How to Make Money On Wattpad

Are you a passionate writer who wants to share your thoughts and stories to the whole world?  Do you find yourself fully enthralled with words and can get lost in the world of literary fiction? If you answered yes, then maybe you want to find out how to make money on Wattpad.

Words connect the writer to their readers. Both writers and readers want a platform that can help bridge the two.

Wattpad is designed for this purpose. This free app is a mammoth of storytelling platform that lets writers share their stories and readers discover good reads. If you haven’t heard of this platform yet, it’s time to get to know it better. Read on to know more interesting facts about this platform and learn various ways on how to make money on Wattpad.

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What is Wattpad?

Wattpad is a social story-telling platform where aspiring writers can share their work and stories. Readers will find tons of poems, short stories, and books from every genre. There are more than 55 million Wattpad users around the world, with more than 15 billion minutes spent each month using this platform. It offers a perfect opportunity for writers to directly connect with their readers.

Just as there are many Wattpad writers on the site, there is also plenty of content to choose from. It is a perfect platform if you love to read or write. And the best thing is that you can completely use this platform for free.

A Brief History of Wattpad

The company is based out of Toronto and targets the Millenials and members of Generation Z. Let’s take a quick look at how it became one of the biggest story-telling platforms that it is now.

2002 – Ivan Yuen was developing a mobile reading platform on his Nokia phone.

2006 – Ivan Yuen and Allen Lau founded Wattpad in a garage in November 2006. They wanted to create an app where readers can read and discuss the fiction shared by writers across the globe. Their vision was to change the way we share stories.

2007 – Wattpad has conceptualized the idea of digital reading before the iPhone and Kindle. According to Lau, “We knew that the paper format would become obsolete.”

2011 – Wattpad reached 1 million users and had 5 million downloads. The app supports 1,000 phone models from 600 mobile operators.

2012 – Wattpad was named as one of the year’s most innovative companies and won Best Overall Canadian Startup of 2011.

2013 – Marking their 7th year anniversary, Wattpad launched a new feature called Stories. It features people whose lives were transformed by stories.

2014 – As they reach more than six billion minutes of reading spent by 25 million people per month, Wattpad has started monetizing the platform.

2015 – Users spend 13 billion minutes on the platform.

How Does it Work?

Signing up for Wattpad is easy. It’s open to anyone who loves writing and reading and is over the age of thirteen.

Registration can be done either through email or using one of your social media accounts. Once you’re done creating a profile for yourself, you can then start writing. Unless you hit the publish button, your writing is only visible for yourself.

Users can save stories and books that they are reading. They can also save in their library those that they are planning to read. Accessing the platform is very convenient. With just a single click, you can access your previous works or create a new one.

You also have the option to follow other members. You will receive a notification once these other members have newly published work. Since this is a social platform, interaction amongst members is highly encouraged. You can leave a comment or public messages on the public board. Also, you join clubs and chat with other members.

You don’t need to be a member to be able to browse through the platform and read the works of the writers. However, you are not able to create your own writing, leave comments or interact on the site if you are not a member.

Pros and Cons of Wattpad

Is Wattpad created for everyone?

While it’s clear that this platform is a huge help for authors to hone their writing skills, you have to battle tons of competitions too. With more than 375 million stories uploaded which supports over 50 languages, you can hardly guarantee that Wattpad can bring you success and get book sales.

Pros

Build Loyal Followers

It’s hard to really identify your target audience in most of the social media platforms. Sure, it’s easy to have 3000 Twitter followers but not all of them are following you for your writing. Some may either want to be followed back or find your memes funny. You can never know what percentage of these followers will actually support and purchase your books.

It’s a different story on Wattpad. You can be certain that all of your followers are book lovers and avid readers. These people are always in the lookout for good reads. All of your 500 Wattpad followers have the potential to buy your new book.

More importantly, the popularity of Wattpad is growing. New readers are attracted to the platform every day. With this emerging market, the opportunity to build valuable relationships with your readers is promising.

Immediate Feedback of your Work

One of the best features of Wattpad is that readers can comment on your work as they are reading your story. These in-line comments provide instant feedback that can make your story better.

Opportunities for Further Exposure and Collaboration

Wattpad may serve as a platform to connect with your readers, but it also offers a great opportunity to connect with your fellow writers. You get to create a support group that will motivate you to keep going and grow as a writer.

It also provides opportunities for exposure. The platform provides a variety of different ways to connect with your readers and increase your followers.

Increase Visibility as a Writer

If you want your work to reach a wider audience, Wattpad can help you achieve this. Readers can easily find your books with the platform’s discoverable lists. You just need to set your book in the correct genre or category. As your books become more popular, it might be included in the “Hot” charts list within its category.

Discover and Read Books for Free

Wattpad is a brilliant platform to discover books before they get published. It offers a wide selection of books that are of great quality.

