Is Barefoot Writer Legit Or A Scam? (Honest Review!)

If you're reading this article, you've probably seen advertisements online promoting Barefoot Writer, an online club that helps people make money with freelance writing.

This online service for freelance writers claims it's helping over 250,000+ subscribers find success in this remote work industry. And its advertisements often claim that you can quickly make five or six figures through freelance writing and copywriting.

But is Barefoot Writer legit or a scam? And can this website actually help you find writing gigs and accelerate your writing side hustle?

I've been making most of my money as a freelance writer for the last few years. And I've been curious about Barefoot Writer ever since I've seen its advertisements.

So in my Barefoot Writer review, I'm taking a closer look at this popular freelance writing subscription service, what other members say, and what some of your best alternatives are.

Looking for a more affordable freelance writing guide? Checkout:

• Freelance Writing For Freedom: Get my blueprint for how I scaled to $100,000+ in freelance writing income while traveling the world.

What Is The Barefoot Writer?

The Barefoot Writer is a subscription magazine and website that teaches individuals how to make money online as a freelance writer.

The platform's main goal is to help people find the best freelance writing jobs. In its marketing material, it explains how its training can help subscribers become professional, highly paid writers with a leisurely lifestyle of working anywhere, including on a beach barefoot.

At the time of writing, an annual membership to the Barefoot Writers Club costs $249.

The service has been in business for 17+ years and is part of the American Writers Association, which is also known as AWAI.

Some of the main skills and tools Barefoot Writer promises to teach members include:

• How to streamline your writing to produce more content
• How to find the right writing path for you
• How to write in the most profitable niches
• How to find projects and charge the right amount

At first glance, everything seems pretty standard for what you'd expect from an online writing course.

But I'm going to share my opinions on the site based on my years of freelance writing. And I'm also going to share other Barefoot Writer reviews from current and former members so you can decide if it's worth it or a scam.

Is Barefoot Writer Legit?

Yes, Barefoot Writer is legit, and members gain access to freelance job postings and training modules. The site also gives members access to marketing newsletters, courses, and materials to help people launch a freelance writing career. However, the company's advertisements make freelance writing seem like easy money, which isn't true in my experience.

This doesn't make Barefoot Writer an outright scam. But like a lot of courses about online side hustles, I think it's somewhat misleading with its advertisements.

Many Barefoot Writer reviews you find online express a great deal of frustration at the additional costs that are not disclosed upfront and feel that the information that they do receive is not particularly helpful.

So, in short, you're paying a steep membership fee for a lot of information that you could just find online yourself for free, or for much less.

How Does Barefoot Writer Work?

The Barefoot Writer is a subscription service for individuals interested in becoming a freelance writer. You can request its free writing career guide and join their mailing list at no cost, but that's the only free service you get.

After that, you pay $249 per year for an annual membership. This membership comes with seven additional bonus guides like:

• How to make money with copywriting
• How to make $500+ with email marketing
• The secret of the 1-hour work week that makes $54,000 a year
• How to make money researching
• How to make money with creative writing
• How to get paid to take your next vacation

You also get 12 issues of the monthly Barefoot Writer Magazine, a daily newsletter, access to the private Facebook Group, and similar perks.

These upsells are my main complaint about Barefoot Writer because they promote highly unrealistic outcomes.

Making $54,000 per year by writing only one hour per week is impossible in my opinion, unless you make money by promising the dream of passive income to others and don't actually do any work.

Similarly, while email copywriting can be lucrative, very few people I know can make $500 per day with copywriting, let alone when starting out.

Overall, Barefoot Writer has hefty promises including extremely large income potential that seems extremely unrealistic for many tenured writers, much less someone who is new to the industry and writing in general.

Barefoot Writer Pricing

A Barefoot Writer membership costs $249 per year, and you pay this fee upfront. There's also a 365-day money-back guarantee in which Barefoot Writer claims you can cancel for any reason and email the company to get your money back.

This works out to about $21 per month. And for all of the ebooks, Facebook Group, and newsletters you get, it might sound like good value.

However, I believe you can learn all of this information for free online or for much less. And I dislike how misleading Barefoot Writer is with its income claims.

Other websites like Writers Work also have a similar scheme and are pretty scammy in my opinion.

Personally, I think you're better off practicing writing for free on websites like Medium or with your own blog. Then, you can find writing gigs on free job boards like ProBlogger or Indeed, or with more affordable job sites like FlexJobs.

