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Stay on Top of Your Niche

Posted by on Nov 8, 2008 in Niche Writing

If you’re a niche writer, it’s your job to know what’s going on in your area. It’s not enough to know just the basics. If that’s the case, you’re just a generic web writer and don’t have much to offer your clients. It’s important - imperative, even - that you’re always aware of latest developments in your niche.

I’m a personal finance writer, so I’m always reading news and press releases to figure out what’s happening in the financial world. Not only that, I talk to people about what they’re experiencing with their finances. And I visit personal finance forums on a frequent basis. I even take a look at competing websites to see if they’re covering a topic I might have missed.

To get news, I’ve signed up for Google Alerts to notify me once daily about news for certain keywords. I also visit some of the top news sites like MSNBC, USA Today, US News, Newsweek, Business Week, CNN Money, and the NYTimes. Those are some examples, you might have different news sources for your niche. You could find news in your niche by doing a search for “your niche keywords+ news.”

Press releases are harder for me to find and I tend to stumble upon them. I do visit the press section for some of the service providers in my niche, like the credit bureaus and top banks. Another great source of information for me has been some of the government sites like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB).

Sometimes I find out about news quicker from visiting forums than I do from visiting news sites. It works for me. I found the forums I frequent by doing a Google search for “niche + forums.”

What do you do to stay abreast of what’s going on in your niche?

 
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Venture Outside Your Niche

Posted by on Sep 29, 2008 in Niche Writing

I’m a big proponent of having a niche speciality. Not only does make it easier to find writing jobs, it also gives you credibility for a specific area. My niches include personal finance and small business.

Just because you’ve chosen a niche doesn’t mean that’s all you can ever write on. In fact, I think it’s a good idea to write outside your niche every once in awhile.

Learn something new. I recently did a editing job dealing with converting electric motors. Not anything close to personal finance, but I learned a lot about electric motors, how they work, and how they’re better than gas motors. It’s not a topic I’d necessarily seek out, but it was very enlightening.

Freshen your writing skills. There’s something about a different topic that makes me take a closer look at my writing skills. I always come back with more words in my vocabulary, more creative ways of saying things.

Take a break from the norm. Whenever I take on a project outside my niche, I’m always happy to come back. It’s like coming back home from a vacation. The vacation was nice, but there’s nothing like home.

If you’ve chosen a niche, do you take jobs outside your niche or do you prefer to write only within your niche?

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