Over the past year, blogging for lawyers has become a bigger and better paying portion of my workload. There’s a lot less competition for lawfirm blogging jobs than there is to write copy or content for lawfirm websites. I’m not certain why — perhaps the daily commitment factor? Right now, all of my regular clients, with one exception, are lawfirms.
Last year around this time, I was floundering around a bit more. Basically, if I saw a writing job I thought I’d be qualified for, I’d apply. While the money wasn’t bad, I can’t say I really had a niche. I was doing more formal writing and research projects for lawyers, doing some web copywriting for lawyers, but at least half of my income was coming from other types of projects, from writing copy about pet care to articles about home business.
So, do you have a niche? How do you know when it’s time for a new niche?
Are you getting a steady stream of business? Do new clients approach you for your services? Will you make more money this year based on client demand? How’s the competition in your field?
Sometimes freelancers stick with a niche they’re comfortable with, even though it’s not making them enough money, simply because they’re in a rut. But is the routine of doing the same old thing day after day (just because you’re used to it) the best way to make a living? Often times, it’s not.
Take some time to go through your client list. Look at the projects you’ve completed over the past year. Then look at the market demand versus your competition. Is what you’ve been doing going to continue to make you money, or is there a new (possibly a related) niche you could focus your energies on to improve your freelance business?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a few niche’s alternative health, fitness, and nutrition. It’s what I write about on my regular blogs, and it’s carried over into freelance writing. Will I change? I highly doubt it.
Freelance writing is another way for me to market myself by writing about topics I’m passionate about. I’m using my freelance writing opportunities as a way to market my own websites. I make money from freelance writing and I also do fairly well off of my personal websites.
In fact, I thought of another niche website earlier today. I’ll be setting that up very soon. It’s a very tight niche, and I haven’t seen too much about it and it’s something I’m very knowledgeable about. It will be a resource library and I believe it has the potential to do very well.
This is my year to tightly focus on a niche I started writing about in late 2006 - travel.
So far, so good!
One niche I would like to fingd my way back to is playing tha Hammered Dulicmer.
One niche I would like to fingd my way back to is playing tha Hammered Dulicmer.
Opal,
That sounds exciting. Good luck with your new website.
Kara,
Great to see you, and I’m glad to hear you’ve been able to focus on the travel writing. I love the pieces I’ve read of yours, and I hope you do really well. Seems like a fun niche.
Mike,
I didn’t know you were a musician. Happy belated birthday, by the way.
We have a very broad niche: Editing. However, the range of documents on which we work is quite diverse. To make sure that we can accurately address the needs of our clients, we have a team approach. Some editors are better suited to some tasks than others. Basically, each editor has an area of expertise, a niche, but together we can cover many niches.
We encourage writers to expand their range of topics, but if they need to go far beyond their expertise, the team approach is useful.
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