For most of my life I’ve been unemployable. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had jobs. I was a college language teacher for many years. That led to an opportunity to write textbooks – and I found that I loved the creativity of writing.

I then went freelance and got contracts to write training programs for corporations.

All the while, my passion for health tugged at me. I read books on organic food and supplements, and spent hours every week at my local health food store, searching for the secrets to longevity.

I didn’t connect my passion to my work until I got a business coach who pointed out the obvious. My perfect writing market was sitting right under my nose – or rather, in my kitchen.

Online research revealed that natural products, supplements and organic foods had blossomed into a colossal industry, with trade shows drawing 60,000 industry people several times a year. Suddenly I had a focus for my business, and my life changed dramatically.

So how can this help you? It’s simple: If you have a passion for health, and enjoy writing, you have many opportunities to make a living writing about what you love.

How to Make Money in Retirement, While Helping to Make the World Healthier

Millions of baby boomers, just like us, are retired or close to retirement. We want to stay slim or lose weight, have energy, and live without disease or disability. We realize that conventional medicine doesn’t always hold all the answers, especially for chronic disease, so we are turning to supplements and natural products to stay healthy.

Because of our keen interest in health, companies see opportunities and the natural products industry is growing exponentially.

Every supplement, natural skin care product, and organic packaged food has to be marketed and sold. This means that manufacturers need people to write their sales copy (copywriters) for their websites, e-books, and packaging. This creates an ever-growing demand for copywriters who specialize in natural products.

The good news is that you don’t need to be Margaret Atwood to write sales copy. Even if you have never written professionally, you can develop copywriting skills by buying several excellent yet inexpensive copywriting books, or by taking a course.

Copywriting is an ideal way to earn money at any stage of your life. You can travel and write from a laptop, or have all the conveniences of your home. You save money and time because you don’t have to commute to an office, deal with demanding bosses or cranky co-workers, or buy business clothes. You work when and where you want to, and can take time out to pursue other interests at your convenience.

Along the way, you fulfill your passion by continually learning how to keep yourself healthy. Many of my clients are health experts such as scientists or alternative care doctors. From them I learn about new supplements, and often get free samples of their products.

If you have a keen interest in health, wellness or fitness, and you enjoy writing, copywriting for the natural products and alternative health industry can be incredibly satisfying and motivating, while keeping you healthy.

That’s a recipe for longevity if I ever found one!

Have you considered a copywriting post-retirement career? What topics would you like to write about? If this particular job is not right for you, have you looked at other options? Please share with the community!