Niche content writing involves writing about a specialized interest of which you have experience and knowledge. Niche content writing can be broad like digital marketing or narrowed down to specific topics within digital marketing such as SEO or e-commerce.
There has been an on-going debate for years of whether a writer should be a specialist or a generalist. It turns out that most writers refrain from becoming a specialist so that they can be open to writing about anything. However, in content marketing writing, it is essential to be specialized in a specific area. Content writing requires you to write from a place of authority with unique ideas and propositions about trends and answers to a problem.
However, not every niche will bear fruit and it is important to know which specific areas you should consider. As the famous saying goes, “The Riches Are In The Niches”.
So, let’s go through the best freelance content types to write about and understand the importance of targeting the right clients for your niche.
Importance of Targeting the Right Client
For a niche to be profitable you need to decide what kind of clients you need to target within your niche. It’s important to target clients that value the content you write.
To give you a better idea of how to find the right clients for your niche, you should keep in mind the following:
Specialization opens doors to potential business clients
Businesses are prepared to pay a higher price to writers who are specialized in their industry and their audience. That is why it is important to find a niche that you are an expert in. As a content writer, you need to know how to speak directly to prospects or customers of the company. In essence, a content writer needs to provide a marketing service to their clients. Therefore, target businesses within your niche that offer a high budget for marketing and write long-form blog posts for them.
Engage with a defined audience
By creating content that is targeted to a specific area, you can ensure that your content is being targeted to the right audience. Learn what resonates with your readers by speaking to them directly with the information they need that helps them answer their questions.
Separate your brand from other competitors
If you focus on writing content to a smaller group of the audience (more specialized), then you are more likely to stand out from your competitors in your niche. If customers can clearly identify with your brand and your unique content, they will choose to read your content over a competitor that is not necessarily addressing them or targeting them. This makes your content more unique and well-known.
Keep your readers loyal
By reaching to your readers on a more personal level, you increase the chances of your readers returning to read your content. When readers feel like you support their needs and problems, they will be loyal to your brand.
Convert your readers into customers
When you target the right audience, your content will be more useful and effective in keeping your readers interested. This, in turn, will keep your readers coming back to read more since they value your content. Hence, you are more likely to convert your readers into customers since there is a higher chance, they will use your affiliations or buy your services. In content writing, services could also be adding a membership fee for premium content.
Best Freelance Content Types to write about
Profitable niches are highly dependent on current trends. So, niches that are profitable can change at any time. However, there are some things that can help you determine if the niche is profitable. Firstly, choose freelance writing that has a high impact on a client’s sales – those will pay the most. Secondly, the more marketing budget your clients have available to pay content will determine the rates. Lastly, look out for niches that have a low supply of writers but a high client demand.
So let’s take a look at the different types of niche content writing types that are high-paying:
1. Long-form Blog Posts or Ultimate Guides
These types of posts need to be detailed, highly researched and contain over 2000 words in length. Ultimate guides need to provide comprehensive information, enough to answer the user’s question in one post.
Long-form posts need to be conversational and simplify complex topics into an easier to understand guide. Apart from writing good quality content, you also need to learn basic SEO techniques in order to rank high in search engines.
Businesses are always in demand for blogging content which makes it a good choice to earn consistent money. In fact, businesses usually offer an opportunity for retainers. Retainers pay you a fixed amount for a group of blog posts. For example, a retainer of $1000 for 4 blog posts per month. As a content writer, retainers can give you the stability and security you need.
2. E-Books
E-books are a great way for businesses to generate leads and to showcase their expertise. They are great marketing tools for any size of business.
Usually, E-books are published as PDFs ranging from 10-20 pages long. Like blog posts, e-books need to give valuable information on topics that are of interest to the company’s prospects or customers.
You are looking at around $1000 to even $5000 depending on the type of client and industry, and if there is a lot of research needed.
Typically, e-books are free in trade for prospects email addresses. Those email addresses can be used in the email sales funnel or the company’s newsletters. This in turn has the potential to convert leads into paying customers.
3. Sales Pages or Landing Pages
This type of content requires your creativity as you need to create content that catches the user’s eyes. A landing page is the first page that a user sees when they land on your website. It needs to be intriguing enough for the user to stay and browse through your site.
You can also write content for a sales page (product page) or an About us page. Your aim will be to convert visitors into customers, capture leads or show prospects to buy such as in the e-book example.
This type of content writing is quite challenging and requires you to have a high-level of marketing skills. Nonetheless, if you are up for it, businesses are always on the lookout for this type of content since it’s the one that will most likely generate revenue.
4. Video Script Writing
Video has become the most used approach to engage with potential customers. With the increase in mobile use, video has become even more popular. It allows companies to sell their products or services in a compelling way and explain their brand story.
Businesses need scripts for their website videos. Normally, you will find them in the landing pages, their sales pages or product tours. Additionally, they also regularly use videos for webinars and tutorials.
Companies need a way to tell their story and speak about their services and products in an enticing and concise manner. If you are confident in writing scripts, then you should look into this area.
5. Online or E-Learning Courses
Another great way of earning money is by providing writing material and video scripts for online courses. It is a field that is growing rapidly and there are always new opportunities for educational content creators. If you have experience in teaching or understand how people learn, then this is a great opportunity writing for you.
