What's Hot - & Profitable - in Freelance Writing

Periodically, I do a sweep of the major job boards (Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs) to see what sectors are hot in freelance writing.

By my obversation, it's technical and financial writing. I've always believed that you should specialize (create a niche) to be more profitable as a freelancer. And, creating a niche within one of these highly sought after disciplines seems to pay off.

How To Create Your Own Niche

What if you have no desire to write within these disciplines? Simple. Don't. BUT, I do advise creating a niche within something. For example, maybe you like writing about real estate. Contact real estate agents around the country and offer to do a newsletter for them on a regular basis - supplying new, original content on a weekly, monthly, quarterly basis (however often they deem necessary).

Write and send potential clients a benefits letter (a marketing letter selling your services), detailing how they can grow their business by publishing a newsletter. Back it up with hard statistics from verifiable sources.

Select a market where there are a lot of potential clients (eg, real estate agents), so that you can build a nice client list with minimal effort. An added bonus of choosing a market like real estate agents is that you can target realtors nationwide. All the research you will ever need to do can be found online to write about any market in the country.

The profit potential is amazing if you choose wisely. Eg, charging 20 realtors $100/month for a bi-monthly newsletter can be a nice, steady chunk of income (what freelancer doesn't crave stability).

Other professionals you might target are insurance agents, lawyers, financial advisors, staffing agencies, restaurant owners - the list is endless. To get ideas of groups to target, flip through your local yellow pages.

RECAP: Finding Your Niche - How to Go About It