For example, I specialize in PR writing and marketing communications pieces. I also write Web content and blog posts on small business, marketing, PR, and related topics.

Even within PR writing alone, I’m never restricted too much – there are press releases, pitch letters, white papers, and even ghostwritten magazine features for clients.

So even if your initial focus was a mistake, or you simply find a more profitable and attractive route later, you may not be that far off and your networking and marketing work certainly won’t be in vain. :)

I’ve been putting off choosing a specialization because I was worried that I would choose a “bad” specialization and realize down the road that I’ve put hours and hours into something that doesn’t have a benefit. In my imagination, that one small mistake would, of course, lead to dying poor and alone. Thanks for giving me some concrete steps to (hopefully) make the decision that doesn’t lead to my family finding my moldering body in the middle of a newspaper maze. ;)

It’s a hot topic with little sign of slowing down. More and more publishers are interested in the subject matter, and it can be adapted to work within almost any other niche (for instance, you can write about raising green kids in a parenting magazine to sustainable building pieces for an architectural mag or even newspaper). You could even focus on writing marketing copy for companies’ green marketing campaigns. There are very few boundaries there. The increase in demand for that content also makes me think you’ll find a greater number of lucrative opportunities than in some of the other niches, with perhaps more stable markets.

It all starts with you though. Here’s what I’d suggest:

1. Jot down all of your credentials (educational background, publishing credits, work or personal experience, etc.) for each topic area.

2. Narrow it down to the top 2-3 specialty areas based on that (where you’ll naturally be most marketable).

3. Decide what type of writing you want to focus on (content, marketing copy, etc.), and eliminate any topics left that wouldn’t adapt well to that style.

4. Look at the market trends. Is it a relatively stable subject area (like genealogy), an area of growing interest (like green / sustainability), or an area of decline? You should have a vague idea already, but you could also check things like Google Trends to see how audience interest has fluctuated over time.

5. Weed out anything with a declining audience interest, and for the others start thinking about potential clients. Is it a niche dominated by a few very large prospective clients and very few smaller competitors (meaning it could be hard to break in)? Or are there a lot of smaller publications, websites, or companies that might be looking to hire someone like you? There’s no single tool for finding this out, but you might be able to get an idea by searching job ads and freelance marketplaces. See if people are publicly hiring at all (while the best gigs often come privately over time, you’ll at least get some general insight into the demand in the niche).

You need to be able to stand out from the crowd. That’s where credentials come in. You need a niche that isn’t going to disappear in a few years if you’re going to invest your time into building a career around it. You need a niche where there are clients willing and able to pay your rates. I don’t know how much help that will be, since there’s no single process that can work with all niches or make things easy, but it’s the basic idea. Rather than trying to choose one you think is best, look for ways to weed out the ones that aren’t. The process of elimination is your best friend when you’re torn between drastically different specialty areas as you are here.

I have several ideas for building my own platform, but I want to do more research before I put most of my eggs in one basket. How do you suggest researching your various subject matter niches before proceeding? I’d love some tips.