What's Your Special(ty)? How Hardee's Thickburgers & Narrow Focus Can Help You Make More Money as a Writer

Photo by Chiara Marra

I recently bought a Jalapeno Thickburger from Hardee's, and as I was eating that spicy monstrosity, I started reading (as writers are wont to do) the copy on the Hardee's bag. It contained a valuable lesson for aspiring writers.

Entitled, "The Thickburger™ Story," and penned by Andy Puzder, president of Hardee's, it explains how Hardee's sought to reposition itself in the fast-food market by moving back to specialization.

Puzder writes:

"Fellow Burger Lovers,

A few years ago when I became president of Hardee's Restaurants, we were selling so many things that we had truly become a 'Jack of all trades and a master of none'....

The chain needed to become known for doing something really well again….I challenged my menu development folks to come up with a new line of burgers that would make people say, 'Wow! I can't believe I can get burgers that good at a fast-food place.' And they did. They came up with thick 1/3-, 1/2-, and 2/3-pound burgers, every one charbroiled-to-order and made with 100% Angus beef. They made the buns heavier and a little sweeter, and then they buttered and grilled them like you'd find at great burger joints. They used sliced red onions, which no other chain was doing at the time, and they even used better pickles. And, they called them 'Thickburgers.'"

Hardee's plan has worked out well. I don't know the sales numbers, but I do know the general perception of most of my fellow burger-eaters--when we want a real, large, filling, flavorful burger, we head to Hardee's. It costs a little more than McDonald's or Burger King, but Hardee's Thickburgers are definitely better. Before the introduction of Thickburgers, I didn't have nearly as much interest in eating at Hardee's. Now, whenever I think of Hardee's, I think of Thickburgers, and whenever I think of top-notch burgers, I think of Hardee's.

What's on Your Menu?

So…how does this help you as a writer? Simple. You will probably make more money if you specialize in a segment of the writing industry and become known as an expert in it. Many writers just want to make money with their writing skills and thus try to write whatever they can find that will pay them money. They might write marketing copy for a brochure one day, an opinion piece for a newspaper the next, some web SEO content for a website later on, and feature articles for magazines as well. They'll write on any topic in any segment as long as they're getting paid.

But…you can't really market yourself well with that approach. Nor will you likely make as much money if you're not able to position yourself as an expert in a certain sector.

Jennifer Williamson of CatalystBlogger writes,

"[H]igh-paying clients look for writers with a portfolio of work that looks just like what they're looking for--not versatility.

If you're a generalist, your competition is every other writer out there--other generalists and niche writers for each specific job. But if you only write for one specific niche, word might get around that you're the "go-to" guy for that niche--and you'll have much less competition."

Think about it. Say you own a BMW and your engine starts to run badly. Where would you rather take it--the auto mechanic who boasts that he works on all cars, both foreign and domestic, both new and old, or a certified BMW mechanic, perhaps one who only works on BMW's? You most likely would want the expert, the guy who works on BMW's every day.

Bob Bly adds,

"[O]ne way to make sure you are always in demand is to specialize.

You can specialize in a subject: gardening, content management, wastewater management, investments, interpersonal skills, health and fitness. Or you can specialize in a format or medium: multimedia presentations, Web sites, e-mail marketing, direct mail, speeches, annual reports.

Must you specialize? No. But as a rule, specialists earn more than generalists, are more in demand, and have an easier time finding work than generalists….If you are only one of a handful of known experts on your topic, the demand for your writing services will exceed the supply, and you can pick and choose your assignments."

Become Special

You can certainly write across spectrums and industries--do corporate copy writing as well as magazine articles, for example--but you should probably pick no more than a couple of specialties. With a clearer focus on what you want to do, and can do well, you can pour more energy and time into developing those skills and marketing to a tighter market. You can also begin to position yourself as an expert in the couple of areas you've chosen. By choosing a clearly defined goal, you are more likely to achieve it; by choosing to become a top writer in a certain area, you are more likely to have more work and make more money.

You've got to have a plan. Just wanting to write and make money from your writing isn't enough. There are plenty of good writers who can write well on a lot of things, but they don't have a clear plan for their business, and thus don’t market themselves in a way to elicit significant, sustained, good-paying clients.

If you're particularly knowledgeable about or experienced in a certain field, say, such as boating, you may want to leverage that--create a boating blog/website, pitch articles to boating magazines, and contact every boating vendor to offer your copy writing services.

The point is, while so many other writers are out there offering a "wide variety of writing services to meet clients' every need," and getting some clients here and there, mostly unrelated, you can be creating an image of yourself as an expert in a particular industry or of a particular type of writing. Done correctly, you will probably end up much more successful than your "do everything under the sun" competitors.

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