Work as a Guest Blogger to Manage Your Finances

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Blogging is becoming very popular today not just because you can put up anything on it, but because you can make money with it. Some people put up ads on their site, or post surveys to get other people to answer it and earn money. Another thing you can do is to write articles for other people’s blogs which is called guest blogging.

Guest blogging is when you write articles for other people while getting paid. There are, however some things you have to consider if you want to work as a guest blogger. You have an option of working full time or part time depending on how much time you can allot for it. And if you happen to be a blogger yourself, and you decided to work part time then its best if you write for websites that have a high page ranking. [Read more…]

How to Build a Wildly Profitable Conversion Funnel On Autopilot

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In an interview with Bryan Eisenberg, leading conversion specialist, he noted businesses spend up to $92 to get someone to their site… and less than one dollar to convert them.

Another shocking statistic:

76% of companies do *not* have any form of conversion optimization… and 48% believe they have zero control over conversion.

I think that is ridiculous.

Conversions are one of the few things you do control. Unlike most marketing efforts – which require third-party sites like Google or Twitter – conversion exists on your site, which puts you in 100% control of your destiny.

But can you improve conversions? Absolutely.

Here’s how… [Read more…]

When a Freelance Writing Job Doesn’t Pay

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There is perhaps no other topic in the freelance writing world that generates more controversy than the concept of writers writing for free. Bring it up and lines in invisible sand are drawn, commenting spikes and in the case of Harlan Ellison, a few F-bombs are dropped.

It’s understandable. Shady publishers and editors prey on vunerable writers who want to see their names in print. Writers are constantly burned by “write for free now and earn later” promises in which “later” never comes.

However, in the angry buzz of the debate something gets lost. Choice and education. There will always be writers who consider using their talent without traditional compensation. Instead of helping writers make informed decisions, we  as a community often take the abstinence-only approach – IT’S WRONG, NEVER DO IT.

Is it really free?

The first step to weighing a work-for-free option is to look at whether the project has any compensation opportunities. Writers work in exchange for items and services all the time. A little web content work in exchange for a new website. A little PR work in exchange for lessons from a yoga studio.

Just be sure that you follow three simple rules when bartering services:

  1. Set clear boundaries. Define the services you will provide and the services or products you expect in return. This prevents misunderstandings and keeps either party from taking advantage of the “freebie” situation.
  2. Determine cost. It should be expected that your standard rates are used for services you provide.
  3. Put it in writing. This is not only helpful for tax and business record purposes, it makes the transaction official and binding.

Is it for the greater good?

Wielding a hammer may not be some people’s idea of how they want to volunteer, but wielding a keyboard may feel just right. Providing writing services to help a charity or organization is a good thing. Sweating over a keyboard or a hot stove both take time and effort and each can be a great help to someone in need.

Are you prepared for the lack of payoff?

Writing for exposure. *Sigh* That’s a tricky one. Certain publications swear by it, but when their blog only reaches 12 people and four of those are family members, the “exposure” doesn’t help a writer one bit. Then you have the Huffington Post model: huge reach and definite opportunities for exposure. However, when the publication makes a deal for a large sum of money, whether it’s for advertising or through the sale of the blog, there will be writers who feel slighted when left out of the monetary windfall.

There is, of course, the possibility that exposure may never come. Before you get into an “exposure” deal,

  1. Use metrics to define success. How many blog hits, how many subsequent work requests, book sales, etc.
  2. Recognize and get comfortable with not being able to eat, spend or pay bills with exposure. Exposure has to translate into dollars through other avenues to be successful.
  3. Have a time limit and exit strategy. Give the exposure enough time to produce results, but have an end date in place if it doesn’t show signs of panning out.

Can you afford to do it?

Whether working in exchange for goods and services, as a volunteer or for “exposure,” carefully weigh the costs of the commitment. There are time costs, including time away from other business-growing opportunities, i.e. querying, working on gigs for other clients, etc. There are also actual costs: electricity, Internet, the standard writing rate… This is one of those tough choices that a writer has to make from a business perspective, especially if the project will be ongoing.

