Taking the leap and starting your freelance writing business isn’t easy. You’re responsible for finding new clients, promoting your services, and figuring out the day-to-day aspects of running your business.

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But I promise you, the benefits of freelance writing far outweigh the negatives. During a time when many people wonder whether their 9-5 is even viable anymore, it’s freeing to know I can keep making money on my own terms.

I get questions all the time from freelancers who want to learn how to either become a freelance writer or make more money writing. And one of the biggest things most people struggle with is picking their niche.

I completely relate because I struggled big time with choosing a niche. In fact, it took me over two and a half years to pick my niche.

As someone with very little work history who never even graduated from college, I struggled to know what I was even qualified to write about.

How could I choose my niche if I wasn’t really an expert at anything?

6 questions to figure out your niche

If you find yourself in this place, then I have good news for you. You don’t have to be an expert to choose a niche.

You just need to be willing to learn more about that topic and become an expert.

So if you know that you need to pick a niche but can’t seem to pull the trigger then I’ve got you covered. Here are six questions that can help you figure out your freelance writing niche.

1. What are your skills and strengths?

The first thing I want you to do is braindump a list of your skills and strengths.

What are the skills you’ve gained from the various jobs you’ve held over the years?

For instance, if you have a lot of experience in customer service then that could be a possible niche.

Or if you have a design background, that could be your niche.

In the beginning, I gravitated toward writing about digital marketing because I had some experience with social media marketing.

If you’re having a hard time coming up with a list of your skills and strengths, then why not ask your friends and family members? Often, other people notice things we’re good at that we completely overlook ourselves.

2. What are your business goals?

Another thing to consider is what your business goals are. For instance, are you motivated by money? If so, then you’re going to want to gravitate toward a higher paying niche.

Or are you motivated by balance and finding meaningful work? If so, then you probably want to put more emphasis on finding a niche you’re passionate about.

Another way to think about this is what kind of writer do you see yourself being? For instance, do you think of your writing as humorous? Or do you see yourself as more of an academic writer?

All of these questions will influence the kind of niche you end up picking.

3. Who is your ideal client?

Now you’re going to take some time to figure out who your ideal client is and how you can help them.

Here are a few examples of an ideal client:

B2B companies
Small businesses
Female entrepreneurs
Financial services companies

Identifying your ideal client is important because this will help you figure out where to look for clients, and the kind of results you can deliver for them.

If you’re not sure who your ideal client is, just pick one and start there. You can always change it later if you realize you don’t actually like working with that type of client.

4. What are you willing to learn more about?

What if you look over your list of skills and experience, only to realize that you aren’t excited about anything on that list? Well, in that case, you can choose something completely different.

The whole point of being a freelancer is that you get to pick the work that you do. So you may as well choose something you like!

Make a list of several different niches you’d be interested in learning more about. From there, you can try to find a few popular blogs in that niche to write guest posts for.

That’s a good way to explore some potential niches and get a writing sample in the process. Win win!

5. Is there a demand for your niche in the market?

Another way you can think about this question is, “Is my niche profitable?”

You may love writing poetry and short, deeply personal stories about your childhood. But are clients going to pay you for that?

Probably not.

Here’s the thing -- freelance writing is primarily about selling products and services. The reason clients want to hire you is because you can help them bring traffic to their website, which results in more leads and sales.

You can absolutely inject your own personality throughout your writing and occasionally share personal stories. But it always has to be from the perspective of educating the reader and moving them closer to the action your client wants them to take.

You also want to think about what industries are really doing well at the moment. Writing for companies in the travel and entertainment industry might be tough right now.

Whereas real estate, entrepreneurship, education, and online learning are all booming niches.

6. What is your unique selling point?

And finally, you need to start thinking about your unique point (USP).

Your USP is what will set you apart from other freelancers, attract the right types of clients, and allow you to charge premium rates.

For instance, here are some of my unique selling points:

Long-form blog post writer
Knowledge of personal finance, small business, and entrepreneurship
Specialize in writing SEO content
Write about complex topics in a way that’s easy to understand
Personable and easy to work with
Excellent communication skills

Now it’s your turn! What are the unique selling points that can help you stand out as a freelance writer?

Putting it all together

Hopefully, the six questions I outlined in this article will give you the clarity you need to stop procrastinating, and finally just pick a niche. But here’s the thing -- your niche is important, but it’s not everything.

Picking a niche is not some silver bullet to building a successful freelance writing business. Not even close.

You need a strategy for how you’re going to find new clients and look for work. And one of my favorite ways to do that is by using a platform called Upwork.

That’s why I offer a free webinar called How to Use Upwork as a Freelance Writer. During this free training, I’ll teach you the five things you need to know to find clients on Upwork. I’ll also share how I used the platform to earn over $100,000.

You can learn more about the training here:

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