Whether you’re a freelance writer or blogger, you’ve probably had to choose niches to write about at one time or another–perhaps a niche for your new blog or e-book, or choosing what topics to specialize in for client work. There are millions of niches out there that you can write about or blog about, so it always baffled me that people have a hard time
In one community I’m very active in, there’s a particular member who always gives me a good laugh (unintentionally). He repeatedly claims that the rates professional writers charge are “highway robbery,” essentially because he feels articles are easy and / or quick to write. Originally I figured he was probably just burned by a lousy writer in the past, or jealous because he can’t command
As a blogger or content writer, chances are good that you’ll be contacted by readers from time to time. They may have questions about what you’ve written, or questions about your niche unrelated to your article or post. You probably try to be as helpful as you can–responding to comments, answering emails, giving advice when asked for it, and just generally trying to help your
“The client is always right.” You’ve probably heard that a million times. Well guess what–you’ve also been lied to a million times. Clients make mistakes. Worse, they can occasionally become abusive. I’ve been lucky in that these types of clients have been few and far between in my career thus far. However, two colleagues recently weren’t so lucky. What’s worse is that the client /
I saw a writer’s comment on another blog yesterday where they mentioned that a client may have paid very little, but it was OK because the people there were nice (paraphrasing a bit). All I could think was “so what if they’re nice?” Look folks–it’s great when you have a good, nice client on board. Heck, I hope ALL of your clients are nice to
Networking is important for any kind of professional, but especially so for freelance writers – where getting the unadvertised “good gigs” is often about who you know. You likely spend time networking whether intentially or not – keeping in touch with colleagues, posting on forums, commenting on blogs, joining social networks, etc. But have you bothered to set any networking objectives? In other words, you
Every year the New Year period comes and goes so quickly, and I always regret not using that time for a heavy push. This year, I finally setup an actual plan to heavily promote my freelance writing services, e-book, and blogs, specifically through the first quarter of 2009 (and with even more emphasis on January). Here are some of the things planned (the things that
Chris Bibey wrote a great post recently about upfront payments for freelance writers. I commented there with some of my own views, and I wanted to share those comments here and get some of your thoughts on how you bill freelance writing projects. I charge all of my new clients in full up front. Most of my repeat clients also pay up front, even for
I was digging through Craigslist earlier when doing job postings here, and was reminded of a bit of a pet peeve I have. On CL in particular, you’ll see a lot of unpaid writing jobs. While I don’t agree with taking unpaid work in the vast majority of situations, I’m really not bothered that the requests are there. What does annoy the hell out of
It’s almost inevitable – if you build a large content site or blog, at one time or another you’ll likely feel that there’s nothing left to talk about. Fortunately, unless you’ve chosen an incredibly limited niche, that’s not the case. There are always other topics to write about in your niche, or other angles to topics you’ve already covered in your articles or blog posts.
Everyone tells you where you can look to find decent freelance writing jobs or blogging jobs. But are there any places you should forget? I think so. While I know some others won’t agree, as far as I’m concerned the following are some of the worst possible places you can look for freelance writing gigs. The List Odesk – I’m not a fan of these
Earlier this month I posted a monthly challenge – to look back on this year’s work, your goals for this year and whether or not you reached them, and to start thinking about your freelance writing career goals for 2009. I hope you were able to make some time to think about next year’s goals, or that you do soon before getting too wrapped up
Writing articles for trade magazines can be fun. In some cases, those trade magazines can pay very well, but in others (generally with smaller audiences) the pay can be downright dismal. After seeing a complaint along those lines yesterday on a writing forum, I decided to share a quick tip for how you can write for those lower-paying trade publications, and make out much better
I don’t know about you, but I generally feel pretty darn good being a freelancer. I get to set my hours, choose my projects, set my own rates, and… ouch… what’s that pain in my neck? Must be from that two-hour phone conference craning my neck yesterday. And man… that headache! Must be from staring at a computer screen without a break for 10 hours.