6. Book Writing (Ghostwriting)
Believe it or not, Ghostwriting books is one of the highest earned niches on this list. However, you must work for it as it can be time-consuming and quite challenging.
Ghostwriting involves getting the client’s story or ideas into a book. The books you write can vary from short e-books to full-length published books. What you write depends on the need and your experience in writing.
When you ghostwrite, you need to keep in mind that all the credit goes to the client as well as the writing style needs to be in line with your client’s style.
Usually ghostwriting gigs are offered by businesses and clients who need to tell their brand story but have no experience in writing. If you opt for this type of writing, you are looking at a minimum of $10,000 depending on the size and complexity of the book.
Top paying Freelance Writing Niches
The following topics are always in demand or emerging and are the top writing niches for 2021. Ideally, you find a balance between choosing what you are experienced or interested in and the niche that gives you the best return on investment. To find a niche that gives you the best result, it must be one that is in demand from businesses that are willing to offer good rates.
So let us go through the top 5 niches for 2021 in detail:
1. Finance
Banks and credit card companies earn millions each year from consumers. As a result, these companies have a big budget for content marketing. Currently, there is a big need for finance writers. This is good news since these companies are willing to pay good rates.
For these types of articles, you need to be prepared to write high-quality and valuable content. According to Contena Job Board, established brands are constantly requesting finance topics for their site with an average yearly salary of $52,000.
Topics in Finance writing niches include personal finance, accounting, stocks and trading, cryptocurrency, and budgeting. If you are a novice in the finance niche, you can try to write about topics that are more related to personal finance. Such examples include giving tips on budgeting such as finding deals, coupons or apps that can help you save money.
2. Cryptocurrency
Although cryptocurrency falls under the finance niche, it is a niche on its own because not a lot of finance writers are skilled in cryptocurrency and mining.
Cryptocurrency is all the rage right now and it is not looking like it will subside anytime soon. In fact, according to Entrepreneur, blockchain is one of the most rapid and growing skills to acquire for millennials. It’s easy to find freelance writing jobs for this skill as it is in high demand and according to Contena Job Board, you are looking at an average of $1000 a month.
If you wish to delve into the cryptocurrency niche writing, then you can look into topics such as blockchain, Cryptopreneurs, bitcoin mining and crypto credit. Since this topic is within the section of finance, it will require more research to understand and learn the topic.
3. Travel
Travel markets are looking for millennials or retirees who are looking to dedicate their finances to travel experiences or complete bucket lists.
To be suited for this job you need to be a skilled storyteller that manages to write about travel experiences that are not widely known. Travel writing is very profitable, so in the end, your travels can be paid for and still live comfortably. According to Contena Job Board, you are looking at an average salary of $52,000 a year.
Topics about writing include travel guides, restaurant reviews, hotel reviews, travels deals and lifestyle. As you can see travel writing branches out to a lot of different topics that can help you draw from personal experiences.
4. Digital Marketing
Companies and entrepreneurs rely on digital marketing to create an online presence and reach. Digital marketing companies use email newsletter, opt-in services, online accounting software and online hosting to promote their sales.
These companies are looking for long-form content with in-depth guides and tutorial-based content. Digital marketing companies are always abreast with the current market trends. You can delve into topics involving SEO, social media, and affiliate marketing.
Digital marketing writing jobs are the most paid averaging a monthly salary of $58,000 a year.
5. Education
In the education niche, there are two markets that you should target – private student loans and universities. Both markets have a huge budget for content writing. If you are a lecturer, you can use your experience to write in this niche. You do not need to be a lecturer, you can also be a student, coach or homeschool parent to be able to write in this niche. Topics can vary from college life and education manuals to daycare and hands-on experiences.
According to Contena Job Board, there are plenty of education writing jobs up for grabs. You are looking at an average salary of $47,000 a year. Not bad for a side income!
Best ways to find clients in your Niche
So let us say you have chosen your niche but how do you go about finding clients? Here are a few tips that can help you find the best clients for your Niche:
- Ask for referrals from existing clients – Most likely your existing clients will have contacts with other people in their niche. Ask for referrals if your market is not very competitive.
- Search LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media – You can use social media to look for niche-specific groups and people. This will enable you to have a wider reach.
- Write a prospecting email template – Introduce yourself and your portfolio. To do this you will need to create a prospects list. You can use a virtual assistant such as UpWork.com to help perform research for you based on your niche.
- Build relationships slowly – Try to reach out to your prospects in a very casual way one at a time. Don’t attempt to sell anything the first time you get in touch and start building the relationship slowly. Try to find opportunities to talk about your content writing business by scheduling meetings after you built up confidence.
- Use jobs posting sites – like Contena Job Board to see what content writing gigs are available.
Conclusion
Freelance writers fall into two categories: generalists and specialists. But it takes specialists to establish a freelance writing niche for themselves. Working exclusively with clients in this area can help establish yourself and earn a consistent salary. Also finding a niche with high demand means businesses are willing to pay good rates for your content writing. Moreover, the more you write in your niche, the more experienced you become. This will result in being able to apply for more challenging writing gigs that earn more money!
