6 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Have a Niche Blog

Raj Dash |
Freelance Writing
| September 25th 2008

You’ve possibly read countless times that businesses with an online presence can benefit from having a blog. Of course, freelancing is a business, and a blog is likewise valuable to you, regardless of what you freelance in. Here are some reasons having a niche-focused blog can help your business. The tips are geared towards freelance writers, but much of what’s here can be applied for other types of freelance work.

Puts a face on an unknown.
Pardon the pun, but let’s face it, we’re human, we’re sociable. That translates simply into: clients like to know who they are doing business with. The Internet might make it easier for freelancers to find work, but it also provides the opportunity to show you’re a real person and not a team of troll slaves banging out words for cigarettes and packs of peanuts. At least have a website with a photo and some relevant information about your work and clients.
Provides readily available samples.
Whether you bid on “freelance exchange” sites or have your own client list, new clients will usually want to see samples. Much of my own work when I started freelancing was ghost-written. My clients did not always want me to link to those articles. That means, to have samples for a given niche, I had to write my own fresh content and publish that on one of my blogs. While what you write on your niche blog does not have to be perfect, just make sure the posts are not your “castoffs.”
Is a great way to hone your writing skills.
William Zinsser, in his book On Writing Well, quoted another American author in saying that your first million words are not important (paraphrased). It’s after that first million, he said, that you are able to communicate more effectively. Of course you’re freelancing, not writing a great novel. However, writing regularly continuously improves your skills. Better writing skills translates into happier clients and, usually, more work. Simple as that.
Keeps your topical knowledge in check.
Maybe you do a 30-60 minutes of “research” every morning, to check out some relevant websites in your niche. Even if you forego research one day and just reflect in writing about something you know in your niche, you are improving your knowledge of that topic. Teaching someone about a topic solidifies your knowlege even further, so writing “how to” pieces from time to time, on your own blog, is a valuable exercise.
Is a potential source of leads.
The majority of the freelance writing gigs that I’ve received since late 2005 has been as a result of writing for one site, Performancing.com, both as a guest and as a paid writer. Later, when I set up my personal site, I started generating leads there as well. (Though because I’m a hypocrite and have not kept my site updated until this month, leads trailed off.)
Provides a home base to build your brand.
Having an online brand gives you an edge over freelancers who do not follow suit. When I started freelancing blogging, I had a writing style that many of my colleagues and clients liked, and that’s what they paid for. (On the downside, I couldn’t outsource most of my work.) If you build your own brand for a specific niche, it may also very likely lead to a future career path, including ebooks, workshops, lectures and more.