I’ve mentioned repeatedly in the past that I think all freelance writers could benefit from having their own professional website and / or blog to showcase their writing and niche expertise. Today I’m going to share my own favorite resources – the tools and services I use repeatedly when setting up new sites or blogs, and why I use them. Web Hosting I have hosting
We all like to talk about goals at the end of the year, when we’re figuring out what we want to change in our writing careers – we want to earn more, take on more clients, take on different types of clients, launch a blog, write a book or e-book, etc. But how can a freelance writer set realistically attainable goals for their freelance writing
Do you want to improve your Web content writing skills or learn how to become a Web content writer, branching out from other types of freelance writing? I was recently asked how a writer could learn more about Web content writing, from someone previously more involved with print formats. If you’re in a similar boat, here’s what I suggest: Read Web Content When you’re learning
I’m always telling freelance writers that it’s best to specialize, especially when they ask me how they can earn more money writing. As a refresher, here’s why I think specialization in freelance writing is so important: Having intimate knowledge of a niche or type of writing can speed up the writing process (leaving you with more billable hours in a day, or more “extra” time
Stop believing in freelance writing myths says Chris Bibey of ChrisBlogging – he recently exposed some common myths on his blog. All I can say is “Shhhhh Chris!!! The more people believe that crap, the better it is for the rest of us!” 😉 I’m just kidding of course. Chris makes some good points. I’d like to add one. Chris says: “It takes too long
Should freelance writers share information about their freelance writing income publicly? Some writers do so regularly on their writing blogs. Others refuse to ever share details about how much they make, and how they do it. What’s right for you? Let’s explore the issue. Is Talking About Money Really Taboo? I’d argue that disclosing income information hasn’t been “taboo” in the freelance writing profession for
Many writers markets are listed in online collections, from paid writers market listings such as WritersMarket.com to various free listings on blogs and freelance writing sites. The only problems with those sources are that they often feature the same writers markets, and they’re frequented by large numbers of freelance writers, meaning more competition for the writing gigs. If you’re tired of coming across the same
If you write content for the Web, you probably already know about certain Web writing basics, like using short paragraphs, bold sub-headings, and lists to help make your articles “scannable” to readers browsing them for something specific. If you’re writing for clients, and they ask to have you write in plain text with HTML, do you know how to do those things? Here are a
I doubt there’s a single case where I wouldn’t suggest that a freelance writer set up a professional website and portfolio. Do you have one yet? You can take a look at mine currently at ProBusinessWriter.com. If you’d like to share your own professional site, leave a link in the comments. But what if you don’t have a professional website yet? Where do you start?
I love swipe files. In my case it’s more of a combination of a swipe pile and collection of swipe bookmarks, but anyway…. If you’re not familiar with swipe files, it’s basically a collection of information that you can use for inspiration in your writing. Here are some of the things I keep in my swipe file: Magazine headlines if I think the format is
I’m launching a new series of short interviews with freelance writers, where I’m asking them five or so questions on a topic they’re particularly experienced with. Today you get to hear from Rebecca Garland: wife, mother, and freelance writer. Rebecca shares some of her thoughts on juggling work and family life when you’re a freelance writer staying home with the little ones. You’re a WAHM
Some recent personal discussions with a few colleagues got me thinking about ethics a little bit, and how they apply to all of us as freelance writers. We talk a lot here at All Freelance Writing about how to be a successful freelance writer. Now let’s talk about some ethics-related (and just common sense) issues, and how poor judgment can actually kill your career as
Here’s a trick that just occurred to me tonight while getting the next freelance writing jobs post ready for All Freelance Writing (I haven’t tried it myself yet): Go to a site where you can find freelance writing jobs. Search for the term “freelance writers.” Now, instead of just looking for actual job titles for freelance writers, look for freelance editing jobs where the term
I saw someone on a forum giving a blogger really bad advice today – essentially that sticking a stupid Copyscape banner (like the one below) will actually somehow protect their content for them. That’s such a load of BS. Here’s what sticking a Copyscape banner on your site really says: Go ahead and steal my site content, b/c I’m quite obviously not aware of how
I’m finally working out some of my service and writing rate changes for the new year. These are my two biggest changes: Press Release Writing – I’ve always offered press release writing at ridiculously low rates (compared to other PR professionals; not compared to content writers offering them). I did that ($99 this year) as a marketing strategy (I’d bring in clients with press release
Christmas is right around the corner now. Are you still not sure what to get for the writer in your life? Here are a few last-minute gift ideas for writers to help you out: Gift Cards / Certificates – Easy, and they don’t need to be shipped. Pick up a gift card for your writer’s favorite book store, or an online book store like Amazon.com.
