How Can I Make Money With My Writing Skill?
Working from home is the dream for many. No long commute or having to rush out of the door in the morning, no boss micromanaging you or bitchy colleagues to deal with. Instead, you can work from the comfort of your home office, working on your own terms.
There are a few different avenues you can take as a writer. Ideally, you will have your fingers in a number of pies, which will give you a more stable and reliable income. Here are a few ventures you could pursue.
Blogging
If you’re a keen writer, chances are you already run a blog. It’s a fantastic way to showcase your writing, continue improving, connect with other people with similar interests and also a chance to learn new skills, too.
When you run a blog, not only do you have to write the content, you also need to take beautiful photographs and learn to market yourself online. Social media promotion is a useful skill to have- especially if you want to run your own business later down the line.
But while you might be blogging for fun, have you put much thought into monetizing your site? You could sign up with Google Adsense, which pays a small amount each time someone clicks on your ads or buys something from clicking through from your site.
You could look into affiliate marketing, too. You incorporate links to products in your posts and again get paid if anyone clicks on them or buys as a result.
The way you will earn most of your money as a blogger is through sponsorships, though. Companies will contact you and ask to either publish a post they’ve written or ask you to write a post including their link. You can be paid great money for this, although the problem is you have to wait for them to come to you.
Freelance
Freelancing sites allow you to ‘bid’ for jobs, and if you’re accepted by the seller you write the piece for an agreed fee. While each project will have a deadline, being able to pick and choose the pieces you want to write allows you to control your workflow. Once you have successfully completed a few projects, your rating will increase, making it more likely you will be accepted for future pieces.
Services like content writing, copywriting, proofreading and editing are always in high demand online, so it’s something that’s likely to do well if you go about it in the right way. I cover how to get clients and start making $100 to $200 an hour in my Freelance Writing Starter Pack.
Ebooks
Having a book published is the dream for many writers. However securing a book deal is difficult and something that even the best wordsmiths and storytellers aren’t always able to achieve. However, you can self-publish relatively easily, and produce an ebook to sell on Amazon. You get a little bit of money every time someone downloads it, which can add towards any other income you get from writing.
Small Business Solutions: Everything You Need to Stay on Track
When you run a small company, it’s essential to be aware of the risks of potential disasters that could put you out of business. It’s hard enough to make a new venture successful in a fiercely competitive marketplace without having to try and recover from setbacks. If you’re a small business owner (freelance writers, I'm looking at you!), here’s everything you need to stay on track.
Keeping Your Business Premises Safe
You’ve invested blood, sweat and tears and a whole heap of cash. The last thing you want is to lose everything to opportunistic thieves. Whether you run an office at home, rent a studio, or you’ve bought an office block, it’s essential to make sure your premises are secure.
All your equipment should be insured, and you should use security systems to try and deter thieves. It’s very common for businesses to have valuable items, which are appealing to burglars, so make life as difficult as possible for those who want to try and breach your defenses. Use CCTV cameras, outdoor lighting or an alarm system to protect the building and its contents. It’s also worth investing in a safe if you store money in your office overnight.
security for small businesses
Preventing technical glitches
Every business owner dreads that moment when the server goes down, or the website crashes. Even the shortest period of downtime can have an impact on your finances, as well as your appeal to clients and customers.
If you don’t already make use of cloud IT solutions or have backup from tech support, now is the time to reassess the situation. If you outsource IT support, you’ll pay a monthly or annual fee in exchange for a package that will protect your systems, ensure that your software and security are up to date and give you access to expert help. It’s also essential to make sure that you keep up to date with office maintenance checks to ensure that all the equipment you use is safe and fit for purpose.
tech in small business
Customer service
In a day and age when many people read comments and reviews before they make a decision, it’s more important than ever to offer first-class standards of customer service. If you run any kind of business, you want your clients to leave you a glowing report and recommend you to their friends, family and other internet users.
A good review could put you on the map while a bad write-up could reduce customer numbers and drive people to your competitors. Customer care should always be a priority. Go the extra mile to make sure you get that positive feedback every time.
One good tip is to answer any Facebook messages or emails within the hour. This gives potential clients a great image of you.
good customer service
As a small business owner, you want to do everything possible to prevent disasters and hiccups, which could hold you back and eat into your profits. Make sure your premises are secured and ensure you’re doing everything to make your business run smoothly on a day to day basis. Investing in technology and support services can help to prevent downtime, and increase productivity and efficiency. Don’t lose sight of the importance of positive feedback. Word of mouth and Internet reviews are very effective marketing tools, so you need to make sure that your customers only have good things to say about you.
Transitioning From Freelancer To Entrepreneur
As a freelancer, you are no doubt be used to working for yourself, but as your workload starts to grow, you'll soon have to make the decision to form a company and hire employees to help you out. Transitioning from a freelancer to an entrepreneur might seem like a scary prospect to some people. However, it proves that you have a good head for business and your customers buy from you because you know what you’re doing. If you’re a freelancer and are at the point where you need to become incorporated, you might be wondering how best to transition to this new phase of your business. Despite what you might be thinking, the process isn’t as difficult or scary as you may have first thought. In today’s blog post, I will give you a rough guide to turning into a business leader from a sole trader. Here is what you need to know.
building a freelance business
Setting Up a New Legal Entity
When you work as a freelancer, you and your business are virtually the same thing. When you transition over to an incorporated company, though, you become separate entities. It’s important that you set up things like bank checking accounts in the new business name and that you start paying your bills from it.
Before you can do any of that, you need to register your new company. The process also involves getting a tax ID from the IRS so that you can file returns for your business. Once you’re up and running, you are now an employee of your new firm!
When you hire employees to work with you, it’s vital that their tax details are properly recorded and processed. That way, you can ensure they get paid correctly and any applicable tax gets paid by your business.
