Written by Chrislyn Pepper
Thanks to everyone for the comments to my first guest post. It’s from your comments that I decided to write about SEO writing niches. On my personal blog, I received the following (abridged) comment:
I just recently started blogging. But, I can’t seem to make up my mind as to what topics or niche to settle on, hence why I have been reading articles like yours and Yuwanda’s. . . . How do you get ideas to write about? I guess working in a niche helps? . . . I really want to find that thing that I’m passionate about and that will keep me consistent. I don’t know why it seems to be evading me. . .
At first, I thought that Yuwanda covers every aspect of finding a profitable niche and niche marketing and was going to refer the commenter to several of her posts.
Having Trouble Getting Your SEO Writing Niche Right?
Then, I realized that many writers still have trouble choosing a niche. There have been comments by writers who don’t like their niche. Several commenters don’t understand how to select niches or why just marketing SEO in general isn’t best. To be absolutely honest, until Yuwanda’s website review post, my niche marketing had been wrong.
I hung my sign out to be a “SEO health writer” on my website, logo and marketing emails. By comparing my writing to the other “health writers” on the post, I realized some companies automatically disqualified my services as being a writer outside of their field. My niche writing tends to be medical, which is a separate field from health writing.
As soon as I changed from marketing as a SEO health content writer to a SEO medical content writer, I was engaged for a couple of articles within my niche. Though that still leaves the question, how did I get the idea for my SEO writing business’ niche.
Your Work Experience is a Great Source of Niche Ideas
My work experience tended to rotate between working in the accounting/bookkeeping, medical and social service industries. I have other work experience that I deleted from my niche choices, because I spent too little time on it, or the field fit elsewhere. Such as, administrative work that I did for CPAs, hospitals and clinics, I count toward my accounting or medical experiences.
Ask Yourself:
What is your work experience?
Which jobs did you enjoy the most?
What jobs do you keep trying to get?
What fields are they?
The answers should be written in a list as part of your niche options.
I don’t know if all work experience is a source of a profitable niche, but mine seem to be. As a certified professional bookkeeper, I could write SEO blogs and articles to market to CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers for their websites. I could have chosen to write web content for non-profit organizations with my social services experience.
Aspiring SEO Content Writers: Monetize Your Hobby by Niching It
Wouldn’t it be great to make money with something you enjoy doing for free? Of course you should exclude writing since it isn’t a profitable niche, but other than that, what are your hobbies? Add to your work experience list all of your hobbies as sources of possible niches. When I truly enjoy doing something for free, it doesn’t seem like work when I do it for pay.
I enjoy homesteading. I vegetable garden, raise chickens and breed meat rabbits. I do my own woodworking to build coops and raised garden beds. (Darn Alabama clay!) I grow and collect my own seeds for the plants I love.
Homesteading is a popular niche since people want to eat healthier and closer to home. I know I can monetize my backyard mini-farm with my writing, because I have sold SEO blogs on growing tomatoes, starting sweet potato slips, making natural fertilizers and organic pest control. I zipped through these articles, because I love talking about my garden. (For me, writing is just like talking.)
For right now, list every hobby. Remember, SEO is your special skill, not the niche. Any groups with websites wanting to get search engine attention from a demographic you belong are niches and potential clients.
As a gardener, plant nurseries, seed companies, garden supply companies and garden magazines want to reach me to sell me their books, seeds, plants, fertilizers and tools. They have websites, blogs, and online newsletters. They need this content to rank highly in search engines to attract more customers like me. So, they need SEO writers in this niche. Since I’m in this demographic, it was on my niche list.
What You Do Every Day Could Be Your Niche
When I made my list, I overlooked things that I do without thinking. However, these are also sources of niche topics. An example from my life would be parenting.
I raised 3 step-children from young ages to adulthood and have 3 children from 16 to 4. I have been through terrible 3s to terrible teens with my own and someone else’s children, dating with kids, blended family parenting, dealing with children after divorce, and the list could go on. I didn’t consider the parenting niche even though I have first-hand daily knowledge to market to counselors, online parenting magazines or divorce support groups.
What is your daily routine? Add details from your routine to your work and hobby niche list. Things you do every day from applying make-up (beauty), getting dressed (fashion), watering the grass (landscaping) or making dinner (recipes) may be the source of your niche.
Voila, You Now Have SEO Writing Niche Ideas!
If you wrote down the answers to the questions above, you have a long list of niche topics to choose from. If you didn’t write it, and you still need to select a niche, you have homework. Next, I’ll tell you how I narrowed my long list down to my two primary topics and found a passionate subject for my SEO writing niche.
Coming in Part II . . .
Using these ideas discussed here in Part I, we’re going to rule out all but three niche topics. I’ve ruled mine down to two semi-related topics, which has helped me to clarify the direction I want to take my business in – a lot! Next week’s tips will help you gain some clarity about your biz as well. Look for the post next Thursday, the 26th.
Share Your Thoughts
Do you “niche it” as an SEO writer, or are you more of a generalist? Do you think SEO writers should choose a niche, or not? If you’re a niche SEO writer, do you think it’s helped or hurt your business? Please share in the comments section below.
About the Author: Chrislyn Pepper is a freelance, SEO blog writer. Her niche is SEO content writing for medical professionals, but she writes on a variety of subjects. Visit http://www.chrislynpepper.com to get blog content or SEO blog writing tips. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter. Chrislyn Pepper turns blogs into building blocks for businesses.
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