Be a Freelance Blogger

5 Ways to Adjust to Blogging on a New (Or New-Look) Platform… And 1 Way to Win $100

(We’ll get to the $100 prize in a few minutes — it’s all explained in this post, if you read through to the end.)

So your client wants you to use their blogging software to submit your posts.

And now you’re sweating with the fear that you won’t know how to use it and you’re gonna look incompetent.

Or maybe, like a lot of people in the blogosphere, you woke one morning not long ago, logged into your own WordPress website, and saw that — what in holy heck? — after the latest update, WordPress 5.0 has given you a very different looking new editing system… *eek*

Or perhaps you’ve never tried publishing on Medium or LinkedIn before, and you’re not sure how it all works.

Or you’ve been talking with a prospective client who sounds awesome, but they use Squarespace and you’ve only ever used WordPress?

Whatever the scenario, it’s all good. Relax and read these 5 simple ways to get your bearings inside a new blogging platform.

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By Katherine Swarts 10 Comments

How to Cope When You Hit the “Feast” in the Freelance Blogger Feast and Famine Cycle

“I should be grateful, but…”

Has this ever happened to you?

For months your blogging income was stuck at near-poverty level, and you would have done anything for more work. Then, almost without warning, more work started flooding in — and suddenly, you’d do anything to get back the time it’s taking to keep up.

Three months after this first happened to me, the “feast” of work continues and so does the periodic “indigestion.”

Sure, it’s nice to be rid of the financial worries from the time when my regular income was a third of what it is now; but I hadn’t anticipated the recurring fears of inadequacy, the surges of irritability, the lows of emotional depression following the highs of frantic work.

It can be stressful being in a profession where your income rises and falls with busyness — “busyness” defined as keeping up with a LOT of small individual projects at once.

I’m learning to cope. This is, after all, the earning level I hope to stay at or above for the rest of my working days.

My top nuggets of wisdom for other freelance bloggers who’ve been served their first “feast”:

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By Hayley Chalkley 35 Comments

6 Get-It-Done Tips for a Fairytale Freelance Blogging Career

Want to live happily ever after as a successful freelance blogger?

Then you’ve got to get stuff done, get it done well and get it done on time.

Sounds simple, but it’s not always that easy.

Looming deadlines and a rising workload are sure signs business is booming and the dream is coming true. But when the pressure starts to build and the panic’s setting in, you can find yourself lost in the writing woods.

Never fear. Whether you’re struggling to get started on a project, spinning your wheels in the messy middle or challenged by completion, together we can tame the wolves of time and reach grandma’s cottage safely (a.k.a. meet the deadlines, deliver the goods and exceed the expectations of our clients).

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By Jodi Ralston 5 Comments

Getting Shit Done in the Midst of a Doubt Apocalypse

“They’re coming to get you, Barbara.” So runs the famous line from my favorite zombie movie. But the threat you need to watch out for is far more dangerous and prolific than pixelized undead, and it offers no thrills, but a ton of regret and destruction.

Though we all know it when we see it, before I name it, let’s take a moment to focus on its victims. You have dreams, ambitions, a passion for the written word—in particular blogging. You want to make a career of helping other businesses express their dreams through your words. In this way, you’re free to use your talent and make a difference, while also making good money.

I share that dream. And to the readers of this article, like me, you are just starting the exciting journey of freelance blogging.

But there is a monster in our midst, a threat, an enemy that, if left unopposed, will never stop coming until those dreams are dead. Its appetite is voracious. Its attacks are relentless. Running offers no escape. Its only goal is decimation.

That monster is none other than doubt.

Like a zombie virus, doubt starts with a single bite, infects anyone, and can spread until nothing healthy is left. For the new freelance blogger, it makes you shamble through your career before you’ve reached your potential. Before the doubts outnumber your creative output, understand how this threat works and how to stop it truly dead in its tracks. [Read more…]

By Pinar Tarhan 12 Comments

F*** Conventional Wisdom: How to Get Shit Done as A Freelance Blogger by Breaking the Rules

Conventional people don’t generally become freelance bloggers. It makes sense since most of us regularly deal with anxiety, rejection, distraction, and other problems. It takes a different kind of beast to make deadlines, satisfy clients, overcome introversion, and destroy the feast or famine cycle.

As freelance bloggers, we constantly have to be on the top of our game. We need to know what’s going on in our chosen niches, find experts to quote in our articles, research potential clients and publications we want to work with, brainstorm for new ideas, keep up with our deadlines, and always be marketing. Since we also need to find time for important people and things in our life, we naturally desire to be at our most productive at all times.

