Alveena Ahmad
Contrary to what you may anticipate, writing is the most in-demand freelance profession on the market.
According to recent study from Freelancer.com, which examined almost 300,000 job postings on the website between April and June, creative writing is the most in-demand skill companies are looking to hire for on its platform.
The need for human writers to edit manuscripts, write blog articles that are SEO-optimized and draught scripts for creative projects has grown since the beginning of the year, according to Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com, even as more businesses use AI to create content.
He claims that “AI can’t yet replace creativity.” In the first quarter of the year, despite a threefold increase in interest in generative AI, creative design employment were thriving.
Copywriting and ghostwriting are two other writing-related specialties that have grown in demand on Freelancer.com, according to Barrie.
A feasible profession with potential for six figures
A bachelor’s degree may help certain writers succeed, but it’s not necessary to launch a lucrative freelancing career. According to Indeed, the abilities you bring to the table are considerably more crucial: The majority of writing jobs demand fact-checking, research, editing, and a fundamental knowledge of SEO.
To locate paid jobs, you can set up an online portfolio with samples of your writing, join a writing community, and connect with other authors in your field of interest.
The majority of remote freelance writing gigs demand that writers submit and publish their work online. According to FlexJobs, authors may occasionally be able to choose their own location and work hours as long as they meet deadlines.
You can set your fee higher the more knowledgeable you are: On Freelancer.com, writers can charge up to $250 per hour. At this pace, you could make up to $400,000 per year working as a freelance writer.
How freelance writers are leveraging AI to make more money
Despite the emergence of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which was introduced in November 2022, Fiverr, another freelancing platform, has observed a continuous demand for authors.
According to Yoav Hornung, head of verticals and innovation at Fiverr, the platform continues to see demand for general writing services like book editing, but there is also an increase in interest in hiring freelancers for writing services related to artificial intelligence (AI), such as AI content editing, which saw an 80% increase in jobs last quarter compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Gabrielle Gerbus, a free-lance copywriter and SEO expert who divides her time between Thailand and Los Angeles, admits that she was initially “a bit scared” about how AI will affect her employment options.
However, she made the decision to use AI in her freelance writing, becoming knowledgeable about Chat GPT and other generative AI tools so she could include AI article editing to her toolkit. She bills up to $100 for the service.
The 28-year-old claims that since she started that firm a few months ago, it has “grown significantly”.
High volumes of AI-generated material aren’t the be-all, end-all, she argues. It’s more complex and requires a human touch. “I’m happy to help at any stage of the creative process, and I actually believe I can sometimes have a more significant impact when I add that human touch to something AI produced,” the author says.
