Four Lucrative Freelance Careers You Can Try with an English Degree (GUEST POST)

Are you thinking of going into freelance work after graduating with an English degree? Payscale reports that freelance writers can make anywhere from $25,000 to $115,000 a year, making freelance work a promising career option for people who majored in English. You can even increase your potential earnings per year by improving your skills and booking more gigs from sites like Media Bistro or Journalism Jobs.

Now that freelance work is more popular, plenty of companies are outsourcing professionals with outstanding English skills for short-term assignments or quick projects. So if you want to book these jobs and earn more money, here are the following freelance careers that you should try:

Book Writer

Plenty of people with English degrees aspire to write books. The good news is that you can learn the ropes and earn a better salary by pursuing a freelance career as a book writer. Our article entitled ‘Why Freelance?’ shares that a former journalist chose to ghostwrite books because it allows them to earn extra income and pursue truly fascinating work. By ghostwriting books, they were able to earn a good income, do what they love, and even live overseas.

Freelance book writers must be good at specific genres, such as children’s books, fiction, screenplays, and more. By specializing in in-demand genres, you can expect more publishers and aspiring authors to knock on your door.

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is an industry on the rise, with more positions opening than ever before. Marketing agency Ayima explains in their article about fake news that digital advertising has been growing for a while, and is an effective method of targeting people via the internet and social media. Within that sector, there are plenty of opportunities for people with English degrees to write articles for the purpose of advertising.

This might be for the link development industry, where people buy posts on websites and insert a link into the piece for their own product or service - much of that is done on a freelance basis. It might be writing engaging articles for a sales brand's blog page, again helping to draw traffic to the site. With search engine crawlers picking up on links and blogs to help push articles up their ranks, companies want well-written articles to help promote their brand. Of course, there's also a need for people with a good grasp of the English language to simply talk up products, and write speeches for online launches or scripts for other video material.

Copywriter

Copywriting is a popular freelance career option that graduates from English degree programs should consider. Entrepreneur points out that many companies are on the lookout for writers who can craft a compelling sales copy, which is why you could set higher payment terms for this freelance career option. For instance, beginners can charge hourly rates for blog posts and social media captions, while more experienced writers can charge higher rates on intensive projects that require research, outlining, interviews, and editing.

The tasks of freelance copywriters include writing advertisements, conducting interviews, or even building marketing campaigns. You can also expect to work with organizations' marketing or advertising departments, if you choose to pursue this option.

Copy Editor

If you’ve gained enough editing experience during or after college, you can consider applying as a freelance copy editor. Kim Catanzarite, a freelance writer and editor who teaches copyediting courses for Writer’s Digest University, explains that she built her work experience by sending stories to literary magazines and creating various marketing pieces for companies. Having published works will be a big advantage if you’re applying as an editor because this shows your competency and knowledge when it comes to writing.

This experience will come in handy because editors must read numerous texts and revise them accordingly. As such, they are in demand in advertising and even in publishing companies.

Numerous career opportunities await you, if you decide to go down the freelancing route. These opportunities will help you earn money, while also giving you more freedom over your time.