All Recent Posts

How to find new gigs when you’re writing full time

My Thrifty Mommy co-blogger Karen and I were chatting recently about a common freelance blogger (and writer) issue – not having time to look for work. It’s frustrating because if you currently have full time work writing you don’t have free time to look for new gigs. Yet for most freelance bloggers it’s important to take the time to job search. Why? Blogging doesn’t always pay great and so you need the time to look for new higher paying gigs. Freelancing is iffy. You may be making a ton of income today but blogs close down, clients come and go, and you could be out of a job tomorrow. Job searching on an ongoing... [Read More...]

Blogging may keep your brain young!

So probloggers may not get employer paid health insurance but we may get other perks like boosted brain power! According to a study released last year from the University of California, browsing the Internet stimulates neural activation patterns in your brain and may even potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults. The study consisted of folks undergoing MRI scans while performing web searches and said MRI scans showed an improved efficiency in cognitive processing plus the folks studied were able to encode information better. The research showed cognitive improvements even if Internet searches were only performed for a... [Read More...]

Eight easy tips for writing better blog posts

// It’s easy for bloggers to get caught up in community, traffic, word count, social networking, keywords and oh my gosh, the Twitter scene. You may get so caught up in the business of blogging that you might be lacking focus on the actual writing part of blogging. I’m not free and clear either. I don’t always focus on content as much as I should, but it doesn’t make it right. There’s a lot of mucky and boring posts on the web, why contribute to that? This week; heck this year, why not focus on the writing part of blogging. Following are eight ideas to get you started. 1) Give an opinion – PLEASE!: I read... [Read More...]

Health Care Coverage for Freelancers

// Blogging has many perks. Sadly employee provided health care doesn’t happen to be one of them. Most probloggers (and other freelance writers) need to figure out how to get health care on their own. it’s a daunting prospect, especially if in the past, you’ve had a nice tidy health care plan from your employer. When I was gainfully employed outside of my home I actually had full medical AND dental – in fact when I had my son the entire labor/birth experience cost me all of $10 or so because my insurance was so comprehensive – ah, the good ol’ days. Now I have to pay for all of my own health care and because... [Read More...]

Ideas for Your Blogger Business Card

// The other day we looked at some benefits of having a blogger business card if you’re a problogger. Today we’ll look at what to put on your card and tips for design choices. What should you put on your blogger business card? Honestly, it depends on who you ask. Personally I think a business card should offer some sort of useful information about you and your business, but often I see cards that are more design savvy than informative; i.e. more for looks and brand recognition then for info. Not to play favorites, but Deb has an excellent business card in my opinion. Deb’s business card, designed by Randa Clay is both design... [Read More...]

Your Blogging Business Card

// To be honest while I do have business cards, I don’t hand out too many per year. Still, I think it’s worthwhile to have a set of business cards that you carry around with you because there are some perks… Writing related events and conferences: If you attend blogging or writing related events of any sort a business card comes in handy to give out to potential clients and your peers. Local topical events: At the last green expo I attended I was shocked at the sheer amount of green businesses in attendance without business cards. Yeah, business cards may waste a little bit of paper, so maybe that was the thinking behind this... [Read More...]

One Simple Key to Blogging Success: Share

// Share. Don’t try to be a savior Don’t lecture Don’t yell Don’t try to be a savior Don’t act as if you know more Don’t belittle Don’t try to be a savior Share.  Read More →

Twitter fun! Don’t take it too seriously

// I’m all for Twitter. In fact there have been times I’ve been seriously entrenched in Twitter happenings. However, you can’t take it too seriously. It’s a great social networking tool, a fun way to add some breaks to your day, and a nice way to interact quickly online, but you also gotta consider the flip-side as this video so humorously points out. I just thought we needed a little kick off the week fun – enjoy!  Read More →

Need hundreds of blog post ideas?

// If you’re a problogger for clients, odds are you do need hundreds of blog post ideas. Because typically one blog won’t provide a livable income, you’re likely writing for many clients, which means multiple blogs and multiple topics, which in turn means you really need to churn out those blog post ideas. Example, I write, on average a minimum of 14-20 posts a day for clients (not counting all the forum topics I need to come up with for my community management gig) – that’s a minimum of 100 topics and issues I need to come up with each week. Yikes! However, while coming up with a large number of post ideas may... [Read More...]

Blogging rules you should follow and rules you can break

// Even when you’ve heard the same tried and true rules absolutely everywhere,  it doesn’t mean those rules will work for you. Some blogging rules were made to be followed and some well, not so much. ALWAYS FOLLOW THESE RULES… Avoid flowery, long-winded, mucky, metaphor-filled writing. I’m not saying you shouldn’t or can’t write long posts, but long or short, posts full of fancy Nancy style writing or purple overload are so freaking annoying. Readers (read me) aren’t interested in wading through paragraph after paragraph just to locate the point. In college the best web writing advice I ever got was... [Read More...]

Is your blog job sucking the fun out of blogging?

// I’ve been blogging professionally (i.e. making money at this blogging deal) for a long while now. However, before I blogged for pay I blogged for me. For fun. For the sheer need of saying what was on my mind. I had a blog with zero ads so comments and freedom of speech were my big rewards, not cold hard cash. There’s a big difference between blogging for yourself and blogging because it’s your job, but it doesn’t mean the two paths can’t connect. For example, when you blog for clients, for cash, there are some issues that can super suck the fun out of blogging, such as… Clients who pay late (or not at... [Read More...]

It’s freelance tax time – are you ready?

// Ah tax season. Taxes can be confusing even under the best of circumstances, and who has those? Add in divorce, child tax credits, college loan interest, home credits and so on and even the most prepared start to get a little loopy. Case in point, I’m pretty sure I reworked my taxes at least five times last year, which wasn’t entirely my fault (see below). In any case prepared or not tax season is here. Following are some tips… Do bloggers even pay taxes? Yes if you earned an income that’s over $600 $400 (see comments – my bad) from blogging in 2009 it’s considered income. Income in the U.S. is taxable. Am... [Read More...]

Profitable Blogging for Yourself: Traffic and Community First…then Money

// If you’re reading this blog, most likely you’re interested in making money as a blogger. Jennifer’s advice here is for those wishing to make a living blogging for others. My posts are mostly geared towards earning money from your own blogs. I hope we both offer something of value and that you will continue to offer your feedback. In the almost five years I’ve been building this blog network, there’s been a lot of trial and error. I didn’t know a thing about blogging when I first created Freelance Writing Jobs, When I first started out as a blogger, I made a lot of mistakes. Once I started realizing FWJ... [Read More...]

Managing work in a chaotic household

// The other day in my job sucks more than yours we looked at some of the perils of working at home. From distracting kids, to friends and family who believe you’re sitting around eating bon bons all day, to finding a coffee shop with non-sticky tables and more, working at home can be a nightmare at times. Here’s how to make it better… Have a dedicated office space with a door you can shut: If you can’t have this now, or don’t foresee having this in the very near future, working at home honestly may not work out unless you live alone. Kids don’t get that an office space in a common area still means you’re... [Read More...]

The Purpose of a Blog Is…

// If you’re reading the title of this post and think you’re going to find the answer to a burning question, think again. I’m not going to tell you anything. Instead, I’ll give you a few things to think about. That’s the way I like to roll, really. I prefer to throw out a few discussion points and let you find your own way. “My way or the highway” pontificating is boring anyway. No, I don’t know the purpose of a blog and I’m not going to pretend to do so. I feel blogs have different purposes for different people. Sure, they can be used as marketing tools and there’s nothing wrong... [Read More...]