While the Internet and self-development shelves overflow with productivity advice, they aren’t all designed for freelance bloggers. They don’t necessarily keep our health issues in mind, or the kids we have to look after as we strive to maintain a sane and stable working environment at home. Then there are differences in our personalities of course.

So below are my seemingly irrational tips that can work wonders for freelance bloggers with flaky tendencies, coming from a flaky freelance blogger who has been doing this for over eight years: [Read more…]

By Lauren Tharp 4 Comments

Lauren’s Last Post (And What Comes Next for BAFB)

A lot can happen in just over five years…

For those of you who don’t know me: My name is Lauren Tharp. I’m the owner of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. And, since the summer of 2013, I was the Managing Editor of Be a Freelance Blogger.

Yup. “Was.” I’m leaving.

Don’t cry. This is actually good news. I’m now a full-time editor for Syed Balkhi’s Awesome Motive.

With my new full-time employee status (no more freelancing!), I simply don’t have time for BAFB like I used to. But BAFB will always, always hold a special place in my heart.

Sophie Lizard is absolutely amazing, and Be a Freelance Blogger is a website I’m immensely proud to have been a part of.

I’ve met so many great writers – some of whom have become great friends! It’s been a blast.

I’ll let Sophie take over in a minute, but… in no particular order, here are my Top 10 favorite BAFB articles: [Read more…]

By Martine Booth 8 Comments

Be a Well-Oiled Blogging Machine – How to Cut the Time-Wasting Crap and Get Results!

Whether you’ve been in the freelance blogging game for years or you’re still a bit of a newb, you’ll get that there’s much to be done. Becoming a successful freelance blogger doesn’t magically happen without some seriously hard work.

There is going to be persistent blood, sweat and tears. Well hopefully the blood part will be metaphorical! Yikes! We can do this without murder I promise you 😉

So in the interests of keeping the other two to a minimum, that would be the tears and sweat, I’m going to give you some little golden nuggets of wisdom that many of our blogging veterans have learnt along the way.

Part of the fun in learning is passing this stuff on to help other freelance bloggers. We all need a bit of a leg-up at times. So here are six sure-fire ways to keep the blogging beast moving and still have time for a life! [Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 75 Comments

The Freelance Blogger’s Ultimate Guide to Using Jargon [Or Not…] PLUS a $100 Prize Contest!

“Hey Brad, what’s the CTR on that omnichannel growth hacking infographic?”

“Gee, Sally, I don’t know. Is that part of the remarketing campaign we designed the storyscape for last week?”

Tell you a secret…

I fucking strongly dislike jargon.

Mainly because I can never remember it all. At meetings, I sometimes need to Google to remind myself what it means, so I’m sat there looking up business-speak on my phone instead of joining the conversation. (“What’s a vertical? I forgot…”)

Makes me feel like the only kid in the gang who has to check Urban Dictionary to find out what “Netflix and chill” really means. 😉

But I’m gonna set aside my personal issues with jargon for now, and focus on giving you exactly what the title of this post promises: your ultimate guide to when and how to use jargon in freelance blogging, and when to avoid it entirely.

Just in case we’re not on the same page yet, jargon is specialist language used by a specific group or type of person, often in a business or academic setting.

And part of what defines it as jargon is the fact that it only makes sense to the specialists who already know and use it.

In other words, most people on the planet *don’t* use it and have no idea what it means.

So, first of all, the golden rule is simple:

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By Elizabeth Spencer 15 Comments

It’s Not About You: What Editors Want Writers To Know About Pitching

You follow successful bloggers on Instagram and dream of living that lifestyle yourself. How hard can it be to dash off a few guest posts a week in between traveling the world and taking lots of pictures of your dog because, hey, you don’t have to sit in a boring office all day? Soon your social media following will number in the high six figures and you won’t be able to keep up with all the sponsorship offers from your favorite brands.

In reality, successfully pitching a guest post has a lot more to do with research and tenacity than finding the perfect angle for your “it’s always 5:00 somewhere” selfie with your laptop and white wine glass as you blog from the Mediterranean Coast of Italy, sure to encounter George and Amal at any moment. You can celebrate once you see your byline in print, but in the meantime you’ll need to brace yourself for frustration and rejection.

Whether your motivation for pursuing freelance blogging is to become rich and famous, or to simply make money on the side while you raise kids, it’s important to check your ego at the door before you begin the pitching process. Understanding your audience means knowing it’s not about you. As an experienced freelance blogger and creative writer who has worked on the editorial side of three literary journals, I’ll share my perspective from both sides of the desk. Here are my five tips for successfully pitching a guest post, with examples and specific steps you can take now to achieve pitching success. [Read more…]

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