With that in mind, you should ensure you have an in-house payroll and accounting professional working for you. Providers such as Portfolio Payroll can help you out in that respect.
Moving to New Premises
Even if you plan to hire freelancers that work from home, it is still beneficial to have dedicated office space for your company. Doing so helps you portray a professional image to your clients, especially those that will only do business with other companies and not freelancers.
The cost of renting an office need not be expensive. In fact, you could even just rent a mailbox at a prestigious business address and hire meeting rooms there when you need them. Search online for virtual office providers like Regus to see just how affordable and flexible such a solution can be for your business.
Hiring the right talent
When you transition to a fully-fledged company, you will need to hire the right people to work for your brand. While it’s important to focus on skills and experience when short-listing potential candidates, you must also determine whether people will be a good fit for your company culture.
For example, you don’t want to hire people that are used to working in formal environments if every day is “Dress Down Day” at your workplace!
By considering the above points, you will find it easier to transition yourself from a freelancer into an entrepreneur running a company. Good luck!
Want to take your freelance business to the next level? Read my new book!
4 Pitfalls of Being An Entrepreneur...and How to Overcome Them
running your own business
There’s a lot to be said for entrepreneurship. A lot has been said, most of extolling the many admirable traits of those who dedicate their life to challenging themselves and pushing the world in any large or small way. Yet while there are many great reasons why going at it alone is worthwhile, there are a number of lesser talked about pitfalls than budding Richard Branson’s should be aware. Here are four of them and some guidance on how they can be overcome.
Source: Pexels.com
It’s Hard Work
We’re hoping it won’t come as any great shock to you that being an entrepreneur is very hard work. You need to create something that doesn’t exist and make other people believe in it. That’s not something that just anyone can do and those that can usually have to work extra hard to prove it.
How do you overcome hard work? Why, by not thinking of it as work at all. This is your passion project. It is your life. So get building!
You’re Responsible For Others
This is one that usually creeps up on entrepreneurs. One day they’re mapping their route to business success in their garage, the next they’re responsible for a team of workers, and all the quirks and trials and tribulations that go along with that.
Every entrepreneur needs to have some degree of people skills, but sometimes the problems you’re faced with will be beyond that. You should be looking to outsource your HR responsibilities early on. Find out more here and make sure the employee aspect of your business is taken care of. In the meanwhile, you will be able to get back to building your dream!
The Pressure Is On
Any job that’s worth a grain of salt has pressure connected to it, but what you’re doing is a different kettle of fish altogether. Whereas most leaders share their pressures with other people in the company, you’re essentially an island, floating along on a sea of pressure. It is the life you chose, and you have to accept that the side effects of entrepreneurship can’t all be positive. To combat this, make sure you don’t fall into the trap of believing your hype. Stay level to the ground, and remember that if you fail, then it’s not the end of the world. Move on to the next thing.
Finding Other Joys
Finally, when it comes to other aspects of their life, entrepreneurs tend to...well, not have other aspects of their life. Their lives are dominated by what they’re trying to achieve; personal relationships, hobbies and other joys can take a seat that’s quite far back in their mind. While you do need to show high levels of dedication to your company, it’s also important that you take the time to take a break every now and again. It’s important for your health, wellbeing and also your company, since you’ll return stronger than before.
Freelance Pressures Getting You Down? Here's How to Change That
There is no doubt about it; being a freelancer is stressful. You have no job security and you have to constantly be on your toes just to make enough money to stay afloat. However, there are good things about being a freelance worker too. For example, when you work for yourself, you can run your own schedule and make your own decisions. You don’t have to be subservient to someone else. That can only be positive, but if the pressures and stress of freelance life are getting you down, here’s how to beat them and get back on track.
Closely Regulate Your Work-Life Balance
Getting your work-life balance right is one of the most important things of all when it comes to working as a freelancer. It can often seem like you never have the time to do the things you want to do. It’s about time you starting paying more attention to your work-life balance. You will only cause yourself problems if you allow this balance to get out of kilter. No one wants to be working all the time at the expense of their personal life. You need to regulate your time and set work boundaries for yourself.
freelance life balance
Get Help from Others
Getting help from other people is not about meeting defeat or giving up. Instead, it’s all about making the most of your time and freeing yourself to focus on the things that matter most.
You can outsource some of the dull, repetitive and time-consuming tasks to external companies. If you have a vital IT system in place, you could use managed it services from itWORKS!. And if you don’t know how to manage your own money, you could hire an accountant. These things mean spending money, but if they free up your time, they could allow you to make more money too.
Stop Taking on More Work Than You Can Handle
If you are taking on more work than you can handle, you will end up under pressure and stressed out. That’s the last thing you need when you’re trying to run your freelance company in the right way.
It’s easy to do this because when you work for yourself, there is no one there to manage your workflow. Doing that is entirely up to you. You should work out how fast you work, and how much money you need to make, and then regulate your own workflow and work schedule from there.
invoices
Don’t Accept Underpayment of Missing Payments
Unfortunately, underpayment or missed payments are still very commonly experienced by freelancers. It’s shocking that people think that they can ask you to do work for them and then stall when the time comes to cough up the cash. Most freelancers have experienced this at least once. You should have a one strike policy in place, and warn clients of it beforehand. If payment is not received by an agreed upon deadline, refuse to work with them again. That’s the only way to get the message across to people who want to rip you off.
I also ask for all or half of the payment upfront from new clients to be sure I get at least some of what I'm owed.
From Tiny Freelancer To Professional Outfit
writing a blog
Freelancing as a writer is a completely valid way of working and can make a fulfilling lifelong career, especially for those who don’t like the constraints of more traditional setups. However, there’s no doubt that freelancers face some resistance from clients who might otherwise jump at their services. The trick might be to frame yourself as a professional business, rather than a professional individual.
