Proofreading Niches: How and Why to Choose One

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Proofreading will be even more enjoyable and potentially more profitable if you eventually settle into a niche. Most proofreaders don’t decide on a niche until they’ve had some experience as a general proofreader.

It’s a good idea to continue proofreading a wide range of documents when you’re establishing a niche so you can maintain your current level of proofreading income until you’ve become well-established in your target market.

Choosing a niche depends on what you know and what kind of content you enjoy proofreading. It’s likely you already have a lot of background knowledge and experience to help you make a solid choice. The most important factor in picking a niche is following your passion.

In this post, we’ll look at the basics of choosing a niche. Then we’ll discover an effective method for selecting your perfect arena. Finally, we’ll explore why it’s beneficial to nestle into a niche in the first place.

Choosing a Proofreading Niche

Choosing a niche means marketing your proofreading services to a specific group of clients. The three main ways to niche down are as follows:

1. By targeting clients who write content about a particular subject (or within a particular industry)
2. By targeting clients who produce content in a certain format
3. By targeting clients based on a combination of subject/industry and format

You could choose to focus on one of these subjects: 

• health
• fitness
• food
• finance
• marketing
• science
• technology
• medical
• law
• transportation
• spirituality
• religion
• education
• travel

Also, you could choose to concentrate on one of these formats:

• nonfiction books
• fiction books
• children’s books
• product descriptions
• business documents
• user manuals
• magazine articles
• blog posts
• website copy
• biographies
• theses
• transcripts
• screenplays
• résumés

I think it usually makes the most sense to start niching down according to subject.

We tend to be knowledgeable about some topics based on our interests and not nearly as knowledgeable about others. By choosing a particular subject, no matter what format it comes in, you’ll be in the know with respect to what has been written.

If you niche down based on format only, you risk continually coming across subjects you’re unfamiliar with.

It’s always easier to proofread what we know and understand.

However, some niches are based on formats where the subject doesn’t make much difference.

For example, proofreading children’s books doesn’t require in-depth subject knowledge, and résumés aren’t detailed since they just hit the highlights.

Finally, I think it sometimes makes sense to niche down based on format after choosing a subject, provided it doesn’t limit you too much.

For example, if you’re a health nut and prefer to work on lengthy projects, your specialty could be health books. If you’ve been struck by wanderlust and enjoy working on shorter projects, you could choose travel blogs as your domain.

Of course, how you choose your niche is up to you.

It might take some time to tweak your niche until you’re happy with it. Also, some proofreaders focus on more than one area of interest. Just find what works for you and makes you the happiest!

How to Pick Your Perfect Proofreading Specialty

When choosing a proofreading niche, we need to consider what we know and what we’re passionate about. A simple way to dig deep and discover your domain is to consider the following questions:

1. What do you search for on Google?
2. What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
3. What kinds of books or magazines do you like to read?
4. Do people ask for your advice or help with anything in particular?
5. What work or volunteer experience do you have?
6. What courses have you taken in school or online?
7. Have you had any unique life experiences (living abroad, living with a particular condition, etc.)?
8. If money wasn’t a concern, what would be your dream job?
9. What could you talk about or write about nonstop?
10. Are you a member of any special interest groups online?
11. What do you do in your free time?

When choosing a niche, my best advice is to follow your passion, even if it doesn’t align with what you know the most about. If you’re passionate about a niche, you’ll learn a lot about it soon enough!

Why Should I Choose a Proofreading Niche?

Eliminate Some of the Competition

By choosing a niche, you’ll eliminate a lot of your competition.

Potential clients are especially interested in finding a proofreader who speaks their language.

Catering to a specific arena means you’ll be able to establish rapport with the clients in that space just by knowing and being passionate about that topic.

You’ll inspire confidence in these clients, and they’ll be more likely to select you over general proofreaders.

Your marketing strategy will also be more effective since you’re targeting a specific group of clients you know how to connect with.

Think of it this way. If you needed help with a specific medical problem, would you prefer to be treated by a primary care physician, or would you rather be referred to a specialist with comprehensive knowledge about your particular condition? 

