Jennifer Mattern There are many types of freelance writing success, and only you can determine what exactly that means for you. But no matter what your definition of success is, there are plenty of ways to get there. And it’s important to know that you don’t have sell out to make that happen. What Does it Mean for a Freelance Writer to Sell Out? Selling out is
My hubby recently decided that we should upgrade our phones, and we both went the Android route. I’ve spent a good bit of time setting things up for both personal and business use, and in the process I’ve come across some great apps that should improve my productivity. Here are five of my favorite Android apps so far (all free) that might be of interest
Previously we’ve talked about what blog content audits are and how you can create a simple blog content audit spreadsheet to make the process easier. But why would you want to take on this potentially huge project in the first place? Let’s look at three good reasons you might choose to conduct your own blog content audit. A content audit lets you: 1. Fix problems
My nonfiction book, The Query-Free Freelancer, has been moving along in an extraordinarily slow fashion. That’s due to a variety of things (from several months of illness where I focused my limited work time on clients to simply shelving the project for a while for a fresher perspective). Now that I’m moving forward with that first draft again (my own edits to the manuscript before sending it
Have you ever written a guest post for someone’s blog? Have you considered turning that marketing strategy into paid freelance blogging opportunities? If so, you might find inspiration in Ruan Ooosthuizen — a blogger who successfully made that transition. You already know that we’re big fans of sharing personal experiences here at All Freelance Writing. We share our successes and failures with you on a
Social media marketing is a great way to promote your blog. And when you think about social media, you might think of networking and community as the most important aspects. If so, you would be right. That said, good writers will always have an edge in professional social networking and social media marketing. That’s because so much of social media these days still involves the
While every blogger can improve their blog through better writing, “better writing” doesn’t mean the same thing for every blogger. There are some common things we can all improve — our spelling, grammar, and paragraph length for example. Beyond those basics, “better writing” largely revolves around your chosen writing style. And it’s important that you choose your blog’s writing style based on your audience rather
I’ve been keeping an eye on a recent trend in the indie publishing community — paid reviews (and family/friends reviews) and the controversy surrounding them. But I fail to see why it’s such a hot topic. On one hand, when I see people asking the question of whether or not it’s okay for authors to do this, the answer’s clear. I want to scream “of
Do you enjoy blogging? Do you enjoy it enough that you’d want to make a career of it? If so, professional blogging might be in your future. But do you have what it takes? Let’s look at what professional blogging means and some of the attributes that you might need if you want to successfully launch a career as a professional blogger. What is Professional
It’s that time of year again when goal-setting and dreams of new achievements fill people’s minds. I’m no exception, and that’s why I shared my overall writing resolutions previously on my freelance writing blog. For me those resolutions include freelance writing goals, Web publishing goals, and publishing goals for books and e-books. Today I’d like to share that last group of resolutions with you and
I know I’m a bit slow to return from my winter vacation time this year, but welcome back! I feel well-rested (after being exhausted by the holidays), and I’m excited to get back to work. I hope you all are as well. Back in November I shared my 2013 writing resolutions with you. Normally I try to evaluate them each quarter, but I knew I
If you’re getting started as a blogger, chances are good you’ll hear about something known as search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is everything you do to make your blog rank well in search engine results. Ranking well in search engines can bring more targeted traffic, meaning new readers, to your blog. There are countless “SEO experts” out there who will try to teach you
Update: I’ve decided to extend my vacation until Monday, January 7th to spend some more post-holiday downtime with family. I will not be back to regular posting here until that week, but our other contributors will continue to post on their usual schedules. This week was my last work week in 2012. I’m now on vacation until January 2nd. I hope you’re all enjoying a
Recently we talked about how to write a blog business plan. As promised, I’ve put together a simple blog business plan template that you can use for your own niche or business blog. Why Have a Blog Business Plan? If you want to make money blogging, a blog business plan is a must. Business plans help you get a better picture of where your business
In the past, we’ve talked about the issue of deleting blog posts and why you shouldn’t do it. Yet I’ve been doing a lot of that over the past couple of weeks. In light of that, I’d like to revisit the issue. My Stance on Deleting Blog Posts My general feelings on deleting blog posts haven’t changed. There are good reasons to leave old posts
