When I committed to copywriting as a career, I made two big decisions: That I would learn what copywriting actually is and that within the world of copywriting, I would become a specialist, not a generalist. The second decision followed quickly from the first because I learnt about copywriting from The Copywriter Club Podcast and specialising is one of their most debated topics. A lot of their podcast guests weigh in on when to niche, how to niche, where to niche, pro-niching, anti-niching, whether it’s ‘niching’ or ‘nitching’ and so on (nitchers, I’m coming for you).
Like the good little copywriting sponge I was, I listened and learned (except for never changing how I pronounce ‘niche’) and set up a mental radar to scan the horizon for my niching opportunity. And secretly, even then, I busily planned how I would describe my niching journey when I too would appear on The Copywriter Club Podcast. How I would lean into the mike, push my hair back from my eyes, and say “Finding my niche? Well, that’s a story…”
And you know, that day came this year. The day of my full-circle copywriting moment when I told one of the TCC hosts about how they got me started, kept me going, encouraged and inspired me as a niched and thrived. Is it cheesy to say that I’m proud of myself?
I think copywriters talk about niching so much because it sounds simple but rarely is. I struggled with the idea of turning clients away because the paid work they offered me was no longer aligned with my goals. That’s why it was so helpful to join The Copywriter Accelerator course, which gave me the tools to go from a ‘Freelancer’ to a ‘Podcast Content Strategist (literally the evolution of my job titles on LinkedIn… 2021 me didn’t know that describing myself as a ‘Freelancer’ was not a million-dollar business plan).
On The Copywriter Accelerator, I thought about niching in a broader sense. It became more than just a label when I started asking myself questions like:
What was the bottom-line value of the services I was offering my clients?
What necessary transformation would I help them undergo?
Through the Accelerator, I designed a business that suits my life, working with clients who value me. And with time and experience, I’ve honed my processes to keep my business running smoothly.
It’s not been easy. I think every business owner out there would second that. But for copywriters in particular, with the advent of ChatGPT and other AI programmes, at times it’s felt like the copywriting’s on the wall, so to speak. And beyond copywriting, as I told Rob on the Copywriter Club Podcast, AI has hugely impacted podcasting too, so the twin foundations of my business have shifted. That’s why I’m diversifying and pivoting: I recently launched my own podcast (another blog post on that coming soon!) and I’m working on a new service to offer to podcasters alongside content repurposing. I’m not sure how they’ll turn out but I’m learning from the experience. It’s good to push yourself, especially in an industry in flux, because standing still means going backwards.
Plus these changes give me a lot of material to discuss if I’m lucky enough to be a repeat guest on The Copywriter Club Podcast.
Catch my full interview here.