Time and time again I have talked about reading others blogs. Not only will this teach you a lot, but you can also get some great ideas of your own by doing this. With that being said, I wanted to write a short post about three blogs that I frequent on a regular basis.
1. Johnchow.com – No matter what, I never miss a post by John Chow. I may make some money through my blogs, but not nearly as much as he does. If you are interested in making money online, John Chow is your guy!
2. Problogger.net – If you want to learn about blogging, this is the place to be. Darren Rowse is the master when it comes to making money with blogs, teaching others to succeed, and much more. The posts on this blog will keep you busy for months on end.
3. Janemayblogs.com – Although this blog is not as popular as the two listed above, it may very well be my favorite. This blog is written in a down to earth style, and the posts are easy to associate with your own ventures.
If you are not reading these three blogs, bookmark them today!
As I mentioned at the end of the last post, I was waiting for a response from the client. When I finally got one, I was not surprised that he was as ignorant as ever. The main problem he was having was that the content was not “what he envisioned.” Whereas this is a valid concern, my point was that I wrote the content based on the initial instructions that I was given. After all, what more could I do? Just like every client, I ask for what they want, clarify any concerns, and then get started.
Of course, I let him know that I was only doing what he asked. To this he replied that it was not good enough, and that he wanted a near full refund. Although I was not happy with this, I did offer a compromise for a slightly lower refund amount. This led to another tirade, and of course, a resolution dispute being filed with PayPal.
Being that it was only a couple hundred bucks, I decided to give in and offer the refund that he asked for. Did I want to do this? Absolutely not! In fact, I would have loved to let PayPal resolve the problem because I am confident that I would have won, hands down. But with the end of the month closing in, I did not want to make any waves that would hold me back from transferring funds to my business account.
As you can see, when dealing with angry clients you can often times end up on the wrong end of things. This is unfortunate, because in my case, there was no reason for profane emails or PayPal resolutions. If the other party would have been professional, we surely could have worked something out. But just like anything else in business, I learned a lot from this experience. And I guess that is better than nothing!
As I have mentioned before, Chrisblogging is my newest blog. At this time I have made about 30 posts, and traffic is building nicely. This blog is far from what I want it to be, but for now, progress is steady.
After a bit of contemplating, I have decided to sign up with PayPerPost. If you are unfamiliar with this service, it is not hard to understand. Generally speaking, PayPerPost pays bloggers to make posts that advertisers have ordered. While many think that this is unethical, I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with it. The way that I see things, PayPerPost is offering something beneficial for both parties. Bloggers have the chance to monetize their site, and advertisers can pay to get the word out about their company, etc. To me, it looks beneficial to everybody involved; even PayPerPost, which takes a portion of the profits.
PayPerPost outlines the sign up process in four simple steps. And after completing these, I agree that they are quite simple.
1. Sign up as a blogger
2. Submit your blog so that PayPerPost can approve it based on their requirements
3. Find and complete opportunities to the advertiser’s specifications
4. Receive your payment via PayPal. I have yet to experience this!
The sign up process is quite simple. PayPerPost asked for my first and last name, birthday, and email address. I also had to create a user name and password.
After following the confirm link that was sent to my email address, I was ready to go. This brought me to my “dashboard” of sorts. The last step that I took was to register Chrisblogging; I am still waiting on approval.
After I get the go ahead, I will let everyone know how I am going to proceed!
As you have noticed in past posts, I strongly believe that reading others blogs is a great way to learn. Although I may know a bit about blogging and freelance writing, there are many that make me look like a newcomer.
One of the best blogs that you will ever come across is John Chow Dot Com: The Miscellaneous Ramblings of a Dot Com Mogul.
Generally speaking, John Chow Dot Com is a blog that will help anybody, from beginner to pro, make money online.
Of course, just like any good blogger, I am writing this post for a reason. If you link to the home page of his site, as well as the review page, John will give you a free linkback. And since his blog is a high PR authority site, this is a great way for new blogs to get off to a good start.
Even though I am going to get a linkback from John Chow Dot Com, this post is also meant to show you that you can learn quite a bit from others. My favorite part of this blog is the monthly roundup when John shows us how much money he made from his blog the previous month. As of late, this income level has been just above $10,000. It is safe to say that this is a level that all bloggers would like to reach.
