Making Money With Wattpad (And How To Write The Best Stories For It)

A decade ago, people need to go to bookstores and newsstands to buy the novels and short story pocketbooks that they want to read. But in these modern times when the internet can be easily accessed right at the very confines of our own phones, books, as well as the libraries that house them, have been digitized too.

What you’ll learn here:

• Best ways to earn with Wattpad
• Writing a very attractive Wattpad story
• Story elements that must be present in a Wattpad novel

Now, anyone can pick almost any kind of novel from any genre on online platforms. And if we ask what’s the best platform in that category, no better answer would come out… than Wattpad. For the time being, it claims to have more than 90 million users. With a readership that big, a writer like you should not think twice of the money-making power you can amass from it.

Best ways to earn with Wattpad

As a novelist or a short-story writer, a great money-making opportunity awaits you on this mega-famous platform. There are so many novice writers, some of them are even teenagers who are making huge amounts of passive income by simply writing stories and publishing them into the platform.

You can earn with your stories through these:

Getting into the paid stories program

The most prominent, and not to mention the most obvious method of making money with Wattpad so far is by getting into the Paid Stories Program that it hosts. If you’re lucky enough to get accepted, you’ll have the chance of getting paid with Wattpad coins from paying members. Before you consider applying for the program, you need to be a “star writer” first. This means that you have to acquire some popularity first.

After attaining some considerable views and popularity from readers, you may then make your move into the program. Your work will then get evaluated and curated by experts. After a while, you will be given notice that you can already start earning.

How much can you earn with the Wattpad Paid Stories Program? Like most average bloggers, authors who were able to attain enough viewership already are earning $1000 a month. The numbers may vary depending on page views, just like what happens with typical blog sites.

Affiliate marketing

This is not directly supported by the platform, but by working with online business firms, you could conduct some affiliate marketing strategies within your stories. By simply mentioning a product in your stories, and putting a link into some online stores that sell them, you could make money – many bloggers and ebook publishers are making money with this strategy.

You have to be warned though that this is something that many successful Wattpad publishers are not doing. This technique could be a means of driving your readers away from reading your stories. However, some successful authors are doing this because they have found a way to do it in a truly stylish way. They can make a product promotion appear like it’s not an ad at all – it’s just a matter of creativity.

The best way to be successful as an affiliate in Wattpad, as well as in any other writing platform is to grow your viewership – no online business would ever turn you down if you can gather a lot of people to view or read the stuff that you write.

Product advertising

Another way of making money within Wattpad is through direct advertising. Just like how bloggers earn money by running animated strips of media in their sidebars or in the middle of their blog paragraphs, there was once a money-making method of Wattpad called Wattpad Futures.

It was once a very productive opportunity for writers. Unfortunately, though, such a feature was closed already. Some issues that pushed it into abolition were mainly about not regulating it properly, and that there were too many writers trying to hop into it. But such a feature has the promise of coming back soon. It was an innovative way of rewarding writers so the people who run Wattpad are doing their best to have the method reinstated again.

For now, there is another program that’s very similar to it: Wattpad Brand Partnership. This works by collaborating with famous brands that can enhance the storytelling powers of published online stories. Within the program, there is a very wide range of products to advertise, and a much wider means of making money with your writing capabilities.

How to write a highly attractive Wattpad story

To really make money in Wattpad, create an “attention-grabbing story… no argument is needed in that declaration. So how can you come up with one? The best answer would be this: understanding the mindset of the majority of Wattpad readers. According to the platform and from the readers themselves, Wattpad users are mostly young females from the Philippines.

This means that in order for you to easily grab some instant success within the platform, you have to craft stories that cater to the mindset of Filipina teenagers, and those that are still in their early 20s. Of course, there are also male readers in there, and there are also some huge percentages from other cultures and nationalities. But for a start, it would be wise to target the young Pinay audience.

Best genres to write about in Wattpad

There is a very wide selection you can pick from. But since it is a known fact that most of the audience you’ll deal with are young feminines, the following genres should be on your highest consideration:

Romance

A good girl falling in love with a bad boy, a rich boy falling in love with a poor girl, a young lady falling in love with a cyborg or an alien… the list goes on and on. Stories that have those kinds of premises are so commonplace in Wattpad that the entire platform would become a digital ground zero if they are removed.

The popularity of the romance genre is so vital to the overall structure of Wattpad that it would not be as attractive as it is. If you have written a romance story and have made the characters relatable enough, you’re already on your first steps towards becoming a star author!

Adventure

Life is a journey, and if you can craft a story in which the protagonist is embarking on a journey in which hurdles and obstacles are dealt with in a very thrilling and engaging way, your story will be a very readable item. The best adventure stories in Wattpad are often about friendship, betrayal, redemption, and as the previous item has emphasized, relationships.