Darren Rowse recently posted an article on ProBlogger about How to Get Media Coverage for Your Blog. Given that PR is my primary area of expertise, it’s a subject pretty near and dear to my heart – I’ve decided to expand upon it here. After reading one of the latest comments about someone doing a radio interview, giving their blog URL (www.IrishPolyglot.com) in the interview,
Earlier this month I mentioned that you should be putting together gift idea lists and related holiday posts. I realized I still hadn’t gotten around to mine, so it’s time. Here are my top ten gift ideas for freelance writers for the 2008 holiday season: Books – Sure, this is a given. Writers love books. More specifically, give them the gift of books that will
We’ve been talking lately about additional revenue streams / income sources for freelance writers (beyond client projects). So far we’ve talked about making money through blogging and flipping websites. Today we’re going to talk about earning extra income by writing e-books and reports. I’m not going to go into the “how to” of writing e-books in this post. If you decide that e-books or reports
While I know today’s freelance writing challenge won’t apply to everyone, I think enough freelance writers are also bloggers to make this a worthwhile exercise. Today we’re going to evaluate our blogs – basically look at the factors that come into play when you want to sell a blog, and use that evaluation as a guide to see where we could improve our blog’s value
Now I work as a full-time, Web-based freelance business writer, but that wasn’t always the case. When I first went into business for myself, I specialized in music PR – writing on the Web was something I soon after started doing on the side. But how did I go from music PR to freelance Web writing? A reader emailed me yesterday asking me to share
As a part of our series on additional and residual revenue streams for freelance writers, today we’re going to talk about flipping websites. Let’s look at how flipping websites can earn you more money in freelance writing, and what you need to do to be successful at it. Different Ways to Flip a Website There’s more than one way to flip a website. In some
The number of actual projects (or clients) I take on each month as a freelance writer can vary pretty greatly, and more clients doesn’t always mean more income (often the opposite). So I’m curious – do you seem to have a typical number of projects each month, or do you vary a lot with your freelance writing work too? In the past, I worked mostly
This is the first of a new monthly feature here at All Freelance Writing. Every month, we’ll talk about marketing things you should be thinking about during that time of the year (or if there’s not much “special” going on, we’ll cover some general marketing you can think about during that month). It’s October and, like it or not, it’s time to start thinking about
Let’s forget about “good” writers today – I want you to think about successful writers. Do you know what they tend to have in common? They’re strong marketers. Being a solid writer simply isn’t enough. Remember, freelance writing is a business – treat it like one, and you’ll improve your chances of reaching whatever goals you set for yourself. Unfortunately, sometimes even the best writers
What do you consider “success” when it comes to your freelance writing career? I mean, is the fact that you’re a full-time freelance writer enough to make you successful? Are you a success when you can pay the bills? Are you a successful writer as soon as you land your first paying gig? What makes you feel like a success (or what would make you
Lately my work days have been so much more enjoyable than before. I get a solid 7 hours of client work and administrative stuff out the way, I’m actually taking my lunch hour for myself instead of working through it, have the energy to put a few more hours into my own projects daily, and still have time to take care of housework, working out,
A chill runs down your spine. Your palms are getting sweaty. You’ve laid it all on the line. You’ve put yourself “out there.” You want them – bad. You share the same goals and ideals. You know you’d be a compatible match. But will they say yes? Or will they reject you? No, we’re not talking about that elusive “perfect man” (or woman). Then again,
I know a few writers (and other professionals who sometimes refer writers) who charge a referral fee. I have a strict policy on not accepting referrals for freelance writing jobs that come with this kind of fee, and I never charge one. How do you feel about them? How Referral Fees Work Here’s an example of how a referral fee might work, based on a
Are you trying to build your freelance writing career around price? Do you figure if you offer the lowest rates, you’ll be more successful than all of those writers who “charge too much?” Have you ever lowered your rates just because you saw cheaper services getting picked more often? Do you assume more freelance writing jobs equals a better writing career? Uh oh. You may
Not too long ago (it may have been on a forum or something), I saw someone say that you aren’t a “professional writer” until you’re earning six figures. I think most of us would disagree with that (I’d reckon that most “professional writers” – authors, journalists, etc. – aren’t earning a solid six figures every year actually). However, it got me thinking about professional blogging
I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for freelance writing jobs where you’re asked to write and send a custom sample. Something like: “Must include a unique sample article (at least 300 words) on paying down student loan debts, following the article format at XYZ.com. Applicants who do not submit a sample will not be considered.” Every time I see something like this I can’t help