When you are starting out as a freelancer, choosing a niche for yourself can be overwhelming. You obviously want to make money and think being a jack of all trades will fetch you more jobs. Having a niche for yourself, specialization in certain fields can actually help you stand out. It can give you an edge over other writers looking for the same job.
When someone is paying you to write about their brand, they will want to know why is it worth choosing you over all the other freelancers available. The benefits of having a niche or specialization are not limited to writing, you can sense the importance of having specialization in every other field. People don’t prefer to go to a general physician anymore, instead, they prefer to visit a specialist in a problem they are facing. Having a specialization has become a necessary part of professional life.
According to Forbes “the marketplace is clearly showing that it rewards businesses that cut out the fluff and specialize in the services that they provide.”
Nobody wants to waste time in explaining the field and market to the professional, they rather want someone who understands the field completely and can provide value for their money.
Think for yourself, why will someone pay you, if there are 10 others like you? How will you prove you are better than them? The answer is to have a niche for yourself.
Before we go headfirst into finding ways to figure out a niche for yourself, let’s first quickly examine the benefits of having a niche.
1) Gives a perception of authority:
When you place yourself as an expert, people tend to trust you more with your knowledge.Take for example, you are diagnosed with a tumor. Whose opinion you are more likely to consider? A general surgeon’s or a neurologist’s? Similarly, brands are looking for writers who have expert knowledge about them and their marketplace.
2) Higher conversions:
When you find your niche and market in the world, people are more likely to approach you.
They see you as an expert. When they search for the solution of a specific problem, they are more likely to approach an expert on that problem. Similarly, when brands or companies are looking for content writers, they are more likely to approach someone with expertise in that specific field. Say, for example, a beauty brand is looking for someone to write content about them. Who are they more likely to approach? Someone with a very diverse portfolio, but with little knowledge about the beauty industry or someone who has expert knowledge in that field?
3) Better networking opportunities:
When you have your niche, word of mouth marketing works best for you, you will be interacting with people who are closely related to your chosen field, generating more profitable relationships.
4) Better value proposition:
When you specialise, you are able to provide your clients with a superior value proposition.
This narrows down how many people can actually compete with you. You become a big fish in a small pond, which makes you easily recognizable.
Having a niche will make you offer something to your clients that others can’t easily replicate.
5) Smaller learning curve:
There’s a lot of things you have to be updated about when you choose to write about a specific field. In-depth research is required to give your clients work that can add superior value to their brand. You need to know about the competition as well as your brand’s target audience.
Learning all this gives you an edge that can’t be replaced. If you’re an expert in that field, you know all about the market, and you don’t have to spend too much of your time researching every time you get a new job. You can produce high-quality content in a very short span of time.
If you are convinced about the benefits that finding your niche will fetch you, then let’s explore some ways you can choose your area of expertise.
1) Carve your niche from your passion:
Ask yourself what you are passionate about? What drives you the most? What is the area that you can write about endlessly? What do you like reading the most? Does technology excite you? Or is it fashion? Do you like talking about politics? Or do you care about the beauty industry? The options are endless. You have to narrow it down to something that excites you the most.
Carving your niche from your passion will make work look like play. You will be more excited and also will be able to produce high-quality content.
2) Review your accomplishments:
Can’t narrow down to a particular field? If there are multiple fields that sparks your interest, then take a look at your accomplishments and try to figure out what you’re good at.
If you have taken part in multiple political debates and won it, then probably writing about politics is the best bet for you. If before deciding to write as a freelancer you have worked in a particular industry, say fashion, then choosing to write about it will give you an edge.
3) Start pitching:
If you can’t find your niche, start exploring what you could be good at. Write content on various topics and start pitching it to the relevant brands. See what you enjoy writing, notice and evaluate what type of content is giving you higher conversions. By diversifying and exploring your options, you can figure out what works best for you.
4) Analyze your content and ask for feedback
When you plan on narrowing down on a niche, make sure you are making an informed decision. Ask for feedback from your friends and clients. Check which type of content is generating more views. See where your strength lies and what are your weaknesses. Having a realistic view of yourself will help you decide the best option available for you.
5) Make sure what you decide to make a niche is a well-paying field:
Finding a niche is important, but it is more important to find a niche that will pay you well. Check the frequency of projects in your chosen field. Do clients in your chosen niche hire freelancers often? What budget do they have for their content marketing activities? Having good knowledge about the clients of your chosen field will help you make a good and informed decision.
So I think it’s good to bite the bullet and niche down. Having a niche can also help you market yourself better. Narrowing down of marketing activities and target clients can actually lead to more jobs and better opportunities. Explore your interests, your strengths, and your weakness. Having a clear understanding of yourself will give you the factor of oomph that will make you stand out.
