Becoming an Expert

I’ve heard it a thousand times, “The way to health, wealth, and happiness as a freelance writer is by finding a niche and exploiting it.”

Great. Wonderful. But what it fails to mention is that some niches are worth more than others, much more. Like the difference between big dollars and nada. Here’s the no-brainer guide to getting some traction as a freelance expert.

Stay awake.

Look and see what buyers are posting. What sort of jobs are they willing to outsource and pay for? How much are they willing to pay? Stay awake and read the postings. Check other freelance sites and follow the money. You might not yet be the right gal for those jobs, but if you aren’t seeing any requests for ‘delicate and needy poetry maven sought’, it might be time to consider other areas of writing.

The marketplace doesn’t lie. If you were selling a used car, it would behoove you to see what other, similar cars are selling for. Only reading the ads will clue you in to what’s going on.

Remember what you are selling.

What you are selling is your ability to communicate through the written word. Seriously, that’s the product you offer.

Aha! But that’s not always what buyers think they are buying. It’s too general. There probably isn’t a cookbook titled “Good things to eat”. What they think they are buying is some sort of expertise or experience in a particular type of writing or subject matter.

When I am asked, “What do you write?” I sometimes answer, “What’s your budget?”

Other than being a Zen-like response that answers both more and less than was asked, my answer is largely true. Pay me enough and I’ll write in any area at all. That aside, here’s how to become an ‘expert’.

The list.

You are already an expert in some things. Start your list with those areas that jump out at you from your past experiences and education. Hobbies are particularly easy to spot. Then, take a gander at your bookshelf. What you read is a tip-off. We are a few steps ahead if we can write in a genre or on a subject that we already read for fun.

Now, if you don’t already have five things listed, either you aren’t really trying or you’ve spent a large part of your formative years in a coma. Try not to be trapped by categories you think of as marketable. We’ll get to winnowing the list later. If you spend hours dozing in front of your television, then ‘leisure activities’ might be an expertise. As might ‘television critic’. Don’t slight yourself.

Got ten yet?

Add to your list by asking friends what subjects they would ask you for advice about. These might surprise you. Because those things we are most intimate with are sometimes the least visible (have you seen the side of your own nose lately? It’s right there, where it always is– have a look) don’t dismiss the subjects your friends bring up.

Finally, ask your family members– awaken that younger self you left in high school (or reform school… Nelson?) Remember when you were nuts about bicycling? About hemp and how it would change the world?

Got twenty on your list?

Thin to win.

Take your list and retype it. Add subject areas if they occur to you. Add sub-subjects too. Leave lots of white space for this next step.

Generate a few keywords. Try to make them specific enough so that you aren’t deluged with spurious results when you search for these terms. Search at overture.com and Google (both regular and blog) to find out which of your subject areas are worth pursuing.

Thin your list to those subject areas that seem to have a large amount of interest.

While you were searching, you probably ran across other, related stuff that piqued your interest. These are areas you might want to learn more about and gain some expertise in. Note them for later.

How to use your list.

Your profile at oDesk should reflect one or more areas of expertise from your list. Your profile at other online freelance sites should reflect others. Divide the overall marketplace to conquer. You aren’t locked into any permanent profile at any site you where you look for work. If you are an expert at ‘health and herbalism’ on Guru.com, you can be an expert on ‘parenting’ at oDesk at the same time. There are enough freelance broker sites out there that you can fish with different baits for a month or two at each.

Oh, and raise your prices. Now that you are being specific and an expert, you should reflect this in the amounts you charge.

To e-book or not to e-book.

Look at your list again. Which topics jump out at you as useful e-book subjects? Which do you really dig? If there are one or two that seem to be calling your name and intruding on your thoughts, those are the children who may grow up into an e-book.

Not sure? Try starting a blog for one or more of your subject areas. Either a blog or an e-book or both will give you loads of credibility in your area of expertise.

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