The Importance of Having a Niche Or How I Learned I was Not A Fish Expert
I used to think that I could write about any topic, and for many years I was correct. When writing for consumer and trade publications, all I had to do was find great sources that knew about my subject and ask great questions. But I have learned (the hard way) that when it comes to content marketing, this is not always true.
I have been hearing from brands that their most important quality in selecting a freelance writer was finding someone who really understood their industry. While I had been advising writers to search for jobs in their niche, I honestly thought it was to increase their odds of getting the gig, not because writers necessarily really needed the experience to do a great job. I was wrong and I apologize.
In order to create effective content, it really helps to have a solid grasp on the audience, the industry, and the subject. It goes beyond just interviewing sources and researching. And since many brands are now wanting thought leadership pieces, the importance of really knowing your subject inside and out has become even more essential.
I am not a Fish Writer
Late last year, an editor asked me if I had experience writing about pets and offered me a very well-paying gig. I had written about pets on many occasions for newspapers and consumer publications as well as having cats growing up, currently sharing my bed with three dogs and having several fish tanks in my home, so I didn’t hesitate when taking the assignments. My blog posts about cats and dogs sailed through the editing process and got rave reviews. But everything changed when I started writing about fish.
While I knew I wasn’t a fish expert, I honestly felt I knew enough that I could figure it out. But I quickly realized that I was over my head and that fish tanks were far more technical than I ever dreamed. I spent countless hours researching the topics and ended up making an hourly rate less than I could have brought home at the local drive thru. And to make it worse, my blog posts were not what the client was looking for. My client was frustrated, my editor was irritated, and I felt terrible. And it all could have been avoided if I had simply said, “I can write about cats and dogs, but not fish.”
…Or a Medical Billing Services Writer
So when the fish project was over, I thought about what I could do differently in the future. But I mistakenly took a short-term view of the problem and decided that I should just never write about fish again. I even jokingly posted on Facebook that I had learned this week that I am not a fish writer. And while that is true, I really missed the bigger picture.
But no fear, life decided to give me the chance to get it right a few weeks later. A really nice business owner wanted me to write a marketing brochure for his very specialized B2B company. I had a funny feeling from the beginning that I should turn the work down because I knew I wasn’t the best person for the job. But I talked up my strengths and figured that I could figure it out so I could produce him an amazing brochure.
But that is not what happened. I spent over 10 hours researching the topic, conducting interviews and drafting an outline. And then when I sent the outline to the client to approve, I got radio silence. A few days later, he called me to tell me that he was going to hire another writer because the outline was off the mark. Ouch! I felt terrible. All of my time ended up being unpaid and I had lost a potentially long term client. Even though I worked my tail off trying to get it right, I should honestly have never taken the job since it was outside my niche.
I am a Technology, Finance, Hospitality, B2B and Retail Writer
The good news is that I finally learned my lesson. And it’s more than just not writing about fish or creating marketing brochures. I have finally realized that in order to bring home a good hourly rate and produce amazing content that results in long-term customers that I need to focus on the niches and types of writing that I am good at. So while there are definitely times when you should go out of your comfort zone and try a different industry or type of writing, there are other times that you should listen to the nagging voice in your head and refer to the job to another writer. And the huge challenge for us as content marketing writers is knowing the difference.
Have you ever taken a job outside your niche and regretted it? What are your thoughts about when to push yourself and when to say no?
I totally agree with your post, having done a similar thing myself recently. I specialise in recruitment topics and thought I would be able to write in the world of trading and finance fairly easily. My experience mirrored yours and I am no longer working on that particular project. Understanding – and staying with – your niche is so important.
Kate, Thank you so much for sharing that you recently did the same thing. It was hard to write publicly about my mistakes, but I decided to do it in hopes of helping someone else avoid the tears and sleepless nights that I had over these projects. I really appreciate you posting that you had recently had the same experience. Thanks so much for posting!
I like that you have about 4 niches. Michelle Rafter does too. I am narrowing in on mine because when someone asks I feel awkward naming 7 areas! I think I need to do the two areas I already have professional experience in. Then I want to do 2 areas that are MY passions.
Holly, You know I think it’s fine to have 7 different niches. I actually think that the more niches you have the better. I have more than 4, those are just my major ones. I think that when someone asks you, you just target your answer to what they are looking for. I have even said to a potential client when I wasn’t sure what they were looking for to describe what they were looking for because I had so many different types of experience that I wanted to tell them what was most relevant to their needs.
Hi Jennifer,
First, thanks for your honesty. It says a lot about your character. I have had the same experience. I wrote an article about a football coach knowing next to nothing about the sport. In the article, I said that he “pitched” the ball instead of “threw” it. I made some other bloopers too. The coach’s wife read me my rights. I felt like a heel. I had put so much time into researching that article. So, you’re right. Write what you know. If I ever take a chance at a sports article again, I’ll definitely run it by someone who has more expertise than I do!
Thank you for the kind words and for sharing your story. I have to admit I really wondered if I should post this because it is very hard to share your mistakes. I really appreciate everyone who has posted that they have done a similar thing. I bet most writers actually have a similar story.
