Is Blogging Necessary as a Freelance Writer?
I receive many questions about blogging and how it corresponds with a career as a freelance writer. More specifically, many want to know if blogging is necessary. In other words, do you have to maintain a personal blog in order to be an effective freelance writer? The short answer to this question is absolutely not. I have only been running this blog for a bit more than a year. But well before that, I was having success as a freelance writer.
Of course, there are benefits of blogging if you are a freelance writer. First and foremost, potential clients can contact you via your blog. A couple times per week I receive inquiries from webmasters who read my blog and are in the market for content, or know of somebody who is. As you can imagine, this is a great way to increase business without having to do too much marketing.
Another benefit of blogging is that you can show samples without having to deal with attachments or “copy and paste.†In many cases, potential clients who have never heard of my blog ask to see any work that I have personally published online. And of course, this is where I send them.
Remember, you are not going to begin to receive inquiries until your blog takes off. Even though I get some work through this blog, it is far from what it could be. This is one of the reasons why I am thinking of expanding this site in the near future.
All in all, as a freelance writer I love blogging. It is a form of writing, and a great way to express my feelings and opinions. When writing for a client, I do what they say so that they get what they want. But with my blog, I can call all the shots. Even if I was not receiving traffic and work inquiries I would still post on a daily basis!
