Pick a Niche Industry in 60 Seconds and Attract More Writing Clients
By Pam Foster

If you’re a freelance copywriter who is struggling to choose a niche market or industry for marketing your business, I understand it’s a real source of anxiety.

After all, you know that marketing is all about knowing your prospect — the types of clients who’ll instantly value your background — and showing them why you’re the best writer for them.

And, you’ve heard that choosing a niche industry is THE BEST way to quickly establish yourself in a sea of general copywriters.

But even so, you can’t land on a specific market. You’re paralyzed by this choice. It’s become a real issue for you.

So let’s start with the following common concerns we hear from freelance writers. If any of them ring true for you, this article will help you finally choose a niche industry to jump-start your writing business:

• “I can’t decide between many interests I have.”
• “I’m not sure if there are clients in a niche I’m interested in.”
• “I’m anxious about picking just one niche industry or the wrong one.”
• “Choosing one industry will limit my options.”
• “I’m not very excited about working in the industry I come from.”

Anything sound familiar?

I know, I’ve been there too.

Yet, the longer you focus on these worries, the slower your progress will be. And I’d hate to see that for you.

So today, I have a simple solution that will brush away all these stressful concerns. I promise.

I’m calling it the Easy Button for choosing a niche industry for your writing business.

It’s a simple recipe for pushing past all that angst and getting you a quick win.

Ready? Here it is.

1. Start with a niche you already know about, and give it a shot.
2. Don’t worry about being locked into it for life.

That’s it!

It’s truly that simple.

But all too often, aspiring writers ignore their own experience and background, and aim for a niche that makes it harder for them to have success in.

I know … because I didn’t follow this common sense advice when I was starting out as a freelancer, which means I learned this recipe the hard way. I came from a veterinary industry career, yet I tried to become a financial copywriter. Why?

I thought it was the golden ticket to copywriting riches. I thought it was the best way to make a living.

And guess what? It didn’t work. It wasn’t for me at all.

Then one day I thought, “Why am I struggling with this? I should be writing for the pet industry! It’s what I know and enjoy.”

So I did. I turned all my attention to clients in the pet industry. And that’s when the ball started rolling toward my rewarding career.

The upshot is — if you’ve been an accountant or worked for an accounting firm, write for the accounting industry like Liz Farr does.

If you’ve worked in industrial manufacturing for 30 years, write for that market … just as Steve Maurer does.

And if you’ve been a teacher for several years, write for the education industry, online training companies, children’s learning product companies, home schooling companies, and others along those lines.

It’s THAT simple.

Want more proof? Here’s a recent Facebook post from Chuck Warren, fellow copywriter, and included with his permission. I hope it will inspire you.

You've heard it many times — niches. Choose the niche you know well or have experience with to get your writing career moving forward.

I am now a perfect example.

I am an IT consultant with more than 21 years of experience in the business. However, I did not want to focus my copywriting efforts on that industry because I figured the competition would be too great, and — I just didn't want to.

Instead, I tried to focus on the Marine and RV industries. I spent months working and reworking my LinkedIn profile and website to try to position myself as a subject matter authority and since my previous career and passion was (is) boating, I thought that would be easy.

Didn't work that way.

With head hung low, I finally took the advice of Ed Gandia and his team and reworked things to focus on IT.

Less than one week later, I stumbled on a job posting on Problogger.com from a software company whose products I know well, use myself, and recommend.

I reached out and introduced myself as exactly what I am — an expert on the use of their product. And a fan too.

Because I have knowledge and experience with their product, they liked what I proposed and asked me to write a single blog post, paid, as a starting point.

I submitted that post on Friday and this morning, received a "Good to go!" after some very minor edits.

With the success of my very first post for this company, I am now going to be writing weekly blog posts for twice as much as I was making from my last client.

I also expect this to lead to more work, which would really be amazing.

Best of all, with the addition of this one client, I nearly doubled my monthly intake from copywriting and landed my first big business client.

Niches are an important piece of your writing career and the best way to move the ball down field.

Niches give you a subject and industry you know, a language you already speak, and potential clients that you can directly relate to.

To begin your career, choose a niche you know well even if you don't want to write for that industry forever.

Use it to get going, learn from the experience, and then — once you have some bylines and self-confidence — then you can choose to write about your passion.

Niches — learn them. Use them. Love them. They are not just suggestions put out by AWAI and their team just for fun.

Niches WILL get your ship pointed in the right direction and help you navigate the uncertain waters you are bound to encounter in the beginning of your journey.

Wow, powerful stuff, yes?

Okay, now it’s time for you to end your struggle and claim the victory that is waiting for you!

Try this simple recipe to get your career MOVING:

1. Start with a niche you already know about, and give it a shot.
2. Don’t worry about being locked into it for life.

Can you do this? Definitely.

Will it get you past the struggle of choosing? Absolutely. You’ll get a quick win by picking a niche you already have experience in, and you can always change your mind later.

The answer is right in front of you.

And if you need to figure out whether or not there are clients in your niche, I encourage you to check out this free Inside AWAI session, The #1 Easiest Way to Choose a Copywriting Niche and Start Attracting Well-Paying Clients.

I really, truly, hope you can give this recipe a try and start attracting clients in your niche; marketers who will be ecstatic to find you.

Do you have any questions about choosing your niche? Share with us in the comments.