As a freelancer should you write about anything and everything or focus on a specialist area? It’s a tricky question. Over here at FFJ HQ we have one super specialist health reporter and one who covers money, health and lifestyle.
This UnderPinned article by Louise Quick, featuring our very own Lily Canter, weighs up the pros and cons of specialising versus diversifying.
As with many things, it probably depends very much on your personality and your interests. But it is worth considering that having a niche to write about can help focus your efforts and make it easier to generate ideas.
We spoke to freelance music journalist Matt Parker about how you can go about getting into specialist writing. Matt writes for DJ Mag, Electronic Sound, Guitarist, MusicRadar and many more.
Hi Matt, you have pretty much always worked in music journalism, what is the benefit to having a niche?
It is about having a focus and there is an efficiency to it because you’re not having to reground yourself in new material every time because you are much more familiar with the topic. I always think it’s a bit easier for pitching as well because it just has to be really relevant to that audience. I do stretch that niche sometimes and pitch to other places. A niche doesn’t have to be forever but it’s a great starting point.
How do you go about finding your niche?
Think about the things that people come to you to ask about. Are you the person who always gets asked to fix someone’s computer or what’s the latest game they should be playing. That is usually a good sign that could be your specialism. What are your hobbies and interests? What are you passionate about? The other one I’ve noticed is that people are not always that good at recognising their own niche so ask your peers or tutors or if you have one, a mentor. They can help you decide what your strengths are. I have seen students who have You Tube channels with interviews and it’s all on a similar topic that they’re clearly really interested in but they haven’t spotted that.
Does having a specialism help you find ideas?
It’s not just about the news within your niche, its all the news around the world and how that provides context. I write a lot about guitars and there has been a lot of discussion in recent year about sustainability because they use a lot of rare woods in the making of them. So you need to think about how bigger issues can relate to your niche. Sometimes you get on a roll with publications as well and they will come to you, that is easier with a specialism I think.
Have you got any tips about getting your foot in the door of a specialist publication?
They will know a lot about their specialism so you need to think a bit bigger picture. In music for example I always advise to stay away from pitching interviews at first as they will have access and contacts with PR. You’d probably be better off pitching features around trends or things that don’t involve a single interview. Also don’t try to use the specialist terminology if you don’t know what it means or you’re not familiar with it. It will be more about showing awareness of the type of feature that will interest them that will get yours commissioned. Always read them and check what they have done before.
For more on this topic check out our podcast episode on Writing for specialist titles
Matt recently launched the Creative Money newsletter offering financial guidance to creative professionals. Sign up here
Triumph of the week
We had our first webinar of the year and it was so great to see everyone and get such fantastic feedback. We are doing one a month and you can sign up to any of them now (see link to book below). The next one in March is on developing ideas and pitching.
That feeling when…
A website that you have written lots for has a redesign and all your bylines disappear. Fun!
Do keep sending in your listener dilemma’s for the next series of the podcast which are are starting to record very soon. Either in our Facebook community or to freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com.
If you want to sign up to one of our £10 lunchtime webinars or find out what’s on offer click on the button below. They are running throughout the year so have a browse and grab your place
Bye for now!