You probably chose your B2B writing niche for one of the following reasons:
- You had experience in that industry, and it was an easy choice.
- You “accidentally” got a client in that niche, enjoyed writing for that client, and decided it was as good a niche as any. So you went with it.
- Someone told you it was a good niche for your background and skill set.
- You thought it sounded like the niche you’d be able to get traction in the quickest and you needed the income.
Regardless of how you arrived at your current niche, at some point in your B2B writing career, you may start thinking you should switch your niche or target a new set of clients.
Maybe you’re getting bored or dissatisfied with your niche. Perhaps you picked accounting because you’ve been an accountant most of your life. And you’ve gotten some good client work out of it. But now you’re ready for a new challenge writing for the personal development industry.
Maybe the type of work you’re getting and the type of lifestyle you’d like to lead aren’t compatible in your current niche. For instance, you’re retired and wanted the extra income to do fun things… but the projects in your niche are large and take up so many hours, you don’t have time to enjoy that extra income.
Or maybe you’re trying to get traction in an industry, and you’ve been at it for a while, but it’s just not bringing in the kind of income you were expecting.
Whatever the reason, you’ve decided it’s time for a change.
It isn’t as difficult to change niches in your copy business as it would be, for instance, if you had a retail storefront.
But there are things you need to do before you can execute that niche switch.
Here are five things to think about and plan for:
1. Decide what to do with your current clients
If you’ve been working on your business for any length of time, you probably have existing clients.
Do you keep them or drop them?
Ask yourself these questions for each current client to help you decide.
- Is the client profitable? If they’re not profitable, the answer should be easy. But if they are profitable, you have to weigh their profitability with your desire to no longer write in that niche. Maybe in that scenario you take a phased approach… you keep them until you’ve gotten your income in the new niche to a place where you can afford to release them.
- Is the work you do for that client enjoyable? Again, if no, easy decision. If yes, what is the impact of keeping them on?
- Is there a strategic or tactical reason for keeping that client, at least for now? What kind of strategic or tactical reasons might apply?
- They’re a retainer client and you need the income to pay your bills.
- They’re adjacent to your “new” niche and have contacts or referral opportunities for you.
- You’re getting experience that will help you do a better job for clients in your new niche.
There’s no right or wrong answer. When I decided to focus on education and training companies, I had clients in other industries… and I still do. I enjoyed writing for those clients or they were easy, extra work that didn’t take a lot of mindshare. And I didn’t have to do any marketing to get the work because I already had it.
Before you switch niches, though, you should look at your current client load and make a decision about whether or not to keep them.
If you decide to drop them, it would be a nice gesture for you to help them find a replacement. That keeps you on good terms, reinforces your professionalism, and gives you goodwill with peers who might have work to send your way in the future.
2. Your marketing “properties” will need to be updated
Your copywriting website, your LinkedIn profile, any of your social media efforts in YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media sites need to be updated with your new niche.
Depending on how long you’ve built up content on those properties, it can be daunting to think about re-messaging them. But it’s not as difficult as it seems.
Update your headlines and services pages. As far as content is concerned, you can make an announcement that you’re also now supporting the new niche and start producing content in that space.
Don’t forget to update your samples if you post them on your website to showcase some pieces in the new niche.
Tell a story. Let your followers know your why for the new niche if it’s interesting or would be helpful for them to understand the change.
For example, if you’ve been writing in the finance space and you’ve decided to switch to or add eco-friendly businesses, you could share that you want to use your skills to help businesses that align with your values.
3. You’ll need new lead generation pieces
If you’ve been utilizing e-books, case studies, or a blog as part of your self-marketing, you’re going to need to add content in your new niche.
An e-newsletter, though, may need a bit more work… depending on what you share in that newsletter, your list may not be interested in reading about eco-friendly marketing tips, for instance.
So what do you do there?
Maybe set up a new e-newsletter to your new target market and start building that new list. Or add another section to your e-newsletter targeted to the new audience and have content on overall marketing or copywriting information that would appeal to everyone on your list.
4. Your marketing strategy and plan probably need to be tweaked
Just like you had to research your current niche to figure out what kinds of copy pieces are typically used by companies in your original niche, you’ll need to do the same for your new niche.
Do you need to update the services you promote to align with the new niche?
And where do the people who hire freelancers in your new niche hang out… are they mostly on LinkedIn? Or can you find them by joining trade associations or posting on Instagram or TikTok?
What do you need to do to reach them?
How do you talk to this niche’s target audience?
Once you figure that out, redo your marketing plan to make sure you’ve updated your daily and weekly marketing activities to align to the new niche.
5. Do you really have to break up with your old niche?
One last thing to consider: is it really necessary for you to leave your old niche completely? Or can you just add the new niche and build on what you’ve already got in place?
Even if you really dislike writing in the old niche, you may not want to scrub it from your website and background completely. You may just want to de-emphasize it, just like you would an old job you no longer hold.
Change your marketing plans to target the new niche, so you can start building your funnel there.
Yes, you may still get leads in that old niche. But is that so bad?
It gives you options.
If you need some extra income, you can take the work to fill that need. You can even charge higher rates because you’re less invested in whether or not you actually get the work.
It also allows you to keep your credibility by not looking like you’re starting over again.
You also may get a lead on something you’d really enjoy doing. You probably didn’t dislike or get bored with everything about your old niche.
And in the end, it’s always your choice about whether or not to take a project. It’s your business. If you don’t want to take a project in the old niche anymore… don’t. Maybe build a referral page on your website to help clients find another writer you’d recommend to handle their project instead.
Whether you completely pivot to a new niche, or keep a handful of valued clients in your old niche for the time being, you have the flexibility and options to shape a copywriting business that works for you and your income and lifestyle goals.
