Niche writing is a smart way to focus your article-writing time on the Internet. Perhaps you’ve heard of niche-focused writing. But how do you find your niche? This article gives you tips on identifying a niche (or niches) in which you can develop a recognized expertise. Also learn how focusing on a writing niche helps you have a denser impact on the Internet. In brief:
Niche Writing + Niche Networking = Greater Earning Potential
What is a niche?
Niche derives from an Italian word that means a recess for a statue, or an enclosed, small area, set aside for something specific. Traditional freelancing advice encourages writers to focus on a subset of writing opportunities like creative writing, technical writing or non-fiction writing. They may even get more specific: short-story writing (creative writing), product specification (technical writing), how-to (non-fiction writing). Online content writing is often classified as a niche in itself.
But on the Internet, where traffic to articles comes from patterns of specific web searches, you need to define your writing niche more specifically. You want to identify a topic area to define your niche. How specific? Not car writer, but hybrid car writer. Not product reviewer, but cell phone expert. Get the picture? Break down your topic area to a highly focused subtopic.
How do you find your niche(s)
Brainstorm about all areas where you have expertise:
What is your professional background? Are you certified in a specific field (do write to experts@helium.com to get a recognition badge)? Are you a small business owner, office manager, customer service representative…the list goes on. Identify and brainstorm about everything you know from your career work.
Where do you live? Each of you has expertise to share about your home town, which you can use to fill up our Local Guides channel. Hyper local content is in high demand.
Have you always bought a specific brand of car? That could make you an expert car reviewer for Ford-type cars. Have you fixed your own car? What aspects of car repair do you know something about? What research can you do to fill in the gaps?
Do you have a hobby like knitting, deep sea fishing, organic gardening? Brainstorm about all you know in that area; and research to complement your first-hand know-how with valuable information.
Most people get married and have children, so that may not make you unique. But perhaps you have children who have had specific kinds of challenges (special needs, behavior issues, gifted). That could give you the experiential grounding for a niche expertise. Mix in good research and you can develop a thoughtful body of articles.
Are you a pet owner? Have you always had dogs? What breeds do you know well? What aspects of care, training and behavior can you combine experience with research, and write to a broad subset of articles?
How to make the most of your niche
After you’ve brainstormed what you know, start spinning off titles to write to. Push them out further to greater degrees of specificity. For example:
How to knit a sweater
How to knit with cashmere
How to knit a geometric pattern into a sweater
How to knit a sweater vest
How to knit a child’s sweater
How to knit a ski sweater
Challenges of knitting with solid wool yarn
What to consider when knitting with acrylic yarn
How to knit a button hole
…the list goes on and on.
It’s smart to chunk your writing, and blow out as many articles as you can on a given topic. Of course, be careful not to create duplicate content, which is a User Agreement violation. The more you write to a given topic area, the greater your chances of rising high in search engine results. The more web searchers find your articles, the more name recognition and earnings you receive. You become a recognized expert.
Check Helium’s writing contests weekly too, so you notice when one of your niche writing areas forms a contest. You increase your chances of winning if you come to such a contest with expansive knowledge and pinpoint research.
Check out Helium’s Freelance Marketplace daily so you notice when publishers post titles related to your niche.
How to complement niche writing with niche marketing
Find websites related to your niche: Link to them, request links in return, get active on that site, if you can. Build relationships by complementing other writers’ articles on that website. Perhaps social bookmark others’ articles in Digg, Reddit, etc.
Create a Zone that draws traffic to your articles and those resource sites. Let the other web owners know, and request they place a link to your Zone resource on their site.
Use Google Blog Search to find bloggers focused on your niche. Get involved, and comment on their discussions. Invite them to share their articles on Helium, for more exposure and earnings. Explain they can republish non-exclusive articles on Helium that meet Helium’s Writing Standards. Share relevant titles they can write to. Share your own work and link to their blog on your Zone.
Get involved in social networking sites, and find others who share your passion. On Twitter, Facebook and Linked In you can use keyword searches to find individual screen names and group names that identify a similar passion group. Look up gamers and you’ll find scores of video game-lovers, for example. Be sure to use your Helium connections to expand your network. Join HeliumWriter on Twitter, Helium.com writers on Linked In and Helium: Where Knowledge Rules Facebook Group too.
Find your niche(s), concentrate your writing on your niche (one at a time), and expand your networking and linking opportunities within that niche. Watch how your niche writing plus niche networking add up to greater rewards for your writing.
August 6, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Very interesting. Barbara always has good advice. When you are interested in many things, it is hard to settle on one, but it seems to lead to recognition and financial rewards when we write groups of articles about a subject.
August 6, 2009 at 1:15 pm
This was very helpful info! Thanks!
August 6, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Excellent, thank you. I have a question. I have been writing on Helium on and off for a couple of years. I just starting getting involved again. If I write an article and publish it on Helium can I forward it any other sites or publications?
If an article I wrote is deleted for some reason, and not be rated any longer can I revise it? I am very excited that I am back on Helium I just want to know my options.