It would be a good choice as well to include elements in your adventure novels such as Sci-fi, futurism, and mystery. Teenagers, as well as young professionals highly dig this stuff. They are the kind of story plot devices that are hard to ignore among young readers.

Erotica

This is not to dignify sexually-themed media that are almost reminiscent of pornography, but yes, the popularity of Erotica in Wattpad is undeniable. According to a certain survey, most of the viewed stories on the platform are romance stories with a high emphasis on love-making scenarios. This might be something that can freak those parents of teenage girls out… but this is very true.

Even on Facebook, which is not even a story-publishing platform, the popularity of a genre called “SPG Stories” (Strict Parental Guidance), is very popular among Filipino young readers. Such stories are bloated with scenes written for the sexual gratification of the Generation Z members.

Because of it, many Wattpad authors are exploiting the appeal of erotica-themed stories. Apparently, teenagers are so mesmerized by stories that can address the needs of their ever-raging hormones – not a pleasant thing to think about, but one that can be highly utilized to make money from.

There are some regulations that you have to abide by though. It is indicated in Wattpad’s guidelines that sex stories that depict sexual encounters of characters lower than 16 years old are forbidden. Yes, your stories are just fiction, and there are no real humans who are maltreated in any way. But the platform is still so strict with such story elements.

If you have very young characters doing the dirty deed somewhere in your storylines, the system will mark them as “mature content” and would block your creations to a great number of readers. Thus, it is important to avoid depictions of minors having sex somewhere in your stories’ pages.

Horror

Here’s another very interesting fact: teenagers are mostly afraid of the dark, but they greatly love stories that can make them imagine monstrous beings that lurk in the dark. This is something that seems confusing to us full-grown adults, but this is one thing we can exploit in our Wattpad money-making endeavors.

Stories about vampires, dead lovers coming back to life, and departed spirits taking over the bodies of living people are very popular among teenage novels. And since Wattpad is the most popular portal for it, you can find an endless assortment of such stories therein. Craft stories that can scare the living sh*t out of the minds of teenagers, and they will be warmly accepted and gorged on like hotcakes.

Comedy

Major print publications such as Reader’s Digest and Time Magazine prominently feature stories and articles that make people laugh from time to time. And since young people have the lungs and strong jaws to take huge amounts of laughter, putting comedic touches to your Wattpad stories shouldn’t be a bad move at all.

In Youtube, where so many teenagers are flocking into as well, “funny videos” are among the most searched keywords.

“Surveys declare that the most popular types of social media videos are these: funny animals, video game walkthroughs, how-to guides, product reviews, celebrity gossips, travel vlogs, comedy skit videos, shopping sprees, unboxing videos, educational videos, parodies, and pranks.“

Of all the 12 categories, it can be easily noticed that 4 of them are comedic in nature. This highly proves that stories that can make people laugh will always be attractive anywhere. Even in Wattpad, such a reality shouldn’t be ignored as well.

If you are already a seasoned writer or one that’s just starting out choosing any of the above-mentioned genres should be your most ideal choice. Of course, they are not the only options for you. The ultimate story element is this: make your story as compelling and as relatable as possible – there is no better method or genre than this.

Elements that make a good Wattpad story

Regardless of the type of story that you want to tell, the following elements must be present:

Triumph of good vs. evil – We can’t argue with the popularity of Batman’s wins over the Joker, and of Superman’s victories over Zod, or of The Avengers’ success against Thanos. While some very popular authors exploit the idea of wicked guys winning against the good guys, this is not something that successful Wattpaders will recommend for newbies. The story element of angels winning over devils is evergreen. Exploit it again and again… it never grows old.

Redemption and rise from failure – Many teenagers feel like losers and rejected entities. They like reading about those that are able to stand against bullies and forces that want to put them down and are able to win in the end. If you can craft stories with characters that have recovered from intense pain and loss, or about those who made huge mistakes but have redeemed themselves, kids will surely consume those like chocolates and ice cream.

A flawed, yet very relatable main character – If you make your protagonist too perfect, it will drive your readers away. People love to read about characters that are just like them, ones that are not tailored to perfection. While having a superpowered protagonist is an attractive element, making that character very perfect in terms of traits and attitude is something you have to avoid.

A truly satisfying ending – How does the main character ultimately solve the problem? How does he overcome a seemingly impossible obstacle? How does the villain get defeated? These are questions that you have to answer in mapping out the direction of your stories. What makes an author successful is when he or she can master the art of giving the readers the biggest reward by reading through the end: a conclusion that truly satisfies them.

Wattpad is one of the biggest reading platforms on the internet. It would be unwise to not harness the earning potential it can deliver. Publish that finished story you have, or start writing one if you haven’t yet. Some stories that sprout from the platform are produced into movies. Who knows? One of yours might just become the next big blockbuster movie!

Before you leave, can you please share this with your friends?