One side-gig I read about that you can do entirely from home is write product descriptions. This is essentially a form of copywriting, or writing ad copy.
Product descriptions are appealing to many people as a work at home side gig because they are usually short and don't require a ton of creativity.
What Does Product Description Writing Pay?
Some writers charge $20 and up per description while in other cases the work may just pay a few dollars per description. This will depend entirely on who you're doing the work for.
Do You Have to Have Writing Experience To Do This?
You don't really have to be a professional writer to write product descriptions. There may be a slight learning curve, but you will get the feel of it pretty quickly.
I used to do a lot of this for Textbroker when my boys were little, and I found it to be pretty easy work once I got into the groove of it.
If you find you enjoy this type of writing and want to take it further, there are courses that can teach you the broader skill of copywriting. One I'm familiar with is through Transcribe Anywhere. They offer a copywriting course here that could help you level up and charge more for your work.
Where Is the Product Description Writing Work?
So how do you find this work? It's not something that's always so easy to dig up. The jobs come and go because companies don't need this all the time.
While it's true that many companies have started using AI to do their descriptions, not all do. Many are still looking for that human touch because they know that AI-written content is usually pretty easy to detect, and they don't want to look unprofessional.
Today, I've done some digging into this and found 30 solid ideas for you if product description writing is what you are interested in!
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Where to Go If You Want The Work To Come To You
If you don't actively want to seek out product description writing gigs, you can sign up to be a writer for the platforms I'm listing below that frequently have those kinds of writing jobs listed.
Textbroker – This site has been around years and years, and it's easy enough to get accepted to write for them if they are actively recruiting writers. I wrote product descriptions for them years ago, and from what I understand this type of work is still occasionally available here.
GetaCopywriter – Get a Copywriter connects freelance writers with businesses needing copy across dozens of industries, including retail, tech, food, healthcare, and more. There is no bidding for work and no monthly fees charged to writers. Pay ranges from $55–$80 per 1,000 words at the pro level and $122–$176 per 1,000 words at the expert level, with weekly payouts via PayPal or direct deposit.
WriterAccess — WriterAccess, like Textbroker, has been around for many years. They accept freelance writers for businesses to help create all kinds of copy, including product descriptions. You just apply, get your writer rating, and then wait for clients to find you and assign you work. You can earn more the higher your writer rating goes.
Verblio — Read Verblio Review – With Verblio, businesses post writing orders and if you're an approved writer, you can claim them. They do sometimes have orders for product descriptions.
ContentFly — With ContentFly, once you're accepted as a writer, you don't have to bid or compete for the work. They will assign it to you. Sometimes there is product description work.
Scripted — Read Scripted Review – Scripted is a bit more selective in who they let in as a writer, but if you get accepted the pay tends to be better than your average content mill, and probably better than most of the sites listed above. Clients post what they are looking for, and writers can pitch on the ones that are a good fit.
Where to Go If You Want to Set Up a Profile and Get Found
This is another relatively easy option, especially if you are just starting out. With these platforms you create a profile or listing describing your services, and then clients come to you searching for exactly what you offer.
You do have to put in a little effort upfront to get your profile set up, but after that the work can come to you.
Fiverr — Fiverr is one of the most popular freelance platforms out there and it is a great place to offer product description writing services. You create a “gig” describing what you offer, set your price, and wait for orders to come in. Search “product description writer” on Fiverr and you will see what the demand is for this currently.
Upwork — Read Upwork Review – Upwork is another huge freelance platform where clients post jobs and writers can apply, but you can also set up a profile that clients can find when they search for writers. Product description jobs are posted here regularly. The key is having a strong profile that speaks specifically to ecommerce and product writing.
Freelancer.com — Similar to Upwork, Freelancer.com lets you bid on jobs that clients post. Search “product descriptions” in their job listings and you will find work posted regularly from store owners who need the help.
PeoplePerHour — This platform works similarly to the others and is especially popular with UK and European ecommerce sellers, so it is worth setting up a profile here if you want access to a slightly different pool of clients.
Contra — Contra is a newer-to-me freelance platform that is completely commission-free, meaning you keep every dollar you earn. Set up a profile there, list product description writing as your service, and browse their job listings for ecommerce clients looking for writers.
Where to Go If You Want to Apply For Posted Jobs
This is kind of a middle ground between waiting for work to come to you and going out to find your own clients. In many cases, someone has already posted a job and is actively looking for a writer, so you just have to apply.
Here are some good places to look for product description writing jobs that are posted regularly.
FlexJobs — FlexJobs requires a small subscription fee to access their listings, but every job posted there is vetted and screened for legitimacy. If you are tired of sorting through sketchy listings on free job boards, this one may be worth the cost to you. They regularly list part-time and freelance writing jobs.
Indeed — This is probably the first place most people think of when they think job boards, and for good reason. Search “product description writer” and filter for remote jobs. Set up a daily email alert so new listings come straight to your inbox and you don't miss anything.
ProBlogger Job Board — This is a well-known job board specifically for writers and bloggers. Companies post writing jobs here regularly, including product and ecommerce copy jobs. Check it often because good listings go fast.
We Work Remotely — This is one of the bigger remote job boards out there and writing and copywriting jobs do show up here regularly. Worth bookmarking.
MediaBistro — MediaBistro is a job board geared toward media and content professionals. It is a little more niche than the others but product and ecommerce writing jobs do pop up here from time to time and there tends to be less competition than on the bigger boards.