Brand Like a Pro
The first thing to do is to make sure that no part of your branding says anything about you besides "professional." When you’re working on all your marketing content by yourself, for instance, it’s easy for typos and errors to worm their way in there. You have to be thorough, using tools like Grammarly to double-check absolutely everything you put out. For the site, you should ensure that you’re using a professional designer if you’re not fully proficient enough to create your own page.
But branding is about the message as much as it’s about how it’s presented. To create a great brand, think through the client’s eyes first and foremost. What do they want to see from you?
Be Upfront with Your Proof
Sometimes, the people who know best what your clients want to see are the clients that you’ve worked for in the past. There’s no better way to get that than to ask them for testimonials. Testimonials aren’t just kind words to give yourself an ego boost. They’re proof positive that your work has worked for others in the past, often highlighting the points that potential clients will care about the most.
Here's some things people have said about me.
Don’t Give the Game Up
Sometimes, the issue a potential client has is the size of your operation and nothing more. To do away with that, brand yourself as a business, not a person.
For instance, instead of using a home address, you can use a mail forwarding service to give yourself a truly professional address. Besides that, when you talk to clients, don’t immediately introduce yourself as the CEO or owner. Don’t outright lie to clients, but let them believe what they want about your setup.
branding your business
Work Outside Your Work
Building your brand and the brand of the business outside your writing services might do a lot to show that you’re the real deal as well. For instance, running your own blog, your own podcast and your own social media community can show that you’re a well-respected and often listened to voice in the field (providing that you are). If you work on other projects like speaking appearances, getting in respectable online and print publications, and even writing your own eBook, can highlight you as an industry expert. There are few things better for the brand.
The stigma against freelancers is something of a silly prejudice for a lot of clients, but it’s one that you can work your way around. You just have to make sure you go the extra mile to emphasize the professionalism of your setup.
How to Make Writing your Career
So, you’re looking for a career that allows you to make the most of your way with words. There are lots of options out there. Some of them might seem unrealistic or unattainable to you, but it's important not to rule things out when you’re choosing the career that’s going to be best for you. It’s much more important to just focus on what you’re good at and what you’re capable of achieving.You don’t have to settle for second best or take on a job that you don’t find fulfilling. Below, you’ll find plenty of information on some of the best writing career paths out there. Read about them all and don’t rule anything out until you’ve given them careful consideration...and even tried it out.
Pursue Your Creative Writing Dreams
Many people assume that their dreams of being a creative writer are not realistic. However, this negative kind of attitude can drag you down and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. These days, it’s easier than ever before to get your writing out there and have it read by real people. That’s all thanks to the boom in self-publishing. You can use Kindle and other similar platforms to publish ebooks that people can buy. So, if you think you have the skills and talent to write creatively, there is nothing stopping you from giving it a try for yourself.
Proofread Work to Check for Mistakes
Ever been accused of being a grammar Nazi? Then this job is for you!
There is so much written work that gets produced each day. A lot of it needs to be checked for errors before it is sent out into the world for publication. Proofreaders are the people who take care of this kind of work. It’s a job that’s perfectly suited to the kind of people who love spelling and grammar. Although there are now computer programs that can help with this, nothing quite beats the talents of a proofreader. It’s a career path to consider if you know what you’re doing. Many proofreaders work as freelancers, but there are fixed jobs out there too.
how to become a writer
Edit Other People’s Words
Editing is similar to proofreading, but it’s not quite the same. They do a bit more than proofreaders do. Editors come up with ways in which a written text can be improved. They might suggest changing sentence around and fixing the structure or come up with ideas. Many editors are also content gatekeepers. They research what the readers want and assign projects to writers based on their findings.
Become a Technical or Contract Writer
Technical writers tend to produce writing that is complex and specific to a certain industry or type of business. For example, this type of writing might be required in the world of science or medicine. It usually demands an understanding of technical terms and other such things. Many people who enjoy writing, but have a background in a technical vocation opt for a career as a technical writer.
Contract writers, writers who literally write contracts, need to have a legal background and an understanding of contract law, of course. These types of writers are always in demand, so don’t rule out these career options.
Try Your Hand at Copywriting
Copywriting can be a lot of fun if you want a career in writing that pays well, while also being able to be a little creative. You will be producing copy for companies that both markets products and informs customers. It’s safe to say you can’t just write adverts in a hard-sell kind of way because that’s not what copywriting is all about. Instead, you need to be interesting, engaging and authentic. That’s what the vast majority of businesses are looking for when they hire a copywriter, so it’s what you’re going to have to provide. Read about copywriting online to learn more about it.
Some types of writing copywriters do are:
Ad articles for magazines
Marketing emails
Copy for commerce websites
Brochure text
Consider a Career in Journalism
Journalism is writing for news outlets. It often requires an unbiased opinion on topics and good investigating skills.
It is a difficult career to break into, though. You should consider a career in journalism if you believe that you have the tenacity and investigative spirit to make an impact and get noticed. You have to be talented and willing to make yourself stand out if you want to become a professional journalist these days. You will also need the right training and industry accredited qualifications. A BS in journalism is usually required for any job in this industry. You can start small, at a small town newspaper and make your way up, though.
10 Powerful Tips to Write and Sell Your First eBook
Don’t set your expectations too high if it is your first time to publish an ebook. At the same time, you should do everything possible to create a quality e-book and advertise it to a lot of people. The key to success is creating quality content. Make sure your ebook is unique. Inject a lot of personal stories and learning.
The next step is to edit the content. Try going through the pages over and over again, even backwards. Make sure there are no spelling or grammar errors. These minor details could affect your reputation. Instead of buying your next ebook, people will feel like you didn’t put a lot of efforts on the first one.
