Be a Freelance Blogger

February 22, 2015 by Aisha Sulaiman 26 Comments

5 Ways To Showcase Your Testimonials and Wow New Clients

As a freelance blogger, it feels so good to know you’ve made a client happy.

You wish you could capture the joy of the client at that moment, frame it, and display for all to see. But it’s sometimes difficult to get recommendations or testimonials from clients, because they’re too busy or too distracted.

In a survey by Dimensional Research, results showed about 90% of customers were influenced by online reviews to make a purchase. People put a lot of trust in feedback given online, hence the need for freelancers to collect glowing testimonials.

Without testimonials, it’s that little bit harder to get the gigs you want at the rate you deserve.

No problem. There are several options you can explore to capture the feelings of your happy clients. [Read more…]

February 18, 2015 by Sarah Vitale 65 Comments

Behold! Proof That Freelance Blogging is a Valid [And Lucrative] Career Choice

You know that cringe-worthy moment when someone asks you what you do for a living, and then they say…

“You’re a freelance blogger? That must be fun, but it’s not exactly a job, is it?”

Take heart — next time that happens you’ll have all the evidence you need to show them blogging isn’t only a hobby. In fact, you can prove it’s a bona fide, lucrative career choice.

If you’re a freelance blogger ready to join the big time, you need to treat blogging like a business and get your knowledge and tactics ready. Studying the business case for freelance blogging won’t only build your confidence in dinner party conversations; it’ll make you better at understanding and negotiating with clients, too. [Read more…]

February 8, 2015 by Marianne Griebler 26 Comments

Blogger Warning: Don’t Let Your Job Be the Death of You!

Blogging is killing you.

I don’t mean the stress of cranking out deathless prose or even the coffee you gulp by the gallon.

Blogging is killing you because you sit hunched over your laptop. All day long.

Science has spoken: Sitting will be the death of you — and me.

None of this is news, of course. We’ve known for a while that even if you faithfully get to the gym, all that sitting wipes out any benefit from the measly few minutes you spend huffing and puffing on the elliptical.

Dr. David Agus puts it bluntly:

[Sitting for more than 5 hours a day is] equivalent on a health basis to smoking a pack and a quarter of cigarettes.

Yowza.

Chair time is associated with all the heavy hitters: heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and obesity. (That’s because sitting doesn’t make you less hungry. Darn.) This 2012 report on inactivity from the National Center for Biotechnology Information makes for especially gloomy reading.

I don’t know about you, but my first reaction was a kind of paralysis. (Ironic, right?)

Move? When I’m under deadline? Sure, those are those rare times I get out of my chair to go to the bathroom or get more coffee. But how can I move more when I earn a living hunched over a keyboard? (We’ll talk about your posture another time…)

It’s not just a 9-to-5 problem; after sitting at work, most of us rush home (or in our case, step away from our laptops) to plop down on the couch in front of a screen of one size or another. Not exactly helpful.

Being a writer, I decided to research my options before having a coffin fitting. [Read more…]

February 3, 2015 by Sophie Lizard 10 Comments

Blogger of Interest: Renegade Writer Linda Formichelli

Ever read a book so awesome, you told all your friends to read it too?

I don’t mean books like The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Yawn. I mean books that have the power to genuinely change your life.

Last week I read a book exactly like that. It’s called Commit: How to Blast Through Problems & Reach Your Goals Through Massive Action [that affiliate link will take you to Amazon].

This book is fantastic. It’s my new best friend on Kindle. No matter whether you want to start a business, fix a relationship, regain your health or get your shit together in some other aspect of your life, this will help you get it done and never look back. No regrets, no wish-I-woulda, no fucking waiting. [Read more…]

January 24, 2015 by Amy Dunn Moscoso 17 Comments

How a Chinese Fruit Vendor Taught Me to Negotiate Rocking Freelance Blogging Rates

Would you pay $14 for five oranges to avoid bartering?

Spend $18 on bananas to appease screaming children?

Walk 15 minutes in toxic rain to a store and pay double for the same fruit sold right outside your apartment?

I would. I did. And how I hate to admit it.