Where to Go If You Want To Find Your Own Clients
This option is a little scarier because it always feels uncomfortable to reach out to others and pitch your services. But, there is less competition because not as many other people are trying to do it this way. This option can also pay significantly more.
You may reach out to 100 people and get mostly “no's” but if you even get one or two who say “yes,” that's money in your pocket.
Cold Pitching Etsy Sellers – Browse Etsy and look around for shops that have no, or poorly written, product descriptions. Some people are great at crafting and creating, but terrible at writing. These are the people who might need your services!
Cold Pitching Shopify Store Owners – Same as above. Do a Google search for “Powered by Shopify” and you should get a lot of results for stores that you could cold pitch your services to.
Cold Pitching Amazon FBA Sellers — Amazon sellers live and die by their product listings, and many of them know it. Join a few Amazon FBA Facebook groups and you will likely find sellers constantly asking for help with their copy. You can also just search Amazon for products in a niche you know well and reach out to sellers whose descriptions are poorly written or difficult to read.
eBay Sellers — eBay has millions of listings and a lot of them have terrible descriptions. Search for power sellers or high-volume shops in a category you are familiar with and look for ones where the descriptions are thin or sloppy. You can contact sellers directly through eBay's messaging system.
Facebook Groups for Ecommerce Sellers — Search Facebook for groups related to Shopify, Amazon FBA, Etsy, and ecommerce in general. These groups are filled with store owners who may sometimes ask for help with their listings and copy. Some groups let you post your services directly, and others you can simply watch for people asking for exactly what you offer, then jump on it.
Amazon Seller Forums — Amazon has its own seller community at sellercentral.amazon.com where store owners talk about their businesses and challenges. Browse the threads and look for sellers mentioning struggles with their listings or low conversion rates. It is a warm audience that is already thinking about this problem!
Reddit — The subreddits r/forhire and r/HireAWriter are both active communities where you can post your writing services or find people looking to hire writers. Post a simple ad describing what you do and check back on occasion. Writers who stay active and engage in the community tend to get noticed and referred.
LinkedIn — Search for ecommerce founders, Shopify store owners, and brand managers and connect with them directly. When you see someone in your connections who runs an online store, send a short friendly message introducing yourself. You can also post content about product copywriting on your profile to attract inbound inquiries over time.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo Campaigns — Look for active campaigns or even new product launches that have thin or very weak descriptions. The people who run these want to get their products launched as fast as possible, so they may be more likely to hire help fast. You can use either site and message creators directly.
Print on Demand Sellers — Print on demand sellers on platforms like Etsy and Redbubble often launch dozens of products at once and rarely have time to write good descriptions for all of them. These are great potential clients! Search for POD shops with lots of listings and poor copy, or find print on demand Facebook groups and introduce yourself there.
Wholesale and B2B Suppliers — Browse wholesale marketplaces like Faire or Handshake and look for suppliers whose product copy is thin or generic. These companies often have hundreds of products and very little time or resources dedicated to writing. Contact them directly through the marketplace or their company website.
Side note – Cold pitching seems scary but it's not really. Come up with a message that's solid that you can copy/paste and use over and over for potential clients. Here are some tips for putting that together:
- Introduce yourself, explain who you are and what you do
- Give a genuine compliment on their products and/or store. Be specific about something, don't just say “I like your products.”
- Tell them you think that stronger (or any if they don't have them) product descriptions could greatly boost their sales, or show them why you think so if they have a competitor with stronger descriptions who is ranking higher or selling more
- You could offer to write a few descriptions free for them to look over and see your skills without committing to anything
Niche Markets With Less Competition You Probably Didn't Think Of
These may have less competition than the options listed above, but still very much a need for quality product description writing!
Restaurant Menu Descriptions – You could check for new restaurants, or soon-to-be-open restaurants and reach out to offer your services for their menus.
Real Estate Listing Descriptions – Browse Zillow or Realtor.com and look for real estate listings that have short, basic descriptions, poorly written descriptions, or virtually no description. You'd be surprised at the realtors that desperately need help describing their listings in an appealing way.
App Store Description Writing – Same goes for apps. Get on your phone and look around for apps with poor descriptions, or descriptions that are hard to understand. Reach out to the creator and offer your services.
Build Your Own Portfolio Website To Bring In Clients
While this option isn't necessarily going to draw a bunch of clients to you as soon as it's live, it will be important for you to have if you decide to do this full-time. You want a place to direct potential clients to so they can see your past work.
You don't have to do it immediately. It makes sense to wait until you've actually done some writing work. But once you have, get it in place and put up some testimonials from people you worked with.
To do this fast and easy, you can use Carrd.co. Takes about 15 minutes there to build a simple one page site describing your services. Just add your name, a short bio, and paste in a few writing samples. Looks professional and costs nothing.
To Sum Up
Even though it is technically copywriting, product description writing is real and generally doesn't require any formal writing experience to start. The work is out there, you just have to know where to look for it.
The content mills like Textbroker and WriterAccess are the easiest entry point if you have zero experience or portfolio. But once you do, you can start the cold pitching and begin charging more money.
This could be a side-gig for you to do to bring in extra here and there, or, if you want to get really serious about it, it could potentially turn into your full-time job.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do!
Anna Thurman is a work at home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 15 years. Her findings are published weekly here at Real Ways to Earn.