As a freelance writer, you may feel compelled to write about any topic under the sun in order to get work or have enough material. You are not alone in this thought process.  I have to admit, I have been doing this for a long time, and only recently changed that strategy. But the truth is it just leads to having to spend more and more time researching each topic, wearing you thin. You also become a generalist.

As a generalist writer, you are competing with thousands of other writers. Places like eLance and oDesk are prime breeding grounds for clients looking for generalist writers. On the cheap. You may be a better writer than most of them, but you simply don’t stand out. One way to position yourself as a more competitive writer is to choose a niche.

Why Niche Writing Works

When you choose to write in a niche, you are presenting yourself as a specialist. What is so special about a specialist? Specialists are perceived as experts. Writers who focus on a niche tend to spend all their time, energy and attention researching and writing about their industry. To a potential prospect, this specialization matters.

It is a very simple concept when you compare it to anything you purchase as a consumer. When you want your dishwasher fixed, you call a plumber, not a general contractor.  If you are interested in buying commercial property, you would hire a real estate agent who specializes in commercial properties, not luxury homes.

There are hundreds of examples like these. The bottom line is for most large purchases, you would simply trust the specialists a bit more.  They know their stuff.

I understand this is not always the case. For certain items, you probably buy them at a super discount store. Think about why you do this. Besides saving time, you save money. Right? For shampoo and toilet paper, you are just looking for the best price. But these are not specialty items.

However, even at this level, people are still willing to spend more money on quality, right? Let’s take shampoo as an example. When consumers are looking to splurge, they still buy from a specialist, a salon quality product – Nexus, Paul Mitchell, Rusk, Sebastian, Redken.

In the writing world, many of these ideas also apply. As a generalist, you will attract many of the low-paying “budget” shoppers. For those who have a professional business and truly understand the importance of quality writing, they are willing to pay more for a writer who “knows” their business.

Your clients want to know that you specialize in their needs. Choosing a niche helps you build your business. It helps establish trust and credibility. Additionally, it makes it easier to justify higher fees.

Choosing a Niche

As a writer you basically have two choices. You can specialize in the type of content OR you can specialize in a specific industry. Alternatively, you can specialize in both. Here are a few examples.

• Content Type: Newsletters, eBooks, Sales Copy, Email Marketing, Brochures, Blog Posts
• Industry: Travel, Home Improvement, Real Estate, Financial, Business, Technical Writing
• Combination of Both: Financial Newsletters, Travel Brochures, Real Estates eBooks

How do you choose a niche?

• Your passions and interests
• Your knowledge and expertise
• Your experiences

First, decide what you want to do.  If you are not interested in the topic, it will be much more difficult to maintain your writing motivation. Maybe you prefer writing shorter pieces like articles and blog posts. Maybe you enjoy the process of crafting a catchy sales letter. Do what you enjoy!

Evaluate Supply and Demand

Evaluate both supply and demand. Ask yourself if there is a demand for that niche. Take a look at your competition and the market for your niche. If you are going to specialize in something, it is important that people are looking for content in that niche. It is also critical to examine your competition.

Do your research. One of my favorite tools to find targeted keywords is Market Samurai. I use it every time I create online writing products. It provides you with quick stats on competition, traffic, monetary value, and much more about specific keywords.

Try to go for a niche not over saturated in the market. You can still compete in a high supply niche, you will just have to market yourself more and focus on your Unique Selling Point (USP).

Many writers avoid choosing a niche. You may have these thoughts. Maybe you don’t want to feel pigeonholed or restricted.  Or miss job opportunities, pick the wrong niche, or burn out writing about one topic. All of these are valid concerns. However, just because you choose a niche doesn’t mean you will never be able to write on other topics. Of course you can!

But you should stay within the realm of the niche for your blog posts.  If you have a blog on dog training, writing a post on refurbishing cars will probably not be appropriate, nor will your readers care. But, be yourself and ALWAYS remember your audience, and what they might be interested in!

Choosing a niche simply helps you market your writing business more effectively. It helps you position your services and profit. Choosing a writing niche doesn’t limit your business, it elevates it.