Hello, my name is Amy and I’m a recovering non-negotiator. I’m proof people pay up to 100% more (and beyond) to instantly escape uncomfortable situations.

For me, “stressful” used to mean negotiation. It was one of my biggest weaknesses as a freelance blogger.

Fortunately, I came across an amazing business teacher when my family moved to Tianjin, China this summer. Over the last three months, I’ve used my newfound negotiation skills to generate thousands of dollars more than I used to through freelance blogging and writing. [Read more…]

January 18, 2015 by Irene Enriquez 15 Comments

How to Use Facebook Groups to Land More Blogging Jobs

You hear the marketing gurus talking about this all the time.

“Use Facebook to promote your business.” That’s most likely why you started a Facebook page promoting your writing services. And if you invited everyone you know to ‘like’ the page, you probably have a few hundred likes already.

But…you’re not getting any writing inquiries.

There’s little engagement on your page. The occasional likes and comments might bring a smile to your face, but bring in zero clients.

You start to wonder if Facebook is even worth your time.

It’s true: you can use Facebook to get decent or even lucrative blogging gigs. But don’t spend all your marketing efforts on growing your Facebook Page.

Facebook Groups are where all the action is. [Read more…]

January 15, 2015 by Sophie Lizard 39 Comments

How to Be a Freelance Blogger: The Awkward Toddler Phase

Do you have any memories from when you were 2 years old?

I only remember a couple of things: moving house, and getting bitten by a dog.

We forget so much of our early years. Maybe because if we remembered every screaming tantrum and bedwetting incident, we’d be too horrified and embarrassed to survive adulthood .

Your freelance blogging career will have its awkward toddler phase, too. It might start 2 years after you launch your business, or it could happen after as little as 6 months.

Here’s how to recognise it:

You know more than you’re able to do
You often feel frustrated by how slowly you’re progressing
You wonder why you can’t stay focused on your work
You envy bloggers who seem confident and effortlessly successful
You can’t picture what your career will be like 5 years or 10 years from now
You’re sure there must be a secret nobody’s told you about how freelance blogging works

Sound familiar? Congrats — you’re a toddler!

And you’re not the only one. This blog is 2 years old today. [Read more…]

January 11, 2015 by Jessica Benavides Canepa 30 Comments

Your First Big Break in Freelance Blogging: Beware These 5 Myths

You know you were born to be a freelance blogger.

Undeterred by competition or fear of rejection, you spend countless hours perfecting your blog posts and sharing them with your peers. Every spare minute, you either send out queries to potential clients or absorb the advice of expert bloggers.

Friends and family start to worry; you’re working so hard, when will it pay off?

And then, one day, it happens.

Not only do you land a guest blogging assignment with a high-profile client, they love your work so much they want to offer you an ongoing gig! Ding ding… jackpot!

So, you re-focus your energy on this “golden goose” client. You no longer work on your own blog or pitch new clients. What for? This is a huge company with endless opportunities.

Six months later, the client abruptly leaves the company. His replacement is more comfortable working with established writers and you are left out in the cold.

Is this an imaginary cautionary tale, dramatised to prove a point?

I wish. This exact scenario happened to me.

And it took months of sending queries, reconnecting with my blogging community and an active participation in social media before I was able to get the ball rolling again.

Bloggers are either encouraged or intimidated by their first big break. Don’t get caught up in any of these 5 myths (like I did!) and you will go on to even bigger success. [Read more…]

January 4, 2015 by Sophie Lizard 61 Comments

Freelance Blogging in 2015: What to Expect

How’s this year looking for you so far?

Do you know what you’re doing and how you’ll grow your freelance blogging business in 2015?

It’s OK if you don’t.

It’s awesome if you do know, but it’s totally OK if you don’t.

I just agreed to get married this year, so I don’t know exactly what I’m doing in 2015 except that it now includes a wedding and a honeymoon. None of that was in my “goals for 2015″ list at the end of 2014!

You don’t need to know exactly where you’re headed right now to make this year a success. And in a moment, I’m going to offer you a fat prize that will make 2015 your take-off year.

First, let’s recap where we are and what’s been going on. This is our starting point for a shiny future. [Read more…]

YOURS FREE: $10,640 IN BLOGGING GIGS