Alternative Ways for Writers to Earn Extra Money Through Creative & Multimedia Activities: Part 2

As an independent author running your own business, relying solely on book royalties can create financial pressure. In Part 1, we explored ways to supplement your income through direct writing activities. In Part 2, we look into alternative ways to earn extra money through affiliate marketing, paid reader clubs, physical and digital products, merchandise and e-commerce, and YouTube and multimedia content.

Each of these avenues allows you to leverage your existing audience and creative output in new ways without losing focus on your core writing craft. 

Core Income Streams: Creative & Multimedia Activities

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing lets you recommend your favorite and most trusted tools, software, or writing supplies to readers by embedding referral links into blogs or websites, earning commissions without having to manage physical inventory. 

This can be a good option for writers who regularly review, use, and swear by specific digital or physical tools, and who want to earn passive income from the content they already create. To begin, you will need an active website, blog, or content platform, alongside formal application approval from vendor programs.

If you are using specific sites or tools, check out those websites and see if they have their own affiliate program. I always check out the top and bottom banner sections of a website to locate these. You can look into programs like Amazon Associate, Target Affiliates, Shopify Affiliate Program, eBay Partner Network, Scrivener, ProWritingAid, or any other site you find useful products on. While earnings scale passively as traffic to your recommendation links grows over time, you must always explicitly disclose affiliate relationships to your viewers and readers to be honest and upfront with them and comply with guidelines.

My personal experience: I have signed up for multiple affiliate marketing programs since last year. I have not received any commissions from any of those programs yet, mainly because I have not been actively weaving them into my writing content as much as I know I should. In order to make money with affiliate marketing, you’ll need to be consistently adding your affiliate links, but only if they connect directly with what you are writing. I am still learning how to perform the tasks needed to even earn a commission.

Paid Reader Programs

Paid reader programs offer a unique opportunity because many successful authors advise that reading makes you a better writer. You can get paid small per-assignment fees to read specific books within a strict timeframe and submit honest reviews, making it a great fit for avid readers and indie authors who want to study other works while earning small baseline funds.

This path fits writers who genuinely enjoy reading on a regular schedule and can manage tight deadlines. To begin, you will need an active reader account, an active Amazon account that spends more than $50 per year, and access to designated reading platforms like Paid Reader Club.

Assignments pay small fees ranging from $1 to $4 each, which can bring in roughly $60 to $80 a month if you can stay consistent—enough to cover one of your monthly subscriptions through third-party payment processors like Stripe. While individual payouts are small, they add up over time and keep you accountable to your reading goals.

My personal experience: I used this program, Paid Reader Club, for about a year. What I liked about it was that you get to choose the books you’d like to read based on your interests, and they send helpful email alerts to remind you if an assignment is coming due or if you are falling behind. In 2025, I did some reading for 4 consecutive months as my schedule allowed: June ($11.05), July ($27.40), August ($66.20), and September ($14.20). In those 4 months, I earned a total of $118.85, averaging $29.71 per month—which was enough to cover one paid subscription for each month.

Physical and Digital Products

Physical and digital products turn your problem-solving knowledge into useful items like  printable templates, guided journals, low-content activity books, stickers, and guides. Writers who enjoy organizing information or designing visual tools will find this path rewarding, as it requires design software like Canva and an e-commerce storefront on platforms like Etsy, Shopify, Printify, or Amazon KDP. 

This can be a good option for creators who want to build assets once and sell them repeatedly. The time to expect income depends on the effort spent upfront to create products before generating passive digital sales, provided you research platform rules and align your designs with your book or niche.

While you have to put in the work early on to format and design everything, these products can sit in an online shop and bring in sales while you focus on writing your next book. It is a great way to branch out if you like visual design just as much as writing.

My personal experience: A few years ago, I shared some of my ideas and got the feedback that digital products like those are always trending. I have created a few journals and a bunch of downloadable products that you may have seen posted in my other blogs. Most of them were offered as free resources, and several on my Kit store. These are projects I have worked on year after year, though I haven’t always done as much with them as I could; I have a lot of them that would be great turned into a whole project.

Merchandise and E-Commerce

Merchandise and e-commerce give you the chance to design products that match your genre and niche while working on larger-scale book projects, manufacturing physical items, apparel, accessories, coffee mugs, or bookmarks tied to your writing brand or fictional worlds. 

This works well for authors with established fictional worlds, characters, or dedicated reader communities. To get started, you will need a design software like Canva and Print-On-Demand integration tools linked to platforms like Etsy, Printify, or Shopify.

When setting up your storefront, you’ll need to account for production timelines and shipping requirements—such as shipping costs or offering discounts—to keep your profit margins within your targeted ranges. It takes some upfront setup to get your designs looking right, but once your store is running, orders can be fulfilled automatically without you having to store boxes of inventory in your house.

My personal experience: I learned recently that you can use Buy Me a Coffee to set up a shop where you can sell products too. You can offer digital products, physical goods, a one-on-one Zoom call, or an event ticket, along with limited access items like Instagram close friends access. As for my own e-commerce stores, I’ve tried Printify, Shopify, and Kit. It is a fun way to experiment with your branding, even if you are still figuring out what you readers want to buy or have a need for.

YouTube and Multimedia Content

YouTube channels and multimedia content allow you to use your time to create videos about your writing projects, proving that video creation involves just as much writing as a book when you write titles, descriptions, metadata, and word content. 

This path works well for writers willing to invest time into video scripting, metadata optimization, and visual branding. To begin, you will need a recording setup and a platform to host your content while working toward partner eligibility requirements like 500 subscribers, 3 video uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 qualifying watch hours in the last year. 

Doing a YouTube video on a process that you do—such as your outlining method, formatting steps, or brainstorming routine—is also a great way to follow the timeless writing advice of "Show, Don’t Tell" by letting your readers actually watch your creative workflow in action.

While starting out takes time and a slow build before ad revenue unlocks, learning the tricks of the trade helps you build followers and connect content to your core themes. It is a fantastic way to let readers see behind the scenes of your writing life.

My personal experience: Although I’ve not been creating videos long, I have been experimenting with creating. I’ve only posted a few videos, but as I’ve been learning different video editing programs, I’ve been learning what makes a great video. It takes practice, but it is a fun way to share your creative journey with an audience. Here is an example of a playlist I created, Write With Me: Genre Writing Sessions for Authors so that you can gain inspiration and maintain your focus while working on your fiction stories.

Final Thoughts

Choose one or two options that align with your available weekly hours and skill sets rather than trying to launch every stream simultaneously. To avoid becoming overwhelmed with all of these income stream options, try to pick one or two that you might enjoy doing.

Remember that each one may take some time to learn or to set up for success, and some of these avenues are also great ways to market yourself and your content writing.

Strictly check individual platform policies regarding AI assistance, source citations, and copyright attribution to protect your creator standing. Conclude every blog post or content piece with a clear next step for the reader—whether visiting your author website, downloading a template, checking out a recommended video, or leaving a review.

Expanding into creative and multimedia avenues allows independent authors to connect more deeply with their audiences while bringing in steady secondary revenue. Whether you choose to design digital templates on Canva, set up print-on-demand merchandise, or launch a YouTube channel, combining these creative options with your writing business adds additional financial flexibility. Make sure to check out Part 1 if you missed the core writing-based methods to supplement your strategy!

Resources

13 Best Affiliate Link Disclaimer Examples: FTC and Amazon Associates Disclosures – Niche Pursuits, Colin Linnett, November 29, 2023