Those who get started in freelance writing can find that there are many clients who will pay writers to write for them on a wide array of topics. Writing on a lot of different subjects can definitely keep your job interesting. While learning how to research and pull information together quickly can help you get writing work, you might want to consider choosing a specialty writing niche (or two) as well.
Niche writers benefit in several ways:
- They become known as experts on a topic and can command higher writing rates as well as get plenty of unsolicited job offers.
- Self promotion is easier because you can target specific keywords and phrases. It’s going to be much harder to rank on page one of Google for “freelance writer” than a niche writing topic.
- Research time is diminished because you can draw on your expertise
How do you choose a writing niche?
Here are two considerations to choose your niche:
- Write what you know
- Write what you love
What do you know?
Many new freelance writers who are looking for writing work online have experience in a particular area. Your previous background can work to your advantage in your writing because you can draw on expertise from a previous job. A friend of mine was a lawyer looking to break into freelance writing so I suggested legal writing. If you have a legal background as a lawyer, paralegal, or law clerk you could become a legal writer. If you were in the health field, you could draw on that experience and become a health writer. If you’ve got a technology background, you could be a tech blogger. The list goes on.
What do you love?
If there’s a topic you’re passionate about, you can strive to become known for your expertise in that area. When you’re researching and writing a lot about a particular topic, it doesn’t hurt to find it interesting so that you don’t run out of zest, ideas, or steam.
I’ve said it before and yes, it bears repeating: Freelancing is about freedom. While you’re not limited to writing just within your niche (unless that’s what you want to do), you’ll find that once you carve out a niche for yourself, those gigs will probably be the most profitable.
(photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/mainrc)
Article by Dana Prince
Dana Prince is a writer, web marketing consultant, and prolific blogger. She’s so prolific that she’s actively seeking a 12-step program for blogoholics. (Really, she's only pretending to seek such a program. Mostly, she just likes to talk about her addiction.)
Dana has written 43 awesome articles for us at Get Paid to Write Online
Twitter: @danaprince | Facebook
{ 10 comments }
As a friend of yours who has happily and successfully followed your advice, I agree with all of the points that you make in this post. Thanks for taking the time to provide information like this to aspiring- and established- freelance writers.
Twitter: danaprince
October 21, 2009 at 18:31
Thanks @Jen
I have not yet selected a niche, although if I were pushed, it would probably be writing for nonprofits and doing academic work.
Twitter: danaprince
October 22, 2009 at 17:03
Hi Ronda,
There's no need to push if you're not ready but if you do get the time to work on carving out that niche, you'll probably find that you make more money and work fewer hours. At least, that's been my experience.
Cheers
Dana
Indeed – it will be FAR easier to market yourself if you’re in a niche than a generalist. You don’t have to choose one, you can go after a couple (although three I’d say is the limit or you’re back to the original problem).
Great post.
.-= Andy Hayes´s last blog ..Welcome to the New Sharing Travel Experiences =-.
I have a varied background, in which knowing "a little about alot" was advantageous. This makes it a bit difficult to choose a writing niche, but I'm getting there. I agree you can't push it, take the time to try a few niches on for size
Twitter: jdstankosky
September 22, 2011 at 14:13
Does it make it easier for a new freelancer to find work by writing some niche articles on his (my) own blog? I love electronics, cars, and security. I’d happily write and discuss any of those in articles all day long.
How can I market my expertise in these areas without having any writings to show?
JD Stankosky wants you to read Starting to Write for Money
Twitter: danaprince
September 22, 2011 at 14:21
JD, A blog is a great place to showcase your expertise on a niche topic. I often refer potential clients to blogs of mine ( I have several niche blogs) to show my writing style on a particular subject. You can also offer to guest post for a well-known blog in a desired niche so that you can link to that sample for potential gigs, too.
Good luck with your writing journey.
Twitter: jdstankosky
September 22, 2011 at 14:58
Should I separate my blog postings amongst niche blogs instead of posting them all in a single blog? If you ever get a chance to read through mine, it’s all over the place.
JD Stankosky wants you to read Starting to Write for Money
Twitter: danaprince
September 22, 2011 at 15:57
It depends on what you’re looking to do.
If you’re setting it up like your own online portfolio, that’s your choice. You can point people to it and set up different categories for different topics — if you like. But if you want people to find your blog through search engines because you’re looking to make money with the blog, separating niches is a better way to make that happen as search engines will index your pages and look at the overall relevancy to the blog’s subject matter. If the search engines can’t figure out what your site is about (in terms of a single topic), you’ll get less organic traffic.
That said, a lot of writers do create portfolio sites for the purposes of showing their writing samples and you can direct traffic there if you optimise the site as a writing portfolio. There are many websites with a variety of topics in one place that do get a lot of traffic.