by haleycclark
Welcome back to Post #2 in the Series: How to Earn Passive Income with Affiliate Links as a Writer!
Last time, we talked all about niches and how to create yours.
Today we’ll be taking on the question of how you know if you’re qualified to write in your niche. Talking about qualifications may have the hair standing on the back of you neck, but have no fear.
Even if you aren’t qualified to write in your niche now, you can be in just one easy step.
Why Qualification Matters
We’ve talked before about how people tend to buy things from people they trust. Part of developing that kind of audience is choosing the right niche. Another part is making sure you are an authority on the subject.
People want to know they’re reading high-quality information that is either accurate, well-informed, or both.
Some topics, like art, can’t necessarily be accurate. Yet a niche blog about art should be written by someone who loves art, makes art, or consumes a ton of art.
Topics like sporting games or healthy living, though, should be written with some knowledge of the facts.
However, writing well-informed and/or accurate content does not mean you need an expensive degree or a fancy certificate. Want to become more qualified in your niche? Read on.
How to Become More Qualified in Your Niche
Research.
Believe it or not, becoming qualified in your niche only requires research. Research doesn’t have to be hard. Just like the research you did to create your niche, utilize free tools (like Google) to find information before pulling out your wallet.
How exactly should you go about researching your niche so you can become more qualified to write about it? Let’s take an example: our niche book blogger from last week.
A Case Study
After analyzing the results of all their niche audience research, our book blogger friend has decided to create a niche blog where they review YA Fantasy books about mermaids.
Our book blogger friend has one problem: they’ve never written a book review before, let alone read any YA Fantasy mermaid books! Right now, our book blogger friend is probably not qualified to write in their niche.
Not to fear! The internet is here! Our book blogger friend just needs to do a little research.
1.Our book blogger friend googles “how to write a a book review”
They find five reputable websites that go in depth about how to write a book review. Our book blogger friend then takes all the research and comes up with a method that fits their needs, niche audience, and personal writing style.
After a few practice reviews, our book blogger friend is ready for the next step!
2.Our book blogger friend googles “YA Fantasy mermaid books”
Should our friend buy the five most popular books? Probably. But they should also buy five mermaid books with middling reviews, five mermaid books with bad reviews, and five mermaid self-published e-books.
After reading all of them, our book blogger friend knows the tropes and trends of their genre and is ready to write the first book review for the YA Fantasy mermaid book review blog!
So that’s it!
How you can make sure you’re qualified to write in your niche and start making money off it. Tune in next week for Post #3: How to Choose a Profitable Niche. Leave a comment and let me know how you research topics in your niche.
Happy writing!
Want More?
Series Post #1: How to Create a Niche as a Writer
Series: How to Earn Passive Income with Affiliate Links as a Writer
Haley Clark | Freelance Writer 
Pingback: Series Post #3: Is Your Niche Profitable? – Haley Clark | Freelance Writer