Welcome to Week Two of Writers Worth, er…. Weeks!
I’m not here. If I’m online, I’m lurking from a WiFi spot in Vancouver. That doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. I know you’ll make each guest poster feel welcome and engage them in conversation. And thank you in advance.
Thanks also to Allena Tapia of About’s Freelance Writing. Allena has been a source of information and of friendship for some time. I’m grateful that she answered the call for guest posts because her advice is spot on! If you’ve ever said, “But what do I write about? I don’t have any experience!” listen up. You’re about to have that question answered.
Thank you, Allena!
Boost Your Worth By Finding Your Niche
by Allena Tapia
When I teach classes about freelance writing at my local
community college, I tell my students that every single one of them has a
niche. And, without fail, I always have a student stay after to argue the
point:
community college, I tell my students that every single one of them has a
niche. And, without fail, I always have a student stay after to argue the
point:
“But I’m just a secretary.”
“But I’ve been a mother and housewife for the
last ten years.”
last ten years.”
“But I just graduated from college.”
And, despite the fact that I’m anticipating an ice cold
Strongbow at home, I always manage to muster the patience from deep down inside
of me to walk these students through their life decisions, extracurricular
activities, and interests. Without fail, we always find something
that
Strongbow at home, I always manage to muster the patience from deep down inside
of me to walk these students through their life decisions, extracurricular
activities, and interests. Without fail, we always find something
that
1) Elicits great passion from the student, or
2) They know an awful lot about.
And I’m willing to do this and go there for one reason, and
one reason only: I believe your niche is your secret to writing success.
one reason only: I believe your niche is your secret to writing success.
So, my Writer’s Worth Week advice is to mine that niche!
Find it, name it, and mine the heck out of it. And I say this for several
reasons:
Find it, name it, and mine the heck out of it. And I say this for several
reasons:
1) Writing can be soul-crushing, both when you start out,
and at odd times along the way (example: burn out). Writing within your
expertise tempers this a bit.
and at odd times along the way (example: burn out). Writing within your
expertise tempers this a bit.
2) There are a whole lotta people out there who can string
sentences together. You need something more than that.
sentences together. You need something more than that.
3) Research is a time-killer, and often contributes to the
low wages of newbies. Working within your niche saves time, and drives up your
hourly rate.
low wages of newbies. Working within your niche saves time, and drives up your
hourly rate.
Finding your niche is as easy as walking yourself through
your employment, hobbies, and hot-button issues. What do you write about when
you’re not paid to write? What do you read? What news stories are you sharing
on Facebook or Google+? What do you do at your day job?
your employment, hobbies, and hot-button issues. What do you write about when
you’re not paid to write? What do you read? What news stories are you sharing
on Facebook or Google+? What do you do at your day job?
I was once a secretary who answered phones for my state
department of agriculture. I would tell people how many feet deep that had to
bury their dead horse (not kidding), and how often their chickens should be
tested for pullorum (it’s a disease). Being able to interpret verbose state
laws garnered me work with a crop pesticide company in my first year of
freelance writing.
department of agriculture. I would tell people how many feet deep that had to
bury their dead horse (not kidding), and how often their chickens should be
tested for pullorum (it’s a disease). Being able to interpret verbose state
laws garnered me work with a crop pesticide company in my first year of
freelance writing.
I once counseled a student who has worked at the JC Penney
jewelry counter since she was 17. She wanted to edit and proofread, but
insisted she had no experience to even begin selling herself. When I walked her
through her job duties, she mentioned the fact that she has to match the
manifests and packing slips on over 500 diamonds per week. This was the exact
kind of detail work that landed her a job proofreading a 20,000 line Excel
spreadsheet for a tech manufacturer later that year.
jewelry counter since she was 17. She wanted to edit and proofread, but
insisted she had no experience to even begin selling herself. When I walked her
through her job duties, she mentioned the fact that she has to match the
manifests and packing slips on over 500 diamonds per week. This was the exact
kind of detail work that landed her a job proofreading a 20,000 line Excel
spreadsheet for a tech manufacturer later that year.
