A friend of mine was a thriving freelance writer looking to escape. His situation made me think of my own experiences with freelancing. Rates were always low, competition was always cutthroat, and clients rarely ever saw value in hiring somebody creative. Now, AI has blown the door open.

Fortunately, writing generally is also a great career skill. You can use it to pivot into much greater market opportunities:

Find a market, build your expertise, and sell it: Niching in a freelance writing career is just the first step. You want to use your craft—writing—to build a brand as an expert in the field, and then sell that. For example, if you’re a freelance writer specializing in technology, explore some research. Invest in some interviews with people working in the industry, to learn and to build new relationships. One version of this is a writer pivoting into the finance route, like Josh Constine and M.G. Siegler, as well as Morgan Housel. If you’re going to do this, you want to find a good publication for good brand association, but also to help you sharpen your industry thinking.

Build your personal brand and sell products: Identify a market, write about it on social media, and then write books, newsletters, and make videos (write scripts) about it. AI will replace writing, but it won’t replace the need for people to connect with people. When I think of this, I think of Dan Runcie’s work with Trapital, as well as Ryan Holiday’s work with The Daily Stoic. This work will need a lot of promotion.

Expand your career into a different field: For example, if you join a company as a freelance writer, pivot into the company full-time, or reposition yourself as a broader marketer. A company can hire AI to do its writing, but it will not hire AI to make marketing decisions. I think of Camille Ricketts (who also became a VC), and Sean Blanda.

(Writing to think here!)