Do You Need an SEO Copywriting Niche? [Video + Transcript]
Today we’re starting off the New Year with a new series of SEO copywriting videos on how to start an SEO copywriting business.
So whether you’ve been thinking about launching your own freelance copywriting business for awhile, or you’re looking to transition from in-house to freelance copywriting, this series is for you!
Inspired by the Copywriting Business Bootcamp, over the coming weeks Heather will be discussing a number of things that you will need to think about before starting a copywriting business. And the first thing to think about is: what will your copywriting niche be? How do you want to specialize (or do you want to specialize)?
You can make a little (or a lot) more money with niche copywriting – and Heather will be talking about why that is. So tune in to learn more about how to define your copywriting niche, and why that is a crucial first step in launching a profitable SEO copywriting business…
Copywriting niche examples
For examples of folks who have really targeted their markets and set up a niche, there are Pam Foster (@pamcontentclear) and Lynda Goldman (@LyndaInk).
– Pam Foster has the website shown at the very top, petcopywriter.com. She has done a great job marketing her services to the pet-related industry, such as vets, pet industry marketers and sales people, and her entire website is geared just to those folks.
– Lynda Goldman’s website, lynda-goldman.com, is the second example. She specializes in natural health marketing, and writes copy for people who sell supplements. As with Pam Foster’s site, Lynda’s is really targeted towards her particular market.
How can specialization help you?
There are several advantages to specializing in a copywriting niche. There’s nothing wrong with being a generalist – so if you’re the type of person who enjoys working with multiple types of clients, that’s cool. But many people really appreciate having a copywriting niche because it allows them to focus.
Other benefits of specialization include:
– Copywriters who work within a certain “niche” tend to command higher rates and have more marketing opportunities.
You can walk into a meeting with a client and say, “I’m the go-to copywriter for this industry. Here’s some folks I’ve worked with, here’s some things I’ve done.” So it automatically helps to build your brand and showcase your expertise.
– It’s often easier to develop services when you’re focusing on just one or two target audiences.
Also, when you’re working within a particular industry vertical and a certain type of client, you have a really good idea of what those clients need in the way of services. So, they might need white papers, they might need web page copy, they might need e-mail autoresponders – and those are the main types of services that you can offer, rather than trying to do everything across the board for everyone.
– Google will see you as an authority…which can mean more $$.
From the standpoint of self-promotion and Google Plus, if you’re known for writing about a particular industry a lot and you’re seen as an authority, when coupled with Author Rank, that will help your articles and blog posts position better in the search engines and they then help to showcase you.
This is turn can help you make more money. You can tell clients “Hey, I’ve got 5,000 Twitter followers interested in my views on X; you can see the articles I’ve written and how Google treats them.” It can really help you build your brand.
How to brainstorm your niche
So we’ve covered where specialization can help you. What can be tricky is figuring out what your niche will be.
Here are some questions that you can consider to help streamline that process:
– Where have you worked in the past?
I know people who have had jobs 20 years ago that they really enjoyed, and now they’re thinking “Wow! I can write copy for those kinds of folks. I can be the go-to SEO copywriter for that industry!”
– What kind of experience do you have?
You might want to look at your experience. If you’ve been writing in-house for an agency, you might have worked with a variety of clients. Was there a particular type of client or experience that you really loved?
– What do you love writing about?
– What are your hobbies?
Sometimes hobbies can translate into a really great niche. I talked to a guy whose hobby is hockey, and he’s built out a website just about how to play better recreational hockey. He also has products associated with it. So that’s another option, and you might be able to monetize it!
– It’s OK if you can’t figure it out right away.
Please know that it’s okay if you can’t figure this out right away…especially if you’re brand new. Sometimes the best way to determine what you love writing about is to take on a bunch of different types of clients and then you can figure out: ‘love writing about this; didn’t love this so much’ and narrow it down from there.
So don’t let this get in the way of launching your business – just know that as your business progresses and grows, having a niche can be a way that you can establish yourself as an expert and make more money accordingly.
Again, if specialization isn’t what you want to do, that’s cool. But it certainly has been very, very successful for a number of folks, and you’ll find many of the leading experts in the industry do encourage people to find their niche because it is something that can serve folks very well!
Thanks so much for tuning in! If you have any questions for Heather about today’s video post, or suggestions for topics you’d like to learn more about when you’re starting your copywriting business, simply zip her an email via heather@seocopywriting.com, or contact her on Twitter via @heatherlloyd.
photo thanks to Incase.
Heather,
Many people seem to be rather scared of homing in on a niche. They think that, somehow, they’ll be missing out on other opportunities if they narrow their services down to a restricted market.
Shame, because as you said, with a niche you’re positioning yourself as the natural choice within that target market. In other words, you’re a big fish in a small pond as opposed to a small and insignificant one in a very large sea.
Exactly!
What some copywriters don’t understand is that having a niche doesn’t mean that they have to write for X clients (like natural health) exclusively. It just means that they specialize in natural health – and they can branch out and work with different clients. Niches don’t limit your opportunities – they actually expand them (although it may not seem like that at first blush.)
Thanks for your comment!
Heather,
Just to back up your point with my own real-life case (but on a broader scale of services):
The only reason I say on my website that I specialise exclusively in website copywriting is because I want to give people something they can readily identify me with.
That hasn’t stopped me from doing stuff like proofreading, copy-editing, manual writing, etc. as and when the work came along.
This post is so true! When I first started writing, I was a generalist and (frankly) didn’t make much money. Sick of competing against other low-priced generalists, I sat down and closely analyzed my strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, experiences, education, and most profitable customers. Today, I run a couple of different brands, each one with a very specific (and very profitable!) specialization… each in an area that I enjoy writing. Specializing was a decision that seemed risky before I did it but now I am a huge proponent of it and would recommend it to everyone!
Nice! You’re living proof that working within a niche really works (and can make you more money, too!) Your story would make an interesting blog post if you’re ever open to sharing it. :)
Great article Heather. As someone who also has past experience hiring other content writers & copywriters, I asked myself this question when I started my niche freelance business:
“Who would I hire?”
When I used to hire writers, I specifically remember hiring writers that had a specialty. I’ve found that many companies want someone that is familiar with their market, so they can limit how much they have to train and “hold the hand” of the writer they hire.
So, when I started my freelance copywriting business, picking a niche was a no-brainer…I didn’t like to hire “generalist” writers, so when freelancing why would I want to position myself that way?
P. S. I listened to a podcast episode you did with Ed Gandia…it was great!
@Matt, it sounds like your in-house copywriting perspective was a tremendous asset when you went out on your own. :)
Thanks for the podcast kudos! Chatting with Ed was a lot of fun. :)