Hello everyone! I’m just going to admit right now that at noon today I realized it was Thursday, so this post is a little late.
I’ve been thinking a lot about niches lately, and more specifically how to switch. Mostly because I’m feeling a bit afloat and not exactly sure where I want to go at the moment. For a long time, my niche was firmly in the home improvement and real estate, and I wrote for HomeLight, Apartment Therapy, Angi, and Bob Vila, and still write for a few of them. But I’ve also been exploring some commerce writing and would really like to tackle some more wellness based writing, specifically sleep and skincare - I feel like I’ve been getting the best sleep of my life lately and want to share the products that have helped to a wider audience.
So, that brings me to today’s topic - How to switch your niche. But before we get into that, I’m excited to share a fellow freelancer’s course that focuses on helping you find a niche. And Cody guides you though action steps, so you can start to execute on your plans!
Find Your Niche & Become The Expert Clients Line Up To Hire!
Freelance clients are more demanding than ever. They want specialists, not generalists.
If you’re not the expert who can write content that delivers value to their audience, your pitch won’t make it past their inbox.
That’s why I created Niche to Rich. At the end of this FREE one-hour course, you’ll walk away with a profitable writing niche that fits your unique skills and interests.
No fluff, no guesswork. Just actionable steps for positioning yourself as the go-to expert potential clients feel sick about losing to their competitors. (Spoilers: This means higher pay and more consistent work.)
If you’re ready to take the first step to a more lucrative and rewarding freelance writing career in 2025, just click the link below to enroll for free.
Your niche is waiting. Let’s find it together!
I’ll go through a few tips here, but if you want more information on choosing or switching your niche, Cody’s course is a great resource!
How to switch your niche
Choosing a niche can be difficult because while you can really zero in on a topic, there’s still a lot of overlap between topics (is an article about skincare that shares products beauty or commerce writing?) and type of writing. For instance, if you’re writing about sustainability, you can write fully researched science-backed articles or quicker “here are 6 ways to recycle your socks” type articles. That’s a lot of wiggle room. Alright, here are my three tips for switching your niche:
1. Make a big list
I love a big list. When you’re looking for a new niche, making a big list of anything and everything that strikes your fancy can give you a good start towards where you want to go. The list can also include things you’re good at but might not love, jobs you’ve had in the past, and things you’re interested in that you maybe don’t have experience with but want to learn about.
2. Capitalize on the overlap
If you’re writing about skincare and tips for glowing skin but want to move into commerce writing, use a skincare article as a place to mention certain products and then use that as your sample for a job geared towards commerce. I did this when I was straddling real estate and personal finance content. I used a lot of real estate article that dealt with finances (mortgages, saving for a down payment, etc) as samples when I was reaching out about personal finance content jobs.
3. Say it - then be it
I always think about the moment in Sister Act II (a very formative movie if you grew up in the 90s, or maybe that’s just me) where Whoopi Goldberg’s character tells Lauryn Hill’s character that if she wakes up in the morning and all she can think about is singing, then she’s a singer.
If you wake up in the morning and you want to write about cars, then you’re a car writer. If you wake up in the morning and want to be a wellness writer, then you’re a wellness writer. The next step is to position yourself as one with some level of credibility. I’ve always introduced myself as a freelance real estate or home improvement writer but have recently started using lifestyle instead since that’s where I want to go (I think), and I have enough writing samples that fit into that category that I feel confident repositioning.
The Pitch Place is well underway! There are lots of pitches in the database and a few editors have signed up. The more editors that have access to the database, the better our chances of getting our pitches picked up. To help generate more editor interest, I put a post on LinkedIn that explains what The Pitch Place can help editors, so feel free to share it with your network or tag your favorite editor!
I reached out to all of the editors to see how things are going, and one of them said she contacted a writer about an article! It’s not official yet, but when I know, you’ll know!
If you’re a freelancer and want to add your pitch(es) to The Pitch Place database, you can find the form on this post.
If you’re an editor looking for pitches to commission, you can sign up and access the database through this post. [Freelancers: Feel free to share this far and wide!]
When you have a pitch commissioned or commission a pitch, let me know, so I can mark it as accepted and do a ridiculous happy dance.
I love coffee, and if you want to show support for this newsletter and The Pitch Place, you’re welcome to buy me one :) - it feels weird to put this here, but I have an account, so why not *shrug*. This is where the Freelance Writing Toolkit is, and I plan to post more resources!
Thank you for this post! As someone who has a hard time niching down and wants to try on different hats, this outline and guide is super helpful.
Btw I am the biggest fan of your son and his graphic design skills.