In today's competitive freelance marketplace, having a specific service offering you are best known for is invaluable. Why? It’s “sticky.” People don’t have much brain space for remembering things, so you need to make it EASY.

So…how do you become the go-to person for a particular service offering, and why is it necessary that you do? Let's find out.

Why become the go-to freelance writer within a niche?

When you specialize in a niche, your services are “stickier” (AKA easier to remember.) People remember you as THE person who does case studies or…even better…the person who does case studies for financial software. Clients feel confident about working with you when they see you have referrals and testimonials for this specific kind of work. They start seeing you as the obvious go-to person for the job.

“If you can find your niche, you become more memorable. You’re then more likely to be referred to clients needing that kind of work.”

One thing to remember is that you don’t have to start your freelance writing journey as a specialist. The last thing you want to do is create an offering that isn’t in demand. Build your offering based on your experiences with clients and understanding what they need over time.

“It’s okay to start freelancing as a generalist and narrow down as you go. You don't need to pull your specialty out of a hat.”

What works and what doesn’t

Look for a need gap: a corner of the market you can occupy.

A popular freelance writer we know, for example, does comedic copywriting in an ecommerce setting. From website copy to social posts, she adopts a humor-based approach in her writing—and she’s really good at it. As a former comedian, she has a foundation of comedic knowledge she can pull from when offering this service to her clients. She has cornered this market and has become known for it.

Avoid offering fifteen or more services on your website. Offering too much is a huge red flag to potential clients, and unfortunately, many new freelancers fall into this trap. It makes you look like a jack of all trades and a master of none.

Writers starting out should position themselves as able to offer a few different services. If the client wants something else and doesn't know another writer, you can still choose to take on their project.

How do you know which freelance writing clients to target?

When cold pitching and doing outreach, you need to gauge which clients need the specific services you bring to the table and have the budget to invest in them.

Research. A Google search can reveal how many employees a brand has, and with the right search terms and questions, you can find out their annual budget and what they’re willing to spend monthly. This data can help gauge their interest and availability when working with you. Otherwise, you'll be wasting a lot of time with it leading nowhere—and that can get frustrating, especially when you're getting started.

Connect with other freelancer writers in your field. Identify freelancers in your space and check if they can offer you guidance, an apprenticeship, or work with them as a subcontractor. Subcontracting is a great way to build a pool of contacts you can tap into in the future.

Experiment with projects. Sometimes you stumble into a service offering you didn't know you wanted to offer by taking on a random project. You can find what you want to be known for when you least expect it, and then target the right clients in that space.

Don’t force your specialty but discover it along the way. Ask yourself:

What do I like?
What field is the most lucrative?
What do companies think about this service?

Trial and error is the name of the game

Becoming the go-to freelance writer for a niche is tricky, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Experiment with a few specialty areas and figure out what you're good at and what you like.

Once you know what you don't like, rule those things out. In today's connected world, as a go-to freelance writer known for a specific offering, you can get oodles of referrals from anywhere and at any time. But to do that, you need to know where you want to stand within the landscape of offerings.

Without that trial and error period, it can be difficult to figure out where you want to lean in and focus your work. It's an ongoing process. Multiple avenues can lead you to something really special—and that's the magic of freelancing.

How to become the go-to freelance writer for a specific offering