Since 2003 I’ve helped many new copywriters select the niche that’s right for them, and those niches have been strong and varied.

Nutraceuticals is big, and so is financial; technology is popular, as well the technology sub-niches of software, hardware, and to a much lesser degree, telecom.

In addition to the more obvious markets I have copywriters specializing in the human potential industry, the seniors market, marketing communications (marcom), publishing, the government, white papers, veterinary, insurance, global markets, and more.

As a niching expert, I know there are dozens of niches open to the freelance copywriter, but the one that has continually stumped me…the one I haven’t been able to safely recommend…is non-profit.

Although I’ve written for non-profit a number of times throughout my agency and freelance career, the pay was paltry (or none), and few of my colleagues had much to say about the niche.

Yet there are those who sing its praises. And many copywriters are drawn to the niche, energized by the idea of doing good and getting paid for it.

After four years it had become apparent to me that the only way I’d be able to recommend this niche, or not, was to do a formal study. So I did.

I wanted to answer some basic questions:

Can you really earn six figures or more in this niche? If so, how long will it take? What recommendations would those working in the niche pass down to newcomers? What pitfalls await the unsuspecting? How would one go about creating a successful career in this niche?

In order to get reliable information, I identified five non-profit copywriters who would represent a healthy cross-section…everyone from the “dean” of non-profit himself to a newcomer who’d recently found success in this niche.

I interviewed each of the copywriters with the express purpose of learning the truth about working in this niche; and each knew the purpose of this report was “truth” over sales; that his or her response would influence the course of copywriters’ careers for years to come.

I wanted to know the good and the bad, the pearls and the warts! And my interviewees gave me both, with generosity, honesty, and candor.

In addition I sponsored a survey of non-profit copywriters, who revealed their incomes, their niche markets, and shared a flood of passionate and cautionary advice about working in this niche. Between the interviews and the survey, a clear picture began to emerge…

A picture that looks something like a map of the United States…one whole homogonous entity made up of numerous smaller entities…revealing a very strong but complicated market!

Some of the findings:

You don’t go to a non-profit and say, “I’m a great copywriter. I write killer copy.” You have to be a specialist to grow a thriving business. There is a significant difference between non-profits and fundraisers, and knowing the difference is fundamental to your career as a non-profit/fundraising copywriter. Non-profits split out into three groups: advocacy (caused-based organizations such as Greenpeace); charity (such as the Christian Children’s Fund); and political (Democratic National Committee). Copywriters can specialize by the kind of funding they help organizations raise, e.g., a government grants, giving from wills and estates, and capital campaigns (such as helping a hospital add a new wing). Some non-profit copywriters specialize by media: letters only, or grant writing only, or online only…direct mail, radio, and so on. You can get a lot of business just from your web site if you correctly optimize your keywords (according to your specialty). Creating an ezine is a particularly effective marketing tool for this market. Two of the biggest non-profits are universities and hospitals. (One could sub-niche into either of these huge markets.) Non-profit is a huge niche market and accounts for 2 percent of the Gross National Product. What’s more, it’s a growing market but it will need copywriters in the future even more than it does now.

That’s because, according to non-profit copywriter Alan Sharpe, the new generation did not grow up in a culture of giving, so its going to be more challenging for non-profits to gain the funds they need.

Says Alan: “…the parents of baby boomers are the last generation to give out of habit…my parents’ parents and your parents’ parents…they were basically raised to give…

“And that’s not true today. You’ve got 15-year-olds, 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds… You can approach a 20-year-old and ask them for a donation for Hurricane Katrina and they’ll say, ‘Well, how are you going to use it? How can I be sure? Can you email me photographs of my donation at work?’”

So as non-profits find it more and more challenging to collect funds, they will find talented freelance copywriters more valuable to their marketing initiatives.

