What It Takes to Be a Successful Finance Writer

Although many freelance writers start out their careers as generalists, most eventually focus in on a niche area. Writing in a niche makes is easier to search for jobs, since it limits the types of jobs to consider. It often allows you to eventually charge more for your work. After all, writing exclusively within a niche lets you position yourself as an expert. A popular niche for writers to pursue is finance writing. Finance writers cover everything from market trends to personal finance issues in highbrow publications and reader-friendly blogs. It can be a competitive freelance writing niche, but it can also be a profitable one. This is especially true once you break into the field and get some publications in your portfolio. What does it take to make it as a successful freelance writer? Here is what you need to know.

Educational Background

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need an educational background in finance or a related field to make it as freelance finance writer. As with most freelance writing jobs, the educational requirements vary greatly from publication to publication and client to client. The best way to know which clients to approach and which ones to pass up is to look at the educational background they are requesting.

Generally, a publication that delves into complex financial and economic issues will usually prioritize writers who have an educational background in a relevant field. These publications may cover topics like monetary policy, governmental regulations, and intricate tax issues. For blogs and other publications that want general finance news that is accessible to the average reader, there are likely to be fewer educational requirements.

Experience

Having experience as a freelance writer always helps you to get more clients. Every job you do is a stepping stone to the next client, and finance writing is no different. To break into the field of financial writing, consider taking jobs that aren’t for finance publications, but let you touch on relevant topics. For example, writing content for a bank or a credit card company will let you handle finance-related topics. This is a great way to gain experience and build your portfolio.

As with the educational background requirement, some publications will expect to see a longer track record of finance pieces than others. When you’re ready to focus on finance writing, try to fill your portfolio exclusively with finance pieces. This way, potential clients will see you as a focused finance writer. This will help to establish you as a qualified and knowledgeable expert in the field.

If you’re struggling to get relevant writing jobs, then consider doing some finance writing for yourself. Many successful finance writers start out with their own blogs covering financial topics. They may write about managing their family’s budgets or their efforts to pay down debt. This kind of writing can help you build up samples for your portfolio while creating an audience for your writing. It can be particularly helpful if you want to get into finance writing that is intended for laypeople rather than industry experts. If you develop a readership on your blog, it won’t be long before the clients come looking for you.

Ability to Write in Different Formats

When you get into finance writing, all of the work you do may not be in the form of articles or blogs for finance publications. There are a wide range of writing styles that finance writers can employ. Being able to easily shift between them will help you attract clients. You may be called upon to write newsletters geared towards retirees for a client who is a financial planner. On the other hand, you may be asked to create a downloadable guide to claiming deductions on income taxes for an accountant. As with all kinds of freelance writing, being able to write in different formats and adopt the voices of different clients will enhance your chances of finding and keeping clients.

Writing in these different formats can also be helpful to you as you break into the niche of finance writing. Think outside of the box in terms of potential clients. Look for people in other industries who may need finance-related content for their businesses. Real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, and financial planners are just a few of the business people who may need finance content for their clients that is different from article-driven work. This is a great way to increase your relevant writing samples as well.

Confidence to Enter the Field

Many freelance writers who would like to work in the finance niche don’t pursue it because they are intimidated. This is the same across all niches that require some degree of specialized knowledge, including medical writing, legal writing, and tech writing. However, finance writing can be approachable for anyone, even without education or experience in the field. As a freelance writer, you may even be surprised at some of the finance knowledge you have that you can put into your writing. As a self-employed business owner, you regularly undertake things likes budgeting, taxes, and bookkeeping for your business. That gives you a surprisingly useful head start on the knowledge that many finance clients need you to incorporate into the pieces you create for them.

If you’ve set your sights on a career as a freelance finance writer, Writers Work is the place to make it a reality. Our site gives you everything you need to pursue clients with confidence. Your profile on our site gives clients a place to see your work and approach you for jobs, while our Job Finder lets you filter writing opportunities to find ones that are specifically for your chosen writing niche. Become a member of our community today and start your risk-free, 30-day trial.