Most of the time I’m against writing for free. It distracts writers from doing things that can both further their careers and enable them to pay bills. Writing for experience can be accomplished while making money – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are, however, situations in which free can work out for writers though they are not as common as “job” listings would have you believe. It’s a personal, business decision that should be made with research and with realistic expectations.

Have you written for “free?” Why or why not? What other things should writers consider when weighing a non-traditional pay option?

From Blog to Small Business

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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. Don’t get me wrong, I was always business-like in my dealings and accounting, but in June, I took it to a whole new level.

When I lost my full time job, I decided I wasn’t going to look for another. Instead, I wanted to work harder on making this network more profitable, and more beneficial to those reading it. Instead of looking for a job, I was going to make FWJ my full time job. It made a difference.  Instead of simply posting and building traffic, I’ve also been:

  • Meeting with accountants to find out my next course of action as a small business owner.
  • Negotiating with advertisers
  • Researching advertising, traffic, SEO and other blog building techniques
  • Working hard on branding
  • Working hard on FWJ’s (and Deb Ng’s) social media presence
  • Forming lucrative partnerships which will enable this network to keep going
  • Doing some heavy analysis into the demographics of this community and other freelance writing communities
  • Networking, not only with other freelancers, but with other people and businesses to form mutually beneficial relationships

Some of the things I learned at this time:

  • You can’t please everyone
  • You have to spend money to make money
  • Networking totally rocks
  • If you focus on one thing, instead of multitasking, you’ll have better results
  • Sometimes you just have to go for it

Some of the changes I noticed since devoting my full time attention to FWJ:

  • Traffic has seen a significant increase
  • Advertisers have been coming to FWJ, instead of the other way around
  • Ad revenue beyond private sales (Adsense, etc.) has increased to the point where it’s a full time income
  • A major online brand inquired about purchasing FWJ
  • Lots of Tweets and ReTweets featuring FWJ links
  • Community growth
  • A whooooole lot of email
  • More links to blog posts at FWJ
  • Major brands have taken notice

This is only a few months worth of work and effort. Can you imagine if I had put this much time and energy into FWJ since day one? Of course, that wasn’t possible because I needed to help provide for my family. However, being patient and persistant and not giving up over 4 1/2 years enabled met build FWJ and see it to its potential.

Luck vs Hard Work

Someone once told me I was lucky. This has nothing to do with luck. I worked hard to build this network. It became a huge part of my life. I focus attention to it every day. It’s kept me up late, and caused me to rise very early. It’s been the subject of blog wars and forum spats. It’s my life, not luck. I have to tell you, it’s not easy to come up with content every single day for 4 1/2 years.

Is it Worth it?

You bet it’s worth it. I’m not going to claim to be some expert, guru, A-list problogger, but I managed to find something that I love – something that works. It’s been worth all the time and effort I put into it. As Darren Rowse begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting said in his post about blogging as a business, when I stopped treated my blog as a hobby and more as a business, it began to work for me.

If you want to make your blog work for you, know that it’s not easy. It’s not as simple as opening up a blog, stocking it with keywords and slapping on some ads. There’s a lot of research, promoting and networking involved.

Tell us the story of your blog. Is it a business? Can it become a business? What are you doing to ensure its success, and what are some of the results you’ve seen since beginning?

Why You Won't Get Famous Blogging for Someone Else

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blog

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 to help them succeed and make names for themselves, the bloggers who write for FWJ aren’t as well known as the “Freelance Writing Jobs” brand. This has nothing to do with them or me. When you write for someone else, you’re paying more attention to their brand than your own.

In the past I wrote for many brands including b5Media, Oxygen Media and About.com. It wasn’t my name that stuck in everyone’s minds when they read my work, it was the brand. That’s not a complaint, I was happy to get my start with some well-known names. However, if you want to make money as a blogger, it’s important to think about whose brand is more important – yours or the people you’re blogging for. If the answer is you, think about how you can build your own brand while still earning money elsewhere. If you’re happy building someone else’s brand without being well-known, that’s OK too.

