Lately, several of my clients and students have expressed an interest in blogging. “Where do I start?” they ask. Or, “What should I blog about?” Or, “How would I keep it going?” Let’s break down this process a bit, and I’ll share practices that have made my own blogging enjoyable, sustainable, and profitable. What follows is not the only or even the best way to approach blogging—it’s just what’s worked for me. So take what you like and leave the rest. At the end of the day, your way is the best way for you. Trust your instincts, and have fun sharing from your heart! [Read more…]
Win a Free Career Coaching Bundle ($164) & a 3-Month Flexjobs Membership
Giveaway alert, FWJ people! We’re spreading quite a bit of love this month. Whether you are looking for new jobs or you want to plan out your career, this giveaway is for you. We’re giving away a free career coaching bundle worth $164 AND a Flexjobs membership for three months. [Read more…]
We’re Giving Away TWO Flexjobs Premium Annual Memberships
Giveaway alert! We have been sharing Flexjobs and its services for a while now, and if you have been wanting to give it a try but budget constraints have made that impossible, here is the perfect opportunity. We’re giving away two Flexjobs premium annual memberships. [Read more…]
Win an Annual Subscription to Hurdlr and Track Your Finances & Taxes Easily
It’s trick or treat time for most, but we’re all about treats here. We’re giving away an annual subscription to finance software Hurdlr to one FWJ reader.
What’s Hurdlr, anyway? Why would you want to win an annual subscription to it? [Read more…]
Win a Premium Experience Collection Box From Tinggly
No doubt you’ve heard of “experience vacations” or “experiences packages”. It’s no surprise that they’ve become popular in recent times. You can choose whatever experience you prefer, or you can gift a package to your friends, loved ones, and colleagues – all the while giving them the freedom of choosing what they actually want to do. Move over ugly Christmas sweaters and unwanted trinkets!
With the holidays coming up (okay, Halloween before Christmas), we thought it would be the perfect time to give away an experience package that you can use however you want. Because freelancers need a break, too! [Read more…]
Xtra-PC Gives New Life to Your Old PC, and We’re Giving 5 Units Away!
Who wouldn’t love buying a new computer every year or every time something new (and better) comes out? If you think about it, spending money on a new computer is an investment. In our line of work, that device is the money-maker. Without a computer, we can’t work.
However, we don’t all have the luxury of being able to purchase a new one regularly. Sometimes, we even have to bear with a dinosaur of a computer which bogs down at the worst possible moment.
Been there. Done that. I don’t even have a t-shirt to show for it. [Read more…]
Win a Hand-Lettered Mini Journal With a Maya Angelou Quote!
It’s been a while since we had a giveaway, hasn’t it? It’s not every day that we come across generous people who want to share their beautiful – and useful – work with others, but Emily of EmDashPaperCo is giving away one of her hand-lettered mini journals. Not only will it be very useful to any writer, it also has a a very apt quote, which I hope will serve as inspiration.
Emily runs a store on Etsy. She has an English BA and MA, is an avid reader, and a lover of the written word in all its forms. Doesn’t that sound familiar? She describes her craft as centering “on the visually pleasing arrangement of words on a page, incorporating her love of words both as tools for communication and as works of art in themselves.”
I don’t know about you, but I would love to have this particular piece of work in my bag!
That looks nice, doesn’t it? Here’s more information about the mini journal.
• Hand-lettered individually — NOT printed or mass-produced
• Moleskine’s “pocket” size, measuring 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
• Ruled pages
• Soft, flexible cardboard cover
• Contains 32 pages (64 front and back)
• White acrylic calligraphy ink
It’s small enough to take with you wherever you go, so you can jot down your thoughts for all those lightbulb moments.
To discover more of Emily’s work, you can find her via the following venues:
Twitter: @emdashpaperco
Facebook: Sparrownestscript
Instagram: http://instagram.com/emdashpaperco
How do you get the chance to win?
Just follow the instructions in the widget below. You can tweet every day to earn more entries, and you have to be a US resident to qualify. We will choose the winner at random on Friday, February 22, around 10PM EST. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Win a Free Copy of Kathleen Krueger’s “The Fast Track to Freelance Success Online”!
The Fast Track to Freelance Success Online
Many of you have been working online for quite some time, but I am sure that we also have a good number of readers who are only starting to wade in the freelance waters. Whichever group you belong to, I think that you will benefit a lot from reading Kathleen Krueger’s recently released e-book, “The Fast Track to Freelance Success Online”.
Kathleen is one of our readers, and I was made aware of her book when she left a comment a week or so ago, and guess what? She has generously agreed to give away two copies!
The title gives you a pretty good idea what the book has to offer, but let me tell you this: it is a pretty good handbook for anyone who wants to launch a freelance career and be successful without waiting ages.
The book is divided into seven chapters, starting with identifying your goals, moving on to how to begin, and ending with an update on Kathleen’s professional status.
