Be a Freelance Blogger

How to Show a Blog Editor You Understand Their Audience [Plus Your Chance to Win $150!]

The theme for this Pitchfest is: Audience. More on that — and the chance to earn $150 — to come, but first, here’s a quick tip to help you get to know a site’s audience quickly and how it’ll improve your pitches.

Every editor offering pitching advice will tell you, “Let me know you understand my audience and why your pitch is a good fit for them.”

The best way to gain that understanding is to become part of the audience. Read the blog, and engage with other readers. You’ll become familiar with the topics and voice of the site, and understand what readers look for in content.

But…

That takes time. And, frankly, if you write on the subject, you’re probably already reading 800 other blogs about it. Do you really want to add another to your reading list?

Most pitchers approach this conundrum wrong. They want to pitch a lot of blogs, so they Google their topic and send a generic pitch every site on the first page of results — whether it’s relevant or not. When I ran a blog called DIY Writing, you wouldn’t believe how many pitches I got that started with something like, “Since you write about DIY and crafting…” Nope. No, I do not.

You can do better than that… without committing to reading a novel’s worth of blog posts every day before you pitch.

[Read more…]

By Linda Formichelli 21 Comments

Freelance Blogging IS a Numbers Game: The Throwdown

You’re going DOWN, Sophie Lizard!*

In 2014, Sophie collaborated with Gary Korisko on a post and video called “Why Freelance Blogging is NOT a Numbers Game” that contains this tidbit:

Dashing off sloppy pitches to every blog in the universe is not the most profitable use of your time.”

Since my pet saying is “Freelance writing is a numbers game,” I’m taking this very, very personally. What, Gary and Sophie, you lookin’ at me?

Wanna see me get mad? Just watch this video: [Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 32 Comments

9 Warning Signs That Mean You Should NOT Be a Freelance Blogger

Not sure how to break this to you. It’s bad news.

Maybe you really *shouldn’t* try to be a freelance blogger. I mean, normally I’m quick to point out that almost anyone who is teachable can learn to do freelance blogging.

And yep, anyone teachable can learn to earn anything from a decent chunk of “mad money” to a full-time income that pays for everything you want to do.

But this career choice isn’t right for everyone.

So how can you find out if it’s wrong for you, before you spend valuable time trying and failing?

I’ll tell you.

If you see any of these warning signs in yourself or your usual lifestyle, then freelance blogging may not be a good idea for you.

[Read More…]

By Chloe Brooks 15 Comments

Earn More in Less Time: 6 Tasks Every Freelance Blogger Should Automate

There’s more to being a freelance blogger than just writing helpful content.

As a freelancer you’re running your very own business of one, which means that everything from marketing and branding to sales and accounting is on your shoulders.

(And if you haven’t made the leap yet from side hustle to full-time freelancer, you’re probably juggling all of the above and a full-time job.)

But if you’re not careful, all of the administrative and marketing tasks that go into running a business can encroach on your client writing time, and when they do, you’re left scrambling to get back on schedule.

You need a way to get more done in a day without compromising on priorities or the quality of your work.

That’s where automation comes in. The key to getting more done as a freelance blogger is realizing that you shouldn’t do everything yourself. Automating repeatable tasks gives you more time to focus on creating content and finding new blogging clients.

If you’ve never used automation before or aren’t sure where to start, here are 6 tasks that every freelance blogger should automate.

[Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 95 Comments

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.

[Read More…]

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