Most of all, you have to focus on marketing the ebook. Let everyone know that you are publishing one, weeks or months before the release. Offer a pre-order service so that you have guaranteed buyers. Show a glimpse of what they can expect from the ebook. This is how you build anticipation before the actual release.
Once you have finally prepared the ebook, sell it and find people who are willing to review it. Let them speak based on their actual experience of reading the ebook to make the reviews more authentic.
Just follow the tips shown on the infographic below and your first ebook will be a massive success.
Warning...Make Sure Your Business is Disaster-Proof
protect your business
There is no doubt that setting up a business is an extremely challenging prospect for anyone. That's why it's so important that you keep it protected from any potential disasters that may occur. The last thing that you want to happen is that you invest a great deal of time and money into developing your business, only for it to suddenly go up in smoke.
When it comes to protecting your company from disaster, there are a few things that you can do to make sure you are in the best position possible.
Put a Disaster Plan in Place
The first thing that you need to do is to put a disaster plan in place so you are fully prepared for every eventuality. It may be that you are unable to continue working from your current location. It may be that your website goes wrong and you lose access to your important files.
Whatever is the case, you should think about how you will respond to each situation and create a plan of action. This way, you won’t be floundering around trying to solve the issue with no idea exactly what you are doing.
For example, I have a sick day plan. Since I'm the only one at my business, no one is here to take over when I'm sick. So, I plan my schedule carefully to make room for a floating day off. Usually this means that I have to stay one day ahead on all of my assignments.
Make Sure Your Business is Well Protected
You will want to make sure that your business is protected from all eventualities by having the right type of insurance in place, too. As well as your standard business insurance, it is worth ensuring you are fully covered for other situations which may arise, such as flood or earthquake, it your current policy doesn't cover them.
You should also make sure you know of a good lawyer who is well versed in copyright, commercial law and asset protection, amongst other areas. You never know what situations could occur down the line so it's good to have a phone number handy.
Backup All Your Files
back up your files
Nowadays, there are a lot of the potential disasters that threaten your computer. Hackers, spills, accidental droppage and more can ruin your company if you don't have your files backed up.
Many people are now opting for cloud-based storage, and this could well be the type of system that offers you the most protection and ensures you keep access to your important files. These usually charge a monthly fee.
A free option is to open a Gmail account and email everything to yourself. It's a pain, but it works.
There are also external hard drives you can purchase once and use for the duration of your business. Just be sure to update the hard drive with new files at least once a week.
Build Up a Strong Support Network
In business, the relationships you form can make or break your company. If you have people to turn to when times get tough who can offer support, you will be in a much better position to deal with any situations that may occur.
Similarly, if you have clients who have become close to you and are personally invested in your company, they are much more likely to stick by your side as your business recovers.
Data - The Foundation For Your Future In Business
Most of the fear in life comes from a fear of the unknown. People who don't drive, for instance, may be scared to venture onto the open roads as they don't understand how they work. We are scared of the dark because we don't know what is going on, as we can't see - we can't get that visual information as our eyes won't work that well in the dark, they send nothing to our brain, so our brain can conjure up all sorts of things. We don't like what we don't know, and that can make us afraid. We can defeat our fear with intelligence, though. Information makes it all different, and it takes our fear away. When you flick a light bulb on, you can process everything going on in that dark corner - when you learn to drive, you lose your fear. When we learn or gain information, it gives us strength.Information? That gives your business strength as well. We aren't talking about spies like those in the old Willy Wonka novels that spied on the marvelous factory of Willy Wonka to gain industry insight - no, not that type of corporate espionage that can help you get the jump on your competition. Every business in the modern age has access to information - thanks to the internet. Those businesses that are using the internet will find themselves rich in data. But what can simple data do for our business? What can these numbers tell us what we don't know? Will they be a lightbulb that we can turn on to rid us of our worries? Well, not necessarily, but at the very least they will lift your business out of the dark world of the unknown. Data can tell us a lot.
In data's most basic function, it exists as numbers. From the data that shows us profit, which would be the difference between a business's income and expenditure, to visitor figures and follower counts. These numbers can be used to show how successful a business is, their patterns can also allow an opportunity to forecast future success.
Then there is the data that moves on from numbers - visitor locations that show where in the world a website is being accessed from. This gives us a picture of a new market.
There is also the advanced data - names and addresses that can help someone promote their business, gained from advanced campaigns through something like Postman email marketing software, which can also deliver queries to customers - are they interested in a product? Yes or no? Those answers are the data that light the way forward for your business.
Data is just information. We can twist and manipulate information in ways that we see fit, we can also ignore data. Data won’t do its job if you don’t do yours and use that data to inform your next big move in business. Data isn’t something that works for you and it certainly isn’t an employee - don’t wait around for data to do something for you and your business, but see what you can notice and realize from the data to boost your business.
Brand New: How to Start Online Marketing Your Business
branding on buildings
Many modern businesses depend on online marketing methods to drive sales and get the cash registers ringing. Whether you’re launching a startup, you’re branching into e-commerce, or you’re keen to generate more interest online, it pays to come up with an online marketing strategy that works.
So, what do you need to be successful? Here are some handy hints that may help you answer this question.
Branding
Branding isn’t just about catching somebody’s eye when they walk into a shop. It’s also about giving them more information about the product, making them think about who you are and what you do, and encouraging them to buy into your business. Branding is a means of using aesthetics and design concepts to appeal to clients, but it’s also about generating a link between certain products and your brand name.
You shouldn’t have to physically walk into a shop and see a product to associate a brand with a product. If somebody asks you about fizzy drinks, for example, what company names come to mind? This happens automatically without you seeing a page full of pictures or slogans.
If you’re paying more attention to online marketing, make sure your brand has a strong online presence. Your social media accounts and your website should bear your name proudly. Use the same handle across social media platforms and encourage followers to engage with you on more than one site. Use your logo on emails you send out and posts you submit. Be consistent.
branding your business
Give people more
When you buy something online, you don’t have the opportunity to see it with your own eyes and feel it. This is why it’s so important for retailers to provide as much information as possible.
