Can You Earn Money On Paid Online Writing Jobs?
Many people today are looking for ways to work from home by doing paid online-writing jobs. If you’ve been looking for online writing work, you’ve probably encountered more than a few dead ends or scams. Are there legitimate paid online writing jobs, and where can you find them?
The website Paid Online Writing Jobs is a scam that charges writers a monthly fee to access content and job listing available elsewhere. While many legitimate content mills pay poorly, they will help you gain work experience. You can improve your earnings by working directly with clients.
I’ve been working in writing and editing for several years and have generated a successful second income. We’ll look at some popular websites for content writers and bloggers and how to get paid for this work. You’ll discover legit sites and how much money you can earn.
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Is Paid Online Writing Jobs Legit?
One well-known website for finding online writing work is Paid Online Writing Jobs. They offer thousands of potential writing gigs, promising that you need no experience and can work as much as you like.
They claim you’ll only need a mandatory short training and certification process. The idea is that their clients don’t want highly-experienced writers but only a basic level of English.
With their training, you can make money writing articles and stories, proofreading, and writing reviews and blog posts.
If this sounds too good, you’re on the right track. While Paid Online Writing Jobs claims they have many job opportunities, the website is a scam. They offer training and resources to help you find work and charge an access fee of $50.
However, you can access similar training and relevant job sites free of charge. Paid Online Writing Jobs will claim that they are so confident you can make money with them that they’ll offer you their program for only $1 and deduct the rest from your first paycheck.
The $50-77 is a recurring monthly fee; they will not refund that money if you cancel after paying.
What Does Paid Online Writing Jobs Offer?
- Basic digital training on how to earn money with freelance writing
- A Freelance Writing jobs directory
- An in-house job board
None of this is worth the access fee, as you can easily find free and better freelance writing information across the web. For example, here’s a free five-hour course for beginners on the fundamentals of writing copy from Copy That!.
The Jobs Directory links to freelance job sites, such as Upwork. In contrast, their job board lists people looking for work rather than job opportunities.
However, this does not mean there aren’t other legitimate opportunities for making money with paid online writing jobs.
How To Get Paid In Online Writing Jobs
If you have a decent command of English but don’t know the first thing about writing content for the web, don’t despair. If you put in the time to improve your skills and learn the basics of SEO and what makes compelling content, you can easily find online writing work.
Improve Your Skills In Copywriting
Are you a beginner at copywriting? Learn the basics by following a course that will teach you precisely what copywriting is and give you helpful tips and resources, such as the free one at copywritingcourse.com.
If you want a more structured introduction with exercises, try this free course for Copywriting for Beginners and Pros from Class Central.
You can upgrade your skills by following free courses from Massive Open Online Course sites like Coursera. Enroll in a course such as The Strategy of Content Marketing to learn how to target an audience and write content strategically.
Learn How To Proofread
Proofreading is an essential skill for online-writing jobs. Not only will you need to proofread your writing to avoid turning in work riddled with errors, but you can also apply for freelance proofreading jobs.
Udemy is an excellent resource for short courses to improve proofreading and editorial skills and learn effective communication strategies. While the courses are paid, Udemy often offers discount sales.
Find Legitimate Freelance Writing Sites
Building a client base can take some time, so when you start looking for online-writing jobs, your first point is usually through freelance writing sites.
Some of these sites are large and well-known and could be challenging to access. Many potential writers want to join them, and their waiting lists and entry demands may be high.
Several smaller sites exist, and while some will have a range of payment structures when you start working, you will likely be at the bottom of the payment level. You can build a reputation as a freelance writer and get higher-paying clients by handing in quality, timely work.
The work can range from writing business copy for websites and friendly, casual blog posts to mini-reviews or product sales text. There is a wide range of writing work, all requiring different skill sets and writing voices.
You can get paid by doing online writing work, but initially, this may not be very much. As you become more familiar with what is needed in your copy, what kind of work sells well, and where your skills lie, you can generate more income.