I know there will be a handful of you who will disagree with the subject of this post, but hear me out.  First, let me clarify the word “niche” for purposes of this blog post.  When I say niche, I don’t mean the large topic areas like blogging or health and fitness.  I am referring to the micro niche blogs that are focused on a narrow subtopic like “Pink Handbags” or “Small Car Accessories.”

Blog Fail (courtesy of Mark Ordonez)

Second, let me explain the word “fail.”

A failed blog does not get consistent traffic for an extended period of time. A failed blog no longer has updated content. A failed blog has no regular readers or comments. A failed blog has a high bounce rate – meaning people come and go as quickly as they can find the ‘Back’ button on their browser.  A failed blog gets lost in Expired Domain Name Land.

You get my point.

Look at the Top Websites

Websites like Google, Facebook, youTube, and Wikipedia are the top ranking websites in today’s Internet world.  With the exception of maybe GoDaddy.com and The Weather Channel, there are no niche sites in the top 100 top sites.

I understand that this does not indicate that there are no successful niche sites.  There are always exceptions to every rule, and this is no exception. (confused?)

Okay, what I mean by that is YES, there are successful sites out there that do not meet any of my failure definitions, but on a grand scale, this is a small minority.  There are also successful niche bloggers that make decent money from their niche sites. Most likely, these bloggers have multiple sites that bring in money or they are very proactive and smart about SEO and marketing.  They also spend a lot of time backlinking, writing content, etc.

Now, that I have clarified the terms in this blog post, let’s move on to why I believe niche blogs fail.

1. Not enough prior research was completed.

There are so many sales pitches and ebooks on the market related to niche marketing, it is no surprise that people jump on the niche blog bandwagon.  People often jump in head first without taking the time to do the proper research ahead of time.  This includes keyword research, target market analysis, content availability, if the topic is evergreen, niche and topic competition, and more.  Mostly, the blog owner goes forward without a long-term business plan.

2. The niche is too narrow and blog owner runs out of content.

Some affiliate marketers sweet talk their way into convincing potential niche blog owners that the more narrow the topic, the better.  Less competition, easy to rank, etc.  This may be true, but eventually there will be nothing left to discuss about small dog sweaters or iPhones for teens.

There may be a decent amount of searches every month for your niche, but you will eventually run out of things to say.  Another reason for failure is a blog owner may create TOO many niche blogs to manage and then he gets burnt out!

3. The blog owner is bored with the topic.

Even if there is a lot of info for content, the blog owner may simply get burnt out on the niche.  Without the room for creative expansion that is easier on a larger topic blog, a small niche can get boring to write about.  Once boredom kicks in, it can be quite a chore to stay on top of the blog.  Eventually, the blog is no longer updated and joins the large accumulation of abandoned blogs.

4. The  topic is no longer relevant or has a small target audience.

A topic may have a lot of content potential and be exciting to discuss, but it is so 2006.  Think about technology blogs and how difficult it can be to stay on top of the latest trends.  While CNET does very well, it covers a broad range of tech products and stays current on its reviews.  If you focus in on a topic that may be irrelevant or only have a small group of dedicated followers, your entire blog will no longer be interesting or successful.

5. The blog owners skip the marketing part.

Even if the niche is fantastic, and the blog is filled with quality and relevant content, it will not get traffic on its own.  Many blog owners fail to market their blog.  They instead buy a bunch of cheap backlinks and think the blog will instantly rise to the top of search engines.  If it was this easy, everyone would have a successful blog, niche or not.

It takes marketing, and smart marketing.  This takes time and work.  Many people fall short here.  But, just like a brick and mortar business, you have to market your website.  No matter how great it is, if no one visits, none of that matters.

Lastly, as a bonus tip – quality content is key!  Many niche blogs fail because they are using crappy PLR content or duplicate content from an article directory to fill their blog.  A successful niche blog will have relevant and quality content that pleases not only the reader, but the search engines as well.

While niche blogs may be wildly successful for a short period of time, it is hard to keep that momentum going when the blog has little room for expansion.  For long term success, consider some of the niche blog failures above and ask yourself if your niche topic could also risk falling into the failed blog category.