You can also check out my freelance writing ebook, which is under $30, for what I believe is an honest, step-by-step guide on how to make money with freelance writing.

Is Barefoot Writer A Scam?

Barefoot Writer isn't a scam, but it's not worth paying for an annual membership in my opinion. The site has misleading income claims, and I think it's a steep annual price for information you could find online for free or for much less.

I didn't spend money on Barefoot Writer and just downloaded its free career guide. This is because the $249 price is too high in my opinion to justify signing up for.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Good resources for beginners to learn more about freelance writing
• Some beginner resources available without a subscription including a free guide
• 12 month money-back guarantee
• Materials can be inspiring

Cons:

• Large number of marketing emails daily to upsell you on additional products and services
• Content is focused for beginners, although they claim to turn subscribers into experts
• High annual membership cost
• Much of the content is basic and not particularly helpful for anyone with experience
• The amount of income earning potential promoted by this service is extremely unrealistic, especially for new writers
• Much of the information provided can be obtained on other websites for free
• Subscriptions can be difficult to cancel and (users claim) can't be canceled online
• Customer service can be difficult to reach and users are attempting to reach through defunct social media channels and other outlets

Other Barefoot Writer Reviews

As mentioned, I didn't pay for a Barefoot Writers Club membership because I think the company has unrealistic claims and is too expensive.

But one of the best ways to tell if a course is worth it or not is to read reviews from other customers. And here's what some other Barefoot Writer reviews are saying on Reddit about the platform:

• seshisun says: “It's garbage. Why would someone pay $55,000 for a person to write a piece of junk mail?”
• Corky081 says: “I am so tired of these things. I do wish there was something out there that was real just once. I learned a while ago if you have to pay to make money there's probably something wrong with it.”
• 7Pedazos says: “The scam part of Barefoot Writers is suggesting that anyone can be a successful direct response copywriter. It’s a blend of writing, sales, marketing analysis, and natural empathy, a combination that most people do not have. Some writers can learn it, and maybe Barefoot Writer tries to teach it to you, but it’ll take years of sucking at it before you can write a halfway decent sales letter.”

As you can see, these writers don't think that Barefoot Writer is legit because it has unrealistic claims. This is my main complaint about the company as well.

This Barefoot Writer review from Scamadviser also shares information on how the membership works and why it's not worth signing up for.

Overall, I think freelance writing is an excellent way to make money online for beginners. And it can be incredibly freeing, letting you make money with your laptop while traveling the world.

But, as these reviews explain, you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to get started.

The Best Barefoot Writer Alternatives

Since I don't think Barefoot Writer is worth paying for, I want to share some useful alternatives you can use to learn the basics of making money with freelance writing.

Some of my favorite alternatives include:

• Writing for free on websites like Medium or your own blog
• Finding freelance writing gigs with remote job sites like FlexJobs
• Using job boards like ProBlogger and Indeed
• Joining freelance writing Facebook Groups
• Checking out my Freelance Writing For Freedom eBook

I also made a YouTube video that shares some of my favorite ways to find freelance writing gigs that you can try instead of using Barefoot Writer.

In my experience, it took about six months to make a decent side income with freelance writing, and about a year and a half to go full-time. So, have realistic expectations in your head whether you try Barefoot Writer or not.

Extra Reading – The Best Online Jobs That Pay You Daily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Barefoot Writers Get Paid To Write?

Barefoot Writer members don't get paid to write from the company directly. Instead, the company helps members find writing gigs from other companies to launch their freelance writing careers.

Is Barefoot Writer Worth It?

In my opinion, Barefoot Writer isn't worth it. The membership fee is quite costly, and you can find all of the information online for free. I also dislike how misleading the company's income claims are.

Final Thoughts

I hope my Barefoot Writer review helps you decide if this premium freelance writing membership is worth it or not.

Personally, I don't like expensive memberships that have unrealistic claims like making $50,000+ a year with just one hour of work a week. And while I don't think that Barefoot Writer is a scam, I believe it's quite misleading.

Starting your own blog or looking for freelance writing gigs on your own is a better use of time in my experience. And you can always branch into other digital marketing side hustles like copywriting and email marketing as you gain experience.

In any case, the choice is yours, so best of luck on your freelance writing journey!

And remember: you can check out my Freelance Writing For Freedom eBook if you want my step-by-step guide on making money with freelance writing that costs way less than using Barefoot Writer.

Thanks for reading!

Want even more money-making ideas? Checkout:

• The Top Side Hustles That Pay Weekly.
• The Best Online Jobs That Pay Weekly.