Back when I was learning how to create websites and launching my site, I worked from home as a ghostwriter. This was a great way for me to earn some regular income, put food on the table and still have a flexible schedule.
The web revolves around content. People search for things all day. Websites need fresh content in order for the search engines to send these people to them. Website owners and bloggers know they need content – but some of these website and blog owners either don’t like to write or don’t have the time to write. And as a ghostwriter, that’s where you step in.
You create the content for them. You get paid for the content. The website or blog owner then puts their name on your writing. So you won’t get any glory or internet fame, but you will get the money you need to pay your electric bill. And if you are looking for some extra money, that’s a pretty fair deal.
The amount that you get paid will vary depending on your skill level, the type of client you are writing for and the length of your article. I would say a good average is somewhere between $10 – $20 per 400 – 500 word article. If you can write at a fairly decent speed, you can easily write 1 or 2 articles per hour, bringing your “wage” up to $20+ per hour.
You can use the same methods for finding jobs that I talked about in the Biz Idea: Virtual Assistant post. As for me, I got started by offering to write a free article for 3 women I knew who had popular websites. Two of the three hired me on a regular basis – and shared my info with other website owners, which led to a steady stream of income for over two years. At that point, I was earning enough from my own site to hang up my ghostwriting title. But I can tell you, it really did pay my bills for a while!
To learn more about getting started as a ghostwriter, check out:
Ghostwriting Success (created by two of my former clients!)
Writing For Pay (again, created by a former client and FULL of great info and real world tips!)