In the style of Sarah Palin, ‘You betcha!’

When I first started blogging, I had no idea about keywords, Google Analytics, or PageRank.  I barely knew how to spell SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Now, I know a little bit better.  But, only a little.

Not Another Blog Post on Search Engine Optimization!

Well, yes and no.

I am not going to pound in the importance of having your site “optimized” for the search engines.  That is really not my expertise.  I do know a bit about SEO and keywords, but I am NOT a guru.  Besides, you can find more detailed information elsewhere in my blog and all over the internet.

THIS post is about keywords.  Keywords are a part of SEO, but there is so much I did not know about how to use keywords until fairly recently.

Who DOESN’T Offer a ‘Get Rich Quick’ Product for only $37?

These days, EVERYONE had some sort of magic pill or product to help you make your fortune using the Internet.  This formula is usually in the form of a eBook.

How can you possibly sift through all of it and know what is quality and what is just plain crap, or worse a complete scam??  Most of the reviews of these products are from affiliates themselves! The World Wide Web is FLOODED with affiliate marketing and how to get traffic, etc. Some of these schemes claim you will make $112,279 a month without ANY work! Really?!?

Ok, it is exhausting reading through piles of bullshit to know whether something is worth the $37.

So, are any of these helpful?  Absolutely, some of the ebooks out there are really helpful.  Some of the paid ebooks and websites offer great and legitimate material to help you succeed. Much of the good info is actually out there for free or in forums.

So, what about keywords?

The Keyword Academy is the BOMB!

The Keyword Academy, or TKA, is a site I highly encourage for anyone with a website. I discovered this website a few weeks ago. And I absolutely love it!  The information is plentiful and helpful.  I learned a lot about the importance of keywords, how it plays into traffic, how you can choose the best keywords, and more. There is no eBook though. Sorry.

TKA is run by Court and Mark, who have both been involved in internet marketing since 2004, teaching methods on  CourtneyTuttle.com.  In late 2008 they launched The Keyword Academy to teach niche Search Engine Optimization as a method of creating income on the internet. A large part of creating niche sites (or any site) is the keywords used on the pages.

The site includes tutorial videos, a members forum, link building tools, webinars, and a cool niche refinery tool!

The best thing is the first 30 days of membership is FREE.  Yep, FREE.  After that is is only $29 a month or $33 for a premium membership. If you do not love it, you can cancel after the first month.  You will get your 100 pennies worth – I swear!  After that, you can continue your membership each month.

After going through some of the core videos and the forum, I discovered a whole new side of this ‘keyword’ concept that has been flowing around the internet.

Court and Mark put a lot of time into the tutorials, and the forums basically run themselves, just like any other forum.

Give it a try – it is free!

To answer the question – Yes, keywords are important.  TKA will show you how.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Gary Kohler.  Please read more about Gary in the post footer.

If you look at your website’s competition you’ll likely see two different types:

1)    The Lazy Webmaster

2)    The Hard Working Webmaster

If you’re lucky, your competition will be made up of mostly lazy developers that don’t put much time or effort into their websites. Spotting niches like this is an art form and can save you a lot of time and energy. Choosing a sub-niche of a popular topic is also a great way to become the top resource on that sub niche.

If you have lazy competition then there are few steps you can take to beat them in no time. The following list explains how.

Be in it for the long haul

A lazy developer will set up a site, promote it for a few weeks, and then go do something else. (Like watch television). You should only be so lucky.

If you keep working hard on your website you’ll overtake your competition in rankings, links, visitors, design, content, and profits! Depending on the niche you’ve decided to take on this could take you a few weeks or it could take you a few years. The key is to be persistent!

Make a website about something you’re interested in

This plays into the previous suggestion in that, if you are interested in a topic, you’ll likely want to write about it and discuss it for a long time.

It will also help because you can become an expert on that topic and surpass your lazy competitor by continually adding great content to your website. They’ll be picking their nose while you pass them by in the rankings.

Spend more money then them

Chances are your lazy competitor is also cheap.

Unless you’re good at everything its probably time to spend some money on your website. Spending a few dollars can save you a lot of time and money and help you build your site faster.

