Shake Your Money Maker: How to Earn Money as a Writer

As an editor of an online publication, a lifelong writer, and a recent blogger I often get asked for tips on how to earn more money on one platform or the other.

I will give you some advice but first I want to let you know there are no hacks, no quick and easy tricks. If you want a get-rich-quick-with-no-effort guide you're going to have to look somewhere else.

Even though cryptocurrency is the future of money and we are all heading toward a bankless society, simply investing your fiat money isn't going to make you instantly rich. It takes time, research, effort, and a basic understanding of market trends and investing terminology. 

As with investing, earning money from writing won't happen instantly. It takes time, research, effort, and a basic understanding of language and storytelling.

One of the first lessons I learned about investing as a beginner is to invest in something you like, something you are passionate about. Because you'll be doing a lot of reading and research. You want to make sure you're interested in what you're reading otherwise it will become a chore and you will probably not do it.

One of the first lessons I learned about writing is to write what you know. This doesn't mean you only write about things you already know. It means really knowing the subject about which you are writing. It means researching an unfamiliar subject until you know it. You still need to find a topic you are actually interested in. If you aren't interested, it will show in your writing.

If you want to write about the Roman Empire you have to hit the history books. You'll need to study the Roman Government, Roman military strategies, their conquests, and losses. You'll need to learn the names of key figures in Roman history, the dates these key figures were doing whatever they were doing. You'll need to understand colonization and you'll probably need to learn about their pantheon of gods to really understand the Roman thought process.

If you want to write about cryptocurrency you have to follow investment sites like Investopedia.com, Rockstar Finance, and Binance.com. You have to learn investment terms and crypto terms. You have to follow successful investors and crypto enthusiasts like @MarcDeMesel and @RogerVer. You have to read the blogs and articles by people like @CryptoMax who publish new content daily.

It's not enough to find one Wikipedia entry and copy and paste it. 

The same goes for this platform. It isn't enough to go to Binance.com and lift pieces of an article and rephrase the rest, copy and paste into a document which you submit here as original work. That is basically plagiarism and will be reported. Plagiarism is horrible. It is the lowest form of betrayal. I will 100% report, block, and doxy any plagiarist I discover.

You have to really do your research. There are multitudes of sites and blogs online about writing, how to write well, how to structure a story. There are even lessons about globally accepted writing styles. The AP style of writing is the preferred style of journalism and news writing. The Chicago Manual of Style is a style guide for American English. All it takes is a quick Google search to find lessons and links.

You can learn the fundamentals of grammar and the tools to assist you with what you don't know. Tools like Grammarly and Ginger Software can be added to your chrome extension for free. Ginger Software is the better tool for non-native English writers.

You can learn how to do a proper outline. An outline is an excellent tool to order your thoughts. In good writing, one paragraph flows naturally into the next, propelling the reader on an orderly journey to the end of the story or article. A good outline really helps to create that flow.

When I was teaching adult education classes for people who wanted to get their GED (General Educational Development test - In the U.S. people can take this test instead of receiving a high school diploma. Passing this test certifies you have developed enough knowledge to have graduated or completed your high school education.) I would test the strength of the student’s knowledge by having them teach the subject to the rest of the class. In order to teach the subject, they would have to really understand it themselves. 

Writing is basically teaching. Even memoir writing offers some lessons to be learned. But if you don’t fully understand your topic, you won’t be able to write about it. I mean, you may write about it, but your readers will quickly see through your lack of understanding of the topic and walk away. Often without giving you a second chance. One bad article pretty much defines you as a writer. 

There are many writers here who have English as their second language. These writers are enthusiastic about BitCoinCash and want to share their knowledge with us. Even though their English grammar is not flawless, even though it is sometimes obvious their mother tongue is some language other than English, we can still follow, understand, and even be entertained by their articles. 

So, it isn’t necessary to 100% know all the ins and outs of the English language. As a matter of fact, most native English speakers wouldn’t know a demonstrative pronoun from their dangling participle. But as long as you can put your thoughts in order and express your meaning clearly, use tools like Grammarly and spellcheck, and really know your topic, you will write a good article.

Tips on how to make money on this platform

• Do your research

• Understand your research

• Order your thoughts and make an outline

• Use tools to help with grammar and spelling

• Write a good article

In addition to those basics, it is common sense to go read the writers who are high earners. Go to the communities these writers publish in. Read their articles. @PVMihalache, @Pantera, and of course, @CryptoMax They share several things in common.

They do all of the above but also they

• Publish consistently

• Use an easy to read format (pictures with every subheading, subheadings in bold or H1 or H2) 

• Have plenty of white space (short paragraphs) 

• Use simple, easy to understand language

• Are passionate about their topic

• Write articles that are a minimum 4 minute read without repeating themselves or padding for length.

In conclusion

There are no tips, tricks, or hacks to earn more money on this or any platform. It takes dedication, passion, time, energy, and a lot of research. It takes the ability to do more than copy and paste. Writing is not a get-rich-quick-with-no-effort scheme. It is a calling. It is hard work. 

For me, it is worth every second!

If you found this article helpful, please leave me a comment. Feel free to offer topic suggestions for further articles. This one was written in response to a request by @Melchora06.

Lead photo Photo by Darío Martínez-Batlle on Unsplash