Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. ~Steve Jobs
"But how do I go about finding what I love?"
"And how do I find my writing niche?"
If you haven't found your niche yet, don't be disheartened. Many aspiring writers often come to me with these two questions. In this article, we will explore the answers to those questions.
Your Passions and Interests
It starts with exploring your passions and interests. What topics or activities do you find yourself naturally drawn to? What problems or challenges do you enjoy solving? These clues can point you in the direction of a potential niche.
Your Skills
But it's not just about passion—it's also about skill. What are you naturally good at? What skills have you developed over time? Identifying your strengths can help you find a writing niche where you can truly excel.
Align Your Interests and Skills
Once you have a sense of your passions and strengths, it's time to explore how your talents and interests intersect. Here's how to go about it:
1. Start exploring different industries and job roles. Research companies and job descriptions that align with your interests and skills.
2. Connect with professionals in those fields. Reach out for informational interviews or inquire about job shadowing opportunities.
3. Research the needs of the market. Find out what your potential clients and their customers are looking for. How can you fulfill those needs?
4. Build your portfolio. If you are a new writer, start building your portfolio of sample articles in your chosen industry niche. Demonstrate your expertise through well-crafted pieces.
5. Embrace experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new things and take risks.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Sometimes, the best way to discover your niche is by stepping outside your comfort zone and exploring new areas.
Whether you're just starting out or you've been working for years, it's never too late to discover what truly drives you and brings you joy in your work. Be open to experimenting with various niches until you find the one that truly resonates with you.
After more than 20 years of teaching, writing, and mentoring, I found a new niche I am fully exploring this year. And I'm loving it! My new niche encompasses everything I learned in the last 25 years—all the bits I loved doing. And it has enough of a challenge to keep me on my toes.
But that's more of a career changing niche. Let's talk about writing niches specifically. I'm going to break this down into two areas: Topics and Content Types.
Content Writing Niches
I've put together some ideas for you to explore that will help you find your writing niche. When choosing your niche, focus on a topic you know or are interested in. You can combine this with a content type, such as blog articles or book writing.
Some writers prefer to be generalists; they write across different niches. Others prefer to choose a specific niche and become experts in that topic, industry, or content type. The choice is yours.
8 Profitable Content Writing Topics
There are many industries and topics that you can settle into. This will depend on your interests and background. Perhaps you are a transitioning teacher with an interest in AI and learning. In that case, you might choose to write about AI in education.
Below are some of the most profitable writing topics for 2023 – 2024. Which would you choose?
1. Finance/Personal Finance
Educating customers — articles on budgeting and personal finances, blogs for banks & credit card companies, and training materials for investment companies or financial planning firms.
2. Technology
Cybersecurity, computers, data storage, smartphones, AI, and digital health tech.
3. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)
Explain the product to prospects and customers — website copy, long-form blog posts, how-to guides, and email newsletters.
4. Cryptocurrency/Blockchain/Fintech
Technical writing, articles, and blogs — know the jargon.
5. Digital Marketing
Explain products and services, long-form guides, and articles about content marketing, email marketing, social media, SEO, and affiliate marketing.
6. Health & Wellness
Products, providers, cannabis blogs, dispensaries, alternative medicine, digital health, and healthcare.
7. Education
Education and skills training (for jobs or starting a business), e-learning, online courses, and providers.
8. Real Estate
Landing pages, website copy, home buying guides, blogs on how to stage houses for sale, house flipping, home décor, and local laws.
9 High Paying Content Types
Once you decide on which topic or industry you'd like to focus on, you can either choose to create different content types or settle for one type, such as writing e-learning courses.
Below is a list of the highest-paid content types for 2023 – 2024. Which one/s would you prefer?
1. Long-form blog posts and in-depth guides
detailed, well-researched, over 2000 words
usually includes basic SEO
2. Video script writing
currently, the no. 1 content writing trend
scripts for websites, videos, podcasts, webinars, and YouTube
3. E-books and PDFs
e-books and "How-to" content, such as lead magnets
often published as 10 to 20-page PDFs
in demand from businesses who wish to generate leads for their business
4. White papers
have a more formal/serious tone than blog posts or e-books
written for the B2B market, popular in the tech niche
used to promote products, 5-10 pages long
also used as lead magnets
you will need interviewing skills
5. Email writing
short-form, used to encourage conversions
used in marketing campaigns and newsletters
copywriting background needed
6. Sales pages and Landing pages
used to drive sales, web pages
SEO and copywriting skills needed
7. Case Studies
showcases customer success stories
used for promotions and to drive sales
interviewing and story-telling skills are needed
8. Educational content
online or e-learning courses
scripts for courses (text or video)
text-based learning materials
9. Book writing
ghostwriting – writing in the client's voice or style
non-fiction, memoirs, and social media posts
Do What You Love
Choose your writing niche based on your experience, passion, skills, and interests.
You are now equipped with the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 you can specialize in and the 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬. It's time to make a choice.
If SaaS (topic) is your thing and you are good at crafting compelling white papers (content type), then focus on those gigs. Alternatively, if you have a background in mental health (topic), channel your expertise into writing informative blog posts (content type) that address topical mental health issues.
So, do you have a winning combination in mind?
The Highest Paid Content Writing Niches
Technical writers, speechwriters, screenwriters, and ghostwriters are the highest-paying writing jobs at present. Other popular niches are personal finance, technology, parenting, and travel.
Blog writers have always been in high demand. Lately, though, due to the rapid advancements in AI writing tools such as ChatGPT, many writers are finding that robots are taking over their jobs.
However, we are still waiting to see if AI writers can write content as human as human writers. And that, my dear fellow writers, is a discussion best left for a future article.
Final Thoughts
The journey to finding your niche may not always be easy, but the result—doing work that truly fulfills you—is worth it. And once you find it, your work will only get better and better as the years go on. So, keep exploring, growing, and pushing yourself to find the path that's right for you.
Ready to level up your writing? Need help finding your niche?
As a writing coach, I will help you find your writing niche and achieve your writing goals.
Let's chat ☕
Shamila
This guide guide on how to find one's niche as a writer really helped me to narrow down my choices. Thank you!
Your article shows people how to make a decision without getting overwhelmed by all the choices. I love this: "If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, don't settle."