By having a niche in which you’re steadily gaining more experience and knowledge, clients will look to you as one of the experts in that segment of the market.  

I penned a post about how to get proofreading clients if this is one of your pain points.

Earn More Money Based on Expertise

Clients are usually willing to pay more money to someone who is an expert in their field.

By focusing on a niche, you’ll continue to gain more experience and enhance your skills in a focused way. Over time, you may be able to offer additional services within your specialty due to your proficiency in that area.

For example, I started offering feedback in the spirituality niche to help my clients improve their content. Providing useful input in other areas I’m not nearly as knowledgeable about would be difficult.

Make More Money Based on Niche Alone

You can make more money if you can offer proofreading within one of the more lucrative niches.

Of course, if you have a master’s degree or a PhD, you can command a higher price to proofread documents within your field.

Some of the most profitable proofreading niches are science, technology, and medicine.

You can also charge more for particular documents, such as résumés, theses, and court transcripts. These areas are more lucrative because they involve more know-how.

In sum, the more technical a document, the more money you’ll be paid to proofread it.

I wrote an article about how to determine your rates as a proofreader. The article discusses multiple factors that influence rates, including one essential factor people frequently overlook.

However, please note that proofreading court transcripts requires specialized training because it’s quite different from proofreading other documents.

Caitlin Pyle, founder of Proofread Anywhere, was able to earn $43,000 in one year by proofreading court transcripts on a part-time basis. She attributes her success to implementing methods that made her more efficient than others in the same industry.

Her efficiency enabled her to handle a heavier workload and generate more income than the average transcript proofreader.

If you’re interested in getting into this industry, Caitlin offers a comprehensive and rigorous course called Transcript Proofreading: Theory and Practice™.

I haven’t taken this course; however, I received my proofreading training from her General Proofreading: Theory and Practice™ course, which prepared me very well for being a professional proofreader.

Networking with Other Proofreaders in Your Niche

Networking with other proofreaders, regardless of niche, is always ideal.

You’ll be able to help each other with proofreading-related questions, share knowledge of job opportunities, and provide one another with advice and support.

If you’re too busy to take on a particular job, you can pass it on to a trusted proofreader friend in your niche.

It’s a win-win deal; you’ve helped a client and a colleague.

Your client will be glad you haven’t sacrificed quality for quantity in your work, and your colleague will be thankful for the opportunity and likely to pay back the favor in the future.

Opportunity for Referrals

Clients working in a specific industry often network in the same way that proofreaders get together to share wisdom and knowledge to benefit the group.

If you’re looking for more work in your area of interest, pass the word along to your niche-specific clients.

If you’ve done a stellar job for them, they’ll probably be more than happy to pass on your name to colleagues needing your help.

Tailored Testimonials

Establishing a niche allows you to secure testimonials that speak to your expertise. When potential clients see these reviews, they’ll feel you’re familiar with their lingo and click with their content. And they’re right!

This means they’ll be more likely to hire you.

Then, you’ll do a fantastic job with their content because of your expertise. This will prompt them to leave you a terrific testimonial, persuading the next client to hire you. And the wheel of tailored testimonials continues to go round and round, helping your niche become more established with each revolution.

Top-Notch Tip: Don’t niche down too fast!

Continue to accept content outside your niche, as a general proofreader would, until you’re confident you have enough work in your chosen arena. Remember that some clients will be repeat clients, but others will have one-off projects. Even those with a blog that gets regularly updated may have a change of plans. Just be flexible.

I hope this post has helped you with the process of finding a proofreading niche and let you see the benefits of doing so.

If you’ve decided that proofreading books is your preferred niche, you may benefit from this article on Om Proofreading: “Book Proofreading Jobs from Home (How to Find Them).”

And if you think you’d enjoy proofreading scholarly documents, you may like my post “What Is Academic Proofreading?”

Finally, if you’d like to discover how to boost your proofreading prowess, no matter your niche, please check out my article “15 Guaranteed Ways to Become a Better Proofreader.”

Best wishes to you!

“The universe reveals its secrets to those that dare to follow their hearts.”

– Ralph Smart