Do you dream of making money from your blog? Would you like to monetize your passion and turn your hobby into a viable business which allows you to work from home and be your own boss?

If you’re providing value to your readers monetising your blog should be a possibility, not a pipe dream.

We’ll look at the four most common ways of monetising a blog including the best and worst ways as well as why you should look into all of them if you want to succeed.

Blog Monetization Options

1. Selling Your Business Services

This is the most accessible way for people to make money from blogging which is why the focus of my blogging advice is to help business owners and writers market their services or products.

Using your blog to market your freelance or small business is the most realistic way to make money from blogging, although you might not be able to track your income directly unless people buy direct from your blog.

I sell my web design, blog design, consultation and copywriting services through my blog. I don’t give my readers the hard sell but I have found many new clients through my blog. Or rather, they’ve found me.

I have my own web design business in New Zealand for 10 years and found that I could never get a job unless I met the client face-to-face. Blogging has solved the problem for me and helped me make a real connection with clients all over the world which is fantastic especially if, like me, you don’t live in a large city.

2. Selling Your Own Products

If people like your blog you can then create your own products related to your niche and sell them. Most blog readers are happy to pay for quality products.

This can bring in an additional income stream and in time, as your blog grows you can choose to focus more on that if you wish.

I sell my blogging ebook here. Electronic products like ebooks, video courses or podcasts are easy to sell online because there’s no shipping involved, but you can also sell other products like these t-shirts I created for my travel blog.

Print on demand services such as Red Bubble can organise and ship stickers, posters, clothing and many more items direct to your buyers which is perfect for creative business owners. It’s up to you to decide how much markup you want to put on the items and how much profit you want to turn.

As your business grows you can expand your product range and you may want to consider paid webinars or private membership sites. Anything with a recurring monthly payment can provide a valuable income stream.

3. Affiliate Reselling

If you’re an affiliate reseller for a product you get a payment everytime someone uses your link and buys a product you’ve mentioned on Twitter, Facebook or on your blog. You can find out more about putting affiliate links on your blog here.

I recommend a handful of products I believe in and know might help my readers such as the Thesis WordPress theme. Make sure you stick to related products you really recommend and always provide full disclosure which is a legal requirement.

This is an additional income stream for me, not a primary source of income which works better here than on my travel blog where there are fewer affiliate products worth recommending. It only works if you consider your readers first and money second.

4. Advertising and Sponsorship

This is the worst of blog monetisation option because you need to have blog traffic before you can monetize your blog by selling advertising and get interest from advertisers. It takes a long time to build blog traffic so this probably isn’t a viable option unless you have endless time on your hands and don’t need an income right now.

Be warned that if your blog traffic doesn’t grow to over 10,000 readers per month you may never be able to exploit this income revenue, however, if you can build up good readership advertising can turn into a useful income stream.

Advertising agencies like NuffNang (for Asia), BlogHer, Federated Media, RocketFuel or Google Ad networks, can help you find advertisers and cut out a lot of the work. Of course they will also take a cut of your profit but that’s fine as long as you are getting a reasonable income.in

If you’d prefer to cut out the middle man you can find advertisers by seeing what brands are advertising on other blogs or targetting blogs or blog readers then approaching them directly.

Create a professional media kit which includes site statistics, reader demographics and information about who you are and why brands should be interested in working with you. Do some research on rates for other blogs or websites with similar traffic and choose your rates carefully. Be prepared to negotiate but don’t sell yourself cheap. I set my rate high as my brand is a quality brand so I’d prefer to work with fewer brands and higher quality products.

Finally, choose only advertisers that are a good fit for your blog and your readers.

When you write sponsored blog posts write in your normal tone, be honest and enthusiastic, not fake, use lots of photos which advertisers love and only write sponsored posts for products you’d buy or use.

3 Golden Rules of Blog Monetisation

1. Diversify – If you want to make a full-time living out of blogging you will need to diversify and use more than one of these approaches.

2. Experiment -You’ll have to play around to see what works and what doesn’t work, to see what is your readers want to buy and what doesn’t interest them.

3. Persevere – As time goes on and your blog grows you should be able to slowly increase your blogging income.

It won’t happen overnight but it can happen. Read the success stories, allow yourself to be motivated and inspired by them and give yourself time to work out the best blog monetisation options for you.

