Note: I’ve realized that I have a lot of content from many years ago that is still very relevant that gets buried in my blog. On Wednesdays I’m going to start publishing an older post that I updated. This is a post from a few years ago that I question that I still get asked all the time. 

I recently talked to a writer online who was concerned because she has unrelated niches. She thought it made marketing herself difficult. And she was worried about how it looked to clients.

This is fine. Actually, it’s more than fine. It’s actually what I recommend because this diversifies your income streams in case an industry crashes, such as the travel industry tanking in Covid.  But if they had also had niches in manufacturing and insurance, then they could have focused on those niches during that time. Yes, it would have taken some time, but not near the amount of time it takes to build a niche from scratch.

For me it also keeps me from getting bored. Yes, the majority of my niches are tech related. But I have a few outliers, such as credit cards, insurance, and mental health. I like the variety. And I like knowing that I have a lot of untapped opportunity sitting in my portfolio.

So, how does this work for marketing? The only tricky parts are your website and LinkedIn, but it’s not as hard as you think. I’ll post about how to handle that in the near future. But the main thing is that when you market yourself to clients (networking and sending LOIs), you want to present yourself as an expert in their particular niche. Your LOI must describe your experience and expertise for that specific client, and only that client. In most cases, this will mean that your LOIs for the different niches will likely be completely different.

Start with my Five(ish) Sentence LOI

If you are still using a longer LOI, I highly recommend shortening it and using a Five(ish) Sentence LOI. Every time I mention this concept, writers argue with me that they need to make it longer. But I hear from editors over and over that they want short, like five sentences. That’s why I shortened my LOI. And this is the thing – the short LOI works. I have had many, many, many writers tell me in the last six months that they have been using a version of my Five(ish) Sentence LOI and getting great results. The first step to customizing your LOI for multiple niches is to update and shorten your LOI for your main niche.

If you only take one thing away from this post, remember this:

An LOI should be a pickup line. You want to get the client interested so that they will go on a “date” with you. When you send a long LOI, you are overwhelming them with too much information and trying to have the whole first date while standing at the bar.

Here is my current Five(ish) Sentence LOI for my B2B technology niche:

Hi X,

Does your agency [or brand or association or nonprofit or university] use freelance writers?

I am a freelance technology content marketing writer specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, IoT (internet of things) and cybersecurity. My clients include IBM, Adobe, Samsung, Verizon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, AT&T, Staples and Verizon. I have also been published in Entrepreneur, Atlantic.com, Success Magazine and MSN.com.

You can see what my editors have said about me on my LinkedIn profile (include link) and I have included links to a few relevant samples.

I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working with you in the near future.

Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Customize Your LOI for Each Niche

The next step is to customize the LOI to create one for each of your main niches. Using the template above, all you have to do is customize the middle two or three sentences. The trick is to only include information relevant to that specific niche. The exception is if you have super prestigious bylines from NYT, WSJ or other publications in that league, then I would include those in the publication sentence for all niches without mentioning the topic you wrote on for those pubs.

Here are a few examples of how I customize my LOI for different niches:

Credit Cards 

I am a freelance financial content marketing writer specializing in credit cards and personal finance. In addition to working at a large accounting firm for four years, my clients include American Express, Visa, Ameriprise, Fidelity, State Farm Mutual Funds and CreditCards.com.

Insurance

I am a freelance insurance content marketing writer specializing in life insurance, home/property, car insurance, long-term care, and annuities. I have written content both for consumers and insurance agents. In addition to my experience working part-time at an insurance agency, my clients include Allstate, State Farm, Genworth, and Principal.

Hospitality Technology

I am a freelance hospitality technology content marketing writer specializing in guest room technology, booking engines, artificial intelligence, IoT, and security. In addition to being a contributing editor to Hospitality Technology magazine for two years, my clients include the hospitality verticals at Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and IBM.

Healthcare Technology

I am a freelance healthcare technology content marketing writer specializing in EHR, cybersecurity, connected health, IoT and mobility. My healthcare technology clients include IBM, Epson, Verizon, AT&T, and Commvault.

Stadium Technology

I am a freelance stadium technology writer specializing in beacons, wireless networks, apps, and signage. I have covered the stadium infrastructure for the Carolina Panthers, Super Bowl 50, and Texas A&M. My clients include Aruba Networks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and IBM Mobile.

Be sure to also include any work experience that you have in that area. For example, if I had worked in hotel in college, I would have included that in my hospitality niche as I did with my insurance niche. Your goal is so that the specific client you are targeting opens up your LOI and says, “Yes, she is a X writer and that’s exactly what I need.”

How do you customize your LOI for different niches? Any advice, questions or challenges?