Every Thursday I turn this blog over to specialist freelance writers in a segment I like to call SpecialtyBuzz. SpecialtyBuzz was conceived in response to some recent chatter in the freelance writing world, chatter that seemed to agree that freelance writers who specialize in one product or subject matter seem to have an easier time marketing themselves and finding clients.

To explore the wide world of freelance writing specialties (and it is a wide world – conceivably, everything from Gregorian chants to office supplies can be a specialty) I will be posting interviews with specialists every Thursday until ALL SPECIALTIES ARE EXHAUSTED. …Okay, probably not that long. But stranger things have happened. Law and Order just got renewed for its 20^th season, after all.

But enough about Law & Order, and on to finance. As today’s SpecialtyBuzz featured guest, I give you Yolander Prinzel and her take on her specialty, finance writing.

What is your specialty and how did you get started in that particular area?

My specialty is life, health and annuity writing as well as finance writing. I’ve been in the financial industry since 1999. I began my career in life insurance and annuities in 2000. I cannot tell you that I started the journey all doe-eyed and excited about finance. I was a 23 year old college dropout who wanted a career–but had no idea what it was.

What are three things a writer needs to know before choosing to specialize in finance writing?

To me, the whole concept of specialization means that you understand your field or niche completely and from many different points of view. You’ve been a consumer, a salesperson, a company/ customer service rep, a manager, and an executive–or can at least think like one. This experience allows you to write from every POV possible. For my niche, writers need:

1. To understand insurance and finance. I mean, really understand the nuts and bolts. Specializing is not about reading someone else’s article about something and then rehashing it in another way. It’s about understanding all aspects of your product/ subject. The good and the bad. The consumer’s benefits and the issuer/ seller’s benefits. That is the only way you can offer knowledgeable insight and easy to understand, comprehensive analogies.

2. To understand your fiduciary responsibility. Even as a ghostwriter, you have a fiduciary responsibility to your client and their readers. You may have to present things in a positive light to a generic audience, and you may know that the product you write about is not right for everyone. So you have to know how to hedge within your article without losing your call to action and positive spin. A variable life insurance policy is not right for everyone and can be a huge mistake for many. If I have to write about how great variable life is, I’m going to do so by including information about the consumer that it is great for, not just say that everyone should run out and buy one–and if your client objects to that, you need to consider whether or not you actually want to work with them.

3. Know how compliance departments think. Most of the work I do has to go through compliance approval and it is a big pain in the ass to my clients if they keep getting revision requests from compliance. I’ve spent a decade working intimately with both insurance company and broker/dealer compliance. I’ve gone through countless audits and prepared many time-sensitive marketing campaigns that require compliance approval–and fast. Because I know how they think and what they want I have very few, if any, revisions.

Does finance writing require any particular training or could a layman pick it up?

If you really like finance, you could pick it up without training, classes and licenses–but you need to remember that “finance” is a very generic term for a wide range of topics including trust and estate planning, stocks, insurance, annuities, buy-sell agreements, etc. 

Are there any potential pitfalls associated with specializing in your area?

It can get frustrating to think of new ways to describe the same topics over and over. While you can write about a wide range of concepts, you end up writing a lot about the same two or three. Each one has to be crafted toward a new audience, which helps change your voice, but it is sometimes difficult to think of new ways to present concepts when many of the same terms still need to be used. 

What is the current market for writing in your specialty? Who is buying and who is selling?

Insurance companies, banks, finance blogs, money blogs, shopping blogs, consumer reporting sites–you’re pretty much limitless.

What do you enjoy most about your specialty?

Educating consumers. I have a grandmother, and I don’t want her to get screwed. I want her to understand exactly what she’s buying and why it is good for her. I want the same thing for your grandmother. When people buy something that is good for them and their situation, it is the best scenario. The agent or advisor gets his commission, the insurance company or broker/dealer gets their premium or commission, the client gets a useful product. Everyone is happy. 

What do you enjoy least about your specialty?

The more I learn how to find clients who allow me to use a voice I like, the less I find to dislike about it. If I had to write 20 articles a week in a very dry, factual voice, I’d be miserable. I prefer a snarky or humorous voice for my factual articles. Turns out, a lot of my clients do too. 

How would you suggest networking within your specialty?

This is different for me than it will be for others. I meet people at insurance conventions, continuing education classes and insurance company product lunches. I also have a lot of industry contacts I’ve collected over the years. To find new clients, I figure out who I want to write for and then think of places they might be–and that works with every specialty.  

What advice would you give to freelance writers interested in specializing in your area? 

If you aren’t going to get your series 7, 66. 24. or 2-15, at least buy the books and read them so you learn how you are supposed to learn. Do not do all your learning from “strategy books.” Learn the concepts over the investing strategies so you can understand the good and the bad aspects of the strategies. If you haven’t worked in the industry, call a local financial advisor and insurance agent and shadow them for a few weeks. Try to score a temp job at an insurance company and go through your own insurance docs and account agreements for your brokerage accounts and try to understand them. Read the proxy notices you get and read your mutual fund prospectuses.

Yolander Prinzel is a finance and insurance writer/ ghostwriter. Her clients include CheapToday, LifeTips and her own politically incorrect finance blog, The BIG Little Finance Blog. She also has a snarky community blog for freelance writers called Freelance Writerville . Look for her E-book, “You’ve Found Your Specialty—Now What? Tips and tricks to finding and scoring clients while making a living writing what you know.” It’s due out July 1st and available for sale at FreelanceWriterville.com.