You can make a living freelance writing if you:
- have in-demand freelance writing skills. (Ex: editing and proofreading)
- develop a robust content strategy and writing portfolio.
- have a proven client retention and acquisition process.
- have long-term freelance writing clients.
- gather reliable information on freelance writing market demand and niche specialization.
- choose the right freelance platforms. (Ex: Upwork and Fiverr)
These factors lead to a predictable monthly writing income. ZipRecruiter reveals that freelance writers in the U.S. make an average of $63,213 yearly. This surpasses the $61,334 annual cost-of-living average that U.S. households spend (World Population Review). However, it varies depending on your location, clients, and expertise.
Freelance writing is a good career. According to Sean Ogle, freelance writers can earn around $5,000 monthly. His strategy centers on personalized outreach to potential clients. Sean suggests making a list of 100+ leads on a monthly basis. In his YouTube video, he mentions spending only $50 a year on website development and hosting.
Making a living with your freelance writing business also depends on your outputs. Some popular ones are landing pages, social media content, ebooks, and newsletters. New freelance writers often start with blogging tasks. One Redditor mentions earning $150 to $200 writing content for each landing page. Another individual reveals charging $50 per social media post.
Freelance writers are still in demand. Content Marketing Institute states that 84% of businesses outsource their content writing needs. Plus, 82% of American freelancers are content writers (Zippia). This shows the profitability of a writing career in 2025 and beyond.
I've been writing articles that rank in local search engines for over 10 years now. A freelance writing career is rewarding, given you know how to scale and sustain one. My SEO writing business generates over $50,000 in passive income monthly.
This article dives into the potential of freelance writing. We discuss the most in-demand and lucrative writing skills, specializations, and niches. We also feature real-life success stories of people making a living with this model.
How Much Can You Earn From Freelance Writing?
You can earn around $10 to $100+ per hour from freelance writing. Wix further segments this according to experience:
- Beginner freelance writers - $10 to $25 per hour
- Intermediate freelance writers - $26 to $50 per hour
- Professional freelance writers - $51 to $100 per hour
- Top-performing freelance writers - $101 and above per hour
Say you work for 8 hours a day for 20 days. You get to earn around $1,600 to over $16,000. Apart from hourly rates, you can also earn per word, per article, or per project. Upwork reveals that the average per-word rates range from $0.05 to $1.50. Since most articles average 2,000 words, you can make $100 to $3,000 per article.
This Redditor says that outsourcing content writing tasks costs $0.08 to $0.15 per word. You can charge $0.50 to $1 per word if you're an expert freelance content writer. With this writing rate, you can make around $0.35 to $0.85 per word in profit. This translates to $700 to $1,700 in income for a 2,000-word copy.
This Reddit user reveals making $2K to $2.5K monthly in her first two years of freelance writing. For over 14 years now, she's been making $6K to $10K monthly with 15 hours of work weekly.
Freelance writers get paid well because they create content that drives revenue. These outputs come in the form of:
- social media posts
- blog posts
- website copy
- email marketing content
- brand catchphrases
In fact, 77% of companies feel happy about the ROI they get from content marketing (WebFX). Plus, Marketful reveals that it costs 62% less than traditional marketing strategies. This means that businesses can offer a higher writing rate for the best results.
What Types of Freelance Writing Work Pay the Most?
- SEO Writing. It generates an average of $84,151 yearly (ZipRecruiter). SEO writers earn around $15 to $35 per hour. This entails writing website content to rank high on search engines. SEO writing uses keywords and relevant content to improve domain authority. SEO writers are also responsible for headlines, backlinks, and alt texts.
- Email/Newsletter Writing. This freelance work offers $64,287 in average income yearly (Glassdoor). It's because of the increased demand for email marketing. As per DemandSage, businesses get higher ROI with this marketing method. Email writing involves creating content like newsletters and email sequences.
- Technical Writing. This writing opportunity generates $61,677 to $74,296 yearly (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Upwork also reveals that technical writers make $20 to $45 per hour. Technical writing entails turning complex content into understandable information. Some popular examples include company guidelines, product manuals, and white papers.
- Copywriting. You can earn around $60,109 to $73,133 yearly with this freelance writing work (PayScale and Built In). As per Glassdoor, copywriters make $28 to $48 per hour on average. Copywriting involves developing written copy that drives conversions and sales. You write content for banners, pop-ups, ads, and landing pages.
- Blog Writing. It offers an average yearly income of $54,500, as per Comparably. Freelance blog writers make around $15 to $35 per hour (Upwork). Blog writing entails creating articles, news bites, and listicles for individuals and businesses. This writing gig is one of the most common because of the rise of online marketing. You can find job postings on major platforms like PeoplePerHour, Toptal, and Fiverr.
What Skills Do You Need To Make a Living Freelance Writing?
- Research. This writing skill is pivotal in ensuring accurate, data-backed content. Readers patronize engaging but informative articles. When you produce well-researched content, you increase your audience base. This leads to higher online reach, engagement, and conversions. Researching also entails providing evidence, like statistics, to promote reliability and domain authority. Some reputable tools to use are Semrush, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo.