What I really like about the book is that it does not give you a generic formula to success. While the title is very upbeat and might give you an impression that you are about to have a “guaranteed success” read, it really is not all about that. (Aside: I don’t know about you, but in general, I am wary when I am given such guarantees in an uncertain world.)
What Kathleen does, instead, is to share the lessons and nuggets of wisdom she has learned in her own journey to freelancing success. And, I have to say that this book should be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to succeed in this field.
Here is some more information about Kathleen that you might want to know.
Kathleen is a full time freelance writer from Minnesota with a creative, casual style. Currently she contributes articles to several local and national lifestyle magazines; is a writer of informational online articles regarding a wide range of topics; ghost writer for several company blogs and website content in a wide range of industries.
Now, would you like to read the ebook that can help you with your freelancing career?
As I said earlier, we’re giving away TWO copies. Here’s what you need to do to get a chance to win.
Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then tweet it:
I want a copy of The Fast Track to Freelance Success Online from @FreelanceWJ and @kacky222! Enter here: http://spla.us/RIwpJO #contests
Step 2: Leave us a comment on this page to let us know you tweeted, and paste the link to your tweet in your comment. (Note that our comments are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)
The winners will be selected at random from the commenters on or around 11:00 pm EST on Wednesday, September 26. The winners will be notified via Twitter, after which we’ll get your details. Don’t forget to thank @kacky222 if you win!
Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 26th.
In case you don’t win, you can still get The Fast Track to Freelance Success Online for only $4.50. In the meantime, remember to tweet and leave your comments till Wednesday!
Who Wants to Win This Ray Bradbury Mug?
Ray Bradbury Mug
I don’t know about you, but this is one of my favorite quotes from a writer. While I have to be honest and say that I am not a huge Ray Bradbury fan (not because I don’t like his work, but simply because I haven’t had the chance to read much of it), this line just hits home at times.
When I saw this mug on Etsy, I had a feeling that some of you guys might want to get your hands on it as well. Not only is the design something we can relate to as writers, the mug can also easily become a constant companion. I think I am not wrong in assuming that a cup of coffee or tea is never far from reach, am I?
Lucky for us, the creator of this mug is a writer herself, and she has generously agreed to give it away to a lucky FWJ reader! Well, technically, it won’t be the same mug that Hanna is giving away because she is going to make one especially for this giveaway, but that should not be an issue, should it?
Before we go to the contest guidelines, I suggest visiting Hanna’s Etsy shop, Ophelia’s Gypsy Caravan, where you will find so many more hand-painted mugs. If you’re anything like me, who can’t have enough coffee mugs around the house, then you are in for a treat!
Now how do you join this contest? Here are the steps.
Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then tweet it:
I want to win the Ray Bradbury mug from @FreelanceWJ and @hannachoward! Enter here: http://spla.us/N5zKKK #contests
Step 2: Leave us a comment on this page to let us know you tweeted, and paste the link to your tweet in your comment. (Note that our comments are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)
The winner will be selected at random from the commenters on or around 10:00 pm EST on Thursday, July 5. The winner will be notified via Twitter, after which we’ll get your details for shipping. Don’t forget to thank @hannachoward if you win!
Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 5th. Also, due to shipping considerations, the winner will have to be based in the United States.
Win Codes for miTypewriter App for the iPad
I am sure that I am not alone in feeling nostalgic about the entire experience of putting words on paper (literally) using a typewriter. As a kid, I would alternate between the desire to daintily tap on the keys and the urge to pound away like a crazed writer.
It might be a difficult thing to find real typewriters nowadays, but for those of you who have an iPad, here’s the next best thing: miTypewriter.
This app turns your iPad into something like the typewriters of old, and while you won’t have the tactile experience, the looks and sounds certainly provide an enjoyable trip down memory lane. miTypewriter looks like this.
miTypewriter Interface
You can tweak the settings to suit your fancy.
miTypewriter Settings
And once you have typed out your letter, article, or whatever it is you are working on, you have a few options to choose from as well.
miTypewriter Options
Once you’re done, you can even print out your letter.
miTypewriter Letter
Doesn’t that make you want to have miTypewriter on your iPad?
That’s what we’re here for: to give you the chance to have some play time. Teruaki Onoda of white dev, the guys behind miTypewriter, has been so generous and has given us 10 codes for the app. Yes, 10 codes to give away to writers who miss the clickety clack of typewriters.
You know how this goes…
Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then tweet it:
I want to win a code for miTypewriter from @FreelanceWJ and @white_dev! Enter here: http://spla.us/JwaBwv #contests
Step 2: Leave us a comment on this page to let us know you tweeted, and paste the link to your tweet in your comment. (Note that our comments are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)
TEN winners will be selected at random from the commenters on or around 10:00 pm EST on Friday, June 1. Winners will be notified via Twitter, after which we’ll send the code through DM. Don’t forget to thank @white_dev if you win!
Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 1st.