In a shop, you may have a rack of clothes to choose from or a shelf packed with stand up pouches filled with all kinds of edible delights on offer. You can use your senses and sample items to help you make a decision. With e-commerce, you’re reliant on what you can see in front of you.
If you’re selling clothes, for example, make sure you include a range of images, which show the piece from every angle and offer a feature that allows you to zoom in. Show the clothing on a model as well as on a hanger, and provide information about the model so that the client can get an idea of how it would look on them and what size they would need.
You can also run a blog on your website to provide more detail about selected items and feature them on your social media pages. It’s also useful to have an online chat feature so that you can respond to questions rapidly.
how to sell online
Emphasize convenience
How often do you see companies telling you can book an appointment in a second or buy something instantly? If you’ve set your business up with convenience in mind, make sure you play a role in your marketing campaign. Show and tell people how easy it is to buy from you. This could be the thing that sets you apart from your rivals, so don’t undersell it.
If you’re keen to inject some vigor into your online marketing strategy, bear these tips in mind. Hopefully, you should notice a positive difference in no time.
4 Steps to Make Sure Your Blog Is Read
If you’ve spent time constructing, researching, and writing a blog post that you think is worthy of people’s attention, it can be a bit dispiriting when you review the stats of how many people engaged with it only to discover hardly anyone visited your site in the first place. Don’t take it to heart - it has nothing (OK, a little) to do with the quality of your writing or how interesting your subject was. By making a few simple changes to how you handle your blog, you can get the readers you crave.
blogging tips to drive traffic
Source: Pexels.com
A Blog is About More Than the Writing
Ernest Hemingway would have had a difficult time getting visitors to his blog. He was pretty self-interested, and seldom played up to the crowds. If you want to have your blog read, don’t be like Ernest. After you’ve finished the writing part, it’s time to dress is up so that it’s a webpage that people will visit. This means including things like photographs and gifs, breaking up the text so that it’s easy to read, and including a few links within the piece so that it’s given an SEO boost for Google. Also, don’t underestimate how much people are drawn to a catchy title.
Into the Inbox
You’ve written a blog...and now it’s time to send it out there. People will find your content of their own accord, but many more will “find” if they’re given a gentle nudge in their inbox. If you’ve already got a list of subscribers, make sure it’s going out to them.
If you’re a new blog trying to get traffic and don’t have a list yet, some people buy bulk email lists. I don't advocate this, but some people do, so I guess it might be something to consider, as long as the emails were collected ethically. Many of these list contain fake or unused email addresses, so be careful.
Spreading the Word
Aside from sending posts directly to the email addresses you have in your database, you should also endeavour to get the word out to as many people as possible by posting your blog around the web. If you have an engaging blog post about a topic that is hot at the moment, people will be interested. Get it on your Facebook page, your business Facebook page, and submit it to companies with high follower count. Who knows, it might even go viral! And once you have people to your site, you should be prompting them to join your mailing list. It can be a slow process, but it’s a good way of doing it.
Make it Good
Finally, it goes without saying that your content should be good. Instead of posting several adequate posts a day, post one or two high quality blogs instead. If your blog has many spelling or grammatical errors then it doesn’t matter how many people visit your site; you’re running the risk of them leaving pretty quickly and not coming back. Take your time to make your blog posts as good as they can be - you’re showcasing your talents, after all!
Clever Financing Whilst You're Freelancing
freelance financing
Picture Source
Being a successful freelancer is about far more than finding clients or even offering a consistent service while operating on a solo basis or as part of a small team. Being a successful freelancer depends on the money involved with your solo business, at the end of the day. Given that you’re the glue which holds everything together and keeps the money pouring in or pouring out, it’s up to you to maintain control of all financial elements involved with your freelance business and ensure that you remain in the green.
Rather than solely focusing on profits and making more money to cover your necessities, you should be putting a huge focus on reducing costs.
As a writer, you’ll run into costs with your blog such as a decent laptop, the camera you use to take photos and any design software you might use to improve the aesthetic of your website. Here are some ways to reduce the non-essential costs of your business so that there’s more money left over for the essentials.
Outsourcing
Yes, you want to save money. However, the quote that you’ve got to ‘spend money to make money’ holds true as running a business is a time-consuming affair. When you’re the solo employer and employee of such a business, you’ll reach a point at when you’re taking on far too much work. While you might think that being a freelancer is great, as you can get everything done by yourself and save money, this won’t hold true if you let opportunities with higher-paying clients pass you by or make mistakes which cost you money to fix.
This is where outsourcing work comes into play. You can’t do everything, and it might end up costing you. Outsourcing menial tasks so that you can take on more highly paid work will save you money in the long run, but you’ve got to outsource tasks in the right places; sites such as Fiverr are home to individuals who work well and cheaply, for example.
Green Living
One way you could save money for your business is to save money around your home, since your freelance office is probably based in your personal study or a spare room.
Much like business owners who implement eco-friendly measures to cut down costs in big office buildings, you can do the same around your home. For example, you could look into an solution of irrigation flow and data logger to keep the sprinklers and your utility bills controlled. You could invest in solar panels, energy efficient appliances and insulation for your office and home as a whole.
If you cut down the costs of running the headquarters for your empire, you’ll find that you’re feeling far less strained and stretched with the money you do make while freelancing.
Continuous Budgeting
Budgeting is important in both personal and business life. Money makes the world go around, no matter how much or how little it drives you and your goals. The simple truth is that, even if your freelance business is a passion project, it can’t keep going and you can’t keep going if there isn’t enough money involved. Being the sole employer and employee, you should find this easier than owners of huge companies might.
