1. Fixing Broken Websites (Yes, Really)
What it is: Mom-and-pop businesses have sites that look like Geocities in 1999. You rewrite their “About Us” so real humans don’t immediately click away.
Why it pays: They’re desperate. A bakery owner near my Airbnb paid me €200 to turn:
“We bake good bread.”
Into this:
"Nonna Maria kneaded this dough at 4 a.m. you taste the dawn in every crust."
Real numbers: €150–€400 per page (I made €1,200 in three weeks rewriting for eight shops in Trastevere).
Soul test: If you can make a plumber sound like poetry without lying, you win.
Steal this idea: “Write an ‘About Us’ for a gelateria where the owner cries every time a kid drops a cone. No buzzwords. Just melted pistachio and regret.”
2. Turning Dry Docs into Human Stories
What it is: NGOs, hospitals, local councils, they drown in boring reports no one reads. You rewrite so people actually give a damn.
Why it pays: Donors need to feel something. A Milan hospice paid me €800 to turn their “Annual Report” into this:
"The night Giorgio held a dying man’s hand until sunrise."
Real numbers: €500–€2,500 per report.
Soul test: If a bureaucrat cries, you nailed it.
3. Writing Letters for People Who Can’t
What it is: Elderly immigrants, refugees, blue-collar folks—writing is a wall for them. You become their voice.
Why it pays: It’s sacred. A Senegalese street vendor paid me €50 to write to his son:
"Tell him the olives taste like home. Tell him I’m not ashamed."
Real numbers: €30–€150 per letter (I made €600 in a month writing for 20 people).
Soul test: If they hug you and don’t let go—you’ve found your why.
4. Local Bar “Secret Menu” Stories
What it is: Dive bars have lore. You make it magic.
Why it pays: It builds cult followings. A bar in Bologna paid me €120 to write a backstory for their $3 mystery shot:
"The bartender’s nonno stole this recipe from Mussolini’s chef."
Soul test: If tourists whisper your words, you win.
Real numbers: €80–€200 per story.
5. Rewriting Rejection Letters (Yes, For Real)
What it is: Universities and hospitals send dream-killing rejections. You rewrite them so they land soft.
Why it pays: Compassion sells. A Florence art school paid me €300 to turn:
"You lack talent."
Into this:
"Your colors sing, but the canvas isn’t ready for your song yet."
Real numbers: €200–€500 per template.
6. Corporate Apologies That Sound Human
What it is: Companies screw up. You write apologies that don’t sound like they were generated by a robot in a PR basement.
Why it pays: Trust = survival. Rome’s tram service paid me €1,000 to write this:
"We know you weren’t late for work, you were late for your daughter’s first word."
Real numbers: €800–€3,000 per letter.
Soul test: If strangers share it on Twitter saying, “This made me forgive them”, you’ve healed something.
7. Dating Profile Ghostwriting
What it is: People can’t write “About Me” without sounding creepy. You fix it.
Why it pays: Love is expensive. A 68-year-old widow paid me €75 to turn:
"I like walks."
Into:
"I’ll show you the garden where I buried my husband’s ashes."
Real numbers: €50–€150 per profile.
8. Rewriting Product Labels So They Sell
What it is: Olive oil. Wine. Pasta. Most labels are robotic. You make them whisper secrets.
Real numbers: €100–€300 per label.
Example:
"Nonno squeezed these olives while singing to the trees. You taste the song."
9. Bucket Lists for the Dying
What it is: Hospices ask patients for their dream list. You write it with dignity.
Real numbers: €250–€600 per list.
Soul test: If the family reads it aloud at the funeral—you gave someone peace.
10. Translating Legal Hell into Human Words
What it is: Immigrants drowning in legalese. You rewrite forms so they actually understand.
Real numbers: €400–€1,000 per doc.
Soul test: If they finally know their rights, that’s power.
The Ugly Truth Nobody Tells You
Last year, I almost quit.
A client ghosted me after three drafts → €0
I cried over a $50 yoga mat blog post.
Too much espresso. Not enough rent.
"To the landlord who raised my rent:
I scrubbed your floors for 14 years.
My daughter’s college fund is in these cracks.
Please don’t let her dreams dissolve in bleach."
That’s when I realized:
Money isn’t in niches.
It’s in words that change something real.
Your Assignment (Not Advice)
"The barista remembers your coffee even when you forget your name."Walk in tomorrow. Hand it over. Say:
"This is why people come here. Use it or burn it."
If they don’t? Even better.
You just wrote something real.
That’s how you eat.
That’s how you keep your soul intact.
❌ “LinkedIn ghostwriting for CEOs!” → Write for the barista who needs her story told.
❌ “Sell ebooks on Amazon!” → Write a letter that saves a home.
❌ “Monetize your blog!” → Get paid in cash by hands that shake.
"Per il tuo articolo," she said.
This gig doesn’t just pay in euros. It pays in humanity.
Then Fatima, a 72-year-old cleaner, paid me €40 to write this:
The landlord lowered her rent.
Tonight: Write one true sentence about a local business you love:
If they pay you? Great.
That’s how you start.
(P.S. My landlord let me back in after I wrote him a letter about his dead dog. He cried. Two weeks free rent. Words are that powerful.)
Burn these gigs if you see them:
I’m still in this trattoria. The barista just slid me a free espresso.
Now go write the thing that scares you, before rent’s due. 🖤