Drop servicing is growing fast. It is a process where you outsource work to other people. But what are the best niches that you can get into?
This is what I want to share with you today. By the end of this tutorial, you can choose from my recommendation of 13 Best Drop Servicing Niches In 2010.
But first, we need to talk about how you can best decide which niches are right for you.
How do you choose the best drop servicing niche?
There are two factors you have to consider when choosing a niche for your drop servicing business. the first one is your knowledge, and the second one is profitability.
You cannot sell a service you do not understand. For example, how can you offer SEO if you do not know what it really means? Some clients may ask you if this service includes redirects, and if you fail to answer, they will doubt your ability to deliver this service.
The next is profitability. Some types of jobs are already maxed out in terms of price. For example, you cannot outsource a service where the freelancer will create a Shopify store. Most of these services are sold in Fiverr at a price of $195, which is already high enough.
What this means is you can no longer squeeze a profit out of that. If you raise the selling price to $250, no one is going to buy from you anymore.
Also, you have to offer services where customers are likely to come back, not the kind of services where the customers need it only once.
1. Writing and Proofreading
These two come hand in hand. You do not have to be a great writer to offer this service in your drop servicing store, buy you have to be at least knowledgeable at the most basic level.
Also, you need to understand what makes up good writing—this includes post structure, vocabulary, value, and avoidance of fluff.
Here are some examples of writing projects that you can offer:
- Listicles
- How-to or instructional materials
- Copywriting
- Script writing
- Product and software reviews
Should you offer this service, you need to charge your clients per word. It is also a good practice to show your clients some samples of what you offer. Do not lead them to your writer’s portfolio, as they might order from your writers instead of you. Instead, just pay your writer for some work and use that as your own.
Make sure that you hire good writers—there is no reason for clients to order from you if they can easily get the same kind of service from freelance marketplaces.
2. YouTube Intros
YouTube intros are videos that last or three to five seconds long. The average cost of this service on Fiverr is $20, which means that you do not have a lot of wiggle room for profit.
When offering YouTube intros, make sure that you have the following components:
- Include background music
- Logo included in the video
- At least 1080p in video quality; 4K or 8K is better
- Add text overlays and different fade in and fade out effects
This service can be a little tricky. Some clients may return what you delivered, and you may spend more than what you earned. The solution here is to find freelancers who offer unlimited editing until you get it done right.
Also, one challenge you will have is that most freelancers put a watermark on your video. If your client sees this watermark as something different from your brand, he may get suspicious. Make sure your freelancer puts a watermark between you and the freelancer, like putting the word “sample” on the video, instead of the freelancer’s name.
3. eBook cover and other cover art
It is true that there are many free graphic design tools out there that can help a person create his own eBook cover, but nothing really beats the work of a professional, and this is where you come in.
Apart from eBook covers, here are the things that you can offer:
- Podcast cover
- Facebook, Instagram Twitter cover
- Album cover for iTunes
There are many other forms of cover that you can make depending on the client’s industry. These covers range between $15 and $200—it all depends on the quality of the cover you offer. Simple ones where you only put the boot title, author name, and some photos cost $15.
If the book cover requires some serious graphic art, you can charge more than $200. If you offer this, you must have an agreement with then creator that you maintain all copyright to the material so you can resell them.
4. Voiceover services
This service does not include the script. If you sell this, you must make sure that the client understands this. In a voiceover service, you are paying the artist to read the script, which you can use in a video.
Here are some examples of your target market:
- Those who want to create and ad
- People who need a voiceover for their intro and outro videos
- People who make animations
A lot of artists do not allow you to use their voiceover products unless you also buy the copyright fee. Most voiceover artists charge $25 for the reading of the script, but you will pay at least $60 if you want the copyright to be able to use it for commercial purposes.
Also, voiceover artists charge per word. The $25 that you pay can only deliver 100 words. Make sure you look for different artists—male and female—and that your agreement is clear.
5. Data Entry
This kind of work is paid per hour or per project. Data entry refers to any type of job that requires typing data to a CRM or to a spreadsheet.
Here are some examples of data entry jobs you can sell:
- Copy and paste kind of work
- Research for names, phone numbers, and email addresses
- Transfer of JPEG to Word or Excel
- Listing of e-commerce products
- Property research and data collection
Research for names, phone numbers, and email addresses
Typically, the cost of data entry work is $5 per hour. This, of course, does not tell you how much work is actually done. You can also offer other services like formatting and “sanitizing” the data, which means that the misspelled words will also be corrected.
At best, you have to come up with a project agreement with a freelancer. It is much better to have this kind of arrangement, so you know what to expect.
6. Transcription projects
This work covers a lot of areas. Transcription is merely the process of writing what has been spoken.
Here are some examples:
- Medical – listen to audio files by doctors and then write them down.
- Legal – similar with medical, you listen to what attorneys have said and then write them down.
- Sub-titles – you watch a video, or a movie, and then you write the sub-title.
