How to Become a Professional Freelance Blogger
Whether doing it full time or as a source of extra income, freelance blogging is thought to be a fun and rousing occupation that attracts many people. The precarious part, in any case, is building up yourself as a freelance blogger.
Competition in this field is fierce and finding writing gigs requires a lot of time and persistence. Beginners will find that it’s not easy to start out as a freelance blogger, but it’s definitely not impossible. If you’re considering to start blogging for money, we recommend that you take a look at these tips first.
What Can You Write About?
It’s true that a great writer can produce good blog posts about almost any topic, but it’s still best to focus on several topics that you can define as your fields of expertise. Defining your areas of interest will help you in the process of research, in coming up with new ideas and in building your network of contacts.
After realizing what your main fields of interest are, make sure you regularly follow the leading blogs and news websites on these topics. As a writer, you should always keep up to date on the latest happenings in your fields of specialty.
Run Your Own Blog
Professional bloggers need to demonstrate that they are prolific and interesting writers with plenty of things to say. Having your own blog is not only the best way to display your skills, it also shows that you are serious about blogging and that you have personal experience with this medium.
Blogging for yourself is also a great way to stay tuned with what’s hot and trendy in your field. You learn while you write, and the more you write you become more and more professional.
And most important, having your own blog is terrific for promoting yourself as a writer. You can easily promote each new post on social networks, add the URL to your profiles and email signature and use SEO to make sure Google finds your posts.
Work Like a Professionals
Even if freelance blogging is a rather easy-going occupation, you have to be very professional in your work. “Freelance” means no strings attached – for both sides. If a client gets the impression that you’re not serious about your work, you probably won’t be hearing from them again.
Being professional means:
- Strictly sticking to deadlines
- Being available to clients and replying quickly when they need you
- Settling all the important details in advance
- Signing a contract
- Producing invoices
- Not selling yourself short
- Doing your best to maintain a positive business relationship with clients and potential clients
Reach Out and Network
Get in touch with companies, blogs and bloggers that might have an interest in your work. You can email them with writing samples and links, and/or introduce yourself by connecting with them on Twitter, LinkedIn and other business-oriented networks.
It’s always a good idea to start by offering guest blog posts. Guest blogging means that you provide existing (and successful) blogs with a post that is relevant to their target market for free. They publish your post, credit you and link to your website or blog. It’s a great way to promote yourself, and if your post proved to be a success, they will consider paying you for future articles.
Use Freelance Job Boards
The best way to find writing gigs is to follow job boards that target bloggers and online content writers. These boards usually allow you to open a profile, upload writing samples and describe your skills to potential clients. Once your account is all set, you can browse job openings and place bids.
Good places to start are Elance, Pro Blogger, or Odesk.
Best of Luck!