So if you are looking for a new blog to add to your list, check out John Chow Dot Com. You will not be disappointed.
The income range of freelance writers spans from less than $100 per month to more than $10,000 per month. As you can imagine, it would be much better if your freelance writing income was at the top of that scale. Luckily, when most people start a freelance writing career they are well aware that there are many potential downfalls that they are going to have to deal with. In other words, nobody thinks that freelance writing is a get rich quick scheme. And if you do, you should definitely reconsider this notion.
To give you an idea of how a freelance writing income can progress, I am going to talk a little bit more about my success over the years. In my first month as a freelance writer I earned less than $100. And although this was nothing to write home about, it was encouraging nonetheless. Even this small amount showed me that there was money to be had if I put my mind to it.
From there, I set one goal and one goal only. For the next 4 to 6 months I wanted to increase my income each month; even if it was only by a few dollars. Luckily, I met this goal with plenty of room to spare. At the end of my fourth month as a freelance writer I tallied my income, and to my surprise, I earned a little more than $2,800. One month later, this increased to more than $3,500. While this may seem like a lot of success early on, there are many freelance writers who have moved up faster and further than me. In fact, I would venture to guess that my income is not even among the highest in the industry.
At this time, my freelance writing income fluctuates from month to month; as you would expect. The majority of months I finish with somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000 of income. Of course, I have to pay taxes out of this, etc. When I add other money to this, such as income from blogs, you can see why I rave about what the internet has done for me over the past few years.
If you are an aspiring freelance writer, or blogger for that matter, take the time to realize that you are not going to start at the top. By setting goals and working hard to meet them, your freelance writing career will grow month after month until you have reached a comfortable income level.
If you want to run a successful blog you are probably well aware that daily posts are quite important. You may be able to get away with a less frequent posting schedule, but the more content you offer the better chance of success you are going to have. This brings us to one very important issue: what do you do as far as weekend blogging is concerned? Many people do not have a hard time keeping up with posts during the week, but when the weekend hits, they disappear time and time again. Does this sound like you?
Through my experiences, I have found that there are three ways to deal with weekend blogging. Of course, if your blog is established you may already be using one of these ideas, or you may even have another technique that suits your needs.
First off, and my personal favorite, you can write additional posts during the week and then post them on Saturday and Sunday. And if your blogging service offers a time stamp feature, you can make this even easier on yourself. With a time stamp, your blog will automatically post content on a particular day at a certain time. For many, including myself, this is much better than having to do the actual posting on the weekend.
Of course, another option is to simply bite the bullet and make posts on the weekend. If you want, you could use the weekend to write shorter posts that will not take up as much of your time. Yea, you will still have to sit down and work, but if you want your blog to succeed this is very important.
Finally, do not forget about the ever popular guest bloggers. If you can find somebody who is interested in guest blogging, you can ask them to update your blog on the weekends. This way, you can get fresh content without having to do anything on your own.
Remember, people do not stop reading your blog just because it is the weekend. Use one of the three methods above for weekend blogging.
My Associated Content posts have been getting a lot of hits, so I wanted to add another quick one. I have talked a lot about what Associated Content has to offer, how much I earn, etc. But for some reason, I have yet to say why you should sign up.
Here are three reasons that all freelance writers should consider becoming a content producer for Associated Content.
1. You can make a name for yourself. Believe it or not, some Associated Content articles get tens of thousands of page views. As you can imagine, if your articles become popular, you are going to get exposure. In turn, this could lead to other freelance writing jobs in the future.
2. There are no other services similar to Associated Content. You can write about whatever you want, and if it suits their criteria, you are more than likely going to make money. No, you do not get paid the best rates, but any money is better than no money.
3. Associated Content is perfect for everybody. No matter if you are a part-time freelance writer, full-time freelance writer, or just dabbling for fun, Associated Content will suit all of your needs. There are no requirements on quantity or deadlines to adhere to. Write when you want, take time off when you want.
Hopefully, these three reasons will show you why every freelance writer should give Associated Content a try. Remember, until you submit a few articles and experience the community togetherness, you will not totally understand what Associated Content has to offer.
After my post on dealing with angry clients, in which I talk a bit about getting paid in advance, I have had some inquiries as to whether or not this is a good idea. If you want to check out that post, head over to http://www.chrisblogging.com/dealing-with-angry-clients/
Anyway, there are two ways of looking at getting paid in advance. Whereas there are many benefits of this, there are also some downfalls that may or may not bother you. And in some cases, you are going to have to work with your client to find a happy medium that is mutually beneficial.
