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Freelancing Stories: Niching Your Business With Copywriter Kayla Dean

9 February 2019

When I was introduced to Kayla Dean work, I was surprised by how specific she went about targeting her services. They always say niching your business down to a specific target is your best bet to stand out - and it makes sense! But how many times as entrepreneurs we've been a little bit too scared about going that far? Kayla instead is a true example of how being brave enough in business can help you grow. This is why I'm so excited to have her as guest in today's Freelancing Stories episode!

Kayla is a website copywriter working with visual creatives. But before anything she's a writer, open to explore different applications of her work to be able to live of writing only. And she was able to create a business and freelance job for herself that really ties in with her passion! Ready to hear how niching her business helped in the process?

Freelancing Stories: Niching Your Business Down To A Specific Target with Copywriter Kayla Dean
What do you do?

I’m a copywriter working with visual creatives like photographers, videographers, and designers. I’m based in Las Vegas, and my services range from website copywriting to content writing. Aside from my website, I also love writing nonfiction articles and other stories. I’ve been published in some cool places like Bustle and The Believer.


How did it all begin? When did you decide to go for it?

When I was in college, I switched majors a lot because I wanted to be a writer but was told by pretty much everyone in my life that writing wasn’t a “real” career. But finally, I made the switch to being an English major, which let me study everything from British literature to business writing. I was hooked!

During this time, I took on as many internships as possible. Most of them were editorial—I spent time writing at local magazines on people and issues in my city. But as I grew as a writer, I started expanding into other types of writing—magazine profiles, personal essays, fiction. Around the time when I published my first short story in a print anthology, I felt a bit more serious about writing. After that, I went to grad school and got my MA in English.

From there, I naturally grew into other types of writing, including social media copy and, soon after, writing websites. I found my passion helping creative women make their business ideas come to life through words. Since I’ve always been a self-proclaimed word person I love teaming up with people who are talented visually and want to pair that up with powerful words. So when it came to niching down my services, I knew visual creatives were my target clientele. It made sense to work for myself because even though I’ve had jobs before, this teaching English and shelving books at my local library besides writing, this career really clicked.


What was your biggest goal or dream when you started?

To be a writer full-time, all the time. I was worried that being a writer meant I would have to take on jobs that were largely unrelated to my field. I wanted to be an English major who used her degree to do what she went to school for. That was deeply important to me in choosing a career.

That dream quickly evolved into working for myself. Not only so I can manage my own schedule and projects but also so I could be a bookish writer person who has a fun, satisfying job that really ties in with my passions.


How was it, when you took the risk? Anything you didn’t expect?

When I first started out, I had a really general sense of my audience. I knew I wanted to work with creative people, but it wasn’t until I started getting referrals from other designers and reaching out to people that I realized visual creatives are my niche. I realized that niching your business is key and needed to be a risk I was willing to take. And that standing out from my competitors meant specifying this on my website and showing that I understand what works in the visual industries.

I don’t think I really believed everyone who said niching your business down to a specific person is fundamental. I was afraid that if I did so I would be eliminating a client base. But the opposite has been true! I’ve really enjoyed working with so many photographers because each of their businesses have a unique heart and client at the center of their experience. I love talking to people about topics like how to write your website copy with design in mind. Too often, I think, website copy is looked at as the last step after design when it can be so helpful to think about this either before your designer works on your site or before you buy a template.


Did/do you have to face adversity?

I’ve been fortunate in that my client work has been fairly consistent. However, I took on lots of odd writing jobs along the way to make this work.

Starting out, I was stressed out because I didn’t know how to keep regular working hours and stay on task. I’ve had to soul-search and find my systems to keep everything on track. Luckily, it’s getting better the longer I do this!


What’s your biggest goal for your freelance career at the moment?

To connect with people. I want to continue building relationships with other business owners! And build up my library of resources so clients and subscribers alike have lots to help them along in the process of writing their websites!


Tell us your secret! Your best tip about freelancing?

Make relationships and don’t be salesy! The best copywriting doesn’t make you feel like someone is spamming your email inbox. I know it’s scary to write about how to do your job, but people value the quality information you give. It builds your authority and shows potential clients that you’re serious and know what you’re doing. Your content can build a dialogue and help you grow with people. When you’re working online, it’s important to have those little personable touches so clients know you’re human, too.


Want to be featured in the next episode of Freelancing Stories? I'd love to hear from you! If you run a freelance business (of any kind) and would like to share your inspiring story, please feel free to get in touch! In the meanwhile use the hashtag #freelancingstories to start inspiring fellow creatives with your story of courage and creativity!

Giada Correale brand e web designer donna per business al femminile
Bonjour, hello!

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In this article:
Giada Correale brand e web designer donna per business al femminile
Bonjour, hello!

I'm Giada Correale, brand and web designer of Miel Cafè Design graphic studio. I design intentional and editorial brand identities and web designs for heartfelt women-owned businesses. 

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