If you want to build up your name as a writer for someone else’s brand, you’re going to have to think about ways for people to remember your name above or in addition to the name of the brand. The last thing you want to do is overshadow the brand you’re being paid to promote. You’re also going to have to consider how your employer feels about you building up your own brand while being paid to build up his. I recently experienced that very conflict.

Very few bloggers make a name for themselves on someone else’s blog. I’ve blogged for enough people and businesses to know this is true. Blogging for other people pays the bills, blogging for you builds your brand (and can also pay the bills). Blogging for other people enables you to earn some of the money coming in from that blog. Blogging for yourself allows you take control of all of your blog’s income. Blogging for myself allows me to take this blog/network in any direction I’d like. Blogging for someone else has me going someone else’s route, and I may not always agree with where we’re headed.

This blog is called (and about) “Blogging for a Living”. I’d be doing you a disservice if I told you you’ll become a household name blogging for someone else. However, you can earn very good money as a blogger for hire. Not all bloggers make thousands of dollars each month with their own blogs. Not all bloggers for hire are “A Listers”. If you want to make money as a blogger, the first thing you’ll have to determine is whether or not you want to do so building up your own brand or someone else’s. You can do both, but then you’ll also have to be prepared the people who pay you to blog won’t like you spending so much time on you. Knowing where you want to take your name or your brand will help you to determine where to exert most of your energy.

If you want to spend more time building up your own brand, think about how you’re going to reach the people you want to reach and how to create trust and build a good reputation. Just as you want your clients to trust you, you’ll also want your community to trust you. Trust breeds success. When you blog for someone else, you’re working more to create trust with your client than your community. Hopefully as a professional blogger, you’re also building trust in your byline, but the community’s happiness is secondary to your client’s happiness. I once had a client who felt comments were too distracting and turned them off. She didn’t care about community, she cared about content. You’ll work for all kinds as a blogger for hire. Some bloggers enjoy letting an employer handling all the sordid details so they can just write. I prefer having the best of both worlds.

Tell us about your brand. Is your brand important or is it your preference to build up someone else’s brand? Do you want to be famous or are you happy enough to do your job, earn your check and enjoy the incognito life?

Discuss…

Blogs as Real Estate: On Receiving Offers for FWJ

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Blog for sale

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 seek me out on a regular basis. Not when you consider how many new writers consider FWJ to be the place to go for advice for getting started.

Yesterday the CEO of a very recognizable brand asked about buying FWJ. After I picked myself up off the floor, I experienced a flood of emotion:

  • Validation: A major name in our business likes what I’ve done here enough to not only notice FWJ but to own it.
  • Confusion: Why do they want to buy MY blog? There are thousands of blogs about writing and freelancing? Why does mine have value – and how much is it worth to them? Why FWJ?
  • Greed: It would have to be a really (and I mean REALLY) good offer to sell FWJ.
  • Sadness: What would I do if I didn’t have FWJ? This is my life and my livelihood. It’s my biggest source of income and my favorite thing to do each day. What will I do every day if I can’t blog for you?
  • Pride: See validation above. Plus, to have this company want to own my “baby” is truly an honor.

Now, as I write this I know I won’t be idle. I have several other properties, one set to launch very soon. I enjoy building things from scratch. I can flip blogs like some people flip property. However, it’s FWJ. Not just some little blog, but my pride and joy. Something I put my heart and my life into. How can you put a price on passion?

I’m torn and I didn’t sleep well last night. We’re talking about FWJ. The little writing job blog I built into a network in four and a half years. It’s like selling a beloved family home or marrying off a child. FWJ is me, it’s my brand.

Think about your blog and everything you put into it. Would you sell? At what price?

Sponsored Posts: Smart Advertising or Selling Out?

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Blog for sale

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 because they don’t fit with this community. I mean, I have a price but I’m not a total whore. I also believe in full disclosure and transparency for sponsored posts, which means if anyone paid me to write a post for them, you will know so you can draw your own conclusions.