Reading is important for writers. You need to read lots of resources to grow. Improving your craft may be hard unless you read regularly. Wattpad makes it easy for writers to find great reads.

Cons:

High Competition

Just like with any growing platforms, Wattpad also comes with high competition. You are competing with thousands of writers and you would initially find it hard to gain visibility in your works. It might be hard for your new book to break through the barrier so you may need to write for a little while before it can start getting the attention.

Wattpad Does Not Support Certain Genres

If you’re writing nonfiction, then this platform may not be for you. Additionally, most of the users on Wattpad are quite young. So if you’re writing books for 50-years old, your work may not be appealing to these audiences.

On a positive note, if your genre is not as popular amongst readers, there’s a lesser competition for the existing audience.

Too Much Work May Be Required

You need to update your books regularly if you want to build your audience. You would also need to stay engaged with them. Most successful writers on this platform are the most active ones so you need to invest more time into Wattpad.

How to Make Money on Wattpad

Now that we have gotten to know Wattpad better, along with its advantages and disadvantages, it is time to ask the most important question: Can you make money on Wattpad?

Absolutely yes!

Here are some of the monetization features of the platform that can make you earn money.

Wattpad Paid Stories

As a writer, you get a different kind of high and satisfaction when you’re connected to your readers through your stories. With Wattpad Paid Stories, you can get monetary support from your readers. This feature allows your audience to show their support by paying to unlock portions as they go or purchasing access to the entire story. Writers can now earn money for their work from readers who appreciate it.

How can writers join this program?

For now, Wattpad Paid Stories is exclusive by invite only.

Wattpad’s editorial team selects remarkable stories from a variety of genres. They are looking for a great deal of commitment and creativity to make sure that stories featured in this program will be loved by the readers.

Here are some of the factors that determine the evaluation:

• Storytelling – The ability to hook readers into your story and keep them compelled.
• Quality – How you construct your sentences to convey your voice and storytelling.
• Originality – Your story should stand-out with its unique and different concept.
• Personality – Whether a writer can sustain the demands of the program.
• Marketplace – With limited slots available, there should be diversity amongst the content.
• Community – You should have established your presence in the community.

Wattpad team identifies the content that they want to add in the program and contact the writer. Once the selected writer is on board, there are tons of resources to help writers improve their craft. There are also coaches that guide the writer in this journey.

Wattpad Studios

This feature is created to aim propel original stories into publishing and entertainment. The entertainment industry is always on the lookout for fresh and engaging stories and Wattpad is a great resource for this type of content.

How does Wattpad find the next best seller?

Wattpad’s team of editorial experts are looking for unique voices and great stories. They analyze things like vocabulary employed, word use and sentence structure to determine if certain stories possess similar traits to the top stories in different genres. This helps them find new stories with huge potential for film, TV, publishing and digital media partners.

Whether you want to write the next big blockbuster or become a published author, Wattpad Studio can help you connect with publishers and filmmakers.

How can you increase your chances to have your stories published?

Constantly post your story on Wattpad. It helps gain readership and exposure as you are exploring opportunities for your work to be published or adapted.

As your followers increase, so does your chances of being discovered by literary agents that can help you get publishing deals outside the platform.

Wattpad Books

This feature was just launched last January 2019. It provides writers the opportunity to have their stories published. Wattpad Books focus on publishing content with diverse and unique voices.

Do you want your books to be published too?

Just continue doing what you do best and that is writing. As you continue to create stories in the platform, you would learn to identify how to properly construct your words and capture the attention of the readers. With constant audience engagement, you get to understand what type of stories and characters are appealing to them. As your readership grows, so does your chance of being discovered by Wattpad’s editorial team.

Wattpad Star

Becoming a Wattpad Star recognizes your potential as a lifelong storyteller. It’s also a way of affirming your impact amongst the best and brightest writers of the platform.

What does it offer?

• By becoming a Wattpad Star, you get to access tons of amazing perks including:
• Promotion on and off the platform, including on Wattpad’s social media and official Stars profile.
• Online interaction and hangouts with members of an exclusive group in the community.
• Exclusive newsletter and educational resources to help you improve your writing skills.
• Consideration for Wattpad Studios, Wattpad Books and Paid Stories.

The Bottom Line

You don’t make money on Wattpad overnight. You can’t write one book, post it on the platform and expect streams of money flowing in. Wattpad does not work this way.

If you really want to know how to make money on Wattpad, the key to achieving this is patience, perseverance, and consistency. You have to continuously spend time honing your craft and engage with your readers. Once you have established a huge number of loyal followers, then you have more opportunity to get your book published. Who knows, the next Hollywood blockbuster would be your story?

Be the next Wattpad top storyteller. Benjamin Sobieck’s The Writer’s Guide to Wattpad provides helpful tips and ideas on how to build and sustain a successful writing career.