Other finding on this niche include:

Survey evidence that copywriters can earn $100,000 per year and more…but that the majority earn much less The non-profit sector has doubled since the early ’90s, and according to non-profit guru Mal Warwick, “continues to grow faster than the economy.” 65 percent of surveyed non-profit copywriters believe non-profit will be a good niche for copywriters in the foreseeable future Only 23 percent of surveyed non-profit copywriters felt there was a high level of competition in the space

“ChrisNotes: The Truth about copywriting for non-profits” offers six months of research and analysis, 78 pages of survey data (16 questions posed to 54 participants), interviews with successful non-profit copywriters, including the “dean” of non-profit copywriting Jerry Huntsinger, and today’s reigning guru, Mal Warwick; and analysis and commentary by myself, copywriter’s coach Chris Marlow.

“ChrisNotes: The Truth about copywriting for non-profits” is designed to help freelance copywriters determine if non-profit is a good niche for them…one that will fill them up emotionally, financially, and perhaps even spiritually…or not.

A niching mistake can be a critical mistake, and can even destroy a fledgling career. It takes time and money to build a business. Knowing with certainty that your chosen niche is the right fit is the first step to business success.

One of the true laments from management today is that employees cannot express themselves with the written word. Owners and stockholders have the same complaints about management. Today in the age of the paperless office the importance of the written word is increasing especially as direct live voice contact becomes more and more problematic.

If you want to communicate, you have to write. The written word, whether digital or etched into stone, remains the primary means of relaying data, information, thoughts and ideas.

Many businesses lack the ability to generate a well written business letter or well scripted marketing collateral. Not having this ability puts these businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

Who wants to consider a business proposal that is awkward and full of errors? What impression does a homepage with spelling errors project? Good business writing is not just a nice frill — it is a necessity.

Every text that is written by your business is a reflection on your business. Misspellings, poor grammar, awkward syntax and weak logic project a negative image. These weaknesses can relay the impression that you are uneducated, unsophisticated, lack personal pride, are lazy, ill or all of the above.

Since the consequences of poor writing are surprisingly severe, it is better to not write anything than to write poorly. No writing leaves the issue up in the air; poor writing tells the world just where you establish your standards.

Pick up three or four pieces of written material from your company. How does your company rate? Do you require employees use spelling and grammar checks before sending out important letters or email? A spell and grammar checker can act as an editor and prevent simple typos and oversights; a first line of defense against poor writing.

Or do you or your people have difficulty clearly expressing themselves? If so, take a step back and look at your capabilities. You can either send everybody to Adult Ed and Junior College to learn how to write or hire someone that already can.

For your people that can write having their own writing style is fine as long as it is correct and in good business taste. You don’t have to go to military speak but neither is this the time to wax poetic and verbose.

Using slang in a memo to a company CEO may look cool at first but be perceived as ‘low rent’ when the CEO reads it. Always think first, what impression do you want to give?

If you are hiring for a position that requires writing skills, ask the applicant to write several paragraphs about what attributes they will bring to the company. For assessing writing skills what they write about is not as important as how they write it.

For managers this is more important since written reports are part of a manager’s job description. Never hire a manager before you clearly know their writing skills.

To write well it helps to read. Read whatever interests you and read as much as you can every day. If you read a newspaper; look how style and syntax relay the message.

By reading well written material the rules of grammar and syntax become more formalized in your brain. Simply put, the more you read, the better you write.

Clearly writing practice makes for improvement if not perfection. Good writers write everyday and take pride in each piece they write. Good writers make sure the intended meaning is the meaning expressed. It is not only challenging to write well but fun if one develops positive attitudes about writing. Besides, what’s not to like about writing well?

Only basic common sense should tell you that anything that is written or in text, such as a webpage or a handout brochure needs to be reviewed thoroughly before posting or printing. If you dare put out ‘junk’ that is full of holes, you will be shooting down your efforts before you start. So don’t even try.

Review all of your written materials to see if they need to be improved or rewritten. Be your own editor first and then have some “outside eyes” look at it. Take all criticism constructively and use that criticism to improve.

Look in the mirror when you come up with excuses for poor writing. Excuses such as lack of formal education do not count in the marketplace. Some with little or no education have excellent writing skills while many university graduates cannot write a simple sentence correctly.

If you write poorly your message will be muted and not accomplish what you intend it to do. Good writing is a challenge and not something one can fudge or postpone.

If you can’t do it, hire someone that can. Always remember that for better or worse you and your company are what you write.