If you have a passion for writing but are not satisfied with making the R75 to R150 ($5-$10) per article that generic mass produced content pays, there is another more lucrative opportunity. You can become a part-time columnist and write either for local newspapers, magazines, or for a news website.

The Idea

The idea is quite simple. Every website’s owner is interested in publishing blog posts or articles written by highly competent experts.

But in most cases, when you read an article about car engine repair or plastic window adjustment it’s written by a cheap Indian writer who charges $5 per 1,000 words and doesn’t even has a clue how it all works.

The same applies to news websites and newspapers. The news is often rewritten hundreds of times. A columnist is a person who writes a short article or blog post and shares his own commentary and opinion. This information is unique and cannot be rephrased or rewritten.

What Does a Columnist Do?

There is a difference among newsmen and columnists. They both are journalists, but a newsman’s job is collecting the information. A columnist, on the other hand, analyses it and creates his own unique piece of information.

Watch a video on how to write a New York Times column:

How To Get Hired?

If you have no degree in journalistic and no prior experience, you will have to develop your own way to tell the world about yourself.  Some of the ways are:

  • starting a blog and writing about the political situation in your country or city;
  • creating a YouTube channel and reviewing the current issues;
  • finding a partner who runs a news website and offering your services in writing a column for his website.
Money Expectations

The most popular communists not only  succeed in writing columns for news websites and magazines, but they are also known as authors, novelists, and quoted public intellectuals. This leads you to understand that being a columnist does require some prior expertise. Nobody cares about your opinion on the issue if nobody knows who you are.

Tips
  1. Sometimes, a short column published in a magazine and being quoted and shared a hundred times can have a great positive impact on people’s lives. For example, if people in your city are constantly suffering from lawlessness and arbitrariness, you can write about that.
  2. Write the way you talk, don’t try to sound scientific or academic.
  3. Get a course on how to write a column that editors can’t resist.

See Also: Start an Online Writing Business