I am working on the hustle today.
I figure anyone is about five to six professional blog posts away from making some sort of income from writing. The first three are for your portfolio. These are on spec and are informative pieces for each of the niches you want to show off. Then there is a cold pitch template. Next is your contract template important for establishing the rules of the client relationship. The final piece is your very first paid work.
When I chose my niches for my portfolio I brainstormed potential subjects. About thirty potentially profitable subjects to specialize in. Having so many ideas I narrowed them down by scoring them in a spreadsheet. I used the following criteria.
The breadth of the niche
If something was obviously broad like 'science' I put a ten next to it. If it were very narrow like a particular twentieth-century philosopher I put down one. Breadth is more a gut check of how deep the subject is or how much time I will spend on an article doing research. I figure the more narrow the better as I can always learn more about tangential subjects.
The confidence in your competence
Confidence was technically what I thought up first. This was also related to research. It could be described as the amount of new research needed. If I knew nothing about a subject it would be ten and if I knew everything then one.
The interest you have in the subject
Finally, I scored each subject according to interest. If I could care less it was a ten and if I had a hot passion for it then one. An interesting subject makes for easier research and writing. I then played around with descriptions of the subjects until each was narrow, known, and interesting.
Pick your threshold
Since the total score was potentially thirty points I chose fifteen and below as my threshold. I then evaluated the results and found about half of the subjects would remain. Anything I was sad to let go I modified by finding a subcategory to specialize in. This generally reduced the breadth to squeeze the subject past the line. Clear winners emerged and I then decided how many niches I could support.
So now I present my niches:
ADHD and Mental Health
Etiquette
Charisma
Writing fiction
None of these are final. They have to be researched and their viability verified. Charisma fits nicely into a lot of content blogs that are already established. Mental Health is going to require some oversight from psychiatrists but is something I am familiar with being neurodivergent myself. I love etiquette, and it's a bit like charisma as a niche. As for the fourth subject of writing fiction, this is simply my free blog that you're reading now.
You're welcome!
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