If you’re not the best designer than outsource your design and focus on things that you’re good at. If you’re good at design then focus on that and pay others to do the bulk of the writing.

Some webmasters are notoriously cheap so if you spend a few dollars on the right things, your site can look way better, have better features, and make you a lot more money in the long run. Your lazy competition wont be able to keep up.

Create a lot more content

Searchers and search engines love content:

• If you have a blog then you need to write more than your competitor.
• If you have a video site then you need to post more videos than them.
• If you have a forum then you need to be more active than them on the forum.

It’s that’s simple. Keep learning and working on your site and in no time you’ll be the top site in your niche. Don’t get comfortable at the top because if you’re not putting in the work, then you’ll become the lazy competition to someone else.

There are endless opportunities to find freelance writing gigs.  If you just do a Google search, you will find all kinds of links to writing jobs. They may not all be good opportunities or many not even legitimate. There are great websites that have information and include compiled links to writing jobs. Two of the sites I enjoy looking at for information is The Freelance Writing Jobs Network and About Freelance Writing.

Currently, I have 20 articles on Suite 101 and have not written one in almost a year.  My goal is to get back into writing for that website because it is a great site with lots of opportunity AND I can stick with one niche: travel.

SMART Goals

This goal is very specific and states exactly what I plan to do to accomplish this goal. The thing is that  these type of specific goals, while it fits the SMART model, cause the most pressure.  There is no out.  Maybe I need the pressure to prevent me from slacking.  Maybe.  Either way, since this goal is so specific, I decided to be a little conservative in the ‘M’ and ‘T’ part of SMART.

Truthfully, I would like to have about 50 articles done by the end of the year.  But, 30 seemed more reasonable since Suite is more particular on their articles.

Aim High (Or Somewhere Within Reach)

Aiming high works for some people, for others it may be better to aim low or at least aim at a target that is within your reach without over exerting yourself.

The point is to find a goal that is reasonable and achievable… sound familiar?  SMART goals!! Sure it would be nice to have a goal of 50 articles a week.  But, is that realistic?  You do not want to set yourself up for failure.  This will only lead to disappointment!

Find Your Niche

When I began freelance writing, I started with a few different sites and over time lost interest in some of those sites. There are so many subjects and topics to write about, it was difficult to decide. There may be a high demand for a topic that seems to be high earning, but you know nothing about,  You will struggle with this niche and be frustrated and tempted to give up.

But what I have learned is this: write about what you enjoy or at least know a lot about. Find an area or two and stick with it.  Otherwise, you will spread yourself thin and get bored.  Travel articles are my passion.  At some point, I would love to JUST write about travel… my niche.

I once had to write a single (only one) article for a freelance gig on “handicapping” related to horse betting. Yep, I didn’t even know what that meant!  Well, I will tell you what it is NOT — horses with some sort of injury or ailment. If you choose that as a niche for some reason, you better have a passion for it.  Don’t get me wrong, I learned that some people DO have a passion for it.

Bottom line is this. Look for freelance writing jobs that you can reasonable accomplish, that are worth your time, and most of all that you enjoy writing. Find your niche and stick to it!

I have read dozens of ‘blog tips’ in articles from multiple well-known bloggers and some not so well-known. One of the most common tips or suggestions in getting more readers is to provide a blog that targets a specific topic, or a niche. A niche refers to a tightly focused blog on a specific subject. This philosophy is everywhere.

First of all, I don’t have a niche. I am not trying to sell a product, only my words. I have always wanted this blog to be a mental dump and not a place to drum up multiple ideas on the same tightly focused topic. I wanted it to be a hub or home base, if you will, for all my other writing. I also wanted to maintain flexibility. So, how could I possibly come up with a niche?

Second, it always seemed counter intuitive to me that having a niche would generate a wider audience. It didn’t make sense that having a narrowly targeted audience would create a large following.

After reading Leo Babauta’s Write to Done’s latest post, I felt a sigh of relief. First, I want to mention here that he also has a very successful blog, called Zen Habits which is a huge help to me because there is no real true niche, yet his posts are inspirational. His latest post addresses the idea that it is possible to have a successful blog without having a niche.