Think of this in the same manner as your personal financing. Your expenditures shouldn’t ever exceed your income. If your income grows or changes over time as your business expands, then you can continuously reshape your budget to meet the improved capacities of your freelance company. You can spend money when you have more to spend, but you shouldn’t be living beyond your means; you need to pay for your personal utilities, rent and shopping as well as for your business’ upkeep.
This should all be factored into your business’ budgeting plan; once necessities have been covered, you can then look into the amount of money left over for “improvements” which could be made to the business or the resources you use within your freelancing business. Continuous budgeting is the key.
Leaving Home: Taking Your Small Business to a Commercial Venue
how to become a better freelance writer
One of the great things about the modern world of business is that many entrepreneurs are able to start their companies from home. Operating from a residential address offers many benefits. Not least due to the reduced overheads and pressure for fast results. However, most successful startups will eventually reach a point where they’ve outgrown the home office. It’s time to leave home.
Transporting your venture from the home to a commercial property is a big step to take that brings several risks. Therefore, it’s imperative that you do so in the most appropriate fashion. Follow these five simple tricks to make sure that you do.
Make sure that you’re ready. Timing is everything in business, especially when it comes to expansions. If outsourcing can continue to satisfy your needs for a little longer, you may wish to consider this option. On the other hand, staying in the home through fear of failure can be equally damaging to the company’s future. Either way, analyzing your current situation and creating a thorough plan for the next stage of the journey are vital aspects.
Ensure the commercial venue is suitable. If you are having the premises constructed, using a company that has experience in commercial properties is key.
Consider the increased need for exposure. Showing your ambition in business is great, but it needs to be supported. Increasing the visibility of your website, as well as your physical premises should be top of the agenda. Even if you invest in a van – get it signwritten – it becomes a mobile billboard! Just make sure your commercial van insurance provider is aware – it has to be declared to them. Meanwhile, you may wish to run a promotional event or affiliate scheme to gain more interest. After all, without new clients, the expansion is a little redundant.
Think about the staffing requirements. A bigger operation will probably need to take on new staff, so a successful recruitment drive is key. However, even your existing members may need a little extra training. Safety courses from experts at DuPoint can help ensure that your company remains safe throughout the new chapter. Avoiding those accidents, and the subsequent fallout can only have a positive impact. Combine it with great security, and you should be just fine.
Don’t forget your existing clients. Your customers deserve to be informed about the necessary changes before and during the process. This is especially true if the move will disrupt business for a short time. Failure to communicate with them could harm those relationships.
Of course, every business migration will encounter unique challenges along the way too. Nevertheless, taking care of the above foundations should keep your progress on the right track. A bigger, brighter future awaits.
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
What Are The Best Ways To Invest Your Freelance Profits?
investing profits from a freelance business
credit
It can be tricky to reach a point as a freelancer where you are actually bringing in more money than you need to survive. But once you get there, a whole world of opportunity opens up for you. And where you put your money can make a huge difference to your lifestyle now and long into the future. Let’s take a look at some of the investments savvy freelancers make - and why you should consider them, too.
Invest in Hired Help
Here’s the biggest problem with freelancing - you have to do everything yourself. There’s marketing, accounting, website maintenance, invoicing, cold calling, prospect meetings and a lot more besides - and that’s even before you actually get down to work and earn some money.
Many freelancers suffer from this issue, and it can significantly impact their earnings. Let’s say you are a writer that can pull in $300 a day when you are working. But you have to spend 2.5 days a week on admin tasks - which is effectively losing you the ability to earn an extra $750 a week. If you can find someone to do that work for you for a fraction of the price - and a lot more efficiently - you will find your earning potential could skyrocket.
Invest in Business Growth
As you get older, the freelance lifestyle might lose its appeal - you might want to take more of a strategic position, for example. If so, you should be looking at investing your profits into growing your business.
Create a viable, long-term business plan and make sure that you are focused on making things happen - whether that’s hiring a first employee, renting an office or seeking ways of expanding your business online. Bear in mind, however, is that investing in growth is just as risky a strategy as any other kind of investment - there are no guarantees. So, ensure you don’t burn any bridges along the way, and you can always fall back on your freelancing if things turn sour.
Invest in your future
It's worth planning ahead for the future, too, in a personal sense. Building up a healthy investment portfolio and savings plan for your later years is essential when you are a freelancer.
So, learn what to look out for with penny stocks, bonds, savings accounts and ensure you have a good retirement plan. The essence of sound investment is only 'gamble' with what you can afford, and mix up your portfolio to reduce your exposure to risk in any one particular area.
Invest in Your Education
Finally, if you want to take your freelance career to its maximum potential, always consider investing in your education. It's the only way you can keep improving, and when you are in the world of freelancers the only guarantee is that there will be people younger, fresher, and hungrier than you. Continuing your education is the only way to survive, whether that means taking a writing course or finding a reputable business coach to work with. If you want to make more money, taking my master course would be a good investment.
Use These 3 Simple Tricks To Impress Potential Freelance Clients
getting clients with your blog
As a freelancer, your biggest concern is finding clients. If you don’t have any clients, then you won’t make any money. The thing is, how do you go about impressing potential clients and getting them to believe in you? Well, you have to use these three simple tricks, that’s how!
Create A Portfolio Of Your Work
If any of you have acquired freelance work before, then you should know the one thing that every potential client wants to know before they hire you; how good is your work?
After all, why would someone hire you if they have no evidence that you’re capable of carrying out the task they have in mind. If you can’t provide any evidence of your work, then they’re far more likely to hire someone else that can.
As such, work on creating a portfolio of your work, selecting the best and longest examples you can find. If you’re a newbie and haven’t had any freelance jobs before, then don’t worry. What you can do is search around for voluntary work that will help you build up this portfolio. Or you can take my video course How to Create a Writing Portfolio When You Don’t Have Any Clips. In it I teach how to get clips (without writing for content mills) and how to create a professional portfolio.
