5 KEYS TO CHOOSE A WRITING NICHE THAT GETS YOU HIGH-PAYING CLIENTS

The niche you pick is the defining factor between your death and success as a writer.

Well, it’s not that serious. In my work as a freelance coach, I have realised that many new writers get so stuck on the niche that it derails them from starting their business. If you take a more playful approach, you will get to the answer faster and in a better mood.

In this article, you will explore 5 simple steps that will help you pick a great, high-paying niche while keeping a smile on your face.

Look at What You are Already Doing

You might be shocked that what you are looking for has been here all along.

There are three places that you can check. Number one, what do you do in your career? If you are in finance, legal, marketing, etc. You can pick a broad area such as finance, or you can go further and choose personal finance or crypto.

The second thing is something you spend time researching and learning. While I worked in banking a few years ago, I found myself researching business psychology a lot for my job.

The last thing would be something you do outside of your career for communities where you are a member. Perhaps you are the secretary of your local Rotary club, the treasurer at church, or a consistently invited speaker at your child’s school.

Pick any or all three of these things and explore writing an article or two for them.

What Would You Love to Spend Time Learning About?

Passion is medicine for the soul and, many times, the bank account.

The beauty of the internet is that it allows you to write about anything. This gives you permission to explore more boldly. One of my niches is herbal remedies. I picked it because I love herbs and have always wanted to start an herb garden and cook with what I harvest. I picked up that passion and made it a writing business. You can do the same.

Take a moment to write down all your passions, including things you have always wanted to do but never really got around to doing.

Check for Demand and Growing Markets

A business is only a business if it has paying clients.

While I am all for going with your heart, I understand the need for some logic in business. One way to ensure there is demand for your service is through Google. I usually just type “Looking for a wellness writer (replace that with your niche)”. See how many searches come up, how many content marketing agencies there are for the niche, etc. Repeat the same on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).

Sometimes you may have to simply change the wording. Perhaps there is no demand for wellness writers, but there is a demand for alternative health. Explore different keywords in the niche.

Upcoming industries and markets are also great places to find high-demand niches. For example, tech, data science, AI, cannabis, and sustainability. In juxtaposition to this are old but steady niches that will always have demand, such as health, beauty, and law.

It would also be interesting to fuse industries, e.g., tech in cannabis or medical tech, for even more fun niches!

Is There a Niche Within Your Niche?

Can you niche down even further?

The importance of learning is that you build expertise. People will pay a premium for your understanding of the nuances. You can niche down further in two main ways.

The first is by finding a smaller industry within a broad one. I had hinted at this earlier when I spoke of personal finance within the finance industry. I work in the alternative health industry, focusing on herbal remedies and essential oils. A tech writer could focus on cybersecurity.

The second way to niche down further is through the service you offer to the industry. You could be an email copywriter or a white paper writer for the sports industry.

A crazy but effective strategy would be to niche down, both ways.

What Do You Care About More: Earning or Passion?

The adventure or the paper?

When I started my ghostwriting business, this was a real challenge. You see, I worked in tech as a content writer. As I did my research, I realised that tech is a very lucrative segment. However, I don’t enjoy it at all (please don’t be mad at me, tech heads).

It can be a tough choice: the heart or the head. Logic or passion? The great part is that there is no right or wrong choice. I picked technology, and after a few months, I switched to alternative health.

The best thing to do is try each of them out and discover the sweet spot. There is a sweet spot where money meets passion.

Take it easy.

This makes me think of Lionel Richie’s “That’s why am easy, am easy like Sunday morning!”

Take it easy; come at this with a curious mind. Take a piece of paper and open up your laptop. Write down every niche that even remotely interests you. Based on what comes to mind and what you discover during research, create a list. Then slowly start to cross them off, one by one. When you are stuck, try writing about the topic online for a while. Make a decision based on feedback and your experience writing about it. Quora is a great place to experiment.

Just like that, you have a lucrative niche.

Happy writing!