do i need a niche

Do I need a niche? Generalizing vs. offering niche services for your freelance business

You hear it from the experts all the time: “You NEED to have a niche for your freelance business! Hone in on your niche! Stop offering generalized services!” Do I need a niche? This is a common question freelancers have! In this article, I break down whether or not you need a niche... plus exactly how to navigate the niche vs generalized services issue. Click on over to get the freelance business tips now! freelance tips ::: generalizing vs niche services ::: freelance services tips

What you might NOT be hearing, however, is why having a niche even MATTERS…

...Or about the value in offering some generalized services along with your niched ones.

Let's dive into this topic for today's blog post!

First things first: WHY do I need a niche? Why does a niche matter?

Do you want to…

  • Market your freelance business effectively?
  • Work with your ideal clients?
  • Get projects you love working on (and have a great deal of experience in)?
  • Have a targeted strategy with your business plan?
  • Get results faster with your business?

…well, guess what? If you want all of those things, then honing in on your niche is going to help you get there!

Offering niche services in your freelance business will empower you to create a much more targeted, structured, concrete, and actionable marketing strategy so that you can connect with your ideal clients and work on the exact projects that most appeal to you. If you want to get freelance clients and make money freelancing, choosing a niche will help you do that in a much more streamlined fashion.

Plus, you’ll be much more likely to be seen as an expert in your field when you offer niche services.

In that case, why should I bother offering generalized services?

When you’re starting out with your business, it’s important to have a very focused direction so that you can identify actions to take and make progress with your business.Not sure if you need a niche for your freelance biz? No problem! In this article, you'll get a break down of whether you should niche or offer generalized services... and how to do both effectively to maximize your freelance business success + profits. Click on over to find out the freelance tips now!

However, you might not ACTUALLY know what it is that you *really* want to focus on with your business!

Sure, proofreading e-books might sound like the dream right now… but there’s a very real possibility that six months from now, you’ll realize your passion is really about copy editing children’s books. NOW what do you do?

When you take on a variety of different projects, you get the opportunity to experiment with different services to see what speaks to you and what doesn’t. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself!

Generalizing your freelance services enables you to work with a broader range of clients on a more diverse spectrum of projects so that in the future, you will be able to more clearly identify exactly what you do---and DON’T---want to offer services in with your freelance business.

Grab your worksheet:

You'll find out exactly what to include on your freelance services webpage with this plug-and-play fillable template!

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So… do I need a niche or should I offer generalized services?

Well… you should do both!

Not sure if you need a niche for your freelance biz? No problem! In this article, you'll get a break down of whether you should niche or offer generalized services... and how to do both effectively to maximize your freelance business success + profits. Click on over to find out the freelance tips now!

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that. What you’ll want to do is focus on your niche as your primary offer---basically, make it what you talk about all the time, and what you are known for. Your GENERALIZED services are the fine print.

Here’s how it works: promote yourself as offering a specific, niched service on social media, at networking events, in all of your promotional materials, on your website, etc. Talk about that one thing. Become KNOWN for that one thing.

…and then, at the bottom of your freelance services webpage, add a few lines about how you are also available to do other kinds of freelancing work in your field, including but not limited to XYZ.

This ensures you won’t be pigeonholed into one specific service. You’re letting people know that if they REALLY want to work with you, but they don’t want the exact service you’re promoting, there are still ways around that. This is a great way to get more freelance clients!

And if potential clients really want to hire you for a project that’s a little outside of your niche but you’re still qualified for it and the project interests you, then why NOT go for it?

The purpose of niching is so that you can more accurately target and connect with your ideal client, position yourself as an expert in your industry, and create an AWESOME business plan and marketing strategy so as to set yourself up for a successful and profitable freelance business.

…and THAT is why you will want to have a balance of both niching your services AND being open to working on projects outside of your niche, too.

Grab your worksheet:

You'll find out exactly what to include on your freelance services webpage with this plug-and-play fillable template!

Powered by ConvertKit

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5 Comments

  1. I couldn’t pick just one niche, so I make sure my posts focus around 4 key thoughts. I’m a lifestyle blogger, so it’s a little easier to have more than one “niche.” But I’ve noticed that narrowing it down does make blogging way easier because I’m always focused on my target audience :).

    1. Lifestyle blogs are good for that! It’s nice to have the opportunity to experiment with a few different themes to see if any one particular area REALLY speaks to you, too 🙂

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