Need more blogging help? Check out my workbook and audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps. Click here to find out more.

“A steep learning curve is when you have tons to learn and you need to get it it figured out soon, and that’s not easy for anyone I’ve ever met. And that is, in my experience, very much what a new blogger faces.”
Sonia Simone, Copyblogger

That’s a comment Sonia left on my post The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers in which I wrote the fourth habit of effective bloggers is continued learning and getting over the learning curve.

There was some controversy in the comments about what I described as a “steep learning curve”:

“4. Effective bloggers are lifelong learners

If you’re new to blogging, you’re probably on a steep learning curve at the moment.

Maybe you tell yourself that things will get better when you’ve been doing it longer. There won’t be so much to learn. You’ll have systems in place soon and everything will run smoothly.

Sadly, this is a myth. I’ve been using and designing for the Internet for about 15 years, and it keeps changing. Just when you’ve got one element sorted out, something new gets released. Or becomes obsolete. Or mutates in 20 different directions.

If you want to stay ahead in blogging, you have to keep learning.

Fortunately, being curious and wanting to learn keeps you young and your brain active. A love of learning doesn’t just set you up for a successful blog, but for a successful and happy life.”

Whatever existing knowledge you do or don’t currently possess, one thing is inevitable when it comes to effective blogging: you will reach plateaus that you feel you won’t be able to get over but you can.

The way to get over those humps and through those plateaus is to keep blogging, keep learning and keep applying new techniques that work for you.

Have you got over any blogging learning humps lately? I just bought my first mobile phone (true!) so I can use Instagram so I’m learning about that and iPhones now.

Need more blogging help? Check out my workbook and audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps.

There are more than one billion blogs worldwide so about one in six people have a blog. Many are hobby blogs, folks who write about gardening, antique collecting and needlepointing, for example. Some blogs have an established business behind them. Other blogs try to rally support or awareness around a cause.

I’ve been blogging for more than four years and have read hundreds of these blogs. After landing on one, I get an immediate sense if the blog has quality, integrity and character by what is written. I’ve found that good writing isn’t related to how long the blog has been around, or how many subscribers it has, good writing is related to one simple component – passion.

While proper sentence structure, good grammar and mistake-free spelling can improve the experience around how a blog post is read, the best way to deliver a message is by allowing passion to leap off the page and into the reader’s mind, heart and soul.

One advantage of blogging for a long time and writing my first book, Saying Yes to Change: 10 Timeless Life Lessons for Creating Positive Change is I’ve found my voice. I don’t hold back; I’m vulnerable and I share parts of my life so my readers won’t feel alone with their thoughts or feelings.

Writing with passion has helped me claim my spot in the blogging world because it has separated my blog, for the better, from millions of over blogs. Three posts that reflect the passion I try to put into every article are My Brother’s Keeper: A Journey Into Healing, The Point of Being Human and Confessions from a Recovering Father.

How to Write With Passion

Here are two strategies that will inject a little more passion into your writing style if you want your blog to stand above the rest:

1. Blog about what you know

As mentioned earlier, there are blogs on every topic. If you are a gardener and blog about gardening, you can do it with passion. Write about why gardens are important; how flowers can inspire someone, or the feeling of digging your hands into the cool, rich heart.

Start with what you know and then offer a depth of feeling and emotion about how you feel about the topic Go beyond the mechanics of what your do and to that deeper place of how your hobby, interest or talent stirs your soul.

2. Be comfortable with being transparent

The purpose behind my transparent approach is to provide a properly-sized window into my life so others can see their lives in the reflection of the window’s glass. Often we feel like we are alone with our thoughts, feelings or fears. But by being honest with how I feel, may give someone the encouragement to be honest with their feelings, too.

I do guard about being too open. Before I publish a piece of writing so it must pass the Emily test. Emily is my 13-year-old daughter. I consider how she would react to my writing; if it would make her feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, etc. I’m mindful that my book, and blog, is mine and although my family is incredibly supportive, I respect their privacy.

Writing with passion has less to do with technique and more to do with having something to say and then using your blog as platform for your message, and your voice – your inspiring, passionate voice.

