In this post, you will find out seven ways to make money as a proofreader even without experience. Proofreading is a simple job and a great way to make money online. Many content creators need some help to avoid simple mistakes that can affect the readability of their content.
It is not a hard task to read a piece of content and spot a few mistakes. Also, I will show you a great tool that can help find most of these mistakes in any piece of content.
What Is Proofreading and What Tasks You Must Do?
Proofreading is not writing or editing. Of course, some writing skills or any experience with these types of jobs can help you, but they are not necessary.
A writer does the research and creates content about a specific topic. Once they write an article, it may need editing and proofreading to improve the content’s quality.
An editor can check the flow of the content, delete parts that they don’t like, or add small pieces of content. They make sure that the flow makes sense for the readers, improve sentences, replace words, and find ways to make the content better.
Proofreaders don’t mess with the writing, but they check the content before it gets published. When writers and editors have completed their tasks, they make sure that there are not any typos, punctuation mistakes, or grammar errors. They will not delete or add more content like the editors.
Proofreaders do not need to research the topic of the content and don’t have to know the topic. They have the flexibility to work with different types of projects, clients, and niches without decreasing their ability to do a good job.
How Much Can You Earn As A Proofreader?
Proofreading is a job that you can do online as a freelancer. If you do some good research for available jobs, it is possible to find full-time or extra time job opportunities as well.
Your expectations must be realistic and start with the minimum rates in the beginning. If you can’t prove any skills or experience, the best way to get started is by finding a few gigs online on the sites that you will read below.
Usually, beginners freelancers can find jobs for a few dollars per hour. It will not replace your 9 to 5 job, but there are plenty of opportunities for gigs and extra income. If you build some reputation, get some reviews, and learn this job, you can definitely increase your rates.
There are many full-time proofreaders on the internet, and their rates range from $10-$40 per hour. Some proofreaders get paid based on the words, so you can choose what works better for you.
Lastly, you can turn proofreading into a business if you have many clients as a freelancer. It’s possible to create a proofreading agency and outsource your tasks.
Proofreaders can also create relevant products like courses or tools that can help other people. However, turning proofreading into a business is for experienced freelancers and needs some knowledge about internet marketing.
My suggestion is to get started by finding a few gigs and start building from that point. Here are some great ways to get started:
How To Make Money As A Proofreader
1. Fiverr
Fiverr is a great marketplace that you can sell your services. Business owners browse gigs to outsource different types of tasks. It is not a place only for proofreaders, but you can find all the types of freelancers.
If you visit it for the very time, you will be surprised by the simplicity of the platform. It will take only a few steps to create a gig that sells your services. The sellers need an image, a title, a price, and there are some reviews that you can get as you complete orders. Here is an example of a proofreading package that you can find on Fiverr once you click on a gig.
Of course, you decide about the services that you offer. The specific example offers a rewriting service with the gig that is not proofreading, as I mentioned above. Rewriting is a part of the editing process. I think that this seller wanted to add more value to her gig, and it is fine.
Once you create a gig, you just wait for some buyers. If you don’t have any reviews, you can try to add more value to your gig until you get some orders or find a low competition niche on Fiverr. For example, you can create a gig for book proofreading, translation proofreading, or any other subcategory you can think.
Your chances to get some orders can get improved if you promote your gig in social media, blogs, and forums. In some cases, it can take some time to get an order from the organic search of Fiverr because beginners have lower rankings. However, rankings get improved when you make sales and get reviews.
2. Upwork
It is another freelance platform, but the process is the opposite of Fiverr. Freelancers that join on Upwork must create a profile and write a few words about themselves and the service that they can offer. However, you can’t expect to get visitors to your profile. It can happen later as you have built some reputation and got some orders.
Your first task is to search on the platform for proofreading jobs. Business owners tend to post jobs instead of finding freelances by themselves. If you type proofreading in the search box, here are some of the results that you can expect. Upwork gives you suggestions on relevant writing jobs, but you can find enough proofreading jobs on the platform.
Then, you need to submit a proposal for this job. You see the requirements of the client, and if you agree, you can write in a few words why they should give you the job. Clients will check your profile to get more information. So, make sure that your profile includes some helpful details.
