Note: I just got back from a lot of traveling so I’m sharing a post that answers a question I’m asked frequently. 

I’m often asked whether generalists can land content marketing gigs and earn a high income. The answer is yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt. I know many high-income content marketing writers who are generalists.

On the surface, this may seem contradictory to my advice that you really need a narrow niche to make a lot of money. But it’s not. You can have as many niches as you want. And they don’t have to be related. But the secret is that you can’t present yourself as a generalist to potential clients. Generalists just need to be a little bit more strategic about their marketing. And if it makes you feel better, you can think of your niches as specialties.

Look for subjects that you commonly write about

I find that most writers I know who say they are generalists typically have several (if not more) specialties—it’s just that the specialties are usually unrelated. Those writers like to have the freedom to write about whatever they want without feeling locked into a niche. This is totally fine and a great way to make an income without becoming bored. Think about your work and look at your clips to find some common topics that are actually a niche. Odds are high that you can find some niches you didn’t even realize you had.

Interestingly, most writers that have a pretty defined niche for most of their work, usually have a few totally out-in-left-field topics. Most of my work is in B2B tech with a small portion in finance. But I also write about mental health issues. A technology writer friend writes about bowling for one client and roller coasters for another. I think that almost all writers fall in the big gray area between generalist and niche writer. And that’s a great thing.

Present yourself as a niche writer when you approach potential clients

Yes, I know you can probably write journalism-style articles about most topics. But businesses and content marketing agencies want to hire writers with expertise in their field. This is especially true in the B2B field, which is where most high paying gigs are found. This is even more true with content marketing agencies because they want to show their clients that they have writers with industry experience. And no, you are selling out or giving up your generalist card by highlighting specific experience. It’s just marketing yourself in a different way to help you increase your income. Check out this post for common questions about niches.

The trick is that when you approach clients, you need to present yourself as if their topic is your main niche. It doesn’t change that you can write about any topic. I am not in any way suggesting overstating your expertise or pretending to be something you are not. I’m talking about packaging up the experience you do have in a way that helps the client immediately see how you can help them. You can do this while marketing and still have the freedom to write about any topic that you want.

This means you will likely need a separate LOI for each niche. Your publications, brands and professional experience should completely reflect the niche of the potential client. Check out this post to see how I customize my LOI for multiple unrelated niches. And if you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend using my Audience First Method for brainstorming new clients.

The only real tricky part of being a true generalist in content marketing is deciding how to market yourself on your website and LinkedIn profile. And I find the best way to do it is to have a separate portfolio page for each niche. This way you can send a link to potential clients to a page with only clips related to their industry. Check out my portfolio page for an example. And for LinkedIn, I think the best method is to simply list all of your different niches. Yes, it may look odd, but because many clients search on LinkedIn for new writers, you are limiting yourself by not doing this.

I have seen many generalists make a crap ton of money as a content marketing writer. And I’ve seen many generalists struggle as content marketing writers. The key is being willing to put your generalist hat in the back room, and present the skills and experience that will help each specific client hire you.

Are you a generalist? How do you market yourself? Do you have multiple niches?