The proven 4-step system to build a new niche

It's easier than you think

Author

Diana Kelly Levey
April 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

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If you’ve ever felt like your niche is overcrowded, boring you to tears or, frankly, lacking money, building a new freelance niche could be the way to improve your freelance income and add some pep to your step as you stroll over to your computer for client work.


This is the proven 4-step system I use to carve out a new niche and build credibility with freelance work I already had.

Every time I wanted to write in a new niche, I followed this same playbook. It helped me grow from “newbie” to “go-to” freelance writer that editors or content marketing managers seek out in less time than it takes to fill out another client onboarding form.


Here’s how I moved into a new niche (and did it a few times over in my career)


1. I took a course.

I didn’t wing it. I learned it circa 2009!

One instructor showed me how to spin what I already wrote into samples that fit new freelance niches.

That tip alone was worth the cost of the freelance course.

For those of you who weren’t in that classroom, the brief version is…look for themes in existing content you wrote that could be part of a new niche. (See below.)

2. I dug into my archives.

Even before I was a freelance pet writer, I found two health stories I wrote about how dogs improve your health for a general health and lifestyle client.

Those became my “starter” pet writing samples. Hey, look, I’m a pet writer! If I didn’t have those samples, I would have created them.

3. I pitched brands, outlets, and applied to jobs.

Once I had 3-4 clips?

I crafted a short intro email and pitched pet brands.

I also applied to freelance gigs in the pet/animal world and got a few assignments.

Doing this over and over again (and adding new clips to that intro email when I accrued them) was how I built up a niche as a “pet writer.”

4. I created a niche section in my portfolio.

Don’t make editors or marketing managers work to search your site for relevant experience.

I created a “Pet Writing” section in my portfolio with recent clips. That way, a brand could see what I could do—fast.


You don’t need to start over.

You just need to reframe, reuse, and repackage what you already have.

Learn some of the best niches to cross over into this year in this blog post.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reader.

Diana

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