I’ve been freelance writing for a little over six months now and I’ve finally come to realize the importance (and benefit) of having a niche, or niches.
A little background about me, I have a travel blog and I also do some freelance writing for publications on the side – but so far the majority of my writing has been in the travel industry.
When I started my blog I didn’t have a clear direction or a niche.
When I started my blog I didn’t have a clear direction or a niche. I wrote about everything from language learning tips to the best places to visit in New Zealand to personal essays about living abroad.
It wasn’t until I started focusing on sharing travel recipes and taking beautiful photos that I saw a significant growth in my traffic, and I had companies start approaching me about working with me.
This also applies to my freelancing site that I’m now putting some energy into.
While it’s true that there is a lot of work out there for freelance writers at the moment, it’s also true that there are a lot of freelance writers and bloggers out there (more than 74 million blogs exist on WordPress alone!) – some of whom you’re competing with.
To stand out as a freelance writer, attract clients and secure positions that you’re pitching for it’s a great idea to have a niche.
Some benefits of having a niche are:
- You are placed as an expert in your field (fields)
- You will attract like minded people who want your specific services
- It helps you to grow your audience (generating more potential leads)
- You’ll likely be able to produce content faster because you’re actually interested
- You’re probably going to enjoy the writing and avoid blogger burnout
Here are some things to remember when choosing your niche.
You Don’t Need to Limit Yourself to Just One Niche
Highlighting, or promoting a couple of different niches can be really beneficial to you as it opens up your available writing market.
Let’s say your a mother, a blogger and an avid gardener. You can write in each of these three niches. Or if you’re trying to build your freelancing client base, you can promote yourself as a copywriter, or a social media marketer or an ebook writer.
This is a great way to get started as a freelance writer, but ultimately you want to find one niche to focus on. Clients seek out experts in their fields and will pay a premium for expert writers.
Your Niche Can Be as Broad or as Limited as You Choose It to Be
As important as it is to have a niche, it doesn’t mean that you have to limit yourself to only one small part of the industry.
Expanding your niche can help you have a sustainable career as a writer because you can be open to writing for publications, different industries and websites.
For instance, you could choose to have ‘travel’ as a niche, or you incorporate ‘solo travel’, ‘volunteering travel’, or ‘luxury travel’. Similarly, if you decide to be a food blogger – you can still publish articles on a variety of different topics; sugar free recipes, entertaining recipes, kids birthday recipes etc.
You’re Not Stuck with Your Niche Forever
What you’re interested in writing about now might change in a few months or years and that’s okay.
You might learn a new industry or topic and decide you enjoy writing about that than your niche.
It’s totally fine to change one or all of your niches if that’s what feels right to you, in fact you’re best to do that to ensure your writing remains fresh and interesting.
Having a Niche Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Write About Other Topics
Although you’ll likely want to do the majority of writing within your niche(s), that doesn’t mean that if an opportunity arises you can’t write about something completely different.
If you see a job posting that excites you but isn’t in your area of expertise – go for it! It might open up a completely new world to you. Having a niche isn’t about limiting yourself.
If you’re still not convinced, or you want to learn a little more about this, here are some great articles about helping you find your niche, and why it’s beneficial to you.
How to Figure Out Your Best-Paying Freelance Writing Niche
How to Determine the Best Niche for your Freelance Writing Career
Four Reasons Why Freelance Writers Should Specialize
Over to you – do you have niche? Do you find it’s limiting your or creating more business?
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