Be a Freelance Blogger

By Alicia Rades

9 Tips for Landing Clients With Your Website [From Bloggers Who’ve Done It!]

“I have a writer website, so why aren’t clients knocking down my door *begging* to work with me?”

That’s a valid question.

You knew you needed a writer website, so you eagerly built up your little corner of the Internet. Yet…nothing.

It’s frustrating. Like, I-give-up-and-I’m-just-going-to-to-hide-in-the-corner-now frustrating.

But fear not. It’s possible.

How do I know? Because I’ve done it. And I’ve watched other writers do it, too.

Want to know their secrets? Take a look at these 9 tips for landing clients with your writer website from bloggers who have done it.

[Read more…]

By Lauren Spear

How to Keep Freelance Blogging When You’re Mentally Ill

“I’ve really got to get on with writing this post. And pitch an idea to that interesting blog I found, too.

But… I don’t know… maybe I’m not good enough for them. Maybe I should go back to bed and leave the writing until I feel more inspired. Meh.

Wait, did I put a fork in the spoon compartment this morning? I better go check… OK, no fork. Back to work!

Muhahaha, this post is brilliant! I’m a genius. No, I’m an idiot. This is the worst thing I ever wrote. Delete, delete, delete. There isn’t enough delete to undo my stupidity. I suck. My clients will hate me and I’ll lose this gig.

If I can’t pull this off then I’ll never make it as a freelance blogger, and then I won’t be able to pay the rent and I’ll wind up homeless and oh god I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe and I think I might die right here face down on my keyboard and my cat will eat my corpse and nobody will notice because everybody hates me anyway and… wait, did I check the spoon compartment carefully enough?”

Does this sound familiar to you?

Sure, these could be the thoughts of almost any freelance blogger under pressure. But if your thoughts run like this a lot of the time, then it’s also possible you’re a freelance blogger with a mental health problem.

Freelance blogging isn’t easy. Having a mental illness isn’t easy. And trying to be a freelance blogger with a mental illness really isn’t easy. Take it from someone who knows.

Actually, take it from three someones who know:

Sophie Lizard, owner of Be A Freelance Blogger; Kelly Gurnett of Cordelia Calls it Quits; and Lauren Tharp (that’s me!) of LittleZotz Writing.

That’s right, all three of us are mentally ill. And all three of us are successful freelance bloggers.

[Read more…]

By Lisa Stein

5 Signs Your Freelance Blogging Client Thinks You’re an Employee

You started freelancing for a number of reasons:

You wanted to work from home.
You loved the work.
You craved the freedom.

Unfortunately, not all blogging clients will respect your freedom. Some still think that because you’re working for them, they can treat you like you’re an employee. It’s enough to make you want to give up your freelance practice and return to the 9-to-5.

You’re not in the corporate world, so why does it sometimes feel like it?

Well, it doesn’t have to.

Do you want to get your freedom back? Do you want to hold the title of “freelance blogger” with honor? Do you want to control your destiny?

You have the power to do all those things, if you manage your client relationships wisely.

Here’s how you should really be treated as a freelancer — and 5 warning signs that you’re still being treated as an employee instead.

[Read more…]

By Bree Brouwer

The Freelance Blogger’s Ultimate Guide to Making a Killer Explainer Video for Your Site

It’s frustrating, isn’t it?

You keep hearing how quickly video is growing online, like how 80% of the world’s internet traffic will come from video by 2019, and how mobile video will grow 55% per year through 2020.

And you’ve decided you want to be a part of this party and make an explainer video — a short video that explains what your freelance business does — for the home page of your writer’s site.

But there’s so. Much. Information.

Where are you even supposed to start? Just googling the phrase “how to create an explainer video” pulls up over a million hits, and most of those are aimed at corporations that have thousands of dollars to spend on an explainer video.

You’d have to read through several of these articles to scrape out a few tips that apply to you specifically as a freelance blogger looking to make a simple, effective explainer video for your site.

Or you can just read this blog post and call it good. 😉

That’s right, this post will walk you step-by-step through creating your own explainer video so you don’t have to scour the internet to learn how to do it yourself. I’ve included the only information you’ll need to get your first writer’s site video up and running, all while keeping in mind the fact that you’re a freelancer and not some mega-business with a mega-budget.

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in.

[Read more…]

By Sophie Lizard

How to Be a Freelance Blogger: Make the Smartest Dumb Moves in Your Career

How many times have you mentioned freelance blogging to someone only to have them throw a shitpile of doubt on your career choice?

How many times have you avoided telling someone about your career and ambitions, simply because you didn’t want to have that depressing conversation again? You know, the one where you try to justify your desire to freelance and write blog posts for a living — but the person you’re trying to justify it *to* doesn’t believe you can possibly make it work.

That many times, huh? Hmmf. Me too. In fact, I still have that conversation with people now, 6 years into my successful and lucrative freelance blogging career.

Just the other day, someone who’s known me a long time asked, “So how much do you really make an hour? I mean, say you write something for a client and they pay you $20, how long does it take you to earn that?”

I laughed so hard I started crying. Then I cried so hard I had to laugh.

Then I explained that I haven’t written anything for as little as $20 since, ooh, fucking NEVER. And that my entire reason for doing what I do here on this blog is to help other freelance bloggers (like *you*) avoid working for low pay too.

[Read more…]

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