I know there are other bloggers that must feel this same way who find it frustrating to attempt to manufacture a niche among the endless number of blogs in cyberspace. I am not implying a blog should not have any focus. While a blog should not be random haphazard thoughts, it should appeal to a a wide range of people.

So, yes, my blog has a broad focus on my thoughts and inspirations surrounding writing and my goal is to appeal to writers of all niches: freelance, blogs, fiction, editorial, etc. This is exactly how I want my blog to be and now I know it is possible.

I think if you can create a blog filled with something you are passionate about, you will get readers. I do not have a large following yet, but I am hoping to get there just by writing from my heart. Maybe my niche is just me.

I recently updated my blog with a new template and a new domain name. Trying to decide on a domain name for my blog was not an easy task and I am sure many bloggers or website owners are faced with this at some point. Since I went through this process myself, I decided to write an eHow article on this subject.

After writing the article, I thought about what information would be most valuable to someone who wanted to create a domain name for a website. While a ‘how-to’ format was helpful for the basics, I thought a blog post about this subject would allow me to elaborate.

Most people are aware of places like GoDaddy.com to register a domain name. That is the easy part. Coming up with a domain name is the more challenging part of the process. There are many domain generators on the Internet that I was not even aware of before I began my process. I decided to pass on the information to others, focusing specifically on the domain name generators websites. Here are 13 websites to explore.

Nameboy.com – This popular website allows you to put in one or two keywords that you want in your domain and which will generate various titles based on those keywords. There are two options you can check, inclusion of a hyphen or rhyme in the name. The results will tell you if the sites are available to use.

NameTumbler.com – NameTumbler is a site provided by WhyPark.com that gives you the opportunity to search by extensions, keyword placement, names with or without hyphens, and a selection of categories that will be combined with your keyword. If you find a name you like, you can register it from the site.

Dot-o-Mator.com – By entering a prefix and a suffix, you will get a name that combines the keywords you entered and then allows you to check availability. The site enables you to pick prefixes and suffixes by categories. A random name generator will generate Web 2.0 site names to check.

Domai.nr – This site enables you to pick non-.com names that are unique or have other country extensions. When you type in a name, it will show the possibilities of extensions including common extensions (.com, .net) or country extensions like .au and .jp or second-level domain like co.uk or net.au

BustAName.com – This is a feature-packed site that includes a “List of Words” that will enable you to view words similar to the ones you typed to generate more ideas. There are also various check boxes including hyphens, extensions, and two or three word combinations. The cool thing about BustAName is it allows you to save your searches for a later time.

MakeWords.com – MakeWords provides a language option for generating a name. Other options include typing in a value for the minimum and maximum length and a prefix and a suffix. The site will also inform you if the domain name is available and if so, it provides a link to GoDaddy.com.

Domain-generator.net – The Domain Name Combination Checker gives users an option to enter up to five keywords which will generate a two word combination. The idea is based on keyword generation for search engine optimization. You can also check the different common extensions.

StuckDomains.com – This website is utilized to check for unused or expired domain names. The site allows you to type in a name using 16 different options to check off including extensions, hyphen, inclusion of numbers, name length, and where the keyword is placed in the name.

NameDroppers.com – NameDroppers gives users the capability to perform searches using multiple keywords. It enables you to find a domain name in a variety of common extensions, using the exact order or any order.

Whoix.com – This is a one stop shop for domain name searches. The capabilities include domain name search, registration, and trading. The search options enables you to search for a specific domain name or search using a keyword. You can also enter up to 35 domain names to verify availability.

DomainTyper.com – At DomainTyper, you do just that – as you start typing, the names will appear and display a green box if available and red if the name is taken. The extensions .com, .net, and .org are shown, but you can add any extension you want to the search.

SnapItNow.com – SnapItNow is a a basic keyword search that generates names by choosing options such as hyphen inclusion, flip-flopping the keywords, and choosing by category. You can click to search the .com, .net, and .org extensions.

dyyo.com – This is a unique place to search as it only produces 4 letter domain names, which are hard to find. To complete a search, you basically tell the site which letters you want in the name. The site also gives a list of recently dropped 4 letter domain names.

