When you decided to become a freelance blogger, did you immediately write up a 5-year business development plan? Calculate a full financial forecast?

If you did, you have everyone’s permission to skip this blog post and order more champagne while you wait for the rest of us to catch up.

But most freelance bloggers start with a talent for writing and then pick up a bit of business sense along the way. If that sounds more like you, don’t worry — you can still grow your blogging into a lucrative business. We just need to fill some of the gaps in your understanding of how your business works.

Here’s the important part, though: you need to fill the knowledge gaps in your business now, because every month they go unfilled is another month you go without the money you deserve.  [Read more…]

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. [Read more…]

You don’t enjoy marketing?

You mean cold calling and sending 10 query emails a week doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? How odd… because that’s exactly what every other freelance blogger tells me, too.

This may be reckless, but here we go:

I give you permission to slack off and skip the marketing for a while. 5 days, to be precise.

Because there are 5 things you need to do. When you’ve done them, you can go back to your marketing and it will work better because of the benefits these 5 actions bring.

Do you wish I’d just shut up and tell you what they are? OK… [Read more…]