How to Choose a Freelance Writing Specialty

I'm a firm believer that most freelance writers should have a specialty. And many who claim they don't, actually do. That's because the concept of specialization is often confused with "niching down."

That's not true though. A freelance writing specialty goes beyond choosing a niche.

We'll get into different elements of specialization, and why being a specialist doesn't mean you do just one thing (another common misconception). But first...

Why Choose a Freelance Writing Specialty?

These are just a few reasons specializing can be important to your freelance writing career:

1. Results = higher revenue.

In over 25 years, I've yet to meet a true generalist freelance writer who earns anywhere near as much as their more specialized colleagues.

Don't get me wrong. I've seen claims from generalists that they earn more. But they're often comparing mediocre generalist pay to terrible advertised gigs asking for specialists without being willing to pay for an experienced one.

Why?

Clients don't pay big money just because you can write coherent content or copy. They pay big money based on what you can do for them.

• Specialists know how to write blog posts and other web content that ranks in search engines, attracts more visitors as a result, and leads to increased trust, reader loyalty, and shares.
• A specialist in PR writing knows how to do more than format a press release. They know how to identify opportunities, write releases that secure earned media coverage, and don't piss off people on the receiving end who can receive dozens of spammy press releases every week.
• A specialized direct response copywriter is going to drive more conversions for clients than a generalist would.

When it comes to understanding the pay differences between specialists and generalists, don't focus on what you see advertised. Most specialists aren't securing the highest-paying work on those job boards or freelance marketplaces.

The best gigs aren't ones you find publicly. They come through referrals, pitching, and clients finding you via searches.

2. Subject matter expertise speeds up the process.

Specializing in a particular niche or industry isn't required in order to be a specialist as a freelance writer. But it can help.

For example, when you know a niche better than most, you can write content in that area faster than someone who has to research even the most basic concepts.

Faster drafts leave you with more available billable hours.

That doesn't mean you need to cram more work into your days. It means you can reach a higher hourly target rate, meeting income goals while working fewer hours.

3. Clients pay a premium for expert knowledge.

Speaking of subject matter expertise, that alone can earn you premium rates as a freelance writer.

Why?

You basically lend your own credibility in a niche or industry to the clients you write for.

For example, let's say your client runs a broad coverage business publication. You're a freelance writer with a prior career in HR, and you specialize in writing in that area. The publication itself won't necessarily have credibility or authority around HR. But you do.

These days, especially with the rise of AI "writers" using LLMs to generate unoriginal content on any topic you can imagine, authority matters more than ever.

It helps with search visibility.

It builds trust with readers.

The authority you bring to the gig has value above and beyond the value of your writing itself. If you aren't charging for that, you should.

In the end, whether it's an impact on billable hours or the ability to charge a premium for expertise (in a niche or type of work), specializing boils down to earning more money as a freelance writer... and sometimes while working fewer hours, leaving you more of the freedom that makes freelancing great to begin with.

Ready to specialize? Here's how you can do it.

Choose a Freelance Writing Specialty in 5 Steps

You don't need to have decades of professional experience or advanced degrees to become a highly-paid specialist as a freelance writer. Follow these five steps to find options that could be a good fit for you:

1. Take stock of your experience.

Start by making a simple list. What do you have significant experience with? What areas might you have authority in? What credentials do you have?

But also think about non-professional experiences like hobbies or other life circumstances.

Let's look at a hypothetical example:

• Degree in finance
• 8 years' experience in banking (such as a past full-time job)
• Parent of 3
• Has had dogs in the family for more than 20 years (maybe all the same breed)
• Has a passion for herb gardening
• Loves cooking a specific type of food, using what they grow
• Runs several 5Ks each year
• Loves to read true crime books

It doesn't matter how important or mundane you think it is. What makes you you? What do you do regularly? What experiences have had a significant impact on your life? What have you done that might be of interest to others?

Each of these things could play a role in determining a professional specialty.

2. Consider different client types.

Earlier, I mentioned that specializing as a freelance writer doesn't have to mean "niching down." This is one example.

Think about who pays writers. Then ask yourself what types of freelance writing clients you'd most like to work for.

• Small businesses in your local town or city?
• Big, household-name corporate clients?
• Nonprofit organizations focused on a particular cause?
• Agency clients that can provide a wider variety of project types?
• Consumer magazines?
• Blogs?

A freelance writing specialty can be as simple as working with a particular type of client. It's not a super-targeted specialty, but if you focus on a client type, you're not really a generalist. Embrace that, and use your understanding of a particular client type to better market your services to them.

3. Decide if you'll specialize in a style or project type.

When it comes to choosing a freelance writing specialty, another option beyond niches is the type of project(s) you're willing to take on. Here are some examples:

• Web content writing / SEO writing
• Magazine article writing
• Copywriting (marketing / sales / advertising)
• Blogging
• Report writing
• White paper writing
• Case study writing
• Business plan writing
• E-book writing
• Press release writing
• Newsletter writing
• News writing (journalism)
• Scriptwriting (PSA scripts, explainer video scripts for businesses, etc.)

If you have experience writing employee newsletters for a past employer, for example, you could translate that into a career doing the same on behalf of clients (very different in style to email marketing).

You don't have to choose a single project type to specialize in either. I consider myself a freelance business writer. I have a primary focus on PR writing and thought leadership content. But I take on several of these project types under that umbrella. It's still a specialty. I don't, for example, write for newspapers.

You can more broadly specialize in a style rather than a project type. You might focus on humor writing. Or investigative pieces.