You can also start writing a blog and show off their writing skills that will impress potential clients.
Hand Out Professional Business Cards
A lot of freelancers make the mistake of only turning to the internet to find clients. Of course, there are loads of great websites where you can find potential freelance jobs and start collecting a pool of clients.
However, you have to realize that there are also opportunities away from the internet too. A business person could walk into a coffee shop on their break and be thinking about some freelance work they need done. Then, they might spot a freelancer's business card on a notice board or stacked near the till and their problems are solved. Get professional plastic business cards created and hand them out to people or place them in shops to open up a world of possibilities.
Plus, a professional business card makes you seem like a serious freelancer. They’ll be thinking, "Okay, this guy/gal is a real pro. They have their own business cards!" Here's an example of mine:
Business cards for freelance writers
Business cards for freelance writers
Build A Professional Website
A website is pretty much a digital business card. People find your website, it tells them something about you and provides them with contact details, etc.
If you have a professional website dedicated to your freelance career, then you will wow potential clients. It makes you look like the real deal, like you’re really taking things seriously. Plus, it doubles up as the perfect place to showcase your portfolio. People can find your site and find links to all your previous work.
It doesn't take a lot of money to start your website. In fact, if you have a blog, just use that. Create static pages for your contact information, an About Me page and a page that has links to your clips.
These three simple ideas will make a dramatic difference in your freelance career. If you’re struggling to impress potential clients, and have seen a few leads slip away, give these ideas a try and watch them have an almost instant impact.
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
4 Threats To Your Writing Career (And How to Prevent Them)
Life as a freelance writer is, for the most part, a pretty stellar existence. You can have your own schedule, work wherever (and wearing whatever) you want, and never have to miss out on a fun experience just because you have to be in the office. However, a freelance writer (and freelance anything, come to think of it) is exposed to greater risks than traditional workers. Below, I've outlined four of the threats that could derail your writing career and offer some advice as to how you can overcome them/limit the damage they do.
Writing career tips
Source: Pexels.com
Illness
Employees rights at work have come on a long way over the past few decades, and they continue to improve all the time. As you’re self-employed, you don’t have access to the same kinds of rights as traditional employees. If you fall ill, there is no company behind you to give you sick pay.
While you can’t prevent yourself from having to stop work due to illness (though you can limit your chances!), you can ensure that it’s not an instant disaster by having a savings pot that’ll function as your wages when you’re ill. If possible, try and put away 10-15% of your earnings into your ‘sick pay’ account.
Technology Issues
You only need three things to be a freelance writer: talent, a computer and the internet. The talent will always be there, but the other two? Not always, and particularly the computer.
If your computer breaks you could end up losing all your important documents. And if you’ve been working on a big project, this could spell disaster. By using services like spectrumwise.com, you can keep your IT systems fully operational and have your your essential data back in your hands should you face you any problems. Remember - you can’t always rely on technology to take care of itself!
Trouble With the Law
You might one day find yourself facing a lawsuit because you’ve used copyrighted material. You could also face some legal troubles if you have a misunderstanding with your client.
While some issues you can’t account for, you can limit your chances of trouble (which could potentially cripple your business) by triple checking that you’re not using any material that might be under copyright and drawing up a contract (a simple contract/email evidence will do) with your client.
The Robots are Coming
Now, I don’t want to alarm you, but it’s only a matter of time before robots begin infiltrating the freelance writing workforce. In fact, some industry experts think that by some time in 2018 nearly 20% of web content could be “written” by robots.
While it remains to be seen whether that amount of work will be written with non-human hands, you can prepare for the worst by beginning to specialise in a niche area of writing now. People will always need high quality, individual content written by people with real expertise!
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
Five Tips To Keep Your Freelance Business Going
freelance writing business
The freelance life isn’t as easy as people who work in offices would have you believe. Sure, the commute is excellent - from your bed to your desk via the shower and the kitchen if you have time for coffee - but it can be a difficult life. You don’t get benefits or vacation days, and you might feel too guilty to ever totally switch off. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make the freelance life a little easier on yourself, long term. I know I've preached on several of these before, but they need repeating.
Create A Good Workspace
First of all, create a beautiful workspace in your home. If you have space, a home office. Surround yourself with everything you need from files to books, along with a tidy desk and plenty of natural light and fresh air.
If you don’t have space for that, the number one thing that you need to stay comfortable is an ergonomic desk chair. A sore back thanks to your job is no joke.
freelancers office
Image source
Fight That Procrastination
It can sometimes be hard to motivate yourself if you’re your own boss. Breathing down your own neck just doesn’t have the same effect as your scary boss doing that for you in an office! If you’re having problems with procrastination, start rewarding yourself for every task you complete - whether that’s with a short walk, a cup of tea or a square of chocolate is up to you.
The most important thing is that you figure out how you’re motivated and that you play along with that.
freelance writer
Image source
Get Out Of The House
Depending on what your job is, it may be hard to get out of the house. If you work in a certain industry, it can be easy to attend conferences, for example the Safety 2017 Professional Development Conference & Exposition where you can attend talks and network with other professionals.
Talking to other people in your field instead of staring at your four walls at home all day can help to inspire you and give you more ideas. It’s also a good idea to make sure that you get outside and take a walk every day - it’s good for your mental and physical health to get some fresh air.
office design
Image source
Stay Financially Savvy
If you’re working freelance, you’re probably managing your own money, which can be tricky if you’ve never paid taxes before as they’ve previously all come out of your payslip automatically.
Make sure that you put away a good amount of money every month so you can pay taxes and aren’t caught short at the end of the financial year. If you aren’t great with finances, hire an accountant.
freelance writing tips
Image source
Keep Promoting Yourself
Finally, don’t be embarrassed to keep promoting yourself - give out your business card at networking events and keep using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote your business. Making sure that people know about you is a big battle so you’ll need to bear in mind that you may need to spend almost as much time promoting yourself as you do on your actual work!