Update: During my first quarter check-in I updated the list below. Anything in green is currently in progress, and anything with a strike-through has been completed. Last week I shared my 2012 year-end evaluation with you, where I looked over my goals for this year and whether or not I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. Honestly, 2012 was not a great year for
Have you ever visited a blog that didn’t give you any background information in the form of an About page? I have. And I always find that frustrating as a new visitor. I want to know what I should expect if I invest more time in browsing that blog. Today let’s talk about how you can avoid being one of these mysterious bloggers who publishes no background
I know November isn’t quite the end of the year. But with the hectic nature of the holiday season, I like to start a year-end business evaluation a bit early. What I do is look over my initial goals and resolutions for reference, and then check my mid-year check-in and any changed goals to see what I have and haven’t done. This year was not
Several days ago I was contacted by fellow freelance writer, Luana Spinetti. She wrote to thank me for a recent post on my business writing blog — one where I talked about the risks business owners take on in hiring bottom-of-the-barrel content writers. In that post I talked a bit about plagiarism and how passing a plagiarism checker (like Copyscape) in no way meant articles
It’s no secret that I manage multiple blogs. Currently I have 50 active WordPress installations — large blogs, small blogs, author sites, business sites, and several in various pre-launch phases. Every work day I have to manage these blogs, including the ones that haven’t launched yet. What does this include? Approving comments that are in moderation queues Deleting spam comments Upgrading any out of date
Have you heard the phrase “content marketing” before but wondered how it applies to you as a blogger? After all, you’re already focused on content every time you write a blog post. Why should you worry about it beyond that, and how can it affect your blog marketing? Let’s take an introductory look at content marketing strategies and why they’re important for bloggers and business
I was recently interviewed by Dava Stewart of SmilingTreeWriting.com about independent writing and publishing. I’d like to share a portion of that with you below. If you’d like to read more, please check out the full interview. Dava Stewart: Recently, I heard a well known writer talking about the often repeated phrase “there are no gatekeepers anymore.” He suggested that every reviewer on Goodreads or Amazon
Working as freelance writers, we don’t have an employer or supervisor looking over our shoulder to hold us accountable for how we spend our time. Instead that responsibility falls on us. I’ve always been big on planning and organization to help me get more worked into my schedule. I keep daily and weekly to-do lists. I have four white boards and two bulletin boards in
Recently we talked about the basics of blog content audits. In the comments, Joanna Haugen asked about using spreadsheets to track your plans and progress as you go through the content audit process. I promised a simple tutorial on creating one, and that’s what you’ll find here. Export Your WordPress Data The first thing you’ll want to do is export key data from WordPress. You
Bloggers are expected to come up with fresh content ideas on a regular basis. But sometimes those ideas don’t come easily. As bloggers, we’re not immune from writer’s block. Fortunately there’s an easy way to brainstorm new blog post ideas. Start with a basic blog post type, and move on from there. While it’s wonderful if you have a long list of specific blog post
When it comes to blogging, how your words are visually presented to the reader can be just as important as what you write. People read differently on the Web than they do in print. And your blog post formatting should reflect that. Here are five basic blog formatting tips that can help you improve your blog post presentation. 1. Use subheadings. Subheadings break up your
Update: I received an email from David from Writerbay.com this morning. While we still disagree as to the spam nature of these kinds of contests, I do want to update you about a positive development. The primary concern with the contest was the target list of bloggers that was published for participants. I was informed (and then verified) that the list has been removed. Writers can
Do you ever put in long hours, working overtime? Are you strictly against working overtime as a freelance writer? There are good cases both for and against these late nights, working weekends, or whatever kind of overtime schedule you might have. Today I’d like to share a few thoughts on when I work overtime, when I think it’s smart to work extra hours, and why I think
Whether you’re a new freelance writer or you have decades of experience in freelancing, there is always more to learn. That’s why building a professional library is a smart idea. You can learn or refresh yourself on the basics of being in business for yourself. Good books for freelance writers can teach you about new marketing tactics you haven’t tried before. And if nothing else,
Successful freelancing involves more than having the ability to write (or design, code, or whatever service you offer). Freelancers also need some basic business skills to manage and grow a freelance business. These are the skills that allow you to attract clients, manage finances, and make appropriate plans for the future. Let’s look at three basic business skills all freelancers should have, and resources that