Niches: How and When to Find Yours

Online copywriting gurus say you need a niche if you want to make it as a content marketing writer. Are they right? Do you need a copywriting niche? If so, how can a newbie discover the right one? What if you want to change later? Do you choose based on what you know, or what you’re interested in?

Specializing as copywriter can be the kiss of death to a career or it can generate more lucrative contracts. It depends on which niche you select and when you choose it.

Do you need a copywriting niche?

Niches make riches. Or so some folks would have us believe. The experts disagree, however. Copyhacker states, “Generalists get to work on a huge variety of projects and build their skills… but they can sometimes come off as Yes Men.”

If you bring diverse interests and broad experience to your clients, you may find that wedging your writing into a single, narrow niche constricts your creativity too much. It’s just not fun. Generalists can cast a wide net, though, when searching for clients. Can you write about pets, movies, entrepreneurship, rock climbing, and how to get a newborn baby to sleep on a schedule? Then, you can pitch to a lot of different potential employers.

Plus, generalists can work with their clients to create and manage content for prospects from the rim of the sales funnel to the very bottom. Want to write social media posts, blogs, drip campaigns, ebooks, and sales letters? Sticking with the generalist approach might work for you.

On the other hand, specialists command higher wages. Specializing makes you the go-to writer in your niche. People know you, trust you, and believe you can deliver the goods they are paying you for. Consequently, clients will fork out higher dollar amounts, believing they are getting the best in the business to produce their copy. These businesses know they aren’t getting a “Yes Man.”

Pro Tip: If you are a newbie copywriter, don’t worry about naming a niche yet. Find out what you like to write, build your portfolio, and secure client endorsements. You can find your niche later.

How to discover your niche.

Claiming a niche too early in your career can cause you trouble. First, niches can get tedious. The subjects, clients, and voice you enjoy today may not interest you tomorrow. Second, you don’t want to turn down viable, paid writing opportunities. As the Filthy Rich Writer says, “Now is not the time in your career to limit what you’ll be working on.”

Let your niche reveal itself to you naturally. Once you churn out a high volume of material, you will discover what you most like learning about, the kind of clients who suit you, and the type of writing at which you excel.

Possible subject niches include finance, education, healthcare, e-commerce, legal writing, and music and entertainment. You can further segment those so that a broad niche like healthcare becomes a narrow niche such as Ayurvedic health and western medicine. The more technical your niche, the higher your income is likely to be.

Don’t stop at subject matter. Consider your ideal client. If you love small, entrepreneurial enterprises, for example, a startup fintech or insurtech can likely pay you well, but a Montessori school in its first-year may not. And if writing for agencies suits you better than dealing with your own clients, your niche will have to fit into your agency’s needs.

Pro Tip: Your niche is the place where the subjects you enjoy meet the income-producing clients you like.

Changing your niche.

Unless you are at the top of the copywriting field and are reading this article from your posh office looking out over the Manhattan skyline, you will probably need to write outside your niche. Declaring yourself an e-commerce copywriter who specializes in household luxury goods does not mean you forever deny yourself the possibility of writing about your other passions.

Pro Tip: Lead with your niche so you stand out, earn more, and enjoy what you write. Once a niche gets boring or no longer works for you, change it.

Final thoughts.

Are you just getting started as a copywriter? Don’t declare a niche. Instead, focus on creating fluff-free, easy-to-read drafts. Edit to the quick. Find clients. Build a portfolio. Ask for endorsements. Lay the foundation of your business. Learn.

If you believe that specializing is the next logical step in your career, take a look at your existing portfolio. Which pieces captured your interest the most? Who were the clients you enjoyed working for? What kind of writing best fit your style and voice? At the nexus of those three are niches you can test.

Finding all this confusing? Want to talk with someone about specializing? Shoot me an email.

BIO

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC. His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork. He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his monthly copywriting column appears on Almost An Author. You can reach him at hollandwebb.com or at hollandlylewebb@gmail.com.