Last week, I wrote about unanticipated successes. One of the stories I relayed involved an article I wrote while experimenting with a site that pays based on residuals. A few years ago, I wrote a brief no-brainer of an article for a revshare site that has subsequently generated several hundred dollars in earnings. I mentioned my overall disdain for involvement with most revenue sharing sites in the front-end of my post and thought I’d go into a little more detail about why I feel the way I do. I’d hate to think that my story of an exception to the [Read more…]
25 Tips to Become a Successful Freelance Writer
October 28, 2010. 5 Comments
Today is my last day as part of the Freelance Writing Jobs team. Time constraints and other obligations have made it difficult for me to give this community the care it needs, but I leave you in the very capable hands of Franky Branckaute and the Splashpress Media team. If you’ve been following my branding series and want to read more about branding and social media marketing, you can follow the link to read a free bonus chapter from my new book, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, and if you’ve been following my copywriting series and want to learn more, you [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Business Tips from Richard Branson
October 26, 2010. 4 Comments
Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, a highly successful company with customers around the globe in multiple lines of business. He’s also a serial entrepreneur — he just pursues his entrepreneurial spirit through his larger company (and on the occasional extreme sporting trip). Today, Richard Branson published a post on his blog called How to Succeed at Failure. That post leads readers to a question and answer series that he participates in, which is published on the American Express Open Forum. In this particular question and answer post, Branson responded to questions about failure, and his answers can [Read more…]
How Do You Handle Unresponsive Clients?
October 26, 2010. 11 Comments
Recently Carson Brackney wrote this wonderful article about getting more work from existing clients. The advice he gives is excellent, and I have followed most of it unconsciously for some time, but it got me thinking about what happens on the opposite end of the spectrum when we must deal with an unresponsive client. This has been on my mind recently because I have been worrying about a client who suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Fortunately, he went incommunicado shortly after he paid the balance he owed me on our latest project, so I’m not concerned about [Read more…]
Getting More Work from Your Existing Clients
October 7, 2010. 2 Comments
I don’t think it’s enough. Getting work is wonderful, making it is even better. Writers need to put their creative thinking, experience and skills to work to create new projects.
An Interview with Dan Schawbel – Author of Me 2.0
October 4, 2010. Leave a Comment
I was fortunate enough to have international best selling author and personal branding expert, Dan Schawbel, write the forward for my book that’s coming out next month, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing. The second edition of Dan’s incredibly popular book, Me 2.0, comes out this week. You can read his bio at the end of this post which demonstrates just how well Dan knows what he’s talking about! I spent a few minutes with him discussing how freelance writers can build their own personal brands in order to build their businesses. Dan’s insightful answers to my questions are included below. Be [Read more…]
How to Make a Living as a Writer
September 30, 2010. 23 Comments
You want to make a living writing.
Here’s how I do it. It may not be a good way for you to do it. Then again, it might be advice that transforms you from a feast/famine disaster into a consistent earner.
I Don’t Live in the United States – Can I Apply for U.S. Freelance Writing Jobs?
September 16, 2010. 6 Comments
I receive a lot of emails and comments on Freelance Writing Jobs posts asking the same question: I don’t live in the United States. Can I apply for U.S.-based freelance writing jobs? Since it’s such a common question, I want to provide an answer publicly. Here goes… Can you apply? Yes. The hiring manager will determine whether or not they’re willing to work with a writer outside of the United States. You’ll never know if they’re willing to do so if you don’t apply. When it comes to freelance writing, you’re not an employee. You’ll either be paid as a [Read more…]
First Lines as Inspiration
September 15, 2010. Leave a Comment
There are times when a great opening grabs me and pulls me along at sprint, opening doors for me until the last period hits the page. In those situations, I’m a true believer in the power of a first line’s inspiration. It makes bull riding easier when that happens, too.
Different Ways to Create Content
September 3, 2010. Leave a Comment
It doesn’t take rocket science to realize content is what blogs need to survive, succeed and even profit. In most circumstances blogs require a constant flow of quality content. There have been many would-be-bloggers who’ve thrown up a website with a handful of pages filled with pillar content and leave it at that. Then they move on to the next blog. That kind of blog model can work if you stay within micro niche topics where there is very little competition. However, if you prefer to build a blog and keep adding content – you will want to consider your [Read more…]
Multiple Niche Sites versus One Large Site
August 31, 2010. Leave a Comment
I’ve seen it happen numerous times – in fact, I’m guilty of catching blogging fever myself. When someone catches the fever, they are faced with the urge to setup multiple blogs covering a variety of niche topics that are of interest to them. Early in my blogging career I had and was attempting to maintain 13 blogs. That’s right THIRTEEN! Let me just say it didn’t take long for me to find that was Impossible! Recently I had a discussion with a friend of mine who would like to begin earning money blogging and would like to start off earning [Read more…]
Create Content With Timeless Appeal
August 25, 2010. 1 Comment
If you’ve continued reading to this point, you’ve likely taken the time to evaluate the “standard guidelines” and feel you have what it takes to blog. While you take some time to develop your blog for appearance sake, you’ll want to begin thinking about your initial content. I personally recommend you put some thought into creating timeless content that will serve as your pillar posts. Even if you select news-related topics, you can create timeless pieces that means the content you create will be useful today, tomorrow, a year from now and quite possibly 5 years from now. Blogs that are focused [Read more…]
Three Bags of Gold
August 24, 2010. 10 Comments
I’ve chopped off my finger. I’ve betrayed my friend. I’ve pulled the plug. I took the gold and ran.