You will not get every job that you will submit a proposal, so it’s important to submit many proposals. However, Upwork has a system that gives you available connections that you spend each time you submit a proposal. Once you spend all of them, you have to wait until they get updated. So, apply for jobs that you have many chances to get hired.
3. FlexJobs
It is a freelance platform similar to Upwork, but there is a monthly fee to get started. It costs $14.95 per month and has discounts for lengthier packages.
Usually, I don’t recommend paying money to find a job, but FlexJobs is a legit site. The monthly fee filters out a lot of spammers and competitors that are not willing to join. The members that are not happy with their results can request a refund in 30 days.
There are more chances to get the attention of a business owner than other platforms. However, the process is the same because you must apply for job listings, and the paid membership does not guarantee anything.
The benefits are that the people that will hire you are professionals. You don’t have to worry about scammers or people that will try to create problems. These things can happen on free platforms but not on FlexJobs.
The good news is that FlexJobs allows you to search for available jobs before creating an account like the examples in the image below. If you like any of the available listings, you need to sign up before you apply.
4. Search On Indeed
Indeed works as a search engine for jobs. You type a keyword and gives you different job suggestions from listings around the internet. Some companies create sponsored listings if they want to get more candidates.
When you click on a job from the lists, you can see more details, and then it sends to the original listing to apply for the job. It is a simple process that can work for all types of jobs and not only for proofreading gigs. You will find several listings for full-time jobs as well.
If your goal is to build a reputation online as a proofreader, get reviews, and increase your rates, Indeed is not the right option for you. However, it’s better to have a job than no income at all. For other websites with jobs, you can also try Glassdoor and Craiglist.
5. Use Social Media To Find A Job
Social media can help you to network with other people that are interested in your services. You can use a professional network like LinkedIn or the search features of sites like Facebook and Twitter.
While some people try to build an audience and promote their services through their pages and profiles, I suggest a different active strategy. There are groups and pages that you can use to find jobs today. Of course, you must need to contact them or apply for these jobs. If you don’t trust some of the people that you meet online, you can invite them to order from your gigs on Fiverr or Upwork.
The process is to join Facebook groups, search on Twitter for jobs through hashtags, and create an account on LinkedIn as a proofreader. If you already have personal profiles on social media, you will have no problem finding some listings.
6. Sites That Pay You To Proofread
These sites pay you directly for your services, and proofreaders don’t have to market themselves. However, there is a limit to the jobs that they offer because they split them between the members and don’t have unlimited jobs from their clients.
You get paid per project or per hour, and each site has different rules and payment methods. In my opinion, they are good for beginners that need to gain some experience and earn extra money. However, they don’t work for long-term plans and ambitious goals. Here is a list of sites to get started:
7. Start A Blog
If you are interested in a long-term strategy, blogging is the best way to build an audience and promote your services. You need to write topics that can get the attention of potential customers. Your blog posts will be a sample of your writing skills.
Blogs that are created by freelancers tend to have a hiring page or a contact page. You can also send them to your profiles of Fiverr and Upwork if you don’t want to accept payments through your blog. Once you start getting traffic, you can build an email or find additional ways to monetize your blog as Google AdSense.
Starting a blog requires a small investment. You need a domain name and website hosting. Both of them will cost a few dollars per month. You can learn how to start your blog with BlueHost here.
This Is The Only Tool That You Will Need As A Proofreader
The best writing tool that checks for mistakes in articles is Grammarly. I use this tool every time I create content. It scans every piece of content for grammar errors, clarity, tone, and plagiarism.
Grammarly can save a lot of time and has your back when you are not focused. If it finds an error, it underlines the word or the phrase with a red or yellow line. Then, it suggests the right word or an alternative way to write the sentence. You can use Grammarly for free. For professional writers, there is a paid version that finds more advanced errors.
You can join Grammarly For Free Here!
Conclusion
It’s not hard to make money as a proofreader. You just need to take action. If you use the suggested sites, follow their processes. For example, Fiverr works with gigs that do not take over a few minutes to create. Upwork works by submitting proposals. Join these sites, create gigs or profiles, and you will celebrate your first paid job soon.