You Guys, I Figured Out My Niche
Blog Post
As an old-school freelance copywriter trained in a traditional ad agency environment, I’ve never wanted a niche. Specializing in just one industry has never made sense to me.
I understand that experts can charge more for being experts, and that even when you specialize, you still get asked to write outside your area of expertise. But the best part of my job is that I am learning something new every single day. And that’s in part because I don’t specialize.
Good writers know how to ask the right questions to get to the heart of what needs to be communicated—and that’s what I try to do with my clients, whether they’re in tech, banking, wellness, retail or travel. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t need a little prodding to finetune their marketing goals?)
In the last few months, however, I’ve come to realize that I may have a niche after all: efficient content generation. That’s a fancy way of saying I’m pretty darn organized when churning out emails, blog posts and websites.
I came to this realization after yet another former client came back to me because she said she needed someone “with some initiative.” Another repeat client told me: “I see you like information as much as I do. Good!” The latest client to rehire me was clear he needed someone who doesn’t need a lot of hand holding.
My Super Power is Efficiency
As a freelance copywriter dipping in and out of different marketing departments, I need information before I can write. Twenty years ago, the ad agency where I worked held kick-off meetings where an account manager would read through a carefully constructed creative brief. (Shout out to my current clients who still write briefs—I love you!)
These days, though, clients send a quick email and often expect their freelancer to ask for what she needs to get the job done.
Questions like:
What’s your key message? Secondary message?
What are the personas or target audience like?
Which images are we using so I can write headlines to fit them?
Can you provide background information I can review? Or will we be scheduling interviews with a subject matter expert?
Do you have brand guidelines and a Style Guide I can follow? If not, what are some industry terms I should and shouldn’t use?
Are you using a content calendar with deliverables by date or do you need me to create one?
Is there an existing email/landing page template I should write to?
Do you have examples of previous work or work you admire I can use as a framework?
What’s the call to action/what part of your website should we drive your audience to?
With answers in hand, I can get to cranking out the goods. For understaffed or overwhelmed marketing departments, I suppose this essential part of my writing process comes across as efficient.
And I’m OK with that.
Why I Started a Travel Blog on Substack
When I started spending more time in Istria, Croatia, there were many reasons to begin writing my own travel blog. Not only could I showcase my writing chops, I could also return to writing for pleasure, capturing all of the big feelings that come with being a part-time expat.