Jennifer Mattern Should you merge two of your blogs into one? How about combining your professional site and niche blog that are currently on different domains? Is it time to simply change the domain of your site for branding reasons? I’ve gone through a lot of site mergers and re-branding efforts over the years, and I’m going through another one right now. Today let’s talk about making
I made a comment on Twitter last week about blog posts. I mentioned how my titles for client blog posts tend to be much better than those for my own sites, and how maybe I should start treating my own projects as I would a client’s. Others chimed in with similar sentiments and LaToya thought it would make for a good blog post idea. Let’s
We’ve talked a lot about using e-books as platform pieces for freelance writers. And we’ve looked at how they can be used as residual income streams to complement your freelance writing work. But they can do more than supplement your writing income. If you find yourself stuck in a low pay rut, e-books might even be your ticket out. Let’s look at a somewhat extreme
As you know I don’t only blog for myself. I blog for clients as well. And on some of those client blogs I cover topics that apply to business owners — just like you. So today I’m going to be a bit of a self-promotional whore. I realized that I had plenty of articles up on client blogs that weren’t specifically written for freelance writers,
Today we have yet another post inspired by @vcmcguire (you can ask your own questions which will appear on the blog by tweeting @queryfreewriter or emailing jenn@allfreelancewriting.com). She wanted to know how freelance writers can make time for pitching their services to new prospects, especially when they already have a fairly full schedule. First let’s talk about why you might want to keep marketing (or
We’ve talked about how freelancer / client relationships can be a lot like dating. And with those relationships occasionally comes the need to call it quits. How exactly do you handle a client breakup though? And how do you know when it’s time to walk away and take your freelance writing services elsewhere? Today (at Yo’s request) let’s talk about the why and how of
Let’s get to this month’s book club discussion about The Wealthy Freelancer. As usual, I’ll pose 10 questions below. You can respond to all or just some of them in the comments below if you’ve read this book. You can also ask questions of other readers in the comments if you feel these don’t cover something that was important to you. The discussion will remain
In what I’m hoping is the end to my recent long line of technology issues, I’m changing my ISP. Phone service should switch tomorrow with no problem. But there might be a several day gap between that and when the new company actually gets my modem kit to me to hook up the Internet connection. Why that would happen in this day and age (and
When you began your career as a freelance writer, you probably did so knowing that you were giving up some level of job security (assuming you left a full-time job to pursue freelancing). But if we’ve learned anything in recent years it’s that very few “real jobs” are actually secure. That’s often a myth. You’ve probably also heard that working as a freelance writer will
Stacey Abler contacted me recently with a question about a new prospect. In her email she mentioned that she was considering offering a discount just because the contract could be a long-term regular one. My reaction was shock, followed by a “no, no, no….” Offering this kind of discount to a brand new client is a recipe for disaster. At the same time, I can
Yesterday I talked about how to increase blog traffic — specifically how we increased All Freelance Writing’s traffic by 80% in less than a year. One of the things that had a big impact for us was reformatting our category archive pages. Rather than making people browse through page after page of posts (they never do get to the really old gems that way it
Let’s turn back the clock to the fall of 2009. I was the sole blogger here at All Freelance Writing. Traffic was already fairly significant. But my posting was sporadic at best. I’m a busy person. I had multiple sites to manage (the ones that earn more and help support AFW so we don’t have to completely whore out to advertisers here), client projects to
Yesterday I asked on Twitter what All Freelance Writing’s readers wanted to learn about here. Courtney Ramirez responded saying that she wanted to learn more about breaking into newer and better freelance writing markets. It’s something I talk about a lot on this blog — setting higher freelance writing rates and how that often involves re-targeting your market. Now let’s talk about how to make
Recently I busted the myth that Web writers don’t get paid as much as print writers. Today let’s tackle another one — the issue of freelance writing rates between Web content writers and business writers (like me) who happen to focus on writing for the Web. Often when I or other business writers talk about earning more money as a freelance writer, people comment with
Let’s tackle a very common myth about Web writing. I see it all the time on freelance writing blogs and forums. There are people out there telling new or aspiring Web writers that the Web simply doesn’t pay as much as print work does, and they need to get used to it. I’ve even seen the term “old school” tossed around referring to writers who
