Freelance
Writers' Series
Career & Business Development Help
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To make a six-figure income as a freelance writer, to need to be an
expert. You need your name to jump to people's lips when a particular job
or challenge comes up. "Direct mail for software? You should get in touch with Bob. That's
what he does." Insert your own name and specialty where appropriate. You can't get that kind of awareness or referral if you're someone who
just writes about anything in any medium. Nobody is going to believe that
you are a trusted expert in absolutely everything. So how do you determine a viable 'niche'? You have three choices...
1. Niche by industry... That is to say, work within a particular industry. For years I worked
with pharmaceutical clients. All my clients were drug companies. I wrote
direct mail, brochures, sales aids, video scripts. I wrote anything, so
long as it was about pharmaceuticals. That was my niche. And my clients
knew that I was knowledgeable in that area. So they came to me. 2. Niche by medium... In this scenario, you make a particular medium your specialty. After my
years with the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to specialize as a
direct mail copywriter. And for that period, about 15 years, I ONLY write
direct mail and associated media...like inserts, fliers, postcards etc. I
was a direct response specialist. And I wrote for all kinds of different
industries - financial, cable TV, magazine publishers and more. My specialty, my niche, was as a direct response copywriter. Other
writers have built their careers around writing annual reports, radio
scripts, white papers etc. 3. 'Double-Niche' When you double-niche you are making a specialty of serving a single
industry through a single medium. For instance, writing direct response
for the financial industry. And ONLY writing direct response for the
financial industry. In conclusion... As I said at the beginning, you can't be an expert at everything...not
within every industry, not with every medium. So you need to take some
steps to find your niche. How do you choose? First, know yourself. Know what you are good at.
Know what you like. Also, be smart. Create your niche where the money is. Find your niche
where there is a strong market. And be smart about the size of your niche. Don't go so narrow that
you're forever starved of work. Don't go so broad that people view you as
a Jack or Jill of all trades, a generalist.
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