5 Ways to Get Paid to Write Letters (2026)

The best place to get paid to write letters is Blue Mountain Arts, which publishes a clear $300 per poem rate. The Scribe Tribe is second for people with good handwriting who want to write client letters by hand. Northern Cards is third for writers with greeting-card verse. Letters to Strangers and Upwork round out the list. This guide is for US writers who want side income from words. The honest caveat: this is a narrow market, most payers publish no per-letter rate, and none of these is a steady paycheck.

5 Ways to Get Paid to Write Letters (2026)

1. Blue Mountain Arts

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET: A paid outlet for heartfelt poetry and greeting-card sentiments, which is the closest thing to getting paid for letter-style writing on a card. Per the official submission guidelines, Blue Mountain pays $300 per poem for worldwide, exclusive rights to use it on a card and other products, or $50 per poem for one-time use in a book. You may include as many different works as you wish in a single submission.

Send your poems through the submission form on the guidelines page, by email to editorial@sps.com, or by post. Include your name and contact details with every submission. Because a sale is a one-off payment, treat it as bonus income and fold it into a plan such as how much to save each month.

Watch out: the $300 option gives up your rights worldwide, so do not submit work you plan to sell somewhere else. Verdict: the best-documented payout on this list for anyone who writes verse. Last checked: November 6, 2026, Blue Mountain Arts submission guidelines.

2. The Scribe Tribe / Inkpact

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET: Freelance handwriting work for people in the US or UK with good penmanship. The company sends letters on behalf of its clients, and scribes transcribe them by hand. Accepted scribes use an online portal to request available jobs, and the work can include notecards and full-page letters. Jobs are paid in tiers, but the site does not publish a per-item rate, so expect to learn the numbers during onboarding.

Visit thescribetribe.com and apply to join the community of scribes. Once you are accepted, log in to the portal and request the jobs that are available. Then compare what each tier pays against the time a page takes you, and keep only the tiers that make sense for your speed.

Watch out: with no published rate, ask what each tier pays before you commit hours, and remember that available jobs depend on what clients send. Verdict: the best fit if you literally want to write letters by hand. Last checked: November 6, 2026, The Scribe Tribe.

3. Northern Cards

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET: A small card company that invites writers to email wording for greeting cards. You are asked to review the current catalogue first, and the company says it does not use profane language. Northern Cards publishes no per-item writing price. The roughly $150 figure on its submission page is the typical payment for a first purchased artist design, not for a writer's verse, so do not count on it for words alone.

Browse the catalogue to see the tone and occasions already covered, write verses that fill a gap, then email them using the contact address on the submission page. Pair small, occasional payouts with a habit like the 52-week savings challenge so they add up over time.

Watch out: with no published writer rate, ask about payment and rights before you send anything. Verdict: worth a pitch if you already write card verse, but not a reliable paycheck. Last checked: November 6, 2026, Northern Cards submissions.

4. Letters to Strangers

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET: A paid Letter Moderator role supporting the organization's online letter-exchange platform. This is moderation work, not writing letters for clients. Per the careers page, paid positions are independent-contractor roles paid by a monthly stipend or an hourly wage, with details finalized upon hire. Applicants must be 16 or older, and paid-role applicants are expected to commit for at least one year. No specific pay amount is published.

Open the careers page, read the Letter Moderator description, and follow the application instructions listed there. Plan around the one-year expectation before you apply, and ask about the stipend or hourly rate before you accept. Since the role is contract work, you are not an employee, so budget for that when you compare it with a regular job.

Watch out: pay is set at hiring, so you will not know the amount up front. Verdict: a fit for people who care about letter culture and can commit long term, not for quick cash. Last checked: November 6, 2026, Letters to Strangers careers.

5. Upwork

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET: A freelance marketplace where clients post letter-writing assignments, such as cover letters, business letters, and personal notes. It is not a dedicated letter-writing program. On the letter-writing jobs page, hundreds of projects were listed at last check. Payment is tied to each client's contract and budget, so there is no fixed per-letter rate.

Visit upwork.com, create a freelancer profile, and search for letter-writing jobs. Read each posting's budget and scope, then submit a proposal that fits what the client asked for. Because income from proposals can swing from month to month, a plan like how to make a budget that sticks helps.

Watch out: individual postings come and go, so a job you see today may be filled tomorrow. Verdict: the most flexible option here, best once you have samples to show. Last checked: November 6, 2026, Upwork letter-writing jobs.

Verdict: Start here

• Best overall: Blue Mountain Arts, because it publishes a clear $300 per poem rate and accepts submissions by form, email, or post.
• Best for handwriting: The Scribe Tribe, since accepted scribes request notecard and full-page letter jobs from a portal.
• Skip if: you need steady, predictable pay. Most of these sources publish no per-letter rate, and card sales are one-off payments.
• Try first: email a few of your best poems to editorial@sps.com or use the form on the Blue Mountain submission guidelines page.