7 lessons from the full-time freelance blogger - Jobidea24

They greet me almost exclusively whenever I tell someone what I do for a living. It's something I've gotten used to over time. "A freelance blogger? Can you make money doing this?"

If someone had told me 12 months ago that they were a freelance blogger, I probably would have reacted just as happily. I only recently realized how profitable a freelance blog can be. I earn $100 an hour for part of my work.

It's been quite a learning curve though: in early 2011, I barely knew what a blog was. I have come a long way since then, and little by little, I have realized a few key things that have brought me to where I am.

Now I want to share them with you!

1. Keep a blog

I haven't been looking for a job since last November, because people have come to me asking if I can work for them. All my recent clients have contacted me through my blog.

If you look at the blog, you'll see that it barely screams, "hire me". Instead, there's a "Hire Me" link in the navigation bar, and that's it.

I blog partly about helping people become freelance writers, meaning I write for others like me, not potential clients. And yet I receive inquiries. If you create a blog specifically for your target customers, you should be able to get much better rates than me.

Save time on job boards to find clients who may or may not be interested in your services. When a client approaches you, you are already in a strong position.

2. Get signatures

Potential clients often contact me when my blog is found through a line on a client's blog. The logic is simple: if someone is looking for a blogger, likes what you write, and sees that you are available to hire, they will probably contact you.

So when appropriate, you should get a byline. If a client isn't initially resistant to the idea, suggest that it might be beneficial for the blog to show that a well-known blogger is writing for them.

Of course, signatures are only sometimes appropriate, for example, if you're writing in the past tense or about a topic you don't have real experience with.

3. Consider the intangible benefits

The amount you are paid should be one of many considerations in deciding whether or not to work. I still work with some clients who pay me below my "peak" hourly rate due to the associated intangible benefits. These include:

• Authority: It's nice to be seen as an authoritative blog author.

• Traffic: Some blogs send a lot of traffic to my own blog.

• Potential: Can the job lead to bigger and better things?

• Security: Can the job be a secure long-term source of income?

Such intangible benefits can help you better rationalize the offer and make a decision accordingly.

4. Never Price by the Hour

Here's a little slice of freelance blogging 101: Never put a price on hourly work.

Instead, be quicker than others to complete your work, then charge the same per post or project. If you can write a 500-word essay in 30 minutes and someone pays you $50, your hourly rate is $100.

The customer is happy to pay $50 for a quality item; the time it took you to write is irrelevant.

5. Type faster

I have been using a computer since I was five years old and naturally learned to type quickly (around 90 words per minute). I don't use the typeface particularly fancy way, but it gets the job done.

But I doubt it. The point is that the faster you can type, the faster you can write blog posts. This may sound trivial, but it isn't. If you're interested in writing for a living, learning to type faster is a business investment.

6. Write fast

For this article, there is a difference between typing fast and typing fast. Speedwriting is all about taking a blog post from start to finish.

Generally, the better you plan a blog post, the faster you write it. This may seem counterproductive, but how often have you reached the midpoint to forget the main problem you were trying to solve or how you planned to solve it?

Planning a bulleted post allows you to address potential problems before wasting too much time. Once you're done with the post frame, developing your bullet points is just a matter.

7. Write what you know (or charge more)

There's a common misconception that you must write about complex topics to make good money as a freelance writer (or that you have to be an "expert" at something), but that's not the case.

Get back up to speed. If you're knowledgeable about a topic, you can produce a relevant blog post in twice the instant time, increasing your equivalent hourly rate. On the other hand, if you're writing about a topic you need to become more familiar with, it's likely to take a long time.

Decide what hourly rate you're comfortable with, consider each job individually, and charge accordingly.