going to be doing freelance writing or ghostwriting, plus getting some book sales.

If you’re getting started with making money as a writer, I’d recommend the following course of action over the next 90 days. Choose one, two, or all of them.

1. Start working on a very short book you can complete and publish in three months. Shoot for about 20,000 words or 120 pages or so. A short book will validate you as a writer and give you immediate credibility.
2. In the meantime, tell people in your network that you’re building a writing business and you’re available to write blog posts, social media posts, podcast show notes, or other short-form content. Create a sheet with your pricing options and make this easily available. Do a bit of work for free in order to get a testimonial and referral, then build on that momentum as you get more paid work.
3. Become an affiliate for a couple of products or services that you love. Then, start promoting those to your email list and other places. If you don’t yet have an email list, it’s time to get started. I recommend ConvertKit.

If you get to work immediately and take consistent, daily action on just these three items, within three months you are almost certain to have some income from writing. It will be slow at first, but keep at it and you will succeed over time.

Question: Which of the three steps I’ve mentioned are you willing to commit to over the next 90 days?

The post Making Money as a Writer: How to Get Started appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

As a writer, you use lots of different products and services. Many of those have an affiliate program that pays you a percentage of what they receive from the customer whenever the customer purchases through your individual affiliate link.

I love affiliate income because it’s like getting paid to recommend things you are already using. For example, I’m an affiliate for ConvertKit, the email marketing service. When people use my link to sign up with the service, I get a portion of what they pay ConvertKit. The basic idea is that ConvertKit is rewarding me for recommending their product because they may not have had that customer without my recommendation.

Another example is the course Book Marketing Mastery, created and taught by Honorée Corder. I promote this course a couple of times a week here on the podcast because Honorée is great, the course is great, and I know it’s something that will benefit you. Plus, it doesn’t cost you any more to sign up through my affiliate link because Honorée gives me a portion of what you pay her for the course.

And by the way, if you’d like to sign up for Book Marketing Mastery, visit https://dailywriterlife.com/bookmarketingmastery and use the code “DailyWriter” (that’s all one word) to get 10% off.

One thing I want to mention is that an affiliate is different than a sponsor. The difference is in how you get paid. With an affiliate partnership, you get a percentage of what the customer pays the affiliate. With a sponsorship, the company or person behind the product or service you’re promoting pays you directly to advertise it. For example, starting next month, the Vellum app will be a paid sponsor of this podcast. That means they are paying me directly to promote their product on my show.

Here is the main key with affiliate marketing: you must do it in an ethical and responsible way. I never promote things that I don’t personally use or recommend, whether it’s an affiliate partnership or a sponsor. If you’re already using and recommending certain products or services, check to see if they have an affiliate program, then start promoting them in an ethical way. It’s a great way to grow your bank account and have a lot of fun in the process!

Question: What products or services are you already using that have an affiliate program?

The post Making Money as a Writer: Affiliate Marketing appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.