4. Narrow down a niche or industry focus.

A freelance writing specialty doesn't have to mean focusing on a niche. But it's still an option available to you.

This can be a particularly good option where you have valuable subject matter expertise clients will pay a premium for. And this is a good specialization option for freelancers like bloggers or other web content writers where competition can be high. (Not necessary though. For example, you can be a professional blogger without a niche focus, where your specialty instead is SEO-optimized long-form content or posts that convert readers for affiliate sales for your clients.)

How might you choose a niche-based freelance writing specialty?

• Choose a niche you're experienced in. If you can't offer something beyond what a generic writer can dig up with basic research, why would anyone pay you more as a specialist?
• Choose a niche where there's a demand. If no one is hiring writers to cover your niche, you need to think of something else (or you can branch into related niches or a broader niche).
• Choose a niche you won't get tired of. If you'll be tired of writing in a niche in a week or two, you'll come to hate your work. That's not good for you or your clients. We all have times where we'd rather be doing something else... if that feeling's going to become chronic, specialize elsewhere.

This is where you'll want to go back to Step 1 and look at your list of credentials, business experience, life experience, hobbies, and interests. You don't have to be an expert to be a specialist in covering these things as a freelance writer.

For example, if you have that passion for herb gardening, you might have years of experience growing herbs you use in your kitchen. You probably know more about growing options, planting times, which plants to pair or keep separate, which herbs do well in specific climates, and much more readers would love to learn from you. Your personal experience would add "flavor" generalists without that experience wouldn't be able to replicate.

Industry specialization works in a similar way.

For instance, maybe you used to work as a real estate agent. You have years of experience in real estate sales that could translate into a freelance writing specialty focused on the real estate industry.

That might include writing web copy for other agents' websites. Or you might write property descriptions that help other agents sell homes faster. You would also be able to write articles covering topics like real estate industry trends for publications.

Choosing a freelance writing niche or industry isn't necessary. But if you have enough experience in one, doing so can be lucrative.

5. Mix and match.

Freelance writing specialties can be fairly broad, or they can be quite narrow. Consider it a feature, not a bug. You have full control over what your specialty looks like. And you can adjust things whenever you'd like.

Is your focus too narrow and you're struggling to find enough clients who tick all your boxes? You can add additional project types or target different types of clients with related projects.

Are things too broad, and you're mostly attracting the types of clients who look for generalists and who expect to pay accordingly? Narrowing your focus could lead to more lucrative gigs even with a smaller pool of prospects.

Go back through the other steps above and find your ideal mix.

For example, I mentioned earlier I specialize in freelance business writing, leaning heavily toward PR writing and thought leadership content.

I have a handful of core project types (ghostwriting blogs for business owners, press releases, white papers and other reports, web copywriting, and case studies). I'm not limited to them, but it's where I focus most attention and marketing.

My specialty also includes client types. I work primarily with small (usually online) business owners and independent and creative professionals. I work with middlemen clients and even occasional corporate clients. But I don't seek them out.

As another example of how you might mix and match these specialization options, go back to our hypothetical freelancer in Step 1. Their freelance writing specialty might look something like this:

They might focus on family finances and raising financially-savvy kids. They primarily focus on writing for parenting publications (both digital and print).

This writer might even go further, focusing on ways to save specifically in multi-child households. They could write action-oriented articles to help parents get those kids involved (such as helping with gardening and cooking to minimize grocery and eating out costs).

Or they could focus on helping other parents teach kids about finances in ways their readers might not have had the opportunity to learn when they were young.

Go as narrow or as broad as you want, and know it's OK to adjust things as you go.

Can You Have More than One Freelance Writing Specialty?

Yes!

Does being a specialist mean that you can only take part in one kind of writing, or only write in one niche? Of course not. Many freelance writers have multiple specialties.

But there are a couple of important things to consider.

1. Avoid freelance writing specialties that clash.

It's vital that you don't choose two specialties that clash professionally.

For example, if you're a teacher writing on issues in education, it's probably not a good idea to also write students' papers for them as a freelance "academic writer." (How I loathe that term for what they do.)

Basically, you don't want a second specialty that could negatively impact your credibility or reputation in your first.

2. Consider keeping them complementary.

While this isn't a necessity, it can be a big help when marketing your services to new clients. Let's look at a couple of examples:

Example 1: You might specialize in writing blog and newsletter content for veterinary offices. As a second specialty, you might write about pets for digital publications (or offer copywriting services for pet-centric product manufacturers).

Example 2: You still write blog and newsletter content for vets. But your second specialty is writing video scripts for health YouTubers.

In the first example, the two specialties are complementary. In the second example, they're not related in any way.

Why might you want to keep multiple freelance writing specialties in the same family?

Marketing.

Think about all the time and energy you might put into marketing your services to a specific target market. You'll have a professional website. You might have blog content to attract prospects via search. Social media accounts. Direct pitching. Building and maintaining a portfolio...

Now imagine you can do this once. Or you can do this twice. (Or more.)

With the first example, a single professional site can target both markets easily because they're related. You could also use writing samples from one market to help you secure gigs in the other.

When your markets are completely different, it becomes more difficult to reach them through a single website because your messaging can't be focused.

Unless you're talking about a massive media-style site, it's also tough to rank a multi-topic site in search engine results -- a key way high-paying clients find their contractors.

Multiple markets can keep things interesting while offering plenty of opportunities. But be careful not to spread yourself too thin.

What's your freelance writing specialty (or specialties)? How did you decide to focus on that area, or is it something you more or less "fell into" after starting as more of a generalist?