What To Do If Your Freelance Niche Is Dying…
By Andra Veness - CHARLENE & CO. EDITORIAL TEAM
Freelancing has always been incredibly attractive to those with valuable skills and a desire to have a flexible schedule. But now it might be time to take your expertise elsewhere…
I’m sure this thought has crossed your mind. With inflation, a lack of benefits, and inconsistent work, many feel concerned about the future.
However, freelancing has proven lucrative for decades with platforms like Upwork and Fiverr generating billions in revenue. According to Forbes, after COVID there was a 90% increase in freelancers and a 130% increase in gig workers. This has led to drastic growth: since 2023, the most growth can be found in IT, consulting, education, healthcare, and more.
Despite this growth, freelancers are concerned with this “death of freelancing,” particularly because of the oversaturated market and high competition for gigs. For freelance writers, AI has been a source of concern. But, there is currently no significant proof of AI taking writing jobs. It serves more as a tool for writers than a competitor. So what is creating the “death of freelancing”?
Well, is this “death of freelancing” actually a fall or a shift? Despite forecasted GDP growth, hiked prices and a challenging job market have created uneasiness. It’s safe to say, it feels like there aren’t enough freelancing jobs to go around.
So what can freelancers do?
Develop your niche into growing markets
Learn Micro-skills
Persist
Developing Your Niche
Let’s say you are a freelance writer. Maybe you aren’t seeing the same numbers you were in years previous, and you’re worried freelancing might be over for you. There isn’t much freelancers can do about the state of the market, but they can change how they fit into it. For any industry professional, growth is important. Developing your niche into lucrative areas could just get you back on your feet.
Freelancing Stats via Exploding Topics
As you can see, writers and editors make much less compared to analysts, programmers, designers, and developers. Combining your niche with more lucrative skills may be a way to improve your freelance offerings.
For freelance writers, learning more technical writing skills may open up doors to new job openings. After all, freelancing is taken up by more highly educated people nowadays, with over half of freelancers having post-graduate education. More experience and knowledge is always a good thing.
Even if you would rather not develop a new toolkit of skills, building on relevant skills can help. Consider AI. More and more companies prefer hiring workers with AI experience. Gaining those skills could set you apart from the competition in your niche. But you may be wondering how to grow into a different niche.
Micro-Skills
A smart solution for everyone, freelancer or not, is to develop micro-skills. Micro-skills are building blocks for larger projects, such as SEO/SEM experience for a freelance writer. This goes hand-in-hand with developing your niche into more lucrative markets. Hubspot Academy is a fantastic example of a place to gain some valuable skills. Hubspot offers tons of educational resources, some for free. Skills and certification training is an accessible way for freelancers to learn these marketable skills.
Developing micro-skills could be a way to make the best out of a bad situation and grow within your freelancing profession. A passion for low-competition skills will help you stand out among other applicants as the perfect hire. Research within your freelancing niche to see what other people offer with their services. Sites like Upwork and Fiverr are good for examining your competition, but anywhere you plan to offer your services is equally good for researching.
Persistence
With a competitive job market, it is easy to despair and believe your career is dead, but consider where you stand. Completely upending your career may not be an economical decision, especially since the evidence shows freelancing isn’t dead.
Based on GDP forecasts, the labor market is growing despite public worry. The jobs are there, it’s just that the competition is livelier than ever.
BEA: first-quarter forecasts for 2024
Considering that the global economy has outperformed expectations two years in a row, jobs are available. From 2020-2023, freelancing grew 89%, with about 45% of the workforce being full, part-time, and occasional independent workers. But for full-time freelancers, a few things stick out: high experience demands and lots of competition for the available gigs. This calls for persistence.
Remaining persistent, while ensuring stability through alternative forms of income, may be the best way to weather this strange time for freelancers. Because the “fall of freelancing” is relatively mysterious—considering proposed growth but a struggling freelancing force—it may be time to broaden your horizons. Whether you decide to pursue permanent positions, develop new skills, or rely on your network of connections, persistence is key.
