It’s good to be king. Or queen, if you prefer. Master of your universe.
If your universe is copywriting services, it’s tempting to view everyone out there as a potential client, especially if you have a good command of the essentials and the ability to vary your voice and address a broad range of audiences from C-level executives to the casual consumer.
But writing about whatever comes along almost guarantees you’ll spend more time researching topics. That’s more time on unpaid work and less time actually getting paid for actual writing. Of course, you’ll gain a lot of knowledge about a wide variety of subjects. Versatility is a valuable attribute in a writer.
Picking a niche automatically restricts your ability to attract work, whereas writing about a variety of topics lets you see if you really want to specialize, and if so, in what. You may come to realize you’re particularly good at writing about some things. Or particularly interested in them. Hmmmm.
Besides, writing about the same thing all the time can be boring. Tedious. Redundant. Repetitive. If you’re bored, you can be pretty sure your audience will be, too.
Maybe you should choose niche copywriting services after all. Consider this:
You can write about what you already know.
Zoom in on a subject you already know from personal, hands-on experience. When you understand the not-so-obvious details about a particular business or industry, you can incorporate insider tips and insight. You know what matters to these people. Tailoring your writing to your audience using pertinent, real-life examples makes it more interesting and useful.
A tighter niche enables you to focus, so you can provide greater value to clients. But the narrower the subject matter, the more critical it is that you know what you’re talking about, or your audience (and, obviously, your client) will quickly detect you’re in over your head.
You can play to your strengths as a writer.
Maybe you can write about anything, but you’re more comfortable with humor or technical information or some other type of presentation style. Pick what’s most interesting or fun for you. You should enjoy your work, right? Otherwise you might as well be languishing in some cubicle wondering what the weather is like outside.
Note that niche copywriting services could represent a type of copy rather than a particular industry. Press releases, magazine articles, website copy, etc. all require a specific approach and an understanding of specialized presentation mechanics. For instance, if you want to write video scripts, you have to know how to write copy that will be spoken aloud, and how word count equates to timing.
It’s easier to market yourself to a smaller, niche-targeted audience.
We all know by now you can’t be everything to everyone. A niche focus enables you to attend in-person events and participate in online communities to make new contacts and establish a presence. That builds authority, and of course links you with like-minded potential clients. You’re one of them. And clients appreciate that they don’t have to explain everything to you.
Bear in mind that you have to overtly promote your copywriting services to succeed.
Copyblogger’s Catherine Caine suggests that a niche simplifies the process because it’s easier for people to remember who you are and what you do. To help differentiate yourself, you need a two- or three-word niche descriptor that indicates who you serve, how you work, what makes you unique and why you’re valuable. You must know thyself before others can know you.
Marketing yourself as a specialist can help improve your author rank in Google’s eyes, boosting your own SEO and search results. And a deeper understanding of your market helps you identify additional services you could offer to broaden your usefulness and value. In other words, make more money.
You can charge more.
You aren’t just a purveyor of copywriting services, you’re An Expert. But don’t pick a niche simply because you think it’ll be more lucrative. If it’s not “you,” that will quickly become apparent to clients.
So how do you decide where to focus?
Niche proponent Pam Foster has some great tips on identifying the perfect market for yourself. And here’s another tip: no matter what you’re writing about, or for whom, treat your copywriting services like a business.
If you choose to write within a narrow scope, refresh yourself by writing about something entirely different now and then. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a new niche.