August 6, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Wow this is truly some great advice! Got my writing juices going for sure!
Thanks!
August 6, 2009 at 4:57 pm
My niches are English grammar, etymology, literary interpretation, poetry and related linguistic areas. I’m doing a reading next week of a fable and a poem both of which focus on my hometown of Pacific Grove, CA, as part of a benefit for the Pacific Grove municipal library. I recently participated in 2 local poetry slams and will be participating in a reading at the annual Central Coast Writers club summer barbecue.
August 6, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Very helpful article! Thank you!
August 7, 2009 at 7:38 am
Thanks Dorothy!
August 7, 2009 at 8:16 am
Great article Dorothy, thanks for sharing.
August 7, 2009 at 8:39 am
I would also focus on the relationship side with your readers, as well as utilizing the knowledge within your articles to establish your expertise in your niche market.
Remember to ensure that your article will benefit your readers.
August 7, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Great advice Barbara. No one is an expert in all areas, and niche writing addresses that. Good points on title writing also. Thanks for good info.
August 8, 2009 at 3:54 am
Fantastic indeed are the tips from you. Real stuff. Great. Expect more of such tips for beginners like me who are also a bit senior in age.
August 8, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Great tip Brian! Thanks all!
Hi Shelley,
Welcome home! Yes, Helium allows your non-exclusive articles to be republished on other non-exclusive venues. The only ones you can’t republish are ones that have been selected by publishers in Marketplace.
If I can help in any way my inbox is always open: bwhitlock@helium.com.
Best,
Barbara
August 11, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Very nice Barbara! Lots of usable info and well written.
Thanks,
Pamela Kay
August 11, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for painting “the bigger picture” You always make what seems complex easier to understand.
Olivia
August 11, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Barbara, thanks for your informative article and excellent advice on niche writing. I agree with you totally. One of the repeated concepts that I’ve learned in college literature courses is that writers should write what they know. This not only ensures that the facts are correct, but it allows the writer to utilize and express emotions and dialogue that help to create an informative and captivating article.
August 11, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Barbara, isn’t “niche” a French word derived from the Latin?
Gerard
August 12, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Hi Barbara,
Your piece is well thought out and very informative.
As a professional copywriter and life coach, I have two perspectives.
The first, for earning a living as a copywriter, having a niche will help you sell your services to a particular market.
However, it’s very important to be able to craft copy on a variety of subjects, to different audiences and with different formats.
I am new to Helium, so perhaps this advice is for copywriters or those who aspire to earn their living in this manner.
I think you are correct that becoming recognized for a niche on-line and on Helium is very important.
My other thoughts are about how one creates a niche. I think you are right on point with brainstorming.
All the points you mention are great ways to identify something you do, that you are good at.
However, there is another perspective. I write this from experience as a Life Coach and marketer.
We often “define” specific niches based upon what we have done in the past or are currently doing. Basically, where we feel safe.
In reality, many of us long to explore new areas of endeavor. However, we usually don’t find the time. Consequently, we are what I call niche driven.
There are many great exercises available to help one tap in to undiscovered potential niches.
This can be very rewarding and lead people down completely different and unanticipated paths. The rewards (both personal and financial)are great.
Finally, I want to thank you for hosting the Linked-In group and responding so quickly to my request for more information.
I look forward to reading more of your writing.
August 13, 2009 at 4:16 am
thanks for the advise…i found this article very helpful..
August 13, 2009 at 4:17 pm
[…] article base by writing to (and suggesting) scores of titles related to your field, as explained in Tips for (and benefits of) finding a writing niche. Add good SEO techniques: Pin-point your content to a narrowly-focused title. Identify a high-value […]
August 13, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Barbara…thanks much for the great info. I use parts that sound like this when I teach a “getting started writing” course. But it is so nice to learn some more tips I can use. Thanks again.
August 25, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Hi Barbara,
I enjoyed your article. It helps to break it down in smaller chunks. My friend always says: “Inch by inch it’s a cinch; by the yard it’s hard.”
I will be brainstorming my list. I have diverse interests with probably more “expertise” than I give myself credit for.
I also appreciated the comment above from Dave Kanegis – that we can stretch our abilities by embarking on new niche’s.
Thanks for a great article. I look forward to talking with you soon.
Tina Vesper
August 29, 2009 at 12:07 am
Thanks for the invaluable tips! Should be really invaluable for any who wants to offer quality web content writing services. Again, thanks a lot!
December 30, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Nice pointers for specificity!
January 25, 2010 at 11:35 pm
I’m new to Helium…and this information was very valuable to me…I’ve discovered that I have a few “niches”! 🙂
Thank you
February 2, 2010 at 1:55 am
I am also new to Helium and appreciate greatly this post! Thanks so much Barbara!
February 7, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I am absolutely the “newby” to Helium.I have only just signed up and am now navigating through trying to take it all in.
The tips on niche writing were very useful.They offer a great track to run on when you write about what you know.
Thank you