A Hidden B2B Copywriting Niche
By Steve Slaunwhite

There’s a great but hidden copywriting niche for B2B copywriters. In fact, most copywriters I talk to don’t even know this market exists. It’s not surprising since this particular market isn’t well-defined.

Let me tell you a story about this market so you can understand it more clearly.

A few weeks ago, I had a copywriter contact me. She told me her goal is to write for real estate agents. Her husband is a real estate agent, she is familiar with the business.

She’s helped her husband with copy for his website and other marketing materials so she has some samples. It seemed to make sense for her to write for real estate agents.

I didn’t discourage her. There are thousands of real estate agents who spend money on marketing. Anything you can do to help a Realtor bring in new clients, get new listings, and close more deals is going to be valuable.

But then I had another thought. I said, "You know what? I actually do a lot of work for real estate agents." And in a tongue-in-cheek way, I said, "I have thousands of clients who are real estate agents. And in fact, there are probably thousands of clients out there who use my copy all the time. They use my blog posts, and website copy, and social media posts that I write for realtors."

She was stunned, "Are you kidding me? You have thousands of real estate clients?"

She was even more puzzled when I said, "No. Actually, I have never worked directly with a real estate agent. I've never had a single real estate agent as a client. And yet, thousands of Realtors use my marketing copy all the time to help attract clients and grow their business."

The “Hidden” Copywriting Niche

But then I told her what I really do. I explained that I work with clients who target Realtors. For example, I have one client who has a newsletter program they sell to real estate agents. They also have a social media program that they offer to Realtors to give them social media posts and articles for their website.

Although my copy is used by thousands of real estate agents, I'm only working for one company. I indirectly work for the real estate agents who are customers of my one client.

This is an example of an interesting niche market for B2B copywriters — working for companies that target small business entrepreneurs in very specific categories.

I also have client who offers sales training seminars to real estate agents.

So it’s an interesting arrangement because I get to help and serve a huge group of small business people. But rather than marketing my services directly to each one, I'm working for companies that target them.

I get the benefit of working for a larger business that has a bigger budget — and that can afford me. And I get the satisfaction of helping very small businesses and solo professionals with my copywriting expertise.

My clients include companies that sell to other types of small businesses as well. It’s a great niche market that a lot of people don’t think about.

Let's say, for example, you want to write for self-employed accountants or small accounting firms. That's a great market. You can write directly for self-employed accountants and accounting firms.

But one of the challenges you’re going to face is that a lot of these firms don’t have a huge marketing budget. So you'll have to get dozens and dozens of these clients in order to make a go of it.

However, if you find a company that sells marketing programs or some other product to accounting firms and write for them, you are writing for accounting firms indirectly. You’ll get the advantage of working with a larger company that has a bigger budget. And yet, you’re still serving the type of company you like.

So think about marketing to the companies or writing for the companies that market programs and products and business-building services to the small niche markets you’re thinking of targeting.

Why I Love This Hidden Niche

And by the way, there are some significant advantages to working in this market.

The first advantage, as I've already mentioned, is you’re writing for a bigger company so they'll have a bigger budget and can afford you. But you're still serving that small business market you perhaps appreciate and want to write for.

Another advantage is you don’t need a lot of clients. If I was writing for real estate agents directly, I'd need a lot of clients in order to make a go of it.

But when writing for companies that target your ideal market, you don’t need that many clients.

In fact, I only have three clients that target real estate agents. They're not my only clients. But they represent well over half my business.

So you don’t need that many clients to make a go of it, which is good for you. It requires less effort and less marketing on your part.

You can focus on doing what you love rather than constantly marketing yourself and trying to get more clients.

Another interesting advantage of writing for companies that target small business is you’re writing a lot of content because most these companies will have a very active blog. They'll be creating e-books and educational material to help promote their services to that small business niche. And who's going to write that content? Well, you might have an opportunity to write it!

So not only will you be writing all the sales copy, website copy, and emails to help promote their programs, you may also be writing all of the interesting content they use to help promote their products and services to the small business niche.

Basically, it doubles your opportunity for getting writing gigs with these types of companies.

And here's an unexpected advantage. You might actually get involved with writing the product they're selling.

For example, let's say you're working for a company that targets dentists. And this company has a template newsletter program they offer to dentists so they can send out a newsletter to their community.

You may get involved not only in writing copy and writing content, but also writing that newsletter which in essence is writing their product.

I did a whole program not too long ago for a company that offers template websites for realtors. I wrote five or six versions of websites for them, including homepages, bio pages, and service pages. The individual realtor will customize it to fit the needs of his or her business, but it gives them a place to start.

Which Companies are Good Prospects?

What kind of businesses makes the best clients for copywriters in this particular hidden niche market? I found that companies that sell to very specific small business niche markets are ideal.

For example, good prospects are companies that sell products and programs and services to dentists, professional speakers, or wedding planners. Look for a company that sells marketing programs, business-building programs, seminars, training programs, or software products to a very specific niche.

Another tip is to look for a company that offers business-building products. Companies that offer time management software, seminars and workshops, or high-level coaching services are all good prospects.

For the most opportunity, look for clients that are dedicated to the market where the market isn't just a side business.

For example, a software company that offers general time management software and then as a side business has a customized version for dentists wouldn’t be a great prospect. What you want to find are companies that are totally dedicated to a niche market because they will be the best prospects for you.

And finally, look for nonprofits and associations in a niche market you’re targeting.

For example, I worked with an association client last year who offers professional development programs, business development programs, and workshops to owners of natural health stores. That's their only niche market.

I wrote their e-books, their blog, sales copy, and much more. So there are good copywriting opportunities with associations as well as traditional companies.

Check out this hidden market for copywriters, because if you can get in with one of these companies, you’ll find plenty of lucrative work. I can tell you that from experience.

This article, A Hidden B2B Copywriting Niche was originally published by B2B Writing Success.