A viable freelance writing niche ideally meets three criteria: it fits your experience and background, you find it interesting and a large market demand exists.

If you’ve been writing across multiple industries, you may be thinking about specializing in your services and finding a niche. This is often a good move — many business owners and decision-makers want to work with specialists rather than generalists.

However, figuring out how to choose a freelance writing niche is a common struggle, especially among beginner writers. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be difficult or permanent, either. These criteria and tips can help you settle into a writing specialty that works for you.

How to Choose a Freelance Writing Niche

Here’s a mini writing niche quiz to help you determine a freelance writing niche’s viability:

1. Do I have experience writing within this niche?
2. Does this writing niche interest me?
3. Is there enough market demand within this niche?

Experience, interest and market demand — I consider these the trifecta for choosing your niche.

Now, let’s explore each factor.

1. Consider your experience and background.

What is your experience within a specific niche? If you want to do medical writing, do you have experience in the healthcare field? If real estate or investing catches your eye, do these freelance writing topics fit your background?

When choosing a niche, consider leaning on your profession and background. If you’re a nurse or chiropractor, medical writing can be a natural fit. Accountants are typically more qualified to write about finance.

Lack of experience, however, is not an automatic disqualifier. You can choose nearly any niche, provided you’re willing to dedicate time and research.

2. Gauge your interest.

If you’re opposed to writing about your current career’s industry, consider writing about your interests or hobbies. Many of your hobbies are already existing under profitable industries.

You can find travel writers, writing about travel tips and the “Top 7 Places to Visit in XYZ.” Gaming enthusiasts can get paid writing about trends and new game releases.

Writing within a niche that interests you can be enjoyable and sustainable. If a technical writing niche, like coding or business loan rates, bores you to tears, you likely won’t last long. It’s probably best to try something else.

3. Assess the market demand.

There’s a reason why people search for the “highest paid jobs” or “highest-paying college degrees.” People go to where the money is. Similarly, many writers search for the best paying freelance writing niches.

A niche’s profitability depends on its market demand. Always ask: Is this niche large and profitable enough where business owners want to invest in content marketing?

Ecommerce and finance tend to be stable industries with large demand. Bookstores and paper companies? Not so much. (Apologies to the Michael Scott Paper Company.)

Example: Why I niche in small business and FinTech.

After nearly two years of writing, I’ve settled into the small business and FinTech niche. Let’s weigh this against the criteria we explored above:

Experience. Honestly, I had little background in small business and entrepreneurship (with the exception of working for a small ecommerce company and law firm). I was neither an entrepreneur nor a small business lender. I gained more experience with each new article and topic I wrote about.

Interest. Entrepreneurship fascinates me — and it’s a hugely popular topic today. Learning about business practices, financing solutions and marketing genuinely fascinate me.

Market demand. Many conventional banks raised their eligibility requirements for loans after the 2008 recession — this led to the increase of alternative online lenders. Now, you see so many online resources for cryptocurrency, robo-advisors and small business financing. There’s a growing demand within the FinTech industry.

Tips for Choosing a Freelance Writing Niche

Figuring out how to find your writing niche can be great for your business and marketing strategy — however, actually choosing one can be a stressful process. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Stick it out. Choosing an unfamiliar niche may take time before you build authority within that industry. It’s often daunting to learn a new subject with alien jargon. Don’t let the initial learning curve scare you away from a niche that could be highly profitable and interesting (after you invest enough time and work).

Explore different niches. If you’re 100% convinced a niche isn’t for you, that’s okay. Be comfortable with pivoting to a different niche that better suits your skills, background and interest. Know that settling into the right niche is often a process of trial and error.

Treat each writing project as a learning experience. It can feel discouraging writing within different niches because you can’t settle on one — a waste of time, even. But know that each writing project you complete builds experience and skills. You can carry your sharpened writing skills within each new niche you try.

Pros and Cons of Choosing a Freelance Writing Niche

Should you remain a general freelance writer, a jack of all trades? Or should you niche down and specialize your writing? Consider these freelance writing pros and cons:

Pros

• Helps you get found: When recruiters and editors are seeking writers, they’re searching for specific terms, like “finance writer” or “MedTech content marketer.” General “freelance writer” might position you lower in their search results.
• Develop expertise over time: As you continue writing within the same industry, you start understanding industry-specific terminology, analyzing current trends and offering greater insight into a topic. Over time, your freelance writing portfolio becomes a compilation of your knowledge and expertise.
• Write more quickly and accurately: Since you can rely on your existing knowledge and experience, you often spend less time researching and defining unfamiliar concepts.
• Streamline your marketing strategy: Since each industry and niche is different, you can tailor your marketing strategy towards that individual or company. For example, you’d market yourself differently for a Fortune 500 ecommerce SaaS company versus an industry thought leader seeking a ghostwriter.

Cons

• You feel bored or uninspired: Writing within the same industry can sometimes feel stifling. You may experience boredom or creative blocks.
• Fear of missing out: Niching down can feel like you’re closing yourself to lucrative opportunities in other industries and niches.
• Non-competes limit your opportunities. Some companies may ask you to sign a non-compete clause, a blurb within your contract that bars you from working with their competitors.
• Vulnerable to market conditions: If your industry undergoes an economic crash, you may be affected. Let’s say you’re a real estate writer. If your country undergoes a housing marketing crisis, your work prospects may be affected.

Freelance Writing Niche FAQs

What is a niche in freelance writing?

A freelance writing niche is a focused area of writing. A niche can vary by industry — ecommerce, healthcare or finance, for instance. It can also vary by the writing format, such as blog posts, case studies or email newsletters.

How do I choose a writing niche?

Starting criteria for choosing a writing niche can be interest, experience and profitable. When considering a writing niche, gauge your interest in it, how well it fits your experience and background and your earning potential.

Which niche is best for content writing?

The best freelance writing niches will vary by each person’s experience, capabilities and interest. Profitable industries, such as technology, ecommerce and finance tend to be popular freelance writing niches. You’ll also find that different types of freelance writing, such as email copywriting, tend to pay higher rates than others.