As I wrote earlier, the rules for blogging are that there are no rules. We all do what we feel best works for our own situations. Sponsorship isn’t selling out. It’s a business decision some bloggers choose to make. I can’t fault them for that. As long as a blog continues to provide awesome content, advertising and sponsorship is never a deal breaker for me. No one thinks twice about buying a heavy issue of Vogue featuring 100 pages of content and 500 pages of advertising. I look at it the same way.  As long as it’s not overly spammy and they’re honest about sponsored posting, bloggers should do whatever they feel best to survive without being accused of selling out.

What do you think?

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Choosing Ads for the FWJ Network

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As the Freelance Writing Jobs community grows in popularity and network, the task of monetizing becomes a lot more difficult. This network of blogs does well  with Adsense and some other clicky type ads, but it’s not enough to keep us running. The good news is that more advertisers are seeking us out for their ads. The bad news is that I’m often torn between my need to pay our bloggers and techie and keep this network going, and my dislike for places that don’t pay writers a livable wage.

I’m always asked if I turn away advertisers and, also, how I choose the ads displayed at FWJ. Since I received a flurry of advertising questions over the weekend, I thought I’d answer them here.

Yes, I’ve Turned Away Sponsors

I’ve turned down quite a few sponsors because I didn’t appreciate the way they treated their workers. I have to tell you though, it tore me apart to do so. When you run a business and you need to pay the bills, you don’t want to discourage a revenue. It takes six to eight hours  each day to write for and maintain FWJ, plus the bloggers who work here have families to feed. Sometimes I’ve taken ads from places I wouldn’t work for myself, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work out well for other members of this community. Keep in mind I only choose places with a good reputation, even if I don’t always approve of their pay rates. If they have a history of treating writers poorly, I pass.

How I Choose Ads for this Network

Some people might consider me a hypocrite for choosing some ads, while not allowing others. For instance, I’ve allowed advertisements from some residual-based websites. If you know me, you know I don’t much care for residual based websites because I don’t think many of them ofter a livable wage.  Before I approve an advertiser, I research his track record. I look online, I talk to other writers, I might even give them a phone call. If they can convince me the majority of their writers are earning a good living, I’ll allow their ads.

I choose ads from places with a good reputation. If a majority of the writers in this community work for some of these places and have a good experience, I may choose their ad from their recommendation even if I don’t agree with the pay. In the upcoming weeks you may see an ad here from a popular residual based network. I spoke on the phone with their people and they assured me the majority of their writers receive a livable wage each month. The average reported monthly earnings for their writers convinced me to allow their ads.

The Ethics of Choosing Advertisers

I try to be ethical about who advertises here and who doesn’t. Sometimes I receive emails from people who question why certain ads are here. It’s tough to explain my reasons to others, especially the folks who don’t want to “get it”.

I allow ads if I:

  • Feel it’s a good place for brand new writers to get their start
  • Feel they treat their writers well
  • Feel it’s a place offering a positive experience to writers – especially writers who are just starting out.

I don’t allow ads if:

  • They’re scammy
  • The majority of their writers don’t earn a livable wage
  • They’re scammy
  • There’s just no way I can personally endorse them.

Do I choose ads with my readers in mind? I try to. There might be an advertiser I’m not sure about but if members of my community use them and swear by them I’ll go with the ad. I also look for the places that offer writers a good beginning, even if I wouldn’t personally use them.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to write me to ask about advertismeents on FWJ. I hope I answered all of your questions.

Redefining Your Blogging Goals

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The past year was an interesting one for me. After taking six years to build up a successful freelance writing career, I decided to take a full time job for an online company. I took the job for several reasons:

  1. I was able to work at home
  2. I would be doing what I love
  3. I was looking to gain more social media experience

The job was a valuable and enlightening experience, but I missed working for myself, especially the flexibility. I decided to return to freelancing, but also to build up a business as a social media consultant. My biggest priority however, is returning this blog to it’s former glory.

