Adventures In Freelancing

I took an online class last year on finding your writing niche, and I really learned a lot. The course was taught by Lorna Doone Brewer and Tamara Berry of BerryBrewer Freelancing Agency. Lorna and Tamara are amazing. They're freelance writers who use their strengths and their professional backgrounds to target their writing projects. Something I learned from these ladies is that you need to be innovative as a freelancer in order to consistently find work that fits you.

I wanted to point you to an article they wrote at their Freelance Parent blog at Sparkplugging. In the post, Lorna lists 67 freelance niche writing markets that you probably weren't aware of. If Lorna can think of this many viable markets, I'm sure we all can sit down and use this list as a springboard to do a little brainstorming and come up with our own list of markets that might be perfect for us.

My favorites from her list include:

• Press Kits - I've been thinking of putting together my own press kit and have started researching the subject. My favorite part about helping students with their resumes when I was a college adviser was coming up with all the ways to highlight their talents and skills. This is the fun part about writing press kits.
• Slogans - What a novel idea. I actually love thinking up creative slogans, headers, and taglines. I wrote the tagline for the online magazine, Blissfully Domestic and think I would have fun with this kind of project.
• Speeches - I took a Master's level course on speech writing and loved it! I didn't realize before taking the class just what went into writing a speech and how in demand this niche could be.
• Abstracts - This type of work appeals to me because I enjoy reading so much. I like the idea of taking a piece down to its main points in a succinct manner.

Take some time to look over the list. Which ideas appeal to you? Now consider your professional and academic background as well as your strengths, hobbies, interests, and experience. In what ways could you use your unique skills to profit from writing?

Here's my list:

• Higher Educational Publications - I've begun this process already by targeting various journals, websites, and magazines for high school and college students. I've accumulated writer's guidelines and know I can take that route to sell my writing. I'm also tossing around the idea of starting my own college blog. I've narrowed down a target population and feel there is a real need for this kind of a service. I'll let you know as my idea comes to fruition.
• Blogging for local businesses - I've already got a project in the works with the local radio station, and I'm considering approaching other businesses that might be interested in setting up a blog. What local contacts do you have? Think about joining your city's chamber of commerce. It's a great way to network for any freelancer.

This is a starting point for me. I've talked about the importance of focus, and I know I don't want to get in over my head with ideas I'll never be able to actively pursue. Did Freelance Parent's list of niche writing markets spark any ideas for you? What would you add to the list? I want to hear all about it!