Finding your freelance specialty

When you begin to look into pursuing a career in freelance writing, you may feel a little overwhelmed in your research.  Not only is there a lot of information, but "freelance writing" covers a wide array of writing and job opportunities.  So many freelance veterans will recommend that you choose a specialty as a freelance writer.

Finding a specialty or fitting into a niche is good for a freelance career, particularly once you've established a portfolio.  Regardless of what you choose, a specialty simply narrows your focus as a writer.  Instead of writing anything about anything, you've chosen areas that you prefer to write in, which gives your career a direction, and helps establish you as an expert in that area.

There are many ways to define a specialty.  You may choose to specialize in a medium, such as website content writing, brochure content, magazine articles, or newspaper writing.  Often, if you choose a specialty based on medium, your decision will be driven by your experience.  If you have a journalism background, for example, it makes sense that you would want to write for newspapers as a freelance writer.

Another way to determine your niche is by subject area.  You may choose to write about health and fitness or animal rights or technology and gadgets.  These specialties are usually determined by your passions, as well as your background.  If you have a nursing degree, you'll probably be drawn to write about health topics.  The nursing degree gives you credibility as a writer in that area.  However, you may choose to write about technology because you love the latest gadgets, and find yourself reading and researching technology just for fun.

When you're first building your portfolio, you may do projects that cover a wide variety of mediums and topics, and that's fine.  However, as you move forward in your career, you should think about your focus so you can start seeking projects in that area.  Remember: when you specialize, you don't limit yourself as a writer.  You simply focus on an area so you can be the best writer you can be in that area.  And that makes you an asset to clients.

Happy scribbling!