7 high paying freelance writing niches
Did you listen to me when I wrote “experts make all the money?” If you didn’t, you should have. I’ll never steer you in the wrong direction. Here’s another opportunity to learn and adapt what you learn so you can be a superstar.
You need to know where the money is before you go get it. Especially as a freelance writer where there are dozens of options, you need to prioritize what you’re passionate about writing against what your current skill sets are and what new skills you’re willing to learn.
In this post, we’re giving you the highest paying freelance writing niches. If you have the skills to deliver, these are the specialties that earn you the most money.
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All freelance writing isn’t the same
Writing is a broad industry that includes many sub categories. If you’re just getting started and not sure where you fit in yet, then being a generalist isn’t a bad thing. Try writing ads, try writing website copy, landing pages, white pages, blogs — try all of it.
But once you identify that niche that gets you the most excited, consider focusing entirely in that sector and becoming expert. That’s where the money’s at and that’s where you need to be.
This is when you need to prioritize. Writing novels is my north star, but ghostwriting has made me more money than anything and it’s something I’m also passionate about. But it took me some time to narrow my focus and build up my skill set to become expert.
If you want to do the same, you’ll need to be kind to yourself along the way.
High paying freelance writing niches
This list is not in order, but through research, we’ve identified 7 high paying freelance writing opportunities you can take advantage of right now. Also, look out for our upcoming post where we’ll outline exactly what you should be charging for freelance gigs. We’re in the process of doing research now but expect that post coming soon.
Case studies
A case study is when you describe how a customer or customers used a product or service to solve a problem. Think of this like a super detailed testimonial. Case studies are valuable to businesses because it lets consumers know the product works and how it can work for them. The health and welllness space is where case studies are super relevant, but pretty much any business or industry can use them.
Case studies are based in research, that’s why it pays a premium. You’ll need to interview both customers and staff from the business in order to create a thorough write-up. Case studies are used most in B2B (Business to business) situations.
Video script writing
It’s no secret that video is where so much of content is heading. That may sound like a downer for writers, but guess what? Somebody needs to write those video scripts and that someone should be you.
When we’re talking about video scripts, we’re talking about marketing content. These are videos you might see on YouTube or on a company’s website. They’re commercials you see online or longer form videos companies send out to other companies to prove the value of their service. Either way, it all starts with a writer.
Editor
If you’ve been to any of my workshops, you know I always say that if I started my writing career today, I would start as an editor. There’s so much content being produced that editing is a must. Don’t just think book editing here. Think about editing any piece of content that businesses put out publicly, including social media posts, e-books, white pages, blogs, emails—the list goes on.
Content marketing manager
Strategy is where future writers will thrive. Trust me on this. As AI tools make it easier to execute some writing tasks, the true value will be in creating strategies to reach the public. Those strategies involve content, and as a writer, you already understand how to create content. What you need to do now is leverage those skills, or level up your skills, and learn ways to distribute that content that will reach the audience that the business desires.
Once you level up, and pair it with your writing skills, you’ve just transformed yourself into an asset for any company.
Grant writer
Writing grants are tedious. They take a lot of time, information collection, and a specific kind of persuasive writing. Those factors are what make it possible for grant writers to charge a premium.
Expect grant writers to be even more in demand in this year and moving forward. With inflation rising across the world and the cost of living far outpacing wages, people are turning to grants as a means of income. Yes, they want to fund their projects, but people who are seeking these grants also want to get paid. As a grant writer, you help them do that.
Technical writer
I’m going to admit right now that technical writing is my least favourite kind of writing. That being said, technical writers get paid! With technical writing, you need to translate technical ideas—medical, technology, etc.—into manuals, journals, or tutorials that any regular person can understand.
This means that not only do you need to be a master writer, you also need to be well educated in the field you’re writing about. This is why technical writers are usually niche based. If you already obsess over an industry or have been trained/educated in a specific industry, then technical writing could be your thing.
Ghostwriter
Other than writing novels, this is my favourite thing to do. Ghostwriting books is so fulfilling and it also has a high price tag, which is another reason I enjoy it.
At this point in my career, I focus exclusively on ghostwriting books. However, you can also ghostwrite speeches or other long form content for individuals. I’ve ghostwritten pieces that have appeared in Forbes and NYT. Ghostwriting will always be in demand because there is a personal element to it. If you have the patience and don’t mind outbound marketing, then ghostwriting might be the career for you.
That’s it. 7 high paying writing niches just waiting for you to capitalize. If you learned something from this post, please share. That’s how we support everyone in the writing community.
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