5 Profitable Business Ideas for Avid Readers

This article wants to explain how Avid Readers can turn their reading passion into profitable business ideas. Some hobbies, such as reading, might seem hard to convert into a profitable business, but with some ingenuity and creativity, you can make money at home doing what they love. Here are 5 Profitable Business Ideas for Avid Readers:

1. Start a Book Blog or Podcast

Book blogs are very popular among readers and writers who need exposure for their books. The challenge is that it’s a crowded marketplace, so you will need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. And this can be done in a variety of ways from choosing a specific niche (i.e. YA dystopian novels or cozy mysteries) or a market group (i.e. best books for pre-teens).

Another option would be to deliver your book reviews and other information in a different way, such as through a podcast or videocast.  Or you might combine options, such as a blog and weekly podcast.

You can make money from book blogs in a variety of ways including:

• Selling books through affiliate marketing (i.e. from Amazon’s Associate’s program)
• Contextual advertising such as Google AdSense
• Selling ad space to authors and publishers
• Providing review services for a fee

The key to success will be in generating avid readers to your book blog. To that end, you’ll need to develop a marketing plan, that includes social media and an email list.

2. Write Books

It is said that 81 percent of people have a book in them, but only 1 percent write it. Perhaps you’re the one percent who wants to share your stories or knowledge with the masses.

Authorship isn’t the best way to make a living. The reality is that most books don’t sell 5,000 copies, and for many authors, it’s way less, especially when self-publishing. However, with a great story, that’s well-written and prepared, and a marketing plan that reaches your target market, writing books can be profitable.

You have several choices when selling your books. You can go the traditional route, seeking an agent or pitching publishers directly through a proposal (non-fiction) or synopsis (fiction) and a query.

Or you can self-publish your book through many of the free and affordable e- and print book services. A final option is to work with a hybrid publishing company, which offers a little of both. While you pay for hybrid services as a self-publisher, hybrid companies vet authors as traditional publishers do, and give access to their editors, cover designers and marketing experts.

3. Become a Book Reviewer

Getting money as an avid reader or starting a profitable business idea is possible, but it requires patience and diligence. The best way to start would be to have a blog on which you leave reviews (see above on starting a book blog).  This not only gives you practice but also, provides a portfolio of your reviews so media outlets that pay can see your work.

Once you have experience, you can begin pitching yourself as a freelance reviewer to your local newspaper or magazine. You can also search for review jobs on freelance writing job sites. Kirkus is often looking for reviewers.

4. Start an Editing Service

Amazon has completely changed the publishing field. Today, with little investment, authors can get their books out to the world without agents and traditional publishers. However, these authors need help in making sure their books are readable. As a result, there is a growing need for editors.

To be an editor, you need to have a strong command of the language, grammar, and styles of writing that fits the genre of books you want to edit (i.e. Chicago Manual of Style).  You can offer basic copy editing, in which you simply correct grammar and punctuation. You can also offer line editing, which also looks at paragraph structure, flow, and word choice. Finally, there’s developmental editing, which refers to evaluating the content. Does the story flow, are the characters well-developed, is the pacing right, etc.

The more in-depth your editing service, the more you can charge. But you need to have a good understanding of story development and the craft of writing to offer developmental editing.

To get started, create a website, outlining your services, and if possible, references and samples of your work. Then start networking with authors to get referrals. If you’re brand new, you might want to offer a free sample edit to help get new clients to try you out.

Reading and editing can be a profitable business. All you need is to check out freelance writing sites for editing jobs. Most freelance editors earn about $25 per hour, more for more in-depth editing services. Some prefer to charge by the page, anywhere from $4 to $7.50 depending on the type of editing.

5. Start a Publishing Service

Many writers want to get their books out into the world, but they don’t have the time or knowledge to get their books ready. That’s where publishing services come in. You can offer a range of services including:

• Editing
• Formatting for ebook and print
• Cover Design
• Submission to publishers such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing

If you don’t have the skill or knowledge to do each of these services, you can hire contractors to perform the tasks while you operate as the project manager and CEO.

You can charge one-time fees for your services, or you can start a full-fledged publishing company whereby you publish the books under your name, paying your authors’ royalties.

These are 5 amazing ways avid readers can turn your hobby reading into profitable Business Ideas. If you enjoy this article, kindly share it with others and don’t forget to drop a comment.

Regards.