How a Freelance Writing Niche Can Strengthen Your Appeal

Take a quick peek at www.Elance.com, www.sologig.com, www.guru.com or any of the freelance job boards, and it’s soon obvious that the average freelancer is outnumbered. Before you even have a chance to convince a buyer of your skill, you’ve got to somehow cut to the front of the line. Not easy to do with thousands of competitors. You may be awesome, but that buyer may never know it. How to stand out in the crowd? Specialize.

Corporations and even small boutique companies have been doing this for ages. Why shouldn’t you? But choosing your specialty may not be so easy. When I first began as a freelance writer, I did anything and everything, from editing to writing to transcribing audio. The bills had to be paid so I did what I could. Over time, however, I felt drawn towards specific areas of writing. At first, it was copywriting, but writing someone else’s sales letters all day wasn’t my idea of fun. Soon , I learned more and more about SEO (search engine optimization), and although writing is only a part of this growing craft, I enjoyed it and I was good at it. So this is where I have stayed.

You can do the same. If you specialize rather than generalize, you may feel a bit lost at first. You may not be as busy with multiple projects and deadlines right away; ultimately this is good, as it gives you needed time to learn more about your area of specialization so you can excel more quickly. You can still take on the odd jobs to keep money coming in. I still take an occasional editing job or sales letter project just to stay in the game. But specializing offers you the opportunity to do one thing really well and, eventually, to become a master, charging the big bucks and cultivating a valuable list of clients.

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