Be a Freelance Blogger

What Your Freelance Blogging Portfolio Says About You: How Clients Decide Who to Hire

Does the thought of a potential client checking out your freelance blogging portfolio make you so nervous, you get the hiccups?

When you’re freelancing, your portfolio is one of your biggest assets. It can get you hired on the spot, or dumped on the pile of instantly forgotten applicants who failed to impress.

So let’s ask the obvious question: what does your portfolio say about you?

It’s a tough question to answer for yourself, and there isn’t always someone around who’s qualified to give a second opinion. (Your parents and friends will always tell you that your freelance blogging portfolio looks great – that’s their job!)

Only your potential clients and blog editors really know what goes through their minds when they look at your portfolio.

And the biggest problem with that is, you don’t often get feedback from the people who chose not to hire you. So you’ll never know why they made that decision, or how you could have used your portfolio to win the dream gig that got away.

This might make me sound kinda mean, but as a professional blog editor I’ve rejected pitches from a lot of freelance bloggers whose portfolios weren’t up to scratch.

They weren’t all bad bloggers –in fact, some were already well-paid freelance writers– but without a strong blogging portfolio to support their query or job application, I simply couldn’t justify hiring them.

We don’t want that to happen to you, so let’s figure out what you can do to make your portfolio more impressive.

Here’s how you look to your potential clients right now: [Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 72 Comments

Why I’ll Personally Pay You to Be a Freelance Blogger

Hands up if you want to make money from freelance blogging!

Did you literally put your hands up, or did you only think about it?

Either way, keep reading. I’m about to offer you a paid blogging gig.

When I first started up this blog, Jon Morrow and a whole bunch of other experts all told me the same thing: give people something valuable for free if you want them to remember your blog exists.

So I created a free resource that helps freelance bloggers save time and make money: a big list of leads to higher-paying blogging gigs, so that you can confidently ignore cheap job ads and content mills.

That’s exactly what you get in the Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs. The 2012 edition lists 45 blogs that will pay you $50 or more per post, including one blog that pays $1000.

This summer, you’ll be able to get your hands on the new 2013 edition with details of more than 50 high-paying blogs that accept pitches from freelance bloggers.

And that’s the thing: I want to be on my own list, dammit!

People tell me every day how the Ultimate List has helped them find new higher-paying markets. I feel ridiculously proud every time I hear from someone who’s won their very first paid blogging gig through the list I created.

So, how much cooler would it be if you could say that your mad freelance blogging skills have been tested, approved and paid for right here? [Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 64 Comments

7 Ways to Take Charge of Your Freelance Blogging Career

That helpless feeling… it’s horrible, isn’t it?

You know you were born to be a freelance blogger. It’s the perfect fit for you. But so far, you’re kinda going nowhere with it.

You haven’t won the high-paying jobs you hoped would be yours, and you haven’t been invited to join that inner circle of pro bloggers who all seem to know each other.

You check a handful of online job boards regularly, but there aren’t many ads that sound right for you. And when you do apply for gigs, you often don’t hear back from them at all.

How are you supposed to make money at this when there’s no work available?

Oh, it’s available all right. While you’re waiting for a miracle job to materialise, some other blogger is getting rich on projects that could have been yours. Why? Because you haven’t taken charge of your own career yet.

It really is that simple.

If you want to climb the freelance blogging career ladder, you need to step up and make it happen. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think! Start with these 7 simple ways to take your business into your own hands and win the rewards you deserve. [Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard 302 Comments

How Much Freelance Bloggers Earn: The Surprising Truth

You must have wondered, “How much money could I make from freelance blogging?”

And I’m betting you’ve already got an idea in your mind of how much freelance bloggers earn.

What do you think, is $100 per post a good rate? What about 20 cents per word?

Think bigger. And, more important, think differently.

As a freelance blogger, it isn’t just your income that matters. The amount of time and effort you put into your business is crucial to determining how well-paid you really are.

It’s simple: if I asked you to choose between a job that pays $50 per hour for 40 hours per week, and one that pays $100 per hour for 20 hours per week, which job would you pick?

Yeah, I thought so. 😉

No matter which job you choose, your pay works out to $2000 each week. I’d choose the one with fewer hours, too. And we’d all be earning a six-figure income working part-time!

So, um, why hasn’t that happened yet?

Well, I have a confession to make: my average hourly rate is above $100. But I spend less than 20 hours per week freelance blogging, so I’m not super-rich.

You can earn more than me, if you want to. Many freelance bloggers do, especially if they work at it full-time. [Read more…]

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