Guest Posts 20 - Be a Freelance Blogger

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.

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By Marianne Griebler

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.

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By Amy Dunn Moscoso

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.

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By Irene Enriquez

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.

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By Jessica Benavides Canepa

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.

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