Top Types of Freelance Writing Jobs

Freelance writing has been a lucrative option for wordsmiths thanks to the benefits it offers – freedom to work for oneself and getting paid to do what you love. If you are a writer and want to take the freelance route, it might be helpful for you to know some of the types of freelance writing and how they differ. 

Some types of freelance writing include blog posts, articles, and email writing. Blog post writing is perhaps the easiest way to start your journey as a freelance writer. You can also explore technical writing if you are good at technology or copywriting if you can persuade people with your words. 

Keep reading this article to learn more about the different types of freelance writing so you can make an informed decision about the best path for you.  

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. 

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1. Blog Post Writing

A blog post is a piece of content that typically addresses a specific topic and aims to educate, inform, or entertain the reader. If you have ever read a listicle or a how-to guide online, you probably have come across a blog post. The post you are reading now is another example of a blog post. 

Blogs have become an integral part of websites today. Most businesses and entrepreneurs use them to increase brand awareness and build credibility. It also helps them bring traffic to their website and, in turn, increase conversion and revenue. 

Thanks to these benefits, the number of blogs is still increasing. According to this post by Semrush, the number of bloggers in the United States increased by 10 million between 2014-2020. 

However, most blog owners are too busy to write these blog posts themselves. Thus, they hire writers to run their blogs. 

And when you consider that there are more than 500 million blogs online, it becomes clear that the demand for blog writers is also huge.  

This is why blog writing is possibly the best field for freelance writers. Finding a break in this domain is comparatively easier, even for a beginner, and the gigs are usually recurring, as companies require multiple blog posts per month. It saves beginners a lot of time and hassle. 

Check out the guide I wrote about freelance writing for beginners if you’d like to learn more about starting in this field.

2. Article Writing

Although the terms article and blog post are used interchangeably nowadays, they are not the same. You read blog posts online; however, you can read articles online as well as offline, i.e., in print media. 

Another difference between the two is that, unlike blog posts, articles are more in-depth and formal in nature. An article writer usually needs to step out of the house in search of a story, interview people, and use archives and the library. 

Many newspapers, magazines, and websites hire article writers to write for them. Also, it typically pays better than blog writing. 

A simple Google search will give you a list of websites and magazines that pay writers to write articles. You can also check this article I wrote about 11 top websites that accept submissions from beginner writers and pay instantly. 

A word of caution, though. While writing occasional articles and getting paid for them is possible, making a living this way can be a bit difficult. If you are just entering the field, you should consider taking another job on the side until you start making enough to support yourself by writing articles. 

3. Copywriting

Copywriting is the act of writing marketing and advertising materials with the aim of encouraging people to take the action your client wants. This action may be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, donating to a charity, etc. 

Copywriters create various materials, ranging from billboards and brochures to online advertisements. However, copywriting is not limited to written materials; some copywriters write scripts for radio and television commercials. The text used in all of these materials is called “copy,” and the writers of this “copy” are known as “copywriters.” 

If you look around, copy is all around you. Everyone needs copywriters to achieve their goal, whether a big-name brand like Apple or your local non-profit. 

Hence, if you have a way with words, understand consumer psychology and marketing, and can write enticing copy that can motivate people to take the desired action, copywriting can be a lucrative option for you. 

However, copywriting may be a slightly more difficult medium to break into compared to blog and article writing. If you are new to this field, focus on learning the ropes, creating your portfolio, and developing connections with the right people. 

4. Email Writing

Have you noticed that almost every website you visit prompts you to sign up for its email list? Well, there is a good reason behind that. 

According to this report, email marketing returns $36 for every $1 spent – a massive return on investment for businesses. Therefore, every business wants to take full advantage of email writing. Thus, they hire writers who can write emails and bring their desired results.  

Even today, when the average user spends about 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media, email marketing still gives businesses the best bang for their buck. 

As an email writer, you would be responsible for writing emails that keep leads warm, inform them about new products, services, and deals, and, hopefully, convert them into buyers. Furthermore, email copywriters also write emails for different stages of the sales funnel. 

While finding a chance in this field can be time-consuming, especially if you are a beginner writer and do not have a body of work to prove your credibility, email writing gigs are usually recurring and stable

5. Technical Writing

If you understand tech well and can explain it to others in simple terms, technical writing may be the right domain for you. 

As a technical writer, you will be responsible for making dull, jargon-laden writeups easy to understand and digestible for the reader. Your job may entail writing case studies, technical guides, tutorials, etc.  

Technical writing is a field where the demand for skilled candidates is almost always more than the supply. This is because to do well in this domain, one needs to have some technical expertise besides being good at writing, and there are not many writers who can do that. 

Therefore, if you have knowledge of technology and writing, you can make lots of money in this field. 

6. Script Writing

Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world? In 2022, the number of YouTube viewers in the USA is expected to cross 210 million.

The numbers are huge but not surprising at all. Video content has taken social media by storm in the last few years. The rapid rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels, Pinterest Video Pins, and YouTube Shorts is a testimony to this fact. 

Businesses and entrepreneurs quickly noticed this trend, and many creators jumped into video creation to make the best use of this opportunity. However, this surge in the number of creators meant that the market became crowded. It is now more challenging than ever to grab eyeballs and keep viewers hooked. 

On the one hand, these creators need to churn out video after video to stay on top of the YouTube algorithm. On the other hand, they must adhere to a particular standard to stand out from the competition. 

This is not an easy task, and most creators don’t have enough time to do it all by themselves, so they hire scriptwriters to help them. 

You can try your hand at scriptwriting if you like coming up with new ideas and can work well under pressure. Also, you must be comfortable collaborating and adapting to the voice of your client. 

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