Deb just posted some excellent summer options for work-at-home parents and they’re handy but I have a few more suggestions along with some helpful tips. Summer, for me is a little like 3 months worth of chaos. Not only does my son’s free school shut down, but my partner’s kiddos are at the house more. Three kids + FT paid blogging + FT self-run projects = insanity on my part. It’s like a much longer winter break; ugh. First read managing work in a chaotic household for some general help then keep reading below for some summer specific tips. Summer [Read more…]
1,000 word blog posts and being yourself
May 12, 2010. 8 Comments
I’ve been breaking writing rules my entire freelance career. Sadly, I don’t always break rules on purpose – often I just make mistakes. Luckily, for me, the rules I’ve broken haven’t hurt me much. When I stared out freelancing FT I broke way too many rules… I never pitched to small local magazines in an effort to work my way up. I sent queries to all the big name magazines I liked. I’d send the same query to multiple magazines too, thinking, most will reject me anyhow. I didn’t have any magazine clips for my queries so I’d send business [Read more…]
Increase blog traffic with email strategies
April 19, 2010. 11 Comments
There are all sorts of little ways that email can increase blog traffic for you or for a client you blog for. Following are five good ideas. Email a new reader; or two or three or twenty! Darren notes that emailing new readers was one of the main strategies he used to build up ProBlogger traffic back in the day, and if it’s good enough for that well… why not give it a shot. Note – some emails to new readers can be annoying. Try to keep track of who you send emails to so that you don’t send off [Read more…]
How to be a professional blogger
April 14, 2010. 8 Comments
The other day I posted about Google CEO Eric Schmidt not seeming to be all that on board with bloggers. Some agreed, some thought he needed to read some WordPress blogs (not just Blogger), some felt he was just being pro editor and not dissing bloggers in general. That’s all good but if you are a blogger you should be aware that you can expand your professional appearance as a blogger without having to resort to saying stuff like, “I’m really a writer; not a blogger.” Bloggers, in my opinion, can be completely professional. There’s a ton of stuff you [Read more…]
Google CEO Eric Schmidt not on board with bloggers
April 12, 2010. 13 Comments
So, last night Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave a nice little speech at the American Society of News Editors conference in DC, and apparently doesn’t find bloggers to be all that trustworthy. Maybe he was just trying to fit in with the print heavy crowd, maybe he only reads poorly written blogs or maybe he just really doesn’t like bloggers – who knows. However he did note… “We’re not in the news business, and I’m not here to tell you how to run a newspaper. We are computer scientists. And trust me, if we were in charge of the news, [Read more…]
How to score blogging gigs in one easy step
March 19, 2010. 2 Comments
APPLY FOR BLOGGING GIGS! That’s it. I know, it’s simple and sounds too good to be true, but when you get right down to it, applying for gigs is the number one best way to get gigs. I only bring this up because I see folks all the time at forums, in writers chats, and on Twitter who note they’re looking for work over and over. I get email questions like, “How do I get work as a blogger?” Not to sound over simplistic, but honestly you might want to try applying for gigs. Heck apply for MANY gigs. In [Read more…]
Try not to suck as much as Chris Garrett
March 18, 2010. 1 Comment
Actually I don’t think Chris Garrett sucks. In fact, I was just telling Deb today that while I browse other blogs about blogging daily, his is the one I usually stop at and read. That said, Chris has an excellent post up – Why I Sucked at SXSW So You Don’t Have to (ha). Now, maybe he did suck there, or maybe not (I’m guessing not) but this is an excellent post to read if you ever attend writing events or conferences; plus you can see a cute picture of Deb in said post Also I was struck by how [Read more…]
Are Blogging Jobs Over?
March 11, 2010. 5 Comments
I wouldn’t say blogging jobs are over exactly. I mean, that would be dumb considering I blog for a living. Many of my friends blog for a living. Deb posts blogging gigs daily over in writing leads. So no, blogging jobs aren’t over. I do however think that how you use your blogging skills to make money is changing big time. You can’t just be a blogger anymore and expect to make a living. “Just a blogger” is not meant to be disrespectful either, all I mean is when you’re just blogging for clients you’re writing posts, getting paid, and [Read more…]
Make Money Fast – Start Your Own Blog (ha ha ha!)
February 16, 2010. 5 Comments
Ok, I’m diverting from my usual topic here at Blogging For A Living; making money blogging for others, because I saw a blog post recently at Coupon Sherpa titled Quick Cash: 24 Ways to Make Money While Unemployed and part of it irked me, hence the diversion. The post isn’t terrible. In fact there are many gigs listed that could theoretically make you some quick cash but the blogger also notes on number 15, “Monetize Your Web Site or Blog. You’re already spending a ton of time on your blog or Web site. Why not earn some money from all [Read more…]
Blogging rules you should follow and rules you can break
January 9, 2010. 3 Comments
Even when you’ve heard the same tried and true rules absolutely everywhere, it doesn’t mean those rules will work for you. Some blogging rules were made to be followed and some well, not so much. ALWAYS FOLLOW THESE RULES… Avoid flowery, long-winded, mucky, metaphor-filled writing. I’m not saying you shouldn’t or can’t write long posts, but long or short, posts full of fancy Nancy style writing or purple overload are so freaking annoying. Readers (read me) aren’t interested in wading through paragraph after paragraph just to locate the point. In college the best web writing advice I ever got was [Read more…]
Is your blog job sucking the fun out of blogging?