What topics can you write about with passion?

This is a guest post by Alex Blackwell.

Alex is the Founder of The BridgeMaker. His first book, Saying Yes to Change: 10 Timeless Life Lessons for Creating Positive Change is now available on Amazon check it out here. Connect with Alex on Facebook.

Photo credit: John Nolan

Editor’s Note: The Only 72 Sale is over now but you can buy The $100 Start Up book on Amazon here: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.

I don’t promote much here, apart from my own self-study course and workbook Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps, but  now and then something brilliant comes up that I want to share with you because it’s either a great product or a great deal.

Like right now because, for a short period only, you can get some great products AND a great deal on them too as Only72.com is having another sale.

It’s called the $100 Start Up sale which includes over $1,000 in business courses as well as a hard copy of Chris Guillebeau’s new book The $100 Start Up.

I’m reading The $100 Start Up myself and loving it.

I’ve already done Chris Guillbeau’s course The Empire Building Kit, so I’m familiar with many of his ideas and principles for launching a business and growing it, but I’m appreciating the refresher course.

Reading The $100 Start Up is giving me added motivation to keep improving my business and the fantastic stories about entrepreneurs who’ve turned their passion into successful, lucrative businesses are inspiring.

Guillebeau’s a great writer who never fails to make me to want to achieve more both personally and professionally so I’d recommend you read The $100 Start Up too if you want to learn more about starting and growing a successful business.

If you take advantage of this Only72 $100 Start Up sale a print copy of The $100 Start Up will be delivered to you anywhere in the world free of charge which is pretty amazing. Click here to check it out now.

What’s Only 72 and The $100 Start Up Sale?

It offers:

• $1,000 in the best business courses, ebooks, and digital downloads.
• A hard copy of The $100 Start Up delivered to your home or office.
• 90% off the for 72 hours only (hence the name!) so you get the package for just $100.

When is it?

It’s on now:

From Monday, April 30th at exactly Noon EST. Ends next Thursday at Noon EST.

In Australia? It’s starts 3am Tuesday, April 31 AEST. Ends Friday, April 4 at 3am AEST.

What’s Included?

1. Better Blogging ($137 in value) by Corbett Barr and Susannah Conway.

2. Passion-based Business ($137 in value) by Jonathan Mead and Scott Dinsmore.

3. Freelancing ($167 in value) by Ashley Ambirge and Men With Pens.

4. Confidence & Courage ($129 in value) by Johnny B. Truant and Marianne Elliot.

5. Selling & Advertising ($144 in value) by Pam Slim and David Risley.

6. Technology & Systems ($171 in value) by Joshua Kaufman, Free The Apps and Brett Kelly.

8. Artists & Writers ($131) by Alyson Stanfield and Chris Guillebeau.

9. Chris Guillebeau’s brand-new book, The $100 Startup shipping anywhere for free.

Editor’s Note: The Only 72 Sale is over now but you can buy The $100 Start Up book on Amazon here: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.

To be notified next time Only72 have a sale click here.

I’ll be back with more blogging tips soon.

Until then, happy blogging!

Are you a life long learner? Blogging offers a fantastic opportunity to learn about your business, online marketing and much more.

So many small business owners and creative types are put off blogging because of the steep learning curve. It’s true there’s a lot to learn and that there are always new things to be learnt but you should see that as an advantage not a disadvantage of blogging. No one wants to be a dinosaur.

You shouldn’t get discouraged by how much you don’t know about blogging but rather think about how much you do know already.

We all have to start somewhere with anything and just starting a blog is the best way to increase your knowledge about the topic.

Since I started blogging about three years ago I’ve learned so much, not just about blogging but also about my business, about social media marketing and about online communications. All topics I knew a lot about already because I’ve been running my own web design business for 13 years.

Then there are are all the things that I didn’t really want to learn but had to. Like how to work the back end of WordPress (it’s not hard), how to use widgets and what plug-ins will help me blog better and faster (Akismet for handling blog comments and the blog editorial calendar are life savers).

These are just a few of the things I’ve learnt from blogging:

1. Blogging is a highly cost-effective and effective way to market your business.

2. If you dare to share your creative work and your passion online amazing opportunities will come to you because of that.

3. Your personality and personal story will