I bet you’ve done it, too. Maybe you’ve stayed pure in ways that I haven’t, but you’ve compromised your responsibilities. You’ve done something short of your best work. You’ve pandered to an audience, to a client, or to your own writing vanity. You’ve made your deals with devils, even if your devils are incredibly cute and small.
If you haven’t, I bet you will. Someday.
Should You Become a Blogger?
August 19, 2010. 10 Comments
I know FWJ has covered a great deal of ground since it began, but for the sake of not missing a step, I’d like to start at the beginning for those who may be new and perhaps bring something new to the table for those who have been around for a while. As I stated in my initial introduction post, this blog is all about you! If there’s something in particular you’d like us to focus on, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email or leave a suggestion in the comments section. Thanks to the advancements of social media [Read more…]
Hello, I’m Gayla Baer — Let’s Get This Party Started!
August 17, 2010. 18 Comments
Greetings FWJ readers! I am excited to be the new contributing writer of FWJ Business Tips. After a very long, dreadfully hot/humid summer - my kids are back in school, I have moved and am settled in a new home and now I’m jumping back into my beloved world of blogging with both feet and then some. It feels like I have an endless supply of content swimming around in my head, anxious to make a debut, however, the reason I’m here is YOU! I’m here to provide you with information you want and need to help achieve your personal goals through writing! [Read more…]
10 Skills Freelance Writers Must Have if They Want to Succeed
August 3, 2010. 21 Comments
Since there are a lot of aspiring freelance writers in the Freelance Writing Jobs community, I thought it would be a good idea to go over some of the most important skills that freelance writers must have if they want to have a chance at being successful. In other words, if you want to get paid for your writing, you need to make sure you can do the things in the list below. 1. Spell If you can’t spell and you choose not to use a dictionary or effective spell-checking tool, then you won’t get far as a freelance writer. [Read more…]
Tools to Record Interviews Using Skype
July 27, 2010. 13 Comments
Last week, I published an article called 5 Online Tools Freelance Writers Can Use to Make Life and Business Easier, which offered my suggestions for free and cheap tools that any freelance writer can try. One of the items on that list was Skype, which enables you to make free calls (including international calls) from your computer. Skype is free and not only helps freelance writers manage client communication, but it’s also an incredible tool for conducting audio and video interviews. Want to see a sample of a video taken via a Skype call? Check out the videos I took [Read more…]
5 Online Tools Freelance Writers Can Use to Make Life and Business Easier
July 21, 2010. 4 Comments
There are a lot of free and cheap tools available online that freelance writers can use to make both their lives and work easier. Some make a simple task easier while others streamline processes so you can spend more time writing and finding new business and less time on busy work. Following are a few of the free tools that consistently get great reviews from small business owners. I use (or have used) most of these tools and each offers its own benefits that may or may not be right for you. Since most are free to try, you can [Read more…]
Bringing Community Back! FWJ is Giving Away $150
October 1, 2009. 2 Comments
Once upon a time there was a blog. This blog had several thousand visitors each day. They shared. They chatted. They commiserated. It was all good. Soon some mean people came by and began scaring away the happy chatters. The vibe changed from warm and fuzzy to not so much fun anymore. The owner did her best to build up community, but she was so busy with her projects and her job it wasn’t happening. She put a comment policy into place but the damage was already done. She had a reputation for having a community that liked to bicker. [Read more…]
Do Freelance Writers Need Business Cards?
August 31, 2009. 20 Comments
I just splurged on some new business cards. My friend Randa Clay designed them and I paid for quality printing. I didn’t use one of those free except for shipping places as I had in the past, because I wanted a unique design. When I first began freelancing I didn’t really think much of business cards. My work was mostly web based and I had a website and some blogs, so why did I need a business card? Once I began face to face networking, I realized the importance of sending folks home with my number and email address. Let [Read more…]
5 Tips for Finding Work Between Freelance Writing Gigs
August 10, 2009. 15 Comments
When it comes to making money, we’re only as good as our paying clients. Whether we’re providing content for websites or copy for a brochure, we rely on these projects to keep us from going into debt. What happens when the projects dry up or we’re between clients? How do we work when there is no work? By finding more work, of course! Troll the job boards: If your existing clients don’t have work for you, it’s time to find some new clients. Go back to your favorite job boards to find new people to work for, or one off [Read more…]
The Phone is Your Friend – Use it!
August 3, 2009. 18 Comments
If I had my druthers, all of my freelance writing business would be conducted via email and Skype. It’s so much easier. I don’t have to put on my happy voice. Don’t have to wear my game face. If I don’t feel like getting all schmoozy, I don’t have to. For me though, a telephone is an essential tool, one too many freelance writers are quick to avoid. Let me explain a bit more… I have a client. She hired me to help build her online presence and she hates the phone too. We’ve been emailing back and forth for [Read more…]
5 Reasons Not to Burn Your Bridges
July 31, 2009. 6 Comments
So you lost a gig. Maybe your client felt you weren’t a good fit. Maybe she ran out of funding or maybe it was you who wasn’t feeling the job. Does that mean you should go openly badmouthing your former employer all over Twitter or the forums? Does that mean you should ignore this former clients emails and questions? No. No, it doesn’t. You may be unhappy with the present circumstances, but burning bridges doesn’t do anyone any good. Before you start talking smack about the people you used to work for, consider this: 5 Reasons Not to Burn Your [Read more…]
