Freelance writing has become one of the best things that ever happened to me. I am so happy that I can make money from home and work on my terms. I know that many people are interested in freelancing so I wanted to share some freelance writing niches with you to help you get started.
We are going to discuss 15 freelance writing niches so you can use your talents as a writer to make money. Maybe you knew about the basics like blog post writing and copywriting, but there are so many more avenues you might go as a freelance writer.
You don't necessarily need to be super specific when it comes to the services you offer; you could provide a whole slate of services! But, you do need to make sure that you are only tackling the types of services you can write or learn to write, though. No lying to get more writing jobs!
Here are 15 freelance writing niches you can use to kickstart your digital career!
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
Related Reading: How To Become A Freelancer: What You Need To Succeed & Make Your Own $$$
Before we get started: Do you need freelance writing services? Check out my freelance website Amanda Cross Co. and contact me about my freelance blog writing services.
1. SEO Content Writing
SEO content writing is writing content that is optimized for search engines. Now, this doesn't mean that you produce low-quality content! You will likely be delivering high-quality content, but it will be shorter in nature.
Sometimes it's difficult to find high-paying clients in this niche, but the work can be pretty steady and even relaxing if you find work in a niche you like.
As an SEO content writer, you'll likely be producing short, punchy, but informative blog posts for clients. Your work will probably be ghostwritten so it can be difficult to find samples for your website. You need to be ready for that as a writer.
At a loss for how to start your freelance SEO content career? Check out this guide to SEO content from Wordstream.
2. Blog Post Writing
Next, let's talk about the more general category of blog post writing. As an SEO content writer, a lot of your work would likely consist of writing blog posts. Blog post writing, in general, gives you way more wiggle room. As a blog post writer, you could write for a variety of companies and people. You will also write a variety of content lengths.
As a blog post writer myself, I have written pieces as small as 300 words and as big as 11,000+ words. You may decide you want to focus on short-form blog work or decide you'd rather lean into the long-form blog writing side of things.
Blog writing is a diverse freelance trade to get into because not only can you help bloggers, you can also write for solopreneurs and companies. There are a ton of options with this field.
Need some tips to get started with blog post writing? Check out this post all about writing better blog posts from Optin Monster.
3. Podcast Show Notes Writing
Next, podcast show notes writing. With this, your job is to listen to a podcast and highlight the most critical aspects of that for readers. You'll likely have an outline you need to fill out or follow. Your job would be to tell readers why they need to click the play button on the post you are writing notes for. You may also be pulling out the best information for people who have already pressed play. Your client may put you in charge of listening for links to add those to your show notes.
With podcasts becoming so popular, work as a podcast show notes writer is becoming much more popular. You may want to reach out to podcasts you know and love. Maybe you've seen that they started creating show notes, but they are behind a few episodes. You never know how offering your writing hands will help them out.
Need some advice on podcast show notes writing? Check out this post from ConvertKit on podcast show notes, or these guides from Podcast Motor and The Podcast Host.
4. Book Or eBook Writing
Not all books are written by their authors. As a book or eBook writer, you could be working in tandem with a writer to perfect their work and talents, or you could be doing all the work yourself.
You may also be writing smaller eBooks that people can use for lead magnets on their website.
If you do choose to become a book writer, know that this is likely a long-term project that will require a lot of focus. Likely this will be ghostwritten work so you will not show up as an author of this publication, you may not be acknowledged at all.
You could be working in fiction or nonfiction as a book writer. I am sure you are bound to have an interesting time working and researching on a project of this magnitude.
I know that it may be difficult to find resources on this topic. Here are a few articles I have found on ghostwriting books and eBooks:
- How to Make an Extra $1000 Right Now Writing eBooks!
- 7 Steps to Becoming a Well-Paid Book Ghostwriter
5. Product Description Writing
Have you ever read the description of a product on your favorite store? Chances are, they have hired a freelancer, or they have an internal team available to write those product descriptions. Product description writing is usually done in bulk. You may be delivering hundreds of descriptions at once to a client.
Product description writing is about more than just being witty or funny. You need to have an excellent grasp of search engine optimization so that store products can be found online. These product descriptions are essential, especially for small businesses. Your product descriptions should convert people into paying customers.
Do you need help with where to start on your journey to becoming a product descriptions writer? The ever amazing and helpful Neil Patel has a brilliant guide all about writing product descriptions that sell. It has plenty of examples in typical Neil Patel fashion, so you should read through that guide first.
6. Sales Page Writing
Now, this is where it gets really serious! Sales pages can have a direct impact on if someone buys something like a course or an eBook. The sales page copy makes a significant impact on a buyer taking the next step, which is often making a purchase.
Your copy as a sales page writer needs to be spot on, emotional, and convincing. You will often be writing these sales pages for smaller entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, and you don't want to waste their money.
It's all about learning to sell better. I love the book How To Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards to help with sales page copy.