Suppose your skills lie more towards writing fiction. In that case, it’s possible to get work ghostwriting stories as part of an ongoing series or shared world.
The client provides the basic outline and style sample and deals with all other publishing aspects, such as editing, cover creation, and marketing.
Different Sites That Offer Paid Online Writing Jobs
Many websites offering possible freelance writing opportunities ask for a monthly access fee. While I don’t suggest joining these, they may sometimes be worthwhile. Always research and ensure that what you are getting is valuable job listings you could not otherwise access.
These are some legitimate websites that offer paid writing opportunities:
Look for content writing and copywriting jobs advertised on:
Upwork
Upwork is a well-known freelance site where you pitch to advertised jobs. The client can decide whether or not to hire you based on your proposal, experience, and skill set.
When joining Upwork, you will be disadvantaged as you won’t have a client record there. You can help make your proposal more appealing by doing the following:
- Avoid low-paying jobs—these are often inundated with low-skill applicants, and you may end up stuck on low-paying gigs that are not worth your time
- Make it clear to the client you have previous experience writing, and write a personalized proposal targeted for each unique client
- Focus your applications and only send targeted proposals to jobs that fit your experience and skills
- Link to examples of your work, or have a portfolio with at least three examples of published pieces.
The problem with Upwork is that many entry-level jobs are little more than outright scams. Be wary of low-paying jobs or jobs offering inflated sums for little effort.
The site is filled with entry-level and mid-level writers, and job competition can be fierce. However, you can successfully build up a repeat client list of your work is solid, and you are reliable.
Textbroker
Textbrtoker is another way for you to earn money writing content for online clients. They will expect you to pass an initial test – usually a short piece of copy – before adding you to their list of writers.
From there, you can choose clients who suit your skills.
- Textbroker has a wide variety of clients worldwide, and they need different types of content to suit them. The more experience you have and the better your content writing, the more potential there is to earn.
- If your first application is unsuccessful, refine and reapply. Once you are in, you can build a higher star rating and take on higher-paying clients.
- Textbroker also provides writing resources to help you improve your skills and become a better writer.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an excellent place to market your services as an online content writer. Many people offer their services on this site, so it can be challenging to stand out, especially if you have no client ratings on Fiverr.
You will have to be focused on your targeting and slowly build up a reputation for providing top-quality work at reasonable prices before you see a steady income.
- Once you’re established, you may find clients pay much better than on Upwork.
- Fees can add up, so thoroughly research all the site charges before pricing your work.
iWriter
IWriter provides custom content to their clients, and you can apply to join their site as a content writer. You will need to provide a profile URL to your LinkedIn or Facebook account and a writing sample in the application.
- Writers are grouped in tiers according to their ability and are paid accordingly. Writers get paid 65% of each article’s price, which will vary according to the client’s selected tier and article length.
- When clients wish to work with a specific writer by request, that writer gets 70% of the article price.
- You can improve your tier level by gaining more client ratings with a minimum star level.
Write Jobs
WriteJobs is an online writing jobs board listing available writing work. This can vary from clients looking for fiction writers to write full-length novels, journalists, bloggers, proofreaders, copy editors, and online content writers.
The board also links to writing contests with cash prizes.
- WriteJobs PLUS+ has a Patron where you can unlock further paid freelance online-writing job pitches with verified pay rates by becoming a member for $5 a month.
Copify
Copify works with a team of writers who provide freelance content of varying types for their clients. You apply by sending them a writing resume and choosing clients from their website’s list of open jobs. Jobs list the job type, sector, length, and pay; you can choose which orders to take.
Once the client approves the order, they will give you a rating, and your money will usually become available within 30 days.
They are only sometimes open to new writers, so you’ll need to check when they are hiring. While they usually have smaller jobs available, the pay is generally low, and clients can be difficult.
If you are new to copywriting, finding paid online-writing jobs through Copify can gain you valuable experience.
Peak Freelance
PeakFreelance offers a members-only community to help you become a better writer, get better rates, and manage your freelance projects. They also have a job board for content editors and freelance writers.