This is a great start to generate ideas for domain names. Hopefully, it provides helpful resources that help you find that perfect domain name for your blog or website!

When I began writing my name as a preschooler, I had no idea how much a part of my life writing would become. Taking a crayon from a choice of 120 crayons and spelling out my name was just the beginning. How far I have come since those days of taking out a blank piece of paper and choosing from a box filled with writing tools that had names like Burnt Sienna or Periwinkle. How far we all have come in this day of technology.

With social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Digg, writing has become a social phenomenon. The simple phrases and Tweets you send can be seen by hundreds, if not thousands of people. That is only the beginning. On these sites, you can pass on the writing of others by clicking “digg this” or “add to Facebook”. On Twitter, one can input short sentences or phrases, restricted by a 140 character limit, answering the question, “what are you doing?”

In addition to those that write, there are those that are writers.

By this I mean individuals that write professionally online. One way people participate in freelance writing is by maintaining a blog. There are thousands and thousands of blogs out on the World Wide Web that people have created to write about any subject they chose, any time of day. Blogs do not have editors and are a perfect exercise of the first amendment, along with the spread of information overload.

Writing now requires more than the simple tools of a piece if paper and a pen. It has become more complex with the addition of computers and the Internet. It has also opened up opportunities for creative geniuses to share their work with millions of people on a daily basis, even while they sleep.

However, along with this easy access of information comes competition. It is no longer about who wrote the best essay in your 2nd grade class, which will be posted on the wall for all to see. Now, the writing competition is bigger than that, much bigger. For those that want traffic to their blog, maybe this means they have to write something damn good or extraordinary to entice readers. Not only that, but have great means of marketing this writing to get people to come back and read more. So, then there comes the graphic design and a user-friendly blog.

Yes, not only do you have to keep up with the content on a fairly regular basis, but maintain an aesthetically pleasing designed blog. This just keeps getting more and more difficult, huh? I have recently decided to take the following steps to make my blog more marketable.

• I have changed the name, including my own domain that I now own (no more blogspot).

• I have changed the template to stand out a little bit more than the standard templates you can initially choose.

• Next, I will focus on the content and creating a niche that all my readers will love.

These are just a few of the recommended steps from some of the successful bloggers. It is a work in progress. Yes, all of this is a lot more involved than pre-internet and pre-social media writing. So now I’m taking the next step as a writer in the age of technology.

Anyone want to color?

Crayon Photo: Bookgrl, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookgrl/

New plan. The new plan is to change the format of this blog. Well, maybe not the format, but the material and direction. I started this blog a couple years ago and the intention has changed a couple times. But, in today’s blogging world and with all the blogs out there, I once again have decided to change the direction. Recently, I have found my writing groove again. Somehow, I lost it. So, I have been writing here more regularly and I am advertising this site in more places. And torturing my friends on Facebook and mySpace – “PLEASE come to my site”.

The intent is to have this blog to be more useful and offer tips on travel and fitness and education – three areas of my life I feel I can offer advice. Oh, there will still be random thoughts, because I think everyone has random thoughts and why not share that? However, I want this to be a blog not just for friends and family, but for me. (And the whole world.) By that, I mean this is my place for me to write. It is not a place for pictures or to have idle chat about my weekend. I can offer more than that. I want direction. I do not know what that direction will be right now, but I am working on it. I have always dreamed of writing professionally (meaning for money). That always seemed a pipe dream or unrealistic. But, I am learning you make your life what you want it to be.

There is no predicting the future, so why continue to let life pass you by? Why continually fall back on the phrase, “there is always tomorrow” or “someday I will do that”? Do it now! Just start small. Baby steps. Taking the first step is always the hardest. A blog leads to an article and the article leads to publication and then…. well, maybe a chapter in a book will start to form. I have had some inspiration in my life recently and some of those people have accomplished great things and it is because they made it their priority. So, while this blog will still be casual (a place I can write in first OR second person), I will be adding more value to it in the future. I will also try to keep the sense of humor apparent in most of my posts. It may take some time to change direction, but that is my plan. And a plan has to start somewhere, right? Baby steps.