The rate of the fee is per minute of video or audio. Transcribers charge an average of $10 per ten minutes of audio and video. As such, you are going to have to charge more.
In a transcription service, what you need to do is to find clients that have lots of audio and video to transcribe, not YouTubers. Your target market should be lawyers, and those who are in the medical industry.
7. Search Engine Optimization
SEO covers a lot of aspects. As such, you need to be clear what you are going to deliver. Make sure clients understand that you are not offering them a magic solution to increase their traffic, but rather an analysis how they can improve their SEO.
Here are some examples of what you an offer:
- Domain analysis
- Competitor analysis
- Backlink analysis
- Keyword search
- Traffic analytics
- Market explorer
- Gap analysis
- Content template
There is a lot that you can offer. There is no standard pricing for this. Many freelancers offer basic domain analysis for at least $25. What this means is that you are going to have to bump up your price a little bit to make it profitable. What you can do is to also have a software tool on your own, and then throw in a bonus so your price becomes more competitive.
8. Animation
All entrepreneurs online will need animation one way or another. They will use it for their ads and their videos.
Here are some types of animation that you can offer:
- White board animation
- Colored animation
- Comic animation
- 2D graphics that move
- Cartoons
There are so many types of animation that you can offer. Like the other services we mentioned here, you have to also purchase the copyright for the finished product. Some freelancers charge for it, and some do not.
The typical cost of animation is $60 for 30 seconds. Depending on the quality of animation they made, some will even charge up t $500 per 60 seconds.
This is a tough service to offer. Before you even begin the project, you have to create a storyboard for your client and get it approved. Most freelancers do not really draw the animation—they only use software.
9. Logo design
There are many free logo design software programs out there. However, most of these designs can never really represent the business. As such, a lot of people who use these logo makers are frustrated—they need something better.
Should you decide to offer logos for your drop servicing business, make sure that your artist or your freelancer actually draws the logo himself. It is unfortunate that many logo artists use software tools like Canva to make their logos—and this is why they charge only $5.
Look for logo makers who paint and create the logo manually, not those who use pre-made logos. Also, you have to offer bonuses or packages to your clients. For example, you can offer a package that is already inclusive of a printable version of the logo in a busines card.
10. Flyers, brochures, and social media artwork
You can offer this service to both online and offline entrepreneurs. There is a huge demand for flyers, especially online, as many people want to market their products with visually stimulating materials.
Here are some examples of what you can offer:
- Flyer
- Brochure
- Catalog
- Postcard
- Poster
- Menu
The typical cost of this service is $30. This is a print-ready design, but not double sided. More pages equals more money, so you can set-up different packages for your customers.
You have to speak to the artist and ask if you have commercial and publication rights. Many artists only charge for the design, but not he rights to publish the material they made. You need to be clear to the artist that this design is going to be used by another client, and that he will not own copyright to it.
11. Social media management
If you clients want to drive traffic and followers, this is one of the best services you can offer. Your goal is to improve their social media presence by posting relevant content to their social media channels.
Here are some examples:
- Quotes
- Animations and GIFs
- Product promotions
- Surveys and polls
Social media management requires a lot of experience. You should only hire freelancers who have a lot of followers—it is a proof that the know how to drive traffic to their own channels.
Freelancers charge between $30 and $95 per project. The expectation of customers is that you will set-up the account, and also post several times in a month.
12. Ad creation
This is different from animation. In ad creation, you create the script, the video, and the voiceover. It is a complete package for entrepreneurs who want to launch ads.
Ads are more difficult to create than animation. Ads require that you convince the viewer to buy the product, or to take action.
The regular cost of ads is $55 for one product with a length of 30 seconds. Be careful before offering this. Not all clients have the same idea how their ads should look like. Some like animation, while some like real people on the screen.
You need to plan the ad carefully with your client and with your freelancer. If you must, you have to create a story board, and then make sure that the script is final. You can no longer change the script since you will have to pay the voice over talent again.
13. Public relations and backlinking
The last in my recommendation is backlinking and PR. This kind of service is still related to SEO, but is more focused on reaching out to other websites so your client can get backlinks.
In PR and backlinks, your main offer is to publish a press release. What this means is that a written press article is needed, and your client will expect that your article will be released in major publications.
The usual cost of PR is about $90, while backlinking services cost at least $35. Before you offer this service, you have to make sure that your freelancer will keep his word. It is best that you put the freelancer to a test, and ensure that the backlinks are legit, not backlinks in link farms as this can harm your client’s SEO rankings.
Summary
Always remember not to offer services that you do not fully understand. You will have difficulty making negotiations with your customer. Also, you should not drop service something unless you have worked with the freelancer before.
The worst thing that can happen is you pay a freelancer who des not deliver a good job. By default, you must still pay this freelancer if he technically met your conditions, even if his output is not what you are expecting.
Drop servicing can help you make money, but it is only possible if you do not spend more than what you got paid. Plan your niche selection carefully, look for freelancers you can trust, and then launch your drops servicing business.