The server move is complete. I removed the AFW files from the old host and the site’s functioning, so it appears everything worked out finally with the database issues. May I throw a little party now? While this isn’t my first server move, it is my first WordPress server move, and my first multi-site move (talking between one and two dozen sites getting split between
Just a quick update about the server change going on here. It looks like I finally have the last issue worked out (tested on my smaller sites), and will be moving All Freelance Writing to its new server this afternoon. That means I’ll download the final database backup around noon today. If you comment between that database backup and the site moved, your comment will
In my last post I talked about tech-related problems leading to distraction at work, especially when you freelance and you get to deal with most of those issues yourself. Today was unfortunately an even worse day for me productivity-wise. I’d say it might just be my most unproductive work day ever. And it too began with technology-related non-goodness. Morning Upgrades Things kicked off this morning
Thursday is the last work day of my week. I therefore like for it to be a productive day. Well, that or I’ll work late Wednesday to take extra time off on Thursday. This Thursday was anything but. And technology was (mostly) to blame. I tend to get some early tweeting in while I have my first cup of coffee. I do this because it
Yesterday I received a reader question about freelance writers using pseudonyms. Given the nature of the topic, I agreed to only refer to the reader as CP. Here’s the email I received: I am in the process of transitioning into the freelance writing world, and getting my sea legs. I intend to use a pseudonym (as I have a separate, unrelated career), but am unclear
If there’s one thing that can help you earn more through your freelance writing business, it’s understanding your target market. You can’t jump into business blindly and expect to succeed — or at least not excel. Are there cases of dumb luck? Sure. But don’t expect to be one of them. Instead you need to focus on two things: what you’re selling, and who you’re
I don’t talk about finances much here other than issues revolving around rates and making money. That’s an area where I know my stuff, but I leave the rest to our resident financial experts. Today though I want to talk about money — my money — with a personal look at how freelance success has, and hasn’t, changed how I spend. Some Background One thing
We have a few changes happening at All Freelance Writing, and I wanted to make you aware of them. Here’s the rundown: Matt Willard was doing a trends-focused humor series here. He’s now switching gears. He’ll be writing a fictional serial comedy each week. His posts will still be published every Thursday. Clint will no longer be publishing freelance writing jobs. Today was the final
Yesterday on Twitter I noted that I finally made a decision regarding the book I’m working on — The Query-Free Freelancer — and whether I would pursue a traditional publisher or opt to self-publish the book. I’ve chosen the latter. I put a lot of thought into this over the last few months, and was already leaning towards the self-publishing route. But recent events in
I’ve been having an exchange with a Kontera rep about implementing their ads on this and other sites I own. As you might already know I’m not a huge fan of Google’s Adsense network, although we still use them here minimally. While I plan to keep advertisements to a minimum on this site, other than promoting my own products and affiliate products I test and
I recently received an interesting reader question from Jazmin of Capital Web Writing. Her question was about whether or not it would be appropriate for her hubby to accompany her to a conference, especially given his unique quirks. She gave me permission to share the email and my thoughts here. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the topic as well. Here’s the email: I
Can you believe we’re already half-way through 2010? Wow! And you know what that means, right? It’s time to look back on the goals and resolutions we set for our freelance writing businesses, blogs, etc. and see how we’re coming along. Maybe we’ve met some of our goals already. Perhaps it’s time to let some go because we’ve made other goals along the way. And
Even though I’ve been doing most of my workouts indoors lately because of the heat and humidity Mother Nature’s been throwing our way here, one of my favorite workouts has always been walking (or hiking depending on where I am). When I don’t have someone with me to talk to while working out, I pop in some headphones before heading out the door. Oftentimes I
A few weeks ago you voted on our very first All Freelance Writing Virtual Book club pick-of-the-month — Peter Bowerman’s award-winning book, The Well-Fed Writer. Today we kick off that book club discussion. The comments will remain open on this post for a week, and extended for one additional week if they’re still fairly active at that point. Below are ten questions (some from me, and
If there’s one thing I hate about blogging, it’s blog comment trolls. The topic recently came up in my post on SocialImplications.com — “Gurus” and Other Social Media Monsters. Someone asked about tracking trolls. I gave them some tips. It’s something I’ve been wanting to cover in detail here, given that this blog has been the target of trolls in the past, and I’m sure