Business Blogs for Freelance Writing Business Owners to Follow
October 13, 2009 by Bob Younce
Filed under Just Good Business
Something I’ve been talking about a lot lately (and that you’ve been talking about in the comments) is this idea of treating your freelance writing business like a business. That means learning business management techniques the same as anyone else in small business. While the freelancing writing business certainly has its unique aspects, in many ways it’s not much different from a building contractor or a traveling IT guru.
So, in addition to following some of the great freelance writing blogs, you ought to have at least a few business-related blogs in your feeds. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and it intentionally leaves off those freelance-specific blogs you’re probably familiar with:
Entrepreneur Daily Dose
I absolutely love Entrepreneur.com, and the Daily Dose offers quick insights into the business world. They hit on topics of real interest to freelance writing business owners, from social media to negotiating rates. Some of my favorite posts include:
How to Save Money and Draw a Crowd
Are Your Customers Talking Behind Your Back?
Negotiating in Shark-Infested Waters
Duct Tape Marketing
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/
While short, this list of business blogs would be incomplete without at least one marketing blog. I almost went with Seth Godin here, but I’ve covered him recently.
Duct Tape Marketing is the blog of John Jantsch. Jantsch tries to deliver “simple, effective and affordable small business marketing.” More often than not, he succeeds. Here are a couple good ones:
The Simple Way to Innovate and Differentiate
The Three Natural Phases of Successful Small Business Growth
GTD Times
GTD Times is the blog of David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Allen is the master of productivity, and whether or not you use his system, the tips and tricks here are amazingly useful. I am especially fond of the Live Blogging the Master Workflow Seminar series.
Some sample posts:
Live Blogging the Mastering Workflow Seminar: Are there any b…y actions on your current lists?
Looking at those monsters in the closet
So, what about you? What business-related blogs do you find useful?
Along with Negotiating in Shark-Infested Waters , read “How to Swim with the Sharks without being eaten alive”. I believe he’s also the author of “Beware of the Naked Man who offers you his shirt (or something like that).
@Phil – good ones to check out, thank you!
Here’s the book you’re talking about, I believe:
Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt: Do What You Love, Love What You Do, and Deliver More Than You Promise
Thanks for the links, Bob!
I like to follow UK SEO expert Tim Grice’s blog. If you specialize in SEO copywriting, it’s a great blog to follow to keep up on best practices – plus, Tim’s style is very approachable. http://www.seowizz.net/blog
My favorite B2B marketing blog is B2Blog.com. Dave always raises great questions.
Copyblogger.com is awesome for fellow writers too.
Hi Bob -
I feel very flattered to have two of my recent Daily Dose blogs included in your best-of list! Thanks for the mention –
Carol Tice
http://www.caroltice.com
http://Twitter.com/TiceWrites
I read Duct Tape Marketing and I can’t even start to list the many useful posts I’ve found over there. I highly recommend it to all writers interested in improving their marketing plans.
I’m not really into productivity blogs though. They are addictive, of course, but I don’t find them that useful. You often spend too much time reading them, just to realise their lessons won’t necessarily apply to your situation and lifestyle.