Here’s a short excerpt from my new book, The Niche Freelancer: How To Craft The Lucrative Writing Career of Your Dreams — only $2.99 on Kindle! Enjoy!

A quick glance at the freelance writing industry as a whole reveals there’s no lack of competition. Pick an industry, any industry, and you’ll find lots of skilled freelance writers doing quality work for a very diverse range of clients and publications. Competition is fierce, even in smaller markets, and it’s getting harder to stand out from the crowd simply for just being a good writer.

Niche freelancing is your secret weapon.

On some level, all writers have specific areas of expertise and personal hobbies they can tap into with their writing. Many writers naturally gravitate towards writing about the things that interest them, but not everyone capitalizes on the opportunity to turn the occasional sweet one-off gig into a fully fleshed-out freelance beat that catapults their byline and their expertise to the front of the pack.

The personal benefits of specializing

Successful freelancing often hinges on spreading your work across as many different publications as possible. So why would you choose to narrow your focus to a particular niche? For some, the answer is simple: writing about what you love is so much more rewarding than churning out words on just any old topic. There’s a deeper passion and fire at play here, and that holds tremendous value beyond the dollars and cents.

When you’re writing about a subject you feel passionate about, it doesn’t feel like work. The interviews are more engaging, the research comes along faster, the words flow onto the page with less hassle, and even landing fresh work feels easier and exciting. There’s an electric charge that flows through your writing when you’re dialed-in to a subject that intrigues you. It drives your work and makes it feel more fulfilling on a deeper level. For example, consider this:

• Do you love playing video games? Imagine spending your work days penning game reviews and interviewing the many interesting people behind the biggest game franchises of all time.

• Are you a globetrotting travel enthusiast who clocks more time away from home than at it? Wouldn’t it be cool to get paid for writing about your adventures while also being able to expense them to a publication or write them off as a tax deduction?

• If you’re a beer nerd who can tell the difference between a Belgian Dubbel and an American IPA, wouldn’t you love to get paid to write about your favorite thirst-quenchers while learning more about what goes into brewing them?

• When you don’t have your backside planted in front of the computer screen, do you spend every other waking second with your sleeves rolled up crafting beautiful flowerscapes and tending to delicious organic veggies in your backyard? Your master gardening expertise could help keep you well fed in a completely different way – through your words.

• Are you a parent who’s in the midst of navigating the exciting yet exhausting world of life with kids? You could channel all of your parenting tips, hacks, and hilarious experiences into plenty of fodder for pitches to any number of outlets that’d be eager for your perspective.

Niche freelancing can make all of these things a reality, and that’s only the beginning. Great and varied writing niches are in abundant supply. You just have to poke around, find the ones that interest you, and then see how you can fit into the fold.

Most hobbies or interests can be tied into paying opportunities to create compelling content about the notable people, products, trends, services, and companies within a niche. Every industry has interesting stories to explore, and as a freelance writer who feels passionate about these subjects, you’re in a prime position to be the person to pitch, sell, and craft this expertise-driven content.

—–
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you’ll love the book! It walks you through the process of finding writing niches that align with your favorite hobbies and passions, and teaches you how to brand yourself as an expert, craft killer pitches, and build momentum writing about the things that interest you most!