Don’t get me wrong…

This blog does well, don’t get me wrong. Without being front and center to promote, write tons of content, toss out the link love and schmooze with advertisers, we were beginning to lose traffic and revenue.  I have a year’s worth of ground to make up. Which brings me to today’s topic…

Redefining my blogging goals

In the past my goal was to earn money as a blogger for hire, and keep this blog going as a lucrative side project. Now, I’m going to vice versa the whole thing. I have blogging and social media clients, thankfully, but my main goal is to build this blog to be my number one source of income, so I can rely on others less and less.  I will do so by posting more, networking more and working with advertisers more. It was a mistake to put this wonderful blog network on the back burner, but you can bet we’re cooking with gas now.

What are your blogging goals? How can you take it to the next level?

Online resume mistakes you may be making

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Applying for online writing gigs is a writing talent all on its own. If you make a mistake you’re not kicking off this whole, “I can write for a living” deal very well. Because you’ll be sending your resume / work bio by email, you need to adjust it for the web. Following are some mistakes not to make when applying for an online writing gig – be it a blog or other website.

Mistakes when applying:

You cut and paste from Word or another doc. application: This can result in some funky formatting and make your email look unprofessional.

You attach your resume or bio: NEVER send attachments unless a potential client asks you to specifically do so. Most folks won’t open attachments, and some have them blocked. However, if you have pertinent clips what should you do? Cover it at the end with a quick, “Magazine clips are also available upon request.” Exchange “magazine clips” with business clips or what have you as needed.

You’re long-winded: Long winded isn’t even great on a paper resume, but it’s the kiss of death on a web resume. Web writing is partially about being succinct. If your resume / bio shows that you can’t be you’ve already gotten off on the wrong foot.

You make spelling, grammar, or other errors that ‘writers’ shouldn’t make: Come on now, I know you know this one. Don’t do it. Note though that web writing technique is different than other sorts of writing. Short blips in bullets are fine for a web resume.

You post the great resume wall of text: HIT ENTER! I’ll say it again… hit enter. I get emails from people who have questions about writing online, and that’s cool, but I don’t make it through half on them because my eyes don’t enjoy reading 60 lines+ of text in a row. Potential employers don’t want this either. Make your text skim-friendly. Note that some bold headings and bullets will help as well.

You leave the subject blank: In the subject should be the job title you’re applying for.

You use a lame-ass email: [email protected] is NOT a good email. [email protected] is also lame. If you can use an email with your name, or the name of your writing biz (if you have one).

You include too many irrelevant facts: No one cares about your ceramic dog collection or the fact that you like creating scrapbooks in your spare time. Keep to the facts which one, keeps it skim-friendly, and two, keeps it focused.

WHEN TO BREAK THE RULE ABOVE…

  • You say where you’re from (quickly) – this has landed me jobs because where you’re from is a good conversation starter.
  • The potential client ASKS for some personal info.
  • Your personal info actually relates to the gig. When I applied for a pregnancy blog I write for I did mention that I’d worked as a doula, went to college for nursing/midwifery, and went through childbirth myself, because it made me look more credible.
  • You can say it all in a few sentences. Something quick, like, “On a personal note, in my free time I like music, Frisbee, and have an insane addiction to chocolate” can add a bit of personality to an otherwise blah resume, but you need to add this at the end, and do so for gigs that seem a little more casual.

You add in your entire educational career: Fact, none of the clients I have right now asked me about my education ever, in fact, over the span of my writing career almost no clients have asked – good thing too since I’ve got degrees in math and science, not writing. Education is less highly rated in the online writing world than experience and your clips are. Sometimes a client will ask and by all means include it. OR the info may add to your credibility (like holding an RN degree when applying for a health site) but otherwise, education info only takes up space.

You don’t include links to clips: If you don’t have online clips, start a blog. If you don’t want to start a blog, start your own website and post your clips there. Clients want to see your clips.

For more tips on applying for blogging and online writing gigs read:

Coming soon we’ll look at mistakes not to make when posting your resume or bio on your personal website.

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