It’s 2021! A brand-new year filled with plenty of opportunities for freelance graphic designers and web developers to earn a living.
One of the biggest issues new freelancers face isn’t having a clear idea on what design niche to focus on and instead try to do everything at once. This jack-of-all-trade route may work for some but it leaves the majority of freelancers exhausted, frustrated and unfulfilled.
Niching down was one of the best decisions I made as a freelancer; It has made my job a lot more enjoyable and it gave me the chance to hone my skills in the areas of brand identity and web development.
Today, I want to provide a list of 6 profitable graphic design and web design niches for freelancers that you can start earning with today.
Churches & Religious Institutions
With the recent global pandemic effectively crippling physical relationships, religious institutions have to find creative ways to worship over the internet. Some churches were prepared for the digital age and are striving now, however, there are many who haven’t made the switch.
This is where you come in, as a freelancer, you can provide churches with websites, social media management, live stream setup, online offering systems and more.
I rarely see creatives work with religious institutions so this could be a great opportunity for you to capitalise on a non-competitive industry.
Examples of services you can offer in the religious design niche
- Social media content (bible verses, daily reading, clips and livestreams)
- Digital offering
- Training and support for congregation
- Infographics
- Weekly newsletters
- Website development
- Advertising
- Branding
- Email campaigns
Restaurants & Delivery Services
The pandemic strikes again! And this time it’s restaurants and cook shops. Luckily, the lockdowns have also boosted the demand for delivery services like Doorstep Ja and Uber Eats that take the hassle out of putting on a mask and driving to the store for a meal.
As a freelance designer, you can help restaurants advertise on social media, launch interactive websites and developing a consistent visual identity for all platforms. Delivery apps and services can also benefit from redesigns, an effective ad campaign to build recognition and an engaging social media feed.
Pro tip: team up with a freelance social media manager and offer monthly subscriptions that can secure a steady flow of income while you wait for a new client.
Examples of services you can offer in the restaurant and delivery design niche
- Social media content
- Illustrations
- Copywriting
- Social media management
- Website development
- App design
- Advertising
- Branding
- Menu designs
eSports and Streaming
Electronic sports or eSports is a fairly new subcategory of the general videogames industry but is already on its way of becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry by 2022. Because of the lockdown, most traditional contact sports are taking a beating in ratings and overall viewership; however, the eSports industry is bigger than ever.
The greatest benefit to eSports is that the players can compete from anywhere in the world while spectators can enjoy the show from the comfort of their homes via forums.
Related: ‘Push Start’ eSports campaign case study
So, I’m sure you’re wondering how you can make money working in the eSports niche. Well, it’s simple – eSports teams. Since the world of eSports is so accessible, every Tom, Dick and Harry are forming their eSports teams to try and make it big like FaZe Clan or Fnatic. Your job is making them look good while doing it.
Examples of services you can offer in the eSports design niche
- Social media content
- Illustrations
- Merch designs
- Highlight reels
- Logo designs
- Website development
- Advertising
- Banner designs
- Player stat cards
Banking and Investments
C’mon, do I gotta spell this one out for you? Banks have money. It’s literally their business model. Luckily, many of these banks are VERY old-fashioned, like, no-social-media-whatsoever old-fashioned.
This is where you come in. You’re young, fresh and full of ideas just waiting for the right lump of clay to shape into a beautiful piece of art. You recognise what it takes to make it big on social media, you know what the kids are thinking and these suits don’t.
Your job is to help these ancient brick-and-mortar banks and investment companies appeal to the digital community by showing the value of banking and investing in their futures. Whether through social media, advertising or influencer marketing, there are a lot of opportunities in this industry for you.
Related: Tax Administration website redesign challenge
Examples of services you can offer in the financial design niche
- Social media content
- Illustrations
- Infographics
- Logo designs
- Advertising
- Banner designs
- Player stat cards
Agriculture
Agriculture feels like an odd industry for freelance designers but that’s exactly why it is profitable. Unlike the other industries I mentioned before, Agriculture is a primarily offline business in terms of marketing and communication with their customers.
Normally, if you wanted to buy produce or animal products you would buy it through an intermediary like the butcher or the vendor at the local market, however, the pandemic has made this increasingly difficult. Some farmers are already taking the initiative by building their digital presence but there are some who haven’t made the jump yet.
If you know any local Farmers without a digital marketing plan you can offer product label designs, banner ads and other services for a monthly subscription or one-off fee. Agriculture is going digital and this is the perfect time to capitalise on it.
Related: RADA website redesign challenge
Examples of services you can offer in the agriculture design niche
- Social media content
- Illustrations
- Newsletter designs
- Invoice and receipt designs
- Logo designs
- Website development
- Advertising
- Banner designs
- Product labels
Podcasts
With the recent announcement of Joe Rogan’s 100-million-dollar exclusivity contract with Spotify, a lot of eyes are now on the podcasting industry.
Podcasts are a series of digital media files (video or audio) distributed over the internet as feeds that users can subscribe to. Some podcasts cover topics relating to current issues, some talk about true crime stories and some podcasts are just a dude in a basement chatting about Pokemon.
There are a lot of podcasts and because of this huge library of content, your podcast needs an eye-catching cover to match the engaging content. A picture is worth a thousand words and this is especially so in the podcast industry where creators are cranking out new series every day.
As a freelance graphic designer, you can offer your services to the podcast industry in areas like cover art design, merchandise, social media and advertising. If the podcast’s content is good, your artwork will help build instant recognition.
Related: How we branded an original Jamaican podcast
Examples of services you can offer in the Podcast design niche
- Social media content
- Podcast cover designs
- Merch designs
- Logo designs
- Website development
- Advertising
Which one of these niche areas appealed to you? Do you think niching down is the way to go as a freelancer or do you think being a jack-of-all-trades is better? Let me know on LinkedIn.
