As a freelance writer we work hard. Our days are spent writing, pitching article ideas, and promoting our work. We may even write a book or two. But, at the end of the week, how much money do we really make? If we take stock of our earnings, we may begin to notice that effort doesn’t necessarily yield results.
That’s where residual income for writers comes in. With it, you make an initial effort then benefit from that effort continuously. This is the key to building a solid income as a freelance writer. Here are some ideas for creating residual income for writers.
Build a Website
There are a few residual income opportunities that exist on a good website. The website needs to be content driven in order for it to yield the best returns. Choose a subject you are passionate about and can write a lot of good content on. Research keywords and incorporate them into your articles. Post new content often in order to have more clout with the search engines. Make sure to incorporate plenty of graphics to make the site user friendly.
Residual Income from Websites
Once your site is built, you can start creating your residual income options. These include opening up the site to paid advertisers and promoting affiliate programs. A good website has a combination of the two. Make sure the affiliates and advertisements match the content of your site. If they don’t, this could have the opposite affect and you won’t make any money.
Write a Book or E-Book
Writing a book or e-book offers an opportunity for residual income because sales are ongoing. In the case of a book, there could also be an advance that will also build on your income. If you write and promote your own work, you get to keep all the profits. If you publish your book through a company, you get a percentage.
The advantage of working with a publishing company is that they often reach a larger audience. However, if you know how to promote yourself, you can make a decent profit by publishing your own books and e-books.
Create an Affiliate Program
Once you have your own products to sell (i.e. books, online classes, etc), you can create your own affiliate programs. Offer a percentage of the commission to the members of your program. It may seem as if you are missing out on potential profits, but in reality you are actually gaining more because you don’t need to spend time marketing your products.