7. Instructional Design/eCourse Writing
Courses need to be created all the time. Whether you are writing actual college courses or eCourses found online, you can make a big difference in this field.
Most of the courses you will be creating are online courses in some way, whether through a university or a random entrepreneur. I love taking courses, and I know that they are a lot to handle. Creating a fantastic course that you can glean knowledge from takes a lot of energy and effort.
You might like these tips for writing training materials from Convergence Training.
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8. Speech Writing
Speeches happen more often than we think. There are political speeches, keynote speeches, and even the speeches or pep talks our boss gives us before a long shift. Speech writers work with people who need a little help in the communications department.
Since these speeches are read aloud, you need a certain mastery of language to write a great speech. If you have those skills, you should become a speech writer.
You may like this resource from Forbes sharing ten keys to writing a speech.
9. Magazine Or Newspaper Feature/Column Writing
Have you ever dreamed of seeing your name in print? I know I have. After I wrote a few pieces for Potential Magazine (here's the link to the first piece), the thought of being a magazine contributor has constantly been running through my head.
Magazines and newspapers are still doing pretty well for themselves. There are thousands of magazines in publication right now, and a lot of them pay great rates for articles. If you want to get involved with these magazines, I highly encourage you to start thinking about what ideas you could pitch.
When it comes to magazine writing resources, I recently picked up this book from Kerrie Flanagan about magazine writing that I have loved thus far. It's a bit pricey, but it's a Writer's Digest guide, so I know it will be an excellent resource for you.
10. Press Release Writing
When a company has something significant to say to the public, they often write a press release to get it distributed to journalists and bloggers across the country. These press releases take time to craft because you don't want just another boring press release, you want something that will make an impact.
Press release writers can take a boring subject and make it fun for everyone to consume. They know how to tell a story and go beyond just the facts of the matter. They also know how to keep it brief, so readers don't get bored before they get to the most critical parts of a press release.
Do you need help starting with this freelance idea? Check out this blog post from CoSchedule sharing how to write press releases with plenty of examples and templates.
11. Resume Writing
Do you want to help people land their dream job by making sense of their disorganized mess of a work history? Resume writers work with their clients to take their resumes from drab to fab. You are essentially helping people showcase their best selves better.
You know all the tricks to help people get in front of more recruiters, and you can use that skill to better people's lives. Unfortunately, most people don't know how to write their resume correctly, especially for a career change or a big girl job. Lend a hand with your resume writing skills.
Check out this post on Indeed sharing six universal rules for writing resumes to get started.
12. Email/Email Sequence Writing
Email marketing is all the rage these days. Everyone is building their email list and using it to promote their brand. If you know how to write a well-polished email, entrepreneurs need your assistance!
You could write single one-off emails, or you could create larger email sequences for clients. Email sequences are often used to introduce entrepreneurs to their audience or as email courses. Dig into your knowledge of emails so you can create amazing stuff for your clients.
If you want to be a freelance email sequence writer you need to see this post from Abbi of Successful Freelance Mom about writing email sequences. Abbi is an email sequence writer, I am currently taking one of her courses, and I love it thus far.
13. Grant Writing
Nonprofits need as many sources of revenue as they can get, especially if they aren't getting much in donations. There is so much unclaimed grant money going around right now, and you could help companies take a slice of that grant pie.
If you want to be a successful freelancer while also helping amazing organizations, you should become a grant writer.
Are you staring this process from scratch? You may want to check out Grant Writing For Dummies. This book by Beverly Browning is 300+ pages and a great introduction to the art of grant writing.
14. Case Study Writing
Case studies are so interesting to read. In case you didn't know, case studies are deep dives into certain aspects of a business or life. You may see these on websites digging into things like social media numbers, active users, money raised, etc. These case studies take a decent amount of time to write because they are quite technical. You have to get down and dirty with analytics and be able to explain them to everyone who may be reading.
Case studies are often used to help showcase a companies strengths, but you can also profile other big-name companies. A social media agency may profile how their services have helped their clients, but they may also profile how a site like Instagram got to 1,000,000,000 monthly active users.
Need help with case studies? CoSchedule is coming in clutch again with an amazing case study guide that any new case study writer should read!
15. Social Media Writer
Last, but not least, you may want to become a social media writer. As a social media writer, you will be writing optimized tweets, great Facebook posts, or witty Instagram captions. You may want to work across social media profiles, or you may specialize in an area like Instagram captions. It may seem weird to niche down further, but if you eat, sleep, and breathe Instagram, I will probably trust you more to create the best IG captions.
You may also want to specialize in social media ad writing. You can make an amazing amount of money as a Facebook Ads expert for instance.
Here are some general social media writing tips from Agorapulse. If you want to become an ad writer, here are some tips from Hootsuite.
Conclusion
These niches are just the tip of the iceberg! There are many more ways to make money as a freelance writer. I wanted you to see that it's more than just freelance blogging. You can dig deep, use your skills, and develop a slate of services that will knock your clients' socks off!
