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These top niches have stood the test of time and made money over and over
Medium most outstanding mentor, Dr Mehmet Yildiz just added another feather to his cap. His new publication named ‘’PASSIVE INCOME FOR WRITERS, is to encourage writers to make the best of their creative skill and ensure their income is sustainable. When he intimated me about it, I thought I might as well give a bit of advice to writers about what passive income entails.
He rightly mentioned that only a fraction of writers here on Medium is actually making any sustainable income from writing. Most of us make peanuts. Nevertheless, making money should not be our main priority, because the power is in the pen to offer information to help the general public. Again, Mike Alexander in his article about writing for money pointed out in one of his blogs that the love of money in creativity is making writers deviate from their niche passion to write what they believe will bring in money. Hence Niches like erotica, blue passion, (nudity) and raw sex are taking up faster than we want to accept.
However, there is another way writers can enhance their income by having a website and posting all their blogs on their websites. Then they are able to monetise the website to generate income in a way that they cannot do here on Medium. Most top earners here on Medium do this. A good example is Tom Kuegler, Post-Grad Survival Grad. Here are top niches that are evergreen where writers can make passive income.
1. Make Money Online (MMO)
There is an endless way to make money online. And this is becoming increasingly popular because most people now work from home, and are thinking of what next to do. MMO niches are huge and varied, but most are affiliate marketing, selling on third-party platforms like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, as well as digital services like courses, SEO services, building funnels, freelancing tips, membership websites, etc. There must be one that is good for you, and the information is vast online. One of the MMO top earners is neilpatel.com Neil Patel focuses on digital services.
2. Weight Loss (including cooking & recipes)
Weight loss is a funny evergreen niche, simply because very few percentages of the millions who are set to lose weight actually do lose weight. And this does not put people off, while weight loss companies are smiling to the bank. Weight loss business is worth £220 billion per annum. London Metro Newspaper jokingly called them ‘companies that grow fat as you slim’. Think of Keto, Weight Watchers, protein powders, meal preparation, meal plans, cooking recipes for weight loss, weight loss classes etc. If you love cooking and eating healthily, you can build a blog around that. A good example is allrecipes.com with a quarterly visit of 220 million views. There is a writer here, Cooking at Home, who can look at monetising her recipes, by having a website. On Medium, she freely gives away her recipes.
3. Anti-Ageing
This is the most deceit of the human mind. Ageing is a natural process, but we women do not want to accept that. We believe in spending money to stay youthful. Even the young are getting caught up in arresting it before they get there. Products are a good mix of digital and physical products, ranging from mindset building and education, wrinkles prevention, brain health, mobility and more. This is an area where you can build up your brand. Most brands on offer are the same that are being marketed under different names.
4. Parenting
This is from pregnancy through to teenage years. Parenting advice ranges from foods, toys, education materials, products, clothing, school, babysitting, single parenting, introducing your new love to your children etc. There are a thousand and one variations. A good example is babycenter.com
5. Relationships
This includes among others, love, dating, divorce, getting your ex back, how to win the love of your life, love-making and many more. Relationship advise for men, divorcee, women, single parents, widows and widowers etc. This sort of website blooms because people feel more confident to confide in a stranger and expert than in their friends or relations. A good example is pairedlife.com, with a quarterly view of 13million.
6. Photography
If you love photography like Boateng Sekyere, this might be for you. This is a skill that those who get involved in it are passionate about, and always want to perfect. There are many aspects of this, e-courses, wildlife photography, the art of photography itself, fashion photography and digital photography. Also one can focus on photography equipment, pointing out the best by reviewing the best types of equipment out there. A good example is mymodernmet.com with a quarterly view of 12.7million.
7. Travel & Tours
This is gaining popularity as more people travel the world to see what obtains on another side of the globe. I know a writer here, Agnes Louis, who describes herself as an avid traveller. There are variations of this business. All you do is writing a blog about the places you visit, encouraging others, likes and dislikes. Also writing a review about the best hotels and B&B, how safe or friendly is the place, travel advice and resources, solo travel, travel with families etc. Reviews about cruises, services etc are ways to monetise your blogs. A good example is ytravelblog.com with 1.9 million views every quarter.
8. Entertainment (including Celebrity News & Gossips)
There are vast numbers of people who relax with celebrity news and gossips. Most information is obtained on most soft cells, but most still read them online. These celebrities live their lives on the air and are followed by millions who are interested in how they live their lives, what they eat, what they wear, their love lives, which car they drive, where they live etc. They are constantly in the news, and reading about them gives pleasure to some people. A fan club is a good start. Think about The Kardashian of this world.
Another aspect of the entertainment website is the film review, characters cast, and what to expect in the next episode. A good example of a celebrity entertainment website is eonlinecom with a quarterly view of 122 million.
Writing should not be solely for money, but neither should writers be destitute by practising this skill.
Most writing platforms like Medium, Vocal, Newsbreak, Substack are all third party platforms. You cannot, therefore, guarantee continuity in that the platform can close your account, or their TOS (Terms of Service) can change in a way that it will not be sustainable for you to continue with them.
I lost a Medium friend like that when her account was closed suddenly. If your account is closed, you also lose your writings, so it is best to move them to your website. And find alternative ways to monetise their blogs.
A good and easier way is to have a business website and look for ways to monetise the blogs. There are so many variations of online business. One must be right for you. I wish you the very best.
