All Recent Posts

From Blog to Small Business

// Deb’s note: I started writing this post on the plane to Las Vegas (and BlogWorld) last week. Since then I’ve seen Darren Rowse’s post at ProBlogger called, “The #1 One Reason My Blogging Grew into a Business.” Check it out if you can, it’s a must -read for anyone who wants to blog for a living. FWJ began four years ago as a blog filled with leads for work at home moms like me. As you know, it’s evolved quite a bit over the past few years. Something happened this past spring that caused me to change my outlook about FWJ. Instead of a simple blog or network of blogs, I treated it like a business.... [Read More...]

Why You Won’t Get Famous Blogging for Someone Else

// I think I’m going to ramble a bit… As a professional blogger and consultant, I take pride in my brand. My name, Deborah Ng, is my brand. My brand is also this blog network, Freelance Writing Jobs. I hope it doesn’t sound like a big load of ego to say that many people equate my name and my brand, with the freelance writing jobs niche. Though I didn’t set out to have a heavy web presence, once I my reputation began to build I realized the importance of my name and my brand. I worked hard to get to this point and I’m very proud of my brand and what it’s become. As much as I will do everything in my power... [Read More...]

Blogging is All About the Delivery: Getting Your Point Across Without Being Abrasive

When I was in highschool and on the job,  there were a few people I did my best to avoid. It was the girls and women who said what was on their minds, no matter how much it hurt. Not only did I find their manner abrasive, I felt they fed into that catty woman stereotype and gave women a bad name in general. They didn’t agree.They excused their rudeness by saying they were honest. I have a nephew who does the same thing. He’s rude, but feels people need to get over it because it’s the truth and that’s always a good thing. I’m not feeling it. I never though honesty was an excuse to be rude and I’m not a fan... [Read More...]

Is Freelance Writing a Transient Niche?

// I have freelance writing on my mind today, or rather, the freelance writing niche. For those of you who haven’t been with this blog network from the beginning, Freelance Writing Jobs started out as a single standalone blog posting job leads every day. From there, we branched out to having some advice posts on the weekend, then a mixture of the two during the week. Now we’re a full-fledged network of eight blogs. Here’s the interesting thing. This blog/network has been around for about four and a half years. We have some regulars who have been with us since day one (thanks, guys!) but for the most part this is a transient... [Read More...]

Guest Blog Posts: Good P.R or Free Content?

// I’ve been thinking a lot about guest blog posts lately. I used guest blog posts often in the past. For FWJ’s third anniversary we unveiled guest blogger month where each day featured another guest posting. I also had a “FWJ Idol” contest where a dozen bloggers competed for a slot on the blogging team here (and Terrece won!). I was called out for stocking FWJ with free content and I was a little angry. Don’t people understand guest posts aren’t the same as writing for free? It’s good public relations. It’s a way to get our names out there. I’m not hurting writers, I’m helping them.... [Read More...]

Blogs as Real Estate: On Receiving Offers for FWJ

I always liken blogs to real estate. There are several similarities. For example if you choose a good domain name, your location, you can sell your property for a good price. Moreover, if you have curb appeal, the right kind of traffic and valuable content and a steady revenue base, you can sell for a good price. I’ve entertained several offers to sell over the past couple of years, but turned them all down. Usually those offers weren’t enough money to warrant serious consideration. Not when you consider I earn a steady income, have over 6500 subscribers and thousands of visitors each day. Not when you consider how many advertisers... [Read More...]

What Have I Done for You Lately?

// I regularly receive emails from bloggers asking me to promote a new service, review ebooks, donate to their contests and post affiliate links. Many of these requests are from very popular bloggers who I haven’t heard from since the last time they had something to promote. I also hear from friends who haven’t had the time to chat or email in years, but now they’re wondering if there isn’t something to this making money online thing or they’re out of work and wondering if they should write. I don’t mind helping. I enjoy promoting products I feel are a good fit for this community and I like helping my friends.... [Read More...]

Blog Contests: Bribery or Motivation?