I think it really is interesting that often writers take jobs outside the niche to make more money. But in reality, we make a lot less money on these jobs because they take SO MUCH longer than jobs in our niche.
I recently found your blog and have been learning so much–thank you!
I had a couple questions (not related to this particular post but I wasn’t sure where else to ask them). And if you don’t have time to answer I certainly understand but figured it couldn’t hurt to ask!
1. I made my own website from WordPress a number of years ago. It’s ok but I haven’t kept up to date with adding new publications, etc. (In full disclosure it’s been so long I don’t even remember how!)
I’m sure I could re-teach myself but I was also wondering about focusing on LinkedIn for the resume part and Contently for clips and including links to those in my LOI instead of my website URL.
So I guess the question is…is the personal website important or do you think you could get just as good a response using a combo of LinkedIn and Contently?
2. Unrelated to question #1 but also something I was wondering…I’ve done content marketing writing for 2 drug companies (one some years ago, one currently). They are not bylined articles. However, it’d be nice to be able to showcase them on Contently (or my website). Is this ok or something the companies would frown on? Or not something that’s done because of lack of byline?
Thanks for any insights you might be able to give!
Kristen,
Thank you so much for stopping by and asking questions. Great questions! I will answer them here, but will probably also expand on both of these answers in a future blog post if that’s OK. Odds are that you are not the only one with this question.
1. Yes, you can get by with LinkedIn and a Contently profile if you need to. I actually didn’t have my own website until last year and did pretty well.No one at the time ever commented on me not having a website. However, my income doubled the year I got a website and a large part came from people finding me through my website as well as looking more professional by having a website. However, in the past 2 weeks, four companies have found me through my website and are now potential clients. My website is helping me find clients while I do other work and while I sleep.
So, yes, in the short-term you can do what you are doing. But I would made it a goal to get your website updated. There are plenty of WordPress tutorials out there. If your website is totally out of date with it’s overall design and not professional looking, then I would actually recommend hiring a designer. I kept telling myself that I would do it myself but I never did. I spent about 400 dollars on having my designed it honestly it saved me money because I could make more freelancing during the time it would have taken me to design this.
2. This is a good question and I will definitely explore it more in a blog post. As long as the materials is not proprietary, I have never had a company have an issue with me using my work on my website. I usually use the rule of if I can find it on the web, then there is no issue with me linking to it. However, if it is behind a paywall or other propriety material then I would check with the client If you look on the published articles section of my website, all of the case studies and whitepapers are unbylined.
Thanks so much for your answers! Of course I’m fine with you expanding on them into blog posts. 🙂
If you do, I’d also be curious if you felt comfortable explaining a little bit more about people finding you through your website. Do they search for certain terms and your website comes up? Or something else? It just seems like there are so many web pages out there I wonder how they can actually find you–or anyone? (I hope that makes sense?)
Thanks again!
Exactly! Companies find themselves needing a writer so they go to Google and do a search on the type of writer that they need. I have gotten several clients who have found me through a web search. If you go to Google and do a search for Freelance Content Marketing Writer, I am actually the first result found. Having such great SEO for my website has really helped. Yes, there are a lot of websites, but the key is having your website optimized so that your site comes up when people search for the type of writing that you specialize in. Does that help?
Kristen ~ Another way that potential clients can “find you through your website” is via your comments on other sites.
Many comment platforms offer a link back to your site (some also show the latest headline) as part of your avatar/ID graphic. (That’s how I came here, Jennifer, from TMF. Great headline, by-the-way!) Pithy, pertinent comments and catchy “recently posted” titles will attract eyes from around the world.
Karen, I’m so glad you found the blog! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Very good point that comments on other sites are a great way to increase your visibility. I hope you stick around. Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I will try to answer them in an upcoming post.
Like you and many others, I learned my lesson the hard way here. My failed gig was in the asset management space–I spoke to the client and based on what she said, convinced myself that I could meet her needs for a weekly blog post. But the topic was so far outside my areas of expertise and my comfort zone that I ended up spending hours and hours per blog post, bringing my rate down to the basement. And what’s worse, *I* didn’t feel good about the product I was creating and though my client was gracious, I knew I wasn’t hitting the mark 100% for her either. So I called her, explained my concerns and asked to resign from the project, but also told her I’d help her find a replacement writer, which I did. She thanked me for my honesty, asked me to continue on with another project for her that *was* going well, and is thrilled with the replacement I found. Now everyone’s happy. 🙂
Lori, Thanks so much for sharing your story as well. It helps me (as I am sure others) to know that we aren’t the only ones who have done this.
I really like how you handled the situation and think that is perfect. Next time I find myself in a similar situation, i am going to do exactly what you did. Great idea.
I must admit, I quite enjoy living a little on the edge when it comes to subjects I’m not familiar with. Like you Jennifer, I have the idea that if there’s enough research material out there I can write about anything, but I’m bound to get tripped up one day if I get too cocky!
It’s a fine line between learning something new and swimming in the deep end!
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