We’ve talked a little bit about goals and resolutions for writers in 2008. I took some time today to review my domain names and their expiration dates. As it turns out, I currently have 43 domain names (still a good bit, although much fewer than I used to have, and that’s not counting about five .infos I may give away just to unload). As I’ve
There are several different ways to make money with articles as a freelance writer. Here are a few ways articles can help you make money online, whether as a full-fledged business model or as some side income: Make money writing articles for clients. Pros – Direct payments, Income can come quickly Cons – Limited rights usually limit earning potential per article, Deadlines Make money writing
We’re getting close to the end of the year, and there’s no better time to rethink our freelance writing rates. While I’ve already covered the issue here and on the writing forums, I want to revisit the topic again by taking a close look at the numbers and possible freelance writing rate strategies. Common Strategies for Setting Freelance Writing Rates Per word Per project Per
Before the launch of her e-book, The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success, Dee Power sent me a review copy, and I featured the e-book on the All Freelance Writing blog. I wanted to share this resource with my readers here as well, so you can find my original review below: The following is a brief review of a new e-book, The Publishing
The new year is approaching faster than I’d like to think, so this week’s writing challenge is about getting your affairs in order to more effectively grow your business next year. It’s time to evaluate your progress and rethink your freelance writing rates. Has your freelance writing career been growing satisfactorily, or are you still not earning as much as you’d like? Are you working
In a forum discussion today, the issue of a freelance writers’ rate per hour came up. To summarize, the potential buyer’s thought was this: They earn $20 per hour in their position (where they wear multiple hats, including the current writing), so in their mind a freelance writer charging more than that is “excessive.” I have a few thoughts on that (not meaning any disrespect
Time really is money when it comes to choosing the best time to publish your book or e-book. If you time your book’s release well, you can get more publicity and build more sales. Here are some of the reasons why the timing of your book or e-book’s release can be important in your book marketing efforts: You can take advantage of industry issues in
Kristen Fischer, self-published author of Creatively Self-Employed, is one of the more effective authors that I’ve come across when it comes to using blogs as a marketing and PR tool to promote a book. Find out how she embraces the DIY style of book marketing with CSE and her upcoming book through Super College LLC. What can you tell us about Creatively Self-Employed to give
I had the opportunity to talk to Hannah Stone, the self-published author of two books on pregnancy loss, Forever Our Angels and Remembering Our Angels, about marketing her books. Hannah’s insights give you a look not only into promoting self-published books, but also how to market to a narrower niche audience and how to build interest and confidence in your work before your book is
I’ve been itching to respond to Jennifer’s post at CatalystBlogger: Five Reasons to Embrace the Humble Keyword Article Gig for a few days now, after seeing it mentioned at Anne Wayman’s blog. So here are some of my reasons as to why most freelance writers should reject these keyword article gigs (and for the record, my comments aren’t meant to be an attack on Jennifer
For our first book marketing author interview, I talked with author / blogger / jewelry guru Tammy Powley about her now somewhat unusual experience with book marketing: publishers who do the bulk of the work. While publishers increasingly expect authors to be more hands-on with their book publicity and marketing efforts, they do still play an important role with many authors (even if just trying
Today I’m going to tackle one of my own areas of expertise: press release writing (not sure why it took me so long). If you’re interested in PR writing (public relations writing), knowing how to write a press release is essential. Use these press release resources to help you learn how to write effective press releases for your clients (or yourself!) – please note, most
This week’s reader question comes from Mariella on the writing forums, regarding a request she recently received for copywriting services through a forum private message system: “I’m guessing someone referred him to me, I just can’t get it out of him because he barely speaks English. If I’d ever ask a question for your blog Jenn, it would be how to deal with such clients.”
It can be a common misconception that being a freelance writer is an “anyone can do it” kind of career. I’d imagine most of you reading this blog know that’s simply not true. A successful career as a writer means that you have to do a lot more than just dream about being a famous novelist or enjoying a “cushy” career in your pajamas writing