Need help getting clients and making what you're worth? Take my class.
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
Will Posting Links in Forums Get You Traffic?
forum linking
One of the age-old tips for publicizing a blog is forum linking. You've probably even seen me give that advice on this blog. For those of you that don't know what forum linking's all about, here is what bloggers usually say on the subject:
Go to forums that are about your blog's topic and answer questions that you find there. If one of your blog posts can answer someone's question, link to it in your reply. This not only brings you traffic, it also makes you an expert on the topic.
I haven't done this type of marketing in a long while, so I decided to test it to make sure I'm giving my readers relevant information. Here's what I found out.
Background
sharing links on forums
For my test, I decided to choose forums and groups where I have been a member for a long time. I know the rules of the forums and have posted blog links there before with no problems. I also know what other people on those forums have gotten away with. So, all-in-all, I felt I knew what kind of posts would get deleted and which ones wouldn't.
Forum Linking Test #1
For my first test, I wanted to dip my toe into forum linking, but didn't want to go all-in. So, I went over to the Digital Point forum and posted a link to someone else's blog and casually mentioned that I was featured in the post. I also gave some helpful advice to go along with the link.
People replied to the post. Things were great. After a month with no negative feedback, I thought that the post was in the clear...until I received this alert:
posting links on forums
Well, crap.
forum posting marketing
Forum Linking Test #2
helping on forums
Before I got that alert, I decided to link to my own post. I created a new thread on Digital Point, Warrior Forum and in two copywriting groups on Facebook. Go big or go home, am I right?
The forum post was about how I often write blog posts recommending articles by other people. I encouraged other copywriters to link to their latest articles in the comments of my post so that they could get more views. (Yes, I am giving you permission to put links to your stuff in the comments. Go crazy.)
I thought it was pretty harmless since inviting people to link in the comments doesn't get me anything other than page views. I wasn't selling anything on that page. If anything, links to off-topic sites might get me an SEO penalty from Google. (The jury is still out about whether links in comments hurts or helps you, so I figured what the heck.)
Well, no body took me up on the offer except for two people. My post did get a lot of views for a couple of days, though. In fact, on the second day my page views for the whole site doubled. So I guess you could say the experiment was a success.
[bctt tweet="In fact, on the second day my page views for the whole site doubled. "]
The question is, was I hand slapped for being "spammy"?
Yes. Yes, I was.
Getting hand slapped by forum mods.
A Warrior Forum mod sent me this little note:
Hello,
Greetings from the WarriorForum Team.
This is inform you that we have removed a thread you created in the Copywriting section of the forum.
Self-promotional advertisements are absolutely prohibited in this section. Please refrain from doing so to avoid disciplinary action.
You may help out people without the need of linking your own blog or copy pasting the content from your blog to the forum.
Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Take a look at the part I bolded. What he's saying is any link to your blog is prohibited. By the way, I didn't copy and paste anything, so I'm not sure what he's talking about there. Hmm...
spammy posts
Digital Point also deleted my post, but didn't send me a note or alert that it was deleted. I know they don't have a policy against linking (that I know of), so I have no idea why both of my posts were considered spammy. Both Warrior Forum and Digital Point have tons and tons of spam and a lot of the spam is by the owners of the forum themselves. Go figure.
The Facebook groups didn't seem to care that I posted a link to my blog. In fact, the only two people to post links on my post were from one of the Facebook groups.
I've found that many Facebook groups have promotion days where you are allowed to link to your products or blog. Be sure to check the group rules or ask the admins.
Summary
I guess the lesson here is, yes, forum linking does get you page views, but you need to be very careful where you do it. Check the forum rules to be sure linking is okay. If not, put a link in your signature to your site, if the forum allows it.
Also, just because others get away with posting links to their own site, don't assume you will get away with it. The whole process makes me super uncomfortable and made me realize why I don't do it anymore.
Facebook groups is a whole other story. I take full advantage of promotion days and have ended up getting a lot of traffic from them.
Do you link in forums? How has it worked out for you?
You're Thinking Too Much About Keywords
how many keywords should I use
Throughout the 18 years that I have created content for businesses, I have heard the same requests from clients over and over:
Put these three keywords in the text at least five times.
Or
These keywords MUST be used twice in the opening paragraph, once in the middle and once at the end of the article.
Or
This list of 30 keywords must appear at least once in the article.
If you've been guilty of saying this to a content creator or have committed these travesties to your own content you need to hang your head in shame. Once upon a time, keyword usage and placement was important. It isn't anymore. In fact, you don't really need to worry about keywords very much at all.
Don't keyword stuff!
Sure, you should find out what keywords your customers are looking for and then create some content for those keywords, but there is no set amount of times you need to mention the keyword. You certainly SHOULD NOT force a bunch of keywords into the same blog post, webpage or article. Search engines are penalizing big time for keyword stuffing and content that doesn't make any sense.
The biggest reason why you don't need to stuff keywords is because search engines are now smart enough to know what your post is about. Even if you don't use a specific keyword, Google will still know what your post is about and will still rank it. How your post ranks is much more about the site it is being posted to, how many social media shares it gets and backlinks.
Here's what you should do with every post:
Put the keyword in the title.
Put the keyword in the article at least once, but make sure the sentence still makes sense.
Pick a relevant photo for your content and put the keyword in your photo's file name and description.
Include the keyword in the content's meta description.
That's it. You're done. No need to do anything else with the keyword. Most of this will come about naturally, so you probably don't need to think about it too much.
Now, make sure your content is interesting and helpful to your readers because no amount of keyword play is going to help you if you overlook quality content.
dropping the mic