- Editing and Proofreading. Creating error-free content promotes trust among your readers. All freelance writing jobs involve checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. This also includes scanning for plagiarism hits. As per Semrush, Google marks down a website's search ranking for issues like this. Some famous platforms for editing and proofreading are Grammarly and Hemingway.
- Content Planning and Management. A good content strategy improves audience trust and content value (Abmatic AI). Freelance writers need to know how to strategize and optimize content blocks. This includes scheduling content and creating assignment briefs. Use tools like CoSchedule, Loomly, and Planable.
- Marketing. Good marketing skills are essential for creating relevant and engaging content. This allows you to advertise products and services better. You get to understand the market and your target audience's needs and wants.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This freelance writing skill involves strategic keyword placement. It improves content quality and industry relevance to rank higher on search engines. In fact, 45.1% of all online clicks are from organic search results (All in One SEO). Freelance writers with SEO skills have higher incomes than those without. The top platforms for SEO are Moz, Google Analytics, and HubSpot.
What are the Best Freelance Content Writing Niches?
The best freelance content writing niches are:
- Technology and AI. As per ZipRecruiter, freelance writers focusing on AI and tech make $6,750 monthly on average. This is because of the high demand for topics under this niche. DigitalOcean reveals that 73% of businesses and individuals use Artificial Intelligence platforms. Because of this, many people talk about emerging technologies like machine learning.
- Health and Wellness. Alex Evans' LinkedIn article states that medical writers earn $6,600 to $7,500 monthly. This niche demands writers who have healthcare and medical expertise. They write informative content on nutrition, medicines, clinical trials, and more. This also includes popular topics like fitness, mental health, and alternative medicine.
- Finance and Cryptocurrency. Finance writers generate $3,600 to 6,000 monthly on average (Freelance Magic). Freelance writing jobs in this niche require individuals with up-to-date financial market knowledge. This includes cryptocurrencies, investments, and blockchain technologies. This writing niche experienced increased demand after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023. Digital payments and online trading became prevalent.
- Digital Marketing and SEO. According to Upwork, content writers who write about digital marketing and SEO earn $2,640 to $7,920 per month. This is a famous freelancing niche because it drives potential clients. Businesses hire writers with creative writing and SEO experience to boost their campaigns. This also encompasses writing ads, social media posts, and long-form articles.
- SaaS and B2B Technology. The potential income for new freelance writers in this niche starts at $2,375 monthly. It averages at $7,012 per month (ZipRecruiter). Businesses utilizing SaaS applications account for the highest demand in this niche. BetterCloud reveals that 80% of companies "use at least 1 SaaS app in their operations."
Top Testimonials From People Who Make a Living Freelance Writing
This Reddit user reveals making $1,100 to $1,500 monthly within 3 months of starting as a freelance writer. He bumped up his income to around $2,000 in 5 months and $3,300 within a year. His yearly earnings averaged $65,000 from the second year onwards. This translates to around $5,400 monthly.
This Reddit freelance writer says that he makes $300 to $350 per hour from high-value clients. He also reveals making $11,000 in just a month from doing freelance writing as a side hustle. His strategy focuses on high-quality speed writing in a niche he knows best.
Paul Maplesden is a successful freelance writer who earns $160 per hour. In 2020, he reported making $88,000. One year later, he increased his writing income to $115,000. Paul focuses on creating content for the B2B niche.
Rebecca Lake is a freelance financial writer who generates $300 to $1,500 per project. She reveals making $300,000 in 2019 and $250,000 in 2021. This translates to a monthly income of $20,000 to $25,000. Because of over 10 years of experience, she has closed loyal freelance clients.
Why Some Writers Can’t Make Money With Freelance Writing
- they choose low-performing freelance writing niches.
- they settle with low-paying freelance clients.
- they don't have a solid marketing plan to promote their freelance writing services.
- they don't set up a freelancing system for writing tasks or projects.
- they don't update their freelance writing portfolio with their best works.
- they stay within a single writing specialization.
Why Local Lead Generation is the Best Freelance Writing Gig in 2025
Local lead generation is the best freelance writing gig in 2025 because it generates a predictable income. You make a living by creating niche service sites and content. You get to create as many lead gen sites as you want. Unlike traditional freelance writing businesses, you don't need to actively seek clients. Other freelance writing jobs also require you to make high-quality writing samples. This takes a huge chunk of your time and energy.
Because of market saturation, it's hard to find work as a freelance writer. You'll have many competitors, especially with in-demand markets. It gets harder if you're an aspiring writer with no experience. Alternatively, local lead generation offers a freelance writing business you can control. All you need is to build local service websites and create SEO-optimized content. Once you rank on search engines like Google, you start acquiring leads.
Each site generates $500 to $2,000 in monthly passive income. Say you become a full-time freelance writer and make 10 websites. Your potential income can go over $5,000 to $20,000. I've been writing for profit since 2014. My local lead gen sites make over $50,000 monthly.