Now, if you follow me at all, either at About.com (http://www.freelancewrite.about.com),
Twitter (@allenat), or via my personal blog (http://www.gardenwallpublications.com/blog),
you know that I no longer write about chicken diseases or dead horses. Naming
and marketing your niche doesn’t limit you at all! It’s simply a stepping
stone to a better wage. It’s one of the first steps in establishing your true
worth as a writer.
Twitter (@allenat), or via my personal blog (http://www.gardenwallpublications.com/blog),
you know that I no longer write about chicken diseases or dead horses. Naming
and marketing your niche doesn’t limit you at all! It’s simply a stepping
stone to a better wage. It’s one of the first steps in establishing your true
worth as a writer.
How about you? What’s your niche? Have a funny niche story
to share? Leave it in the comments below.
to share? Leave it in the comments below.
I disagree. I am the anti-niche. When the economy crashed, a lot of my fellow freelancers who were niche-based lost their clients. I did not, because I'm flexible enough to write anything.
I'm lucky that I have a quick learning curve, and if I don't know something, I can learn it fast enough during the writing process to write an article just as engaging as someone who's been in the business for years.
I DO agree that your life experience outside of writing feeds, enriches, and expands your markets. But it's not just about what you know and what you're doing, but what fascinates you. If you think it's exciting, you'll be able to communicate it to your readers.
And the more risks you take, the more you expand your areas of specialized knowledge, the more valuable you are.
I partly agree with you, Allena. I used to tell my students to use their own experience as a starting point, and I think that helps at the beginning. However, once you feel confident, there are all sorts of ways to expand your areas of expertise. I'm more of a generalist and would probably find it too limiting to stick to a niche or two.
I fall squarely in the middle of the niche debate.
It's great to have an area or two of expertise – like Allena said, it usually makes the work go faster, and writing about things you enjoy (or are interested in learning about,as Devon said) keeps the work interesting. However, the ability to cover multiple niches makes you a more versatile writer.
That said, I totally agree with Allena's main point that finding your niche is a great place to start. If you don't have clips showing you're an expert writer, you need to convince editors or clients you're knowledgeable in their field if you expect to snag an assignment. It's exactly what people do with résumés: when they don't have the job experience the position requires, they focus on the skills or knowledge they have that someone in that job would need.
Lori might call it smart marketing.
Writing in your niche makes writing more enjoyable. Also, I can be considered an expert, which makes me a go to guy. Lastly, if your niche is conducive to a certain audience then you can build a platform from which you can sell your products. I'll write about anything, but there is an upside to having a niche. Thanks for the excellent post, Allena.
Great post Allena!
Interestingly, when I think of niches, I don't think in terms of topics but instead in terms of different kinds of writing.
The bulk of my work involves blogging and ebook writing – which is what I've become known for. This way, I'm not tied down by a topic. I can blog and write an ebook about any topic my client wants.
That's actually a good way of thinking about it, Samar.
And sometimes not having a niche can be considered your niche…. 😉
What I like about this post — Allena's providing a jumping-off point for new writers. I hear all of you saying that niches aren't necessary — that's so true. But if you're starting out and can't for the life of you figure out where to start, within your own comfort zone is a great suggestion.
Like Samar says, some niches are quite open-ended!
Thanks again, Allena.
Allena, love your story. And yes you can mine a niche as you describe… I've done it.
I've also gone way out of that niche into something else and had that work as well.
I think it was Paula who said something like "I write what I want to know about." I've done it that way too!
The real secret is to risk… and write and rewrite and market and risk…
I like your reminder at the end that a niche isn't a limit. Unless we want it to be, we can still write outside our preferred specialty, but having a focus certainly helps us form our identities as freelance writers.