If you’re passionate about poetry, you may be wondering if there’s any way to turn it into a career.  Nowadays, there are very few people who simply write poetry and sell it to eager readers. It’s unfortunate but it’s the harsh reality.  Does that mean you should abandon your love for poetry and settle for a job that holds no appeal for you? Absolutely not! There are thousands of people who make money off of poetry; they’re just doing it in ways that you wouldn’t expect!

Consider songs, which are often filled with poetic verses and beautifully flowing stanzas.  Lyricists are people who write the words for songs that have a lyrical component and they have the opportunity to write poetry on a regular basis. They may not have any vocal talents but they still make a living off of doing what they love best- writing poetry! Lyricists even get the added bonus of hearing their poetry come to life when the song is finally produced.

Copywriters often deal with poetry in their line of work too. Copywriters spend a great deal of time writing the text components that you often find on advertisements and product labels.  When you come across a catchy phrase or an enticing description on the cover of a product, you’re looking at the work of a copywriter!    They often make use of poetic language to encourage customers to purchase their products or services. With your poetic talent, you could easily stand out to employers who are looking for someone who has a clever way with words!

There are plenty of other people who get the unique opportunity to encounter poetry while working. Think of university professors who teach courses on poetry and other forms of creative writing. They get to write, teach, share, and explore poetry while making money to support themselves. There are also authors of children’s books who often incorporate poetic techniques into their work to make it more appealing to younger audiences. The list of people who make money off of poetry goes on and on. If you’re serious about the art, you can add yourself to that list too! You can also explore other unconventional methods such as creating a poetry blog and making money off of advertisements. For this, you would need to have enough people coming to your blog regularly so that advertisers would be willing to pay you for exposure. This option is noticeably riskier than some of the others but it’s still something that could be done as secondary source of income.

If poetry is genuinely something you want to infuse into your career, you need to be willing to make the effort to find a job that allows you to deal with poetry on a regular basis. You need to think outside of the box and look for opportunities that you wouldn’t normally consider. It may take a bit of time and effort, but it’ll definitely be worth it when you’re doing what you love, day after day.