In a global marketplace, specialization is an effective means for desktop publishers to face the challenges that come from fierce competition for graphic design jobs.
When a desktop publisher first starts out, he or she often does not have the luxury of specialization. In order to get the experience required (and to put food on the table) a beginning desktop publisher must be a jack-of-all-trades, and has to pursue jobs where ever they are.
In smaller markets where there is little competition, this approach can sometimes be continued to create a thriving desktop publishing business. However, in markets where there is intense competition, this approach can be counterproductive. Chasing after every job from every potential client can leave a desktop publisher unfocused, uncompetitive and exhausted. Specialization and marketing to niche markets can be a much more effective way to gain a steady stream of profitable jobs.
If you have some specialized knowledge or past employment in a particular industry, you can use this to your advantage. For example, someone who had worked in the insurance industry before turning their hand to desktop publishing might find that targeting insurance agencies is an effective way of using both knowledge sets (graphic design and insurance) to maximum potential.
Other desktop publishers find that working with one client in a particular industry gives them an ‘in’ with other businesses in the same industry. One desktop publisher found, for example, that doing work for a real estate agent lead to work from other real estate agents; once this particular desktop publisher had a sample from the first job to demonstrate her experience, other real estate agents became more comfortable working with her. In time she built a profitable design business creating flyers and websites for clients in the real estate industry.
Note that few design businesses can ever afford to totally specialize in one industry. The downside to specialization is that putting all your eggs in one basket can be very dangerous (ask anyone who has relied on automotive clients how they are doing during the current economic downturn). Focus on a niche, but make sure that you don’t cut off ties with everybody else in the process. It’s a bit of a tight rope, but it can be worth it in the end.