Truth to be told, there is only very little demand for poetry these days. Compared to novelists and technical writers, poets seem to be only rewarded by the elation that they can get by expressing their thoughts and emotions through well-crafted phrases and sentences.
But is there money to be gained by writing poems? If you visit any bookstore, poetry books are certainly sold there. If you scour through the ever-expanding avenues of the internet, poetic articles are also thriving. This means that although poetry is not as in-demand as other forms of writing, there is still a demand for it, which means you can still obtain considerable income if you just know where to dig.
Thankfully, you don’t need to do that much digging, as I already did the digging for you. But before you start scribbling and writing due to your intense itch of earning some fast cash, you have to ponder on these very important points:
What kind of poems are most appealing to the internet audience?
Internet people are by default modernists, so you have to put great emphasis on the kinds of poems they find most attracted to read and consume. By conducting some reconnaissance in many poetry sites in cyberspace, we would easily detect that the following kinds of poems are highly in demand.
Those that utilize slang terms – Gone are the days when poetry is only crafted with classic English and overly formal semantics. Today, people are more drawn into poetic lines that are laced with catchy, modern terms that are attributed to the latest trends and technological advancements.
Those that emphasize or include humor – Who says poetry should not include comedy?… only those who are too conservative and are not willing to explore literary diversification. To be successful as a poet in these modern times, you have to highly consider putting some lines in your poems that can make people smile or better yet, burst out in laughter.
Those that people can easily sing to, or rap to! – In case you haven’t noticed, all song lyrics are by default, poems written with the intention of blending into melody and harmony. To make your poetry highly attractive, do your best to push your readers into singing or rapping along with your lines.
Those that are illustrative and highly graphical – Today, attractive web content are those that contain ample graphics that can enhance user experience. The same rule applies to poetry as well as any literary piece for that matter. To make your poems highly salable, take time to embed some catchy high-resolution media into them.
Those that poke into human emotion – This rule is not only about internet poetry, but for poetry in all categories as well. Regardless if you’re writing for online platforms, or seeking popularity in poetry for print mediums, you have to take this advice into heart… only then can you be truly successful as a poet.
The realities of being a poet for the internet age
As mentioned above, the demand for poetry compared to other forms of literature is quite low. Therefore, you need to contemplate the following:
Poems have low talent fees – This is one of the saddest realities of being a poet. Since overly long poems would be boring for most people, poems are meant to be short. And because of their low word-counts, the payment is not that high too, when compared to other forms of writing.
Poetry demands are often seasonal – Poetic lines are mostly meant to be printed on greeting cards, and small publications that are consumed by people on certain periods of a given year. Because of this, poems are not always in demand by publishing companies.
Some of your poems will just be ignored – To be a successful poet, you need to write and write a lot. But here’s one painful truth: most of your pieces will just be ignored by publishing companies, as well as plain readers. It could be due to the fact that seasons change and with it, are the mood swings of people who read your poetry.
Poems are among the most-stolen contents – This is another painful reality. But due to their short and ‘easily accessible’ nature, poems are often ripped-off and stolen by plagiarists that flock the publishing world. Add it up with the prevalence of digital publishing, it’s easier than ever to steal your hard-worked rhymes.
But should these deter you from being an online poet? It shouldn’t! True poets are by nature, not too concerned about the monetary rewards that their writing can give. It’s about passion, expression, and freedom. You shouldn’t worry too much about not earning that much, or having your work stolen or copied by others, right?
Tips on successfully pitching your poems to publishers.
There are so many companies on the internet that accept poems. But honestly, submitting your writings to them would be a “sometimes hit, sometimes miss” kind of undertaking. To have a huge advantage over your competitors, I advise you to do the following:
Build a strong poet portfolio
Start a poetry blog, or publish a set of poems in an affordable ebook – both are very viable options. There are lots of online tools and free downloadable software that can help you in achieving it in a truly professional style.
Whenever you apply for publishing companies, you can then include a link that lets them view your well-polished poems in those writings of yours.
Make a poem audiobook
What’s better than publishing poems that people can read? Answer: publishing poems that can read themselves so that people can just listen. Yes, this is absolutely the best way to market your poetic skills.
Read your poems and record them using your phone, or with a microphone attached to your computer. It will make your poetry 10 times more attractive!
Write personalized poems for specific clients
This means that you have to consider writing some poetic lines that speak directly about a certain person, or a certain business entity. For instance, if your client’s name is John, you have to write some lines or stanzas that start with the letters “J”, “O”, “H”… and so on.
Make sure that those letters are bold, and the last words for each line do rhyme with the others. That is, of course, a no-brainer for poets like you. If you have already done those steps, then congratulations! You are already ten steps ahead of your competitors.
Unleash the poet in you, and you might just find out that you could be very profitable with the innate gift that you have with words and rhymes.