January 4, 2010. 2 Comments
I’ve been blogging professionally (i.e. making money at this blogging deal) for a long while now. However, before I blogged for pay I blogged for me. For fun. For the sheer need of saying what was on my mind. I had a blog with zero ads so comments and freedom of speech were my big rewards, not cold hard cash. There’s a big difference between blogging for yourself and blogging because it’s your job, but it doesn’t mean the two paths can’t connect. For example, when you blog for clients, for cash, there are some issues that can super suck [Read more…]
What it means to make a living as a blogger
December 8, 2009. 5 Comments
Here at Blogging For A Living we of course talk about blogging for a living. Both as a blogger for someone else and as a blogger for yourself. Since we talk about this stuff all the time I figured it’d be good to define what we’re discussing – i.e. the distinction between blogging for yourself vs. blogging for others. Also important is what I mean when I say, “Make a living as a blogger.” That said, I thought I’d take a moment to break it all down. What it means to make a living as a blogger: To me, making [Read more…]
Blog & Web Writing Gigs for August 19, 2009
August 19, 2009. 1 Comment
A fair amount of decent paying gigs today, although I swear people are getting less and less clear when writing these things. It’s not that hard – Location? Pay? Hours? Duties? That works. I think maybe people are trying to be too fancy. In any case, no tip today but I do think this post is worth a read – Don’t Ignore the Hidden Job Market for Freelancers. Anywhere gigs: Engineering Blogger Established website seeks Editor in Chief – AND Blogger/Editor Needed for Pet Loving Startup – pay issues sounds super iffy on both gigs so approach with care Intern [Read more…]
Blog & Web Writing Gigs for August 17, 2009
August 17, 2009. 1 Comment
Jobs are back, although it does seem slim around the web re: anywhere gigs. Still, there’s some decent gigs today so check them out. Job tip o’ the day: Now that I’m back we’ll be resuming our how to get a blogging job series. If you haven’t been following along, you can get up to speed by reading the following… How to get blogging jobs and web writing jobs – getting started Finding blog gigs – starting out with no clips How to get a blogging job – advice from b5media’s hiring editor How to get a blogging job – [Read more…]
Blogging & Web Writing Gigs for July 25, 2009
July 25, 2009. 2 Comments
First off sorry no jobs yesterday – what with packing to move and work, it’s a little nuts around here. Secondly, congrats to Marye, who scored a KILLER gig via a job posting I listed here at Blogging For A Living AND actually tweeted to me about it so I knew. It’s double nice in this case because Marye’s a good friend, but even if I don’t personally know you, it feels much more productive when I hear someone gets a fly gig. So, if you score a gig from one of these lists leave a comment, tweet, or email [Read more…]
Maybe you're not getting jobs because you just can't write
July 22, 2009. 14 Comments
In a post a good long while ago, Do you need to be a good writer to be a good blogger, Deb points out that yes, it helps a great deal to know how to write if you’re a blogger. I agree. Knowing how to write is important. However, I know plenty of excellent writers who don’t get blogging and web writing gigs – writers who are likely better than me. I can write sure, but I’m not one of those genius born to write or die type writers, yet I still get plenty of work. So, how do I [Read more…]
Blogging & Web Writing Gigs for July 22, 2009
July 22, 2009. 1 Comment
Well, it looks like I was wrong about gigs picking up mid-week. Still not much out there. However, just because it’s not on a job board doesn’t make a gig invisible. Deb has put together two new excellent resources… 40 Freelance Writing Markets Paying $100 or More (Much More) 50 Places that Hire Freelance Writers You can get a gig – you just need to keep your chin up and keep on truckin’. Anywhere gigs: Parent community blogger – too low of pay IMO BUT also super PT 2 positions – Article Writer/Web Content Writer Environmental Website writer – I’ve [Read more…]
Finding blog gigs – starting out with no clips
July 19, 2009. 14 Comments
If you want to work as a blogger or web writer and by work, I mean make a living, then you have to start somewhere. Of all the email questions I get, “How do I actually get started without a portfolio” is probably the most common question. It’s true that clients want to see clips but most don’t care what sort of clips they care more that you wrote the clips well. Are there clips in your past? If you honestly feel you have zip in the way of a portfolio, the first thing to do is take another look [Read more…]
