Are you a systems gal (or guy)?

Even if you’re not, but you’re trying to grow your freelance writing business, this post is for you!

Systems exist to make your work easier. By having the right systems in place, you’re less likely to drop the ball and more likely to stay focused and on task.

I set out with the goal of leaving work behind when I launched my freelance blogging business in May of 2014. As the sole income earner for our family of four, I knew I needed to be successful with my side hustle if I ever hoped to take it full-time.

I’m happy to say that’s been the case. I’ve now quit my day job and I’m free – free to bust my butt and hustle to earn a living in order to feed the one big and two small mouths I have at home.

Here are the 3 most effective systems I’ve created and implemented to help me go from a brand new freelancer to one who earns more than $4,000 per month inside of six months. 

[Read more…]

It’s short. It only has two letters and one syllable.

You’d imagine the word “no” would be easy to say. After all, it’s the 56th most common word in English.

However, the difficulty isn’t in its pronunciation but in the emotional charge it holds. Most people think it’s a negative word.

I’ve discovered that saying “no” can have a positive impact on your career as a freelance blogger.

Unfortunately, the word “freelance” often comes with misconceptions attached, too.

To some clients, “freelance” means you don’t have set working hours, so you can be at their beck and call 24 hours a day. To others, it means you work for yourself, so you’ll be glad for the money and take on any old gig they send your way.

Until recently, I would’ve been anyone and done anything a client wanted, simply for the sake of avoiding upset. But saying “no” makes better business sense.

Here’s why: 

[Read more…]

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. 

[Read more…]

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. 

[Read more…]

Every freelancer has had that client.

You know the one I mean — the client all your friends hear about over drinks, whose name you dread seeing in your email inbox or your phone’s caller ID.

You know working with that client makes your life harder, but you can’t shake the feeling there’s something wrong with ending a client relationship.

That’d mean less money in the bank each month. You’re supposed to be grateful for any work you get, right?

Wrong.

One of the great (and often underused) privileges of working for yourself is the ability to walk away when something’s not working. Your time is valuable, so don’t feel obligated to spend it on a client that isn’t worth it to you. 

[Read more…]