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Advice regarding earning money as a Proofreader online?

by writetoearn
11 replies
Hi,

I'd like advice, please regarding the possibility of earning money as a proofreader. I would like to know what type of opportunities are available to earn money online. Is it reasonably straightforward to obtain work online and how much does it pay? How much work is there available? I'd like to know to obtain this type of work and is it easier to pursue than online writing?
#advice #earning #money #online #proofreader
  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    You have to see if there's a demand for it online. But dont go and try to *create* the niche. You'd be creating something that nobody necessarily wants - thereby wasting your time and money.... and subsequently leading you back to square 1.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    Originally Posted by writetoearn View Post

    Hi,

    I'd like advice, please regarding the possibility of earning money as a proofreader. I would like to know what type of opportunities are available to earn money online. Is it reasonably straightforward to obtain work online and how much does it pay? How much work is there available? I'd like to know to obtain this type of work and is it easier to pursue than online writing?
    There are many offerings:


    https://www.google.com/search?q=proo...hrome&ie=UTF-8

    Brent
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex July
    Why proofreading?
    Don't you wont to start your copywriter's career? Another option is to start a blog.
    If you still want to become a proofreader, just go to Fiverr and start offering your services.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Brindamour
    writetoearn,

    Not sure that the market is, but you may want to try some sites that offer these services (fiverr & upwork). Go see what the existing offers are and how much they are marketing services for.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Go in groups where coaches and trainers are. Facebook's a great source.

    Look for business owners (usually solopreneurs) who are:

    a) used to outsourcing

    b) admitting to being frustrated with their writing!

    I see them every week. Often they're dyslexic and have no problem announcing the fact in search for help. They are looking for help already. Sometimes they don't know that's available.

    However, you do not want to jump in there like a rabid dog. The #1 hiring factor is to be recommended by someone else. Price matters far less than that factor. Take a little time and learn your market by joining, observing, and participating in these kinds of groups.

    ADDITION:

    I just noticed the poster's nickname. You have been posting lately for guidance in the writing field. Any direction you head in will require some commitment. You probably will not make money in a new business today. *I* probably would not make money in a new business today. Get into the stream, the flow of communication, with a target market. Figure out a rate per page or gig you're happy with and find clients who match up with that. A coach with a $1000 program will be able to put a bit more into tidying up their wording than one at a $37 level, unless the $37 one sells a zillion of them a month.
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    • Profile picture of the author writetoearn
      Thanks, appreciate the advice. That is the problem that I have. I need information really on where to start. Are you able to explain this sentence? " A coach with a $1000 program will be able to put a bit more into tidying up ..."
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by writetoearn View Post

        Thanks, appreciate the advice. That is the problem that I have. I need information really on where to start. Are you able to explain this sentence? " A coach with a $1000 program will be able to put a bit more into tidying up ..."
        I just told you where to look.

        Qualify your buyer. Someone who makes $1K per sale makes a lot more money than someone who makes $37 per sale, no? So out of that $1K they can spend some money on YOU.

        Do you think people NEED proofreading services? They don't! They can get by without you. Sure, their documents or content will look like crap, and the Grammar Nazis will get up in arms, but will it stop them from making sales? Nope.

        So you have to find people who can afford your service, because it is a LUXURY. And they have to have the mindset to value what you do. Not everyone does. Most, in fact, do not care. I bought a book a friend wrote last week. He's a great guy, plenty of real world credentials, and his content was valuable. But the book looks like crap. Typos everywhere including in the forward written by someone else.

        If I bring this to his attention, he'll just get mad at me. I know this because he got his dander up when I very gently pointed out a few things about his website (people hate unsolicited advice...when will I learn? I'm very dumb in some ways.) That guy is not a prospect for you, and never will be. He just doesn't care. He's educated, has money, produces content...and is very typical.

        Get in some coaching and trainer groups like Coffee With Dan, Screw the 9 to 5, and start observing. Stop waiting for someone to give it to you on a silver platter. IDK if your personality type is a literalist, but you have to connect the dots, take what people give you and run with it on your own. You profess to be a business owner...act like one.

        ADDITION:

        Oh boy, I just had a realization. Or at least I think it might be a realization. Do you think as a freelancer you do the thing all the time?

        You do not! Half or more of your time is spent finding work! Sure, with systems and referrals and such you can knock that time down. But at the beginning, where you are, nearly ALL of your time will be spent finding work. And that means identifying prospects and qualifying them.

        Even if you grow your business and get systems and someone else doing prospecting work, you will always have to put some time into getting customers. It's never going to go away.

        At this point, you should be spending 6-8 hours of your day looking for qualified prospects. Not playing around with your website. Not arranging your desktop. Get out there and interact with your target market.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    That is the problem that I have.
    No, the problem you have is you don't start anything. Honestly, you've asked about writing a children's book (perhaps a good idea) several times over several years. You've asked about writing for profit in many ways...for several years. You've asked how to choose niches.

    No coach or mentor can help you until you start taking some basic steps. You have asked some good questions - and looking at threads you've started, you've had over 200 ANSWERS posted in your threads. Surely some of those were good advice - advice you could have utilized.

    Tell us what you have DONE. Do you have accounts established on freelance sites - Upwork, Freelancers, etc? Have you written for clients in the past and earned money doing it? What writing have you done? I think some advice in your threads may be 'too detailed' but that's because we don't know what your level of experience is.

    When someone is asking how to 'get started' for several years, something is holding that person back. Why do you always include a variation of 'easy' in your threads? What is stopping you? That's a serious question. Whatever it is - identify that problem and get over it. START something and if you get stuck, ask here and people will help.
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    • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Why do you always include a variation of 'easy' in your threads? What is stopping you?
      Probably the simple fact that nothing is 'easy.'

      Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by writetoearn View Post

    Thanks, appreciate the advice. That is the problem that I have. I need information really on where to start. Are you able to explain this sentence? " A coach with a $1000 program will be able to put a bit more into tidying up ..."
    Let's try this from a different angle. Suppose you have a brand new real estate license, and you want to make $100,000 this year. Suppose your commission is 5% (just to keep the math simple). To make that $100k, you have to move $2 million in sales.

    If you sell one $2MM beach house to one buyer, you make your $100k. Do it in January, and you can take the year off.

    If you sell $50k modular/mobile homes, you need to sell 40 of them, or almost one a week. Which means you'll spend a fair amount of time hustling to find prospects you can sell to.

    With that in mind, let's go back to your original question. How much do you think article buyers who are used to paying $10 for 1,000 words will pay to have those words cleaned up? And how many of those gigs would you need in order to survive?

    Contrast that with a real world company that's used to paying $250 for the same article length. How much do you think they might pay to make sure the article is perfect?

    The TL;DR version is, if you want higher fees, go where people are used to paying higher fees.

    Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

    So you have to find people who can afford your service, because it is a LUXURY. And they have to have the mindset to value what you do. Not everyone does. Most, in fact, do not care. I bought a book a friend wrote last week. He's a great guy, plenty of real world credentials, and his content was valuable. But the book looks like crap. Typos everywhere including in the forward written by someone else.
    As a recovering GN, I sometimes slip off the wagon. This is one of those times. The word you want is "foreword", not "forward". Sorry about that.

    OP, this is the kind of simple error you will spend most of your time looking for. Can you spot things like this, or when someone confuses 'lose' and 'loose', 'to' 'too' and 'two', etc.? Will you be satisfied with that?
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  • Profile picture of the author IPLease
    I think that there are some that would find this service to be something they are looking for. I have seen sites where they are looking for proofreaders. You do have to take tests though in order to be hired.
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