How to Sell Poems Online

In this article, our goal is to show you the many ways to sell your poems online. The online space is massive and connects you to a vast market from around the world.

Your ability to earn from poetry starts from finding who these buyers are. Luckily there are several of these, as you’ll soon find out.

How to Make Money Online as a Poet

Are you a poet seeking ways to get paid for writing short stories and poems? As long as your work is good, people are willing to pay for it.

While making a living off your skill may not be easy, as publishers don’t pay thousands of dollars for it, there are creative ways you can still earn a decent income.

  • Earnings If You Submit Poems Online

Before publishing your poems for money, one must consider earning potential. This gives you an idea of where or to who to sell to.

You can earn anywhere from $1.50 to $300 per poem. There are also opportunities to join a contest where you stand the chance of making prize money.

Your choice will determine your earning potential based on the different options provided on how to sell poetry works online. So, is there any guidance regarding the selling of poems?

This takes us to the next point.

Selling Poetry Online

Wherever you wish to sell your poetry, there are specific submission guidelines. It’s generally expected that your work is 100% original.

To have a chance to sell, you must not upload such work on your blog, as it will be considered already published.

Also, there are directions for submissions you’ll need to follow, as not doing so might disqualify you carefully.

To avoid mistakes, consider reading published poetry online to get a fair idea of your expectations. With that said, let’s proceed to discuss where to sell poetry online.

Where to Sell Your Poetry Online

When it comes to selling poetry, there are different options to consider.

These include targeting literary magazines & publishers, personal blogs, merchandising, poetry anthology publishers, joining a poetry contest, starting a poetry YouTube channel, and selling your work on Fiverr.

  • Submitting Poetry for Money

Poetry can also be sold online using platforms like Etsy. You can also target a variety of poetry markets to sell your work. Thankfully there are many of such, as you’ll find out.

Now, let’s proceed to discuss each of these points mentioned.

i. Literary Magazines & Publishers

As mentioned earlier, many sites, journals, and magazines will pay for your poems. Some of these also pay for short stories.

Examples include Panda Research, QuickRewards, Strange Horizons, Leading Edge Magazine, and Dreams & Nightmares.

More online buyers of poetry work include Fun for Kids Magazines, Cricket Media, Clubhouse Jr. Magazine, Ruminate Magazine, and VQR Online, Agni.

More places to sell online include Crazy Horse, Alaska Quarterly Review, Antigonish Review, The Pedestal Magazine, and Grain Literary Magazine.

You can also choose to sell on EPOCH, Three Penny Review, Clean Sheets, Fun for Kidz Magazine, Ploughshares, and New Myths.

The Capilano Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Rattle also pay for poetry. Fees range from $10 to $250, depending on where you sell.

ii. Personal Blog

If you currently own a blog with an appreciable audience, you can use that to your advantage.

A good thing about a poetry blog is that you earn passive income, mainly from ad revenue. While this is true, the search volume for your work may be low.

A great way to drive traffic to your blog is by adopting various promotion strategies, including posting links to your work on social media platforms,

iii. Merchandising

Merchandising is another way to sell your poems online. This requires partnership with sites to help sell your ideas while earning you a passive income.

While earnings may not be significant when you first start, it eventually adds up with dedication and patience. Being rewarded for your work can be deeply satisfying.

iv. Poetry Anthology Publishers

Have you considered selling your poetry work to anthology publishers?

There are opportunities presented by established publishers who periodically offer the opportunity for poets to submit their work. Most common themes include travel, love, friendship, etc.

v. Joining a Poetry Contest

A poetry contest presents an opportunity to showcase your work and win some prize money. There are lots of these contests you can apply to.

Examples include the Five Stanza Terza Rima Poetry Contest, Onomatopoeia Poetry Contest, Joy Poetry Contest, and Non-Dual Awareness Poetry Contest.

More contests to apply to include the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, Minds Shine Bright Storm Contest, and the Haiku Poetry Contest, to name a few.

While some of these contests require an entry fee, others don’t. Prize money varies, typically from $100 to $3,000.

vi. Starting a Poetry YouTube Channel

The YouTube platform is massive and presents you with an opportunity to create all kinds of video content.

You can leverage this opportunity to start a poetry channel where your audience is mostly poetry lovers. It’s necessary to state that this will require consistency and much work.

Your efforts will eventually pay off as you gradually build a loyal following for your content. On your YouTube channel, you can share a link to your blog to allow for easy access.

Your loyal subscribers won’t mind supporting your channel by charging a small membership fee.

vii. Selling on Fiverr

If you’ve used Fiverr before, you’d know it’s a marketplace for all micro gigs. This includes selling work like poems—many users log in searching for all things, including skills.

You only need to post your work and wait for buyers.

viii. Selling on Etsy

Etsy is another great platform where you can sell poems online. This marketplace can be leveraged to reach out to buyers. It’s something you won’t regret doing.

Selling poems online is something you can do with the proper knowledge. Here, we’ve included various tips for selling your work, and you can quickly implement these strategies for success.