There’s a LOT of freelance writing advice out there, especially about finding your freelance writing niche. Trust me, I’ve been reading up constantly.

You’d think that’d be a good thing right? An endless wealth of knowledge at your disposal giving you step-by-step advice on how to start a flourishing career as a freelance writer. I mean, it would be a lie to say that the knowledge people share isn’t valuable.

But here’s the catch: there’s a lot of conflicting advice. People’s journeys have been different, they began in different ways, they get paid different amounts, they write about different things, and so many other variations.

One of the biggest conflicts was whether or not to find a niche. Do you start out as a jack-of-all-trades and niche down eventually? How about you never finding a niche and writing about everything? Do you start off extremely narrowed down and expand later? Is it pronounced nih-ch or nee-sh?

You’ll hear equal amount of arguments from both sides, even down to how the word ‘niche’ is pronounced. Finding my freelance writing niche has been my biggest hump to overcome, and it still is.

Let’s explore the positives and negatives of approaching what to write about.

Jack-of-all trades

You don’t know what to write so why not write about everything?! Your interests are plentiful and your passions know no bounds, so how could you choose? Or, if you’re like me, you have no clue what you’re passionate about. You have no idea what you could spend forever writing about, so why not write about everything and possibly find it?

When I first started looking this up, this is the approach that sounded the most appealing to me. I can write about anything which means I can get paid to write about anything. If I decide I don’t like a subject I’m writing about, then there’s no harm in me never writing about it again.

But the negative of this approach is the profiting aspect. If you write about everything, you won’t become an expert in anything. Therefore, you won’t be able to market your expertise in healthcare SEO copywriting (I just made that up) because you don’t have the experience in it.

When these companies look for writers, they’re looking for experts. That doesn’t mean that you have to have been a professional in a field to be an expert. But you do need to have deep knowledge of the topic you’re writing about.

Another thing I found negative about this approach is you could burn out much quicker. If you don’t have a passion and all you’re doing it for is money, it’s going to be really hard to stay motivated to sustain this business. I definitely burn out when I start things VERY fast, so this was my biggest worry being a jack-of-all-trades.

Having A Specific Niche

So your passion is gluten-free dieting. Or maybe you were so broke in college you figured out how to save money and can tell people about it. Or you just really love weddings and you could spend all day talking about them (this is me). These are all things you can actually write about and get paid writing for them.

When finding your freelance writing niche, you want to pick something that you’re either well versed in or you’re obsessed with and don’t mind a little research. This way, when you’re looking for clients, you know EXACTLY what you’re looking for. And by writing in that subject, you can position yourself as the expert they’re looking for!

You can make your niche a little broad too. Maybe you want to write about music concerts. Or maybe you want to make it as specific as “death metal music festivals”. What matters most is you picked a category.

However, there were a couple of things that scared me about this approach. I’m not an expert in anything except for how to write, and honestly I’m not even an expert in that.

I don’t have years of expertise in anything, I’m only 22.

I’m not even sure if there’s a ton of people looking for a writer in the market I want to write for.

What if I think I’m passionate about something and I burn out anyway? What do I do if I have to change?

These are all valid and normal questions I’ve discovered. And, as I’ve mentioned in the beginning, there’s no clear answer. You just have to take the leap and figure out how things work along the way.

Picking my niche…sorta

As you can see from the title, finding my freelance writing niche was what became important to me. I’m trying to make freelance writing my job, not a side-gig or a hobby. So I want to market myself as an expert so that I can find more clients and know exactly what clients I’m looking for.

But now the issue is, what do I want to be an expert in? And I have to put an emphasis on “want to be” because I don’t have years of experience I could write about in anything. I’m good at researching and I actually enjoy it, but figuring out what I could research forever was the tricky part.

*Que dramatic slow down to a pause sound*

Now came figuring out what I even liked. It took me a while to get together what would bring me joy to write about constantly.

And then, it appeared.

Lifestyle and weddings.

Those Niches Aren’t Specific At All

That is where you are wrong! And kind of right, but wrong. I made my freelance writing niche slightly broad because I hadn’t left behind the jack-of-all-trades mentality. I could write about wedding dresses, venues, photography, advice – but it’s all under the guise of wedding. When it comes to lifestyle, I could write about dating/relationships, food, traveling, or life enhancement – and that’s all under the guise of lifestyle. I have a specific market to look for now, but they’re broad enough that I can still explore.

What will be specific is WHO I want the audience to be. I’m not cutesy, or high-brow, or overly bubbly in my writing. When I look for the businesses I want to write for, I’m looking for edgy, sassy, and fun – maybe even a little provocative. Think Cosmopolitan or A Practical Wedding. Knowing who I want to help and who I want to write for gives me motivation to pursue this business.

Freelance Writing Niche Wrap Up

My advice to you is do what you think is best for you. Someone will tell you they made a full time income because they wrote about anything and everything, so therefore they had no limits. Someone else will tell you their freelance writing niche was so specific that they already knew who they were going to write for, and that’s what’s going to make you money.

Every approach is going to make you money. Every market you can think of is looking for a writer. What will make you the most money is being persistent and intentional with what you’re doing. If you put in the work of a freelancer, you’ll get the money of a freelancer.

As I continue to update this blog, you will see me discussing more than just freelance writing, but lifestyle topics. I also have another blog in the works so that I can hone in my wedding writing, which I’m very excited about. I’m doing this as a way to not only have content for my blogs, but showcase to the businesses who read my blogs that I can write in their market. I’ll also be using this as a way to practice SEO, which is a whole other topic to talk about.

It’ll be like a more personal portfolio for me to showcase as I try to pitch to clients.

So as you’re going into your own writing journey, consider what your freelance writing niche will be or if you even want one. It’s probably the biggest obstacle people have before they take the plunge into becoming a writer. So don’t let it stop you and make a decision already.

And if you’re looking for some really good advice to start freelance writing, I’ve been obsessive over Elna Cain and Creative Revolt.