You Don’t Need to Sell Your Soul to Make Money As A Writer

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content , with 750K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

Posted 1.21.25

"We're looking for a freelancer," explained the marketing director. "And we have plenty of work to keep you busy - even full-time. We've seen your credentials and think you'd be a good fit."

Music to the ears of anyone who wants to make money as a writer.

The staffer continued to sell the organization, but I'd already heard of them. They were a big player in my niche. The fact they wanted me to write for them was a coup.

"Give me a couple of days to think about it," I told the director. You may think I was crazy. But I had a reason for hesitating.

Make money as a writer in your favorite niche

My passion is nonprofit ministries. It’s one of the best-kept niche secrets in the freelance writing world. At last count, there are 1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the US alone. That doesn’t include all the NGOs across the globe, either.

And the majority of those — over one million US-based nonprofits — are smaller organizations. That means fewer staff members. Translation: no full-time creative team. 

Since every biz needs content, no matter its size, opportunities to write in my niche are plentiful. Agencies with small staffs have leaders who wear many hats. These directors don’t have time to produce webpages, blog posts, appeal campaigns — even grant applications. A good writer provides a needed service.

By hiring freelancers, organizations and businesses can pay per project and can avoid adding staff salaries to the payroll.

But many of these leaders don’t know how to go about finding a freelancer. They need you. When you let them know you are available, you give them the chance to hire you.

Write about your passion

Have a passion? You can write about it. A business can hire any writer with skills. But one thing they can’t generate within a writer is your passion, whether it’s for 20th-century stamp collecting, Sub-Sahara women-owned emerging markets, or raising bamboo.

Nonprofit organizations across the niches are looking for writers in health care advocacy, education, environmental conservation, animal welfare, poverty relief, community development, arts and culture, veterans support, religious services, social services, disaster relief, youth development, elder care, adoption, international development, human rights advocacy …

The same principle holds true in the for-profit world across niches and subniches and micro-niches.

Your passion allows you to become a specialist’s specialist — a writer who knows the ins and outs of a particular slant in a particular niche. 

Take foster care, for instance.

• One group of foster care businesses and agencies provide placements.
• Others focus on foster family support.
• Still another set advocates for reunification.
• And others stand with the child to ensure safety and well-being.

If you’re a writer with experience in one of those areas — or even strong feelings about the matter — well, you can pick and choose among the hundreds of foster care organizations that need content.

For instance, perhaps you’re a foster parent who feels forgotten. You can promote greater foster family support by targeting agencies that provide services for foster families.

You come with amazing credentials, by the way. You’re one of them.

Hand-pick how to make money as a writer when you specialize

Such was the case with the organization that approached me.

They’d found me online and checked my skills. They were a recognized player in the faith-based niche, but as I thought about working for them and dug deeper, what I learned confirmed my gut reaction. I couldn’t in good conscience write for them.

So I reached out to the marketing director and graciously declined their offer.

The reason? Some of this agency’s principles didn’t line up with mine … even in the already-specialized faith-based market. I couldn’t justify writing persuasive content about something I didn’t embrace.

Make money from referrals and anchor clients

I didn’t have to sacrifice my livelihood, either. Referrals continued to flow in from small to mid-size organizations. Several became anchor clients, offering steady income and a full-time paycheck.

Sure, I work hard. But just because I’m work-for-hire does not mean I must be soul-for-hire, too.

When you specialize, you don’t limit yourself. Instead, you become more employable by people who embrace your values. Those businesses and organizations need good writers. Go out and find them.

Make money as a writer? Yep, you can. And you don’t need to sell your soul to do it.

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