The Golden Pencil: The Freelance Writer’s Resource

Of Writing Specialties and Writing Clients

by Anne Wayman on February 6th, 2007

Over in our forum, there’s been some discussion of how to pick a writing specialty. (It shows up in a category about copywriting.) The advice mostly runs to finding your passion or your interests and writing about that.

I’ve recently run into another approach through the marketing class I’m taking from Mark Silver, who owns The Heart of Business. Roughly it works like this:

1. Pick two or three of your favorite clients… those you really felt good about working with.
2. Figure out what their problem was, from their point of view.
3. Notice what you did to solve their problem.

What surprised me is that although at first glance my clients seem totally different from each other, they each had an over-arching problem. In my case, each one has a dream, a new way of seeing and solving a problem.

For example, one coaching client has a YA novel about mental illness – she wants to transform how teenagers think about that issue. Another wants to change the way veterans benefits are processed and handled. Yet another has a sustainable way of milling lumber, and yet another wants to encourage people to start their own businesses.

You can see why I thought they were different… and they are. But you can also see how each one has a dream and that’s the unifying element in my business.

I help people get their dreams or vision into writing.

Now that’s a specialty I can own and market.

Write well and often,

Subscribe to Abundant Writing News

Share This

Related Stories

• Money and Marketing - 31 Days to Better Freelance Writing - Day 1
• Writers and Their Websites!
• Invoices for Freelance Writers
• Complaints About Writing Clients?
• Notifying Writing Clients About A Move

POSTED IN: Business of Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Jobs, General Freelance Writing