Be a Freelance Blogger

How to Quit Your Job and NOT Become a Freelance Blogger

Oh, it’s not that being a freelance blogger doesn’t sound awesome to you, just like it did to me.

It’s not that there isn’t awesome example after awesome example of people doing it. In fact, this website is dedicated solely to getting you there.

It’s just that all this crap gets in the way. And by crap, I mean, my own crap. But your crap is very much like my crap. How crappy is that?

Good thing you’ve found this blog and you’re reading this post. You’re about to learn the 7 things that stand in the way of your freelance blogging career and how to get around them.

Bonus: They’re all your own fears, so they’re totally under your control.

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By Sophie Lizard 49 Comments

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:

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By Rob McNelis 28 Comments

Freelancing: How I Close Deals Faster Than You

Okay, you might be one of the few people who can close a deal faster than me. There’s probably 1 or 2 out there. 😉

Kidding aside, I do know the MOST important sales tactic, and I learned it the hard way. Take advantage of my experience to save yourself a lot of stress and regret…

My first business sucked! Definition of sucking: Not making enough money for your time.

I had no problem finding customers, or providing quality services. But I still wasn’t making enough money.

Dealing with potential customers just took FORR-EVV-ERR. I had trouble communicating my value, identifying their needs, and collecting their money quickly.

So I used this basic strategy to fix my business:

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By Amanda Lewan 24 Comments

5 Ways Storytelling Helps Your Blogging Stand Out

Today is a beautiful day. Not only are you feeling creative and writing great posts, but you’ve just signed on a new client.

Your new client’s hired you to propose creative ideas to ramp up their company blog. The blog has a few subscribers and plenty of informative content, but the content is just OK.

Nothing featured on the blog stands out. Nothing inspires you to read more or share it. How you can help this client increase their readership and build their brand online?

Look for the Story Behind the Brand

Whether you’re crafting a pitch, creating copy for a website, or offering fresh ideas for a blog, approach all of these outlets as different ways to tell a good story.

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By Sophie Lizard 121 Comments

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:

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