First off, let’s talk about the benefits of getting paid in advance. Obviously, it is nice to have the money up front because you know that you will not get scammed in the long run. For a lot of people, this is the number one reason that they like to ask for an upfront payment; and I do not blame them. If you have ever completed a large freelance writing project, just to get stiffed in the end, it can be a huge disappointment. Not to mention the fact that it can greatly affect your income.
Another benefit of up front payment is that you have the money available to you if need be. If your freelance writing career has yet to take off, the more money that you have access to the better off you are going to be.
On the other side of things, you need to be aware that getting paid in advance for freelance writing has some downsides as well. For instance, what happens if you get paid in advance, and the client hates what you send them? Sort of like what I chronicled in the blog post listed above. When this happens, you are sitting in a bad spot. It is nice that you have the money, but if your client is angry you will be forced to work things out with them. And if you do not, they are going to want refunded right away. Again, this opens up a whole new can of worms. Should you have to refund the entire amount? What if you already spent the money?
A lot of freelance writers are in the habit of wanting to ask for payment in advance. Personally, I play this by ear. If I have been working with a client, and am confident that they will like my work, taking prepayment is something that I will feel comfortable with. But with new clients, I usually like to hold off until the job is done.
I have found over the years that breaking payments down is a great way to agree on terms with your client. If you have a $500 job, ask for $250 up front and then the rest upon completion. This will keep both you and your client safe, and will start the relationship off with mutual trust.
As a freelance writer, you need to decide whether or not prepayments are something that you want to deal with. It is not a decision to take lightly!
There are a couple of reasons that the majority of bloggers fail, time and time again. First off, they simply get tired of making posts, marketing their site, and everything else that goes along with being successful. Another reason for failure is that most bloggers run out of things to say. After all, it takes a creative person to regularly update a blog with unique content. If you are running into writer’s block as far as your blog is concerned, there are some things that you can do to better your situation.
1. First off, you should know that writer’s block is a common problem; this is not something that only you are dealing with. Instead of getting down on yourself over this, you should look for new ways to drum up ideas. This can include anything from reading other blogs that are similar to yours, looking at past posts that you have made, etc. Anything that gets your creative juices flowing will help you to get over writer’s block.
2. If writer’s block has become a huge problem, why not find some guess bloggers who are willing to help you out for a few days? This will give you time to rest your mind, and more than likely get your thoughts straight. You may be surprised at what a few days off from writing can do for your mind.
3. Just write! If you think about it, writer’s block is something that you should never have to deal with. Even if you are running low on ideas, just write. You may not want to post everything to your blog, but the more you write, the more ideas you will formulate. Remember, even if you take a break from writing, you are going to have to pick up again sooner or later if you want your blog to succeed.
All in all, you should never let writer’s block slow down the overall progress of your blog. There are going to be times when you feel like you have hit a wall. It is at those times that you should follow the tips above so that you can keep going strong!
I hate to call anybody a liar, but some of the people that place jobs on freelance writing bidding sites are just that. Over the past several years I have been burnt several times by these people, but finally, I am beginning to see through their simple tactics. The fact of the matter is this: there is nothing wrong with what these people are doing (within reason), but at the same time, they are lying to writers who may not know any better.
The most common lie that I have seen is this. A buyer posts a job stating how many articles they need as well as a tag line that reads, “This is a low paying job, but the next one will be double the pay.” Like many, I fell for this several times thinking that I would eventually get a raise in pay. Do you think that this ever happened? The answer is no. Although there may be some buyers who honestly plan on paying more, the majority have no intentions of doing so.
Another common lie is the ever popular, “Write me a sample article on a specific topic, and if I like it, I will give you more work.” This may sound fair enough, but this is far from the case. Do you know what these people do? They get as many samples as they can, and then they simply use those instead of actually paying to have the work done. This is a deceitful act, and one that is going to get these buyers nowhere in the end.
Bidding sites are a great place to find freelance writing work, but unfortunately, there are some buyers who have to ruin it with lies. The best way to avoid these buyers is to be extremely cautious with the jobs that you accept. And of course, never agree to write an article unless you are going to get paid for it!