// There are some interesting discussions going around now regarding the purpose of contests at blogs, especially contests building community. Is it bribery or buying community to offer a contest encouraging community? As you know, the FWJ network is having a comment contest for the month of October. The reason for this contest is: To encourage long-time members to come back into the discussion after recent negativity. To encourage visitors to each individual blog to visit the other blogs in the network. To encourage newer or lurking members of the community to add their two cents. To give something back to the community after a very good... [Read More...]

Bringing Community Back: FWJ is Giving Away $150

// Once upon a time there was a blog. This blog had several thousand visitors each day. They shared. They chatted. They commiserated. It was all good. Soon some mean people came by and began scaring away the happy chatters. The vibe changed from warm and fuzzy to not so much fun anymore. The owner did her best to build up community, but she was so busy with her projects and her job it wasn’t happening. She put a comment policy into place but the damage was already done. She had a reputation for having a community that liked to bicker. She wants to change that. If you remember the days when FWJ was a huge, lively community of writers... [Read More...]

On Taking Swipes at Other Bloggers

Writers often ask each other about their “passion”. Passion is what leads us to write about what we love every single day. Passion is what makes us good at what we do. Passion makes us who we are. My passion is blogging. It’s an addiction.  I wake up and all I want to do is blog. That may sound silly to some, but it’s what I love and what I hope to do forever. What makes me not so passionate is all the “I’m so not like you so I’m going to do everything I can to trash you and bring you down without actually mentioning your name” blogging that’s going on among my peers. It makes blogging less... [Read More...]

Does Your Blog Have a Comment Policy?

// I find myself having to defend my comment policy from time to time. I’ve been accused of editing comments so only the rosy ones come through, or being biased about who is allowed to comment at the FWJ network. None of that is true. I have a comment policy in place and like to abide by that policy, it’s really nothing personal. I just don’t feel rudeness or personal attacks have a place in an intelligent discussion. Here’s the thing, some commentators don’t know how to disagree respectfully. Instead they throw in barbs and digs and downright nastiness. I don’t feel this is necessary for getting one’s... [Read More...]

Sponsored Posts: Smart Advertising or Selling Out?

// I’ve been thinking about sponsored advertising a lot this week. Many bloggers won’t have anything to do with sponsored post advertising as they feel it’s a sell out and will turn off their readers. I can appreciate that. I think, though, many of us are lying if we say we don’t wish to make good money with our blogs. Make no mistake, FWJ is first and foremost a blog providing a useful service to freelance writers. However, it’s also a business. Blogging is a business. The bloggers at this network expect payment and I hope to turn a profit. With that said, I’ve turned down most offers for sponsored posts... [Read More...]

Blogging: The Rules Are….There are No Rules

// Bloggers who earn money like to tell other bloggers how to earn money. It’s what we do. We like to think our way is the best way and share our success secrets with others.  Here’s the thing though, what works for one blogger doesn’t necessarily work for another. If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past few years it’s to use other bloggers’ experiences to experiment with my own blog, but find my own formula for success. Every time I read another blogger’s thoughts on how to kill a blog, I feel as if they’re writing about me.  My sidebar is cluttered, my SEO sucks,  and I’ve... [Read More...]

I Think Blogging is Making Me a Little Lazy

// While writing up a shopping list the other day, I took notice of my handwriting. I used to receive many compliments on my penmanship. Nowadays, unless I take the time to write slow and neat, it’s rather sloppy. My online writing has gotten sloppier as well. While there’s no excuse for typos (which I’m famous for!) and bad grammar, I notice that my writing has definitely gone downhill since I began blogging. Because it’s more casual, I tend not to pay as much attention to my writing. The problem is, my formal writing is suffering from my bad habits. I have to fight to avoid some slang words and, also, to keep my tone... [Read More...]

Blog & Web Writing Gigs for August 19, 2009

A fair amount of decent paying gigs today, although I swear people are getting less and less clear when writing these things. It’s not that hard – Location? Pay? Hours? Duties? That works. I think maybe people are trying to be too fancy. In any case, no tip today but I do think this post is worth a read – Don’t Ignore the Hidden Job Market for Freelancers. Anywhere gigs: Engineering Blogger Established website seeks Editor in Chief - AND Blogger/Editor Needed for Pet Loving Startup - pay issues sounds super iffy on both gigs so approach with care Intern for Green Social Website - some pay, not sure how much. Blog Writer for... [Read More...]