I like to play devil’s advocate, so here’s my follow-up to a recent post on the value of generalization. In spite of what I said, there are very real advantages to being a specialist writer.

Branding

If you specialize in a particular area, it’s easy to be seen as the go-to person in that niche. A few examples: Darren Rowse (blogging), Lea Woodward (location independence), Andy Hayes (travel). You can get a website that relates to your brand and make your image consistent among all your interactions. It doesn’t matter whether your niche is writing resumes or travel writing, being a specialist can help you with branding.

Marketing

Following on from that, it’s much easier to carry out targeted marketing when you offer a specialist service that you know people want. It helps you focus your efforts. When I market my writing services, I am in a huge marketplace with dozens or hundreds of people offering writing services. An alternative is to market myself in each niche, connecting with people who want SEO articles, blog posts, ebooks or resumes. Specialization lets you find a unique selling point (USP) and tell everyone about it.

Better Cost/Benefit Ratio

Then there’s the actual writing itself. If you are a generalist, every new project means a new set of research, which means that the rate you get for writing (unless you cost research separately) may actually work out to a lower hourly rate than you expect. Specialize and you’ve got expert subject knowledge to draw on, with little need to research.

Which Is Better?

So, which is better? I don’t know. I write on a few specialist subjects such as writing (comes of being a former journalism tutor on top of years of writing experience) and consumer finance (because I learned a lot while working for a subsidiary of the Financial Times eons ago).  When I write about those topics, I can write quickly and knowledgeably, making my hourly rate soar. And yet … although it’s less cost-effective, I also enjoy getting to grips with a new topic and increasing my store of knowledge. What do you think?

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:

1. Write what you know
2. 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)