Most Profitable Freelance Writing Topics
After posting my monthly freelance writing income report, I always receive a large number of emails asking a variety of questions. This time around, it seems as if the most popular question is: which freelance writing topics are most profitable? As you can imagine, most writers want to get involved with the industries/topics that pay the most. But in my opinion, this is a mistake. Instead, I feel that you should work on topics that are of interest to you, and then find ways to make them profitable.
If you only chase projects and topics that pay well, you are going to find out soon enough that you are not having as much fun as you could. When I started my freelance writing career, I stuck to a handful of topics that were of great interest to me. They included sports, travel, and real estate. Anytime that I would receive a project on one of these topics I knew that I would enjoy it. For this reason, I spent a lot of time querying publications that fit into these categories in one way or the next.
Of course, expanding over time is very important. Although I still dabble in the three topics that I started my career with, I deal with many others on a regular basis as well. Generally speaking, you want to narrow in on a few subjects that you enjoy, but make sure that you do not back yourself into a corner.
Are there are topics that pay better than the rest? Over my time as a writer, I have not really found an answer to this question. I write for some sports magazines that pay $.25/word and others that pay at a rate of $.10/word. It is not so much the subject you are writing on than it is the company or publication that you are working for. If you want to make more money you do not need to change what you write about, but instead find companies and publications that are willing to pay you what you are worth.
Just like me, you will find that pinpointing the most profitable freelance writing subjects is next to impossible. Do not spend your time chasing after the jobs that you “think†will be the most profitable. Instead, make a list of topics that you enjoy, and then find the best paying clients within those industries.Â
