Sophie Lizard - Be a Freelance Blogger

What to Do When Your Editor Stops Answering Your Emails

You submitted your post last week. Should you email a reminder yet?

OK, now it’s been almost a month and you’ve heard nothing. Should you be worried?

Your follow-up email didn’t get answered. Neither did the follow-up to the follow-up.

As time creeps on, you start to feel like you must have done something wrong. Maybe the editor doesn’t like your post. Maybe they’ll never speak to you again. Maybe you won’t get paid, either.

The tension’s killing you. All you want to know is what happened?

And right now, only your editor knows the answer. But they’re not talking –at least, not to you– so it’s up to you to find out. Here’s how to cope with an editor gone AWOL:

[Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard

Negotiate Your Rate (Without Making These 3 Mistakes)

Hey! Glad you could make it.

I’m just talking to a hot potential client. Bear with me and listen in for a moment…

ME: Yep, I’m available from the first of the month.
CLIENT: Great, and how much do you charge?
ME: For this project it’ll be $700 a week… Or, you know, I could probably make it $600…

Go ahead. Tap me on the shoulder. Tell me I’m an idiot. Stop me.

I wish somebody had.

That conversation actually happened last summer, and my pathetic negotiation fail cost me $100 per week for 3 months. That’s more than $1200, and I gave it up for no reason at all.

What went wrong?

Here’s how you can avoid falling into the errors I made that day:

[Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard

Avoid Getting Played By Your Clients: 5 Lessons to Keep You Safe from Rip-Offs and Fee-Dodgers

You might think getting ripped off by a client is something that only happens to newbie freelance bloggers.

You’d be wrong.

I hear from a lot of experienced bloggers who are still having bad experiences with clients, time after time. Why does this keep happening?

Often, it keeps happening because you keep trusting in people you have absolutely no reason to trust. Sometimes you just don’t spot the warning signs. Sometimes you spot them, but you keep going anyway because you don’t really know what else to do.

I’ve been played by bad clients a couple of times. I know how it feels when you’re halfway through a project and you get that sudden feeling of impending doom. Your gut tells you to run for the hills, but you’re too busy worrying about your money and your reputation to act on that instinct.

And so, you get fooled again.

Learn these lessons now, and you won’t have to suffer the same thing later:

[Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard

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. This year’s edition lists 500+ blogs that will pay you $50 or more per post, including blogs that pays $500 to $1000 (or higher).

This summer, you’ll be able to get your hands on the new edition with details of more than 500 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

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…]