Exit Five
ExitFive is a jobs board for B2B marketing and includes work opportunities for remote freelance writing. While global opportunities are available, many jobs are listed in the U.S. and may only take U.S.-based writers.
Best Writing
BestWriting is a job board listing writing-related jobs. Listed opportunities are worldwide, but some are remote work. You will find contract and full-time positions and on-site and remote freelance work.
Jobs include technical writing, content writing, journalism, blogging, and content management.
Freelance Writing Jobs
Freelance Writing Jobs offers writers resources to grow their skills, become more marketable, and find work. It is a community for new and experienced writers to share their tips and struggles.
They list job offers and links to many sites that list vetted work opportunities. Their link and resource list can point you toward specific sites suitable for your interest and skills, such as writers interested in travel writing, sports writing, or listicles.
Their job listings are broken down into easy-to-navigate groups. They list everything from content writing and grant and proposal jobs to script doctoring and comedy writing.
Hey Remote
HeyRemote is a remote-only jobs board. Their listings include paid online writing jobs for technical writers, content writers, scriptwriters, and bloggers.
Although the board could be more active, it can be an excellent resource for new clients and full-time remote work.
How Much Can You Earn In Paid Online Writing Jobs?
When you begin looking for paid online writing jobs, most of your initial work will come through content mills such as Textbroker and iWriter.
As you gain more skills and confidence and your portfolio becomes more extensive, you may prefer to look for full-time remote work. Rather than relying on work from content mills, you can work with a select group of valuable high-paying clients.
Initially, you are likely to make little money. Content writing takes time. You have to write clear, thoughtful, and catchy text, and you may need to do substantial research, provide resources, and read other sources first.
Once your article is written, you must read through it for errors. You must also run it through a plagiarism check to ensure you haven’t inadvertently repeated another person’s work.
Grammar and plagiarism checkers, such as Grammarly and SEO tools, will cost you a subscription fee. You may also lose money through website fees and bank transfer charges. These costs will eat into your earnings, sometimes significantly.
Entry-Level Payment For Online Writing
Many entry-level writing jobs can be very low-paid. I advise avoiding sites where you will be paid less than $5 per 100 words. With this rate, depending on your writing speed and how much time you take to research and edit your work, you can expect to earn about $25 an hour.
However, entry-level jobs at this price point can be hard to find, and especially when just starting out, you may have to take on jobs with a far lower pay rate.
If your skill sets allow you to write for a more targeted, niche area, such as technical writing, you can make more money per hour.
Once you have established clients, a successful freelance content writer in a popular niche could make upwards of $2000 a month.
Other People Reviews About Paid Online Writing Jobs
If you’re still tempted by the work offered at Paid Online Writing Jobs, remember that this company has repeatedly disappointed freelance writers. The general feeling is that the site is a scam.
Here are some other reviews of Paid Online Writing Jobs which conclude that this company is sketchy and you are better off finding writing work elsewhere:
The Full Time Job From Home article gives PaidOnlineWriting Jobs.com an overall score of 1.3/5. It concludes that while they offer some basic training, it’s not worth it, and the fee is a con.
Commenters on the Reddit group r/FreelanceWriters call the site a scam and point out that you don’t pay to write; it should be the other way around.
Scamxposer calls Paid Online Writing Jobs a scam service, touting itself as a freelance writers service. It acts as a middleman site and charges naïve writers for information and access to sites they could find themselves at no cost.
As such, I do not recommend using their services to find legitimate paid online-writing jobs. Instead, use the websites I have linked above in the Different Sites that Offer Paid Online Writing Jobs section.
Wrap Up
It is possible to make money by working as a remote freelance writer. What you earn will depend on your experience and writing ability, with writers working in niche areas able to command higher rates. You can build a portfolio and eventually work with select clients.
The nature of freelance writing means you can choose to do this as a part-time or side job or work full-time and make a decent living. When you first begin looking for writing jobs, be wary of companies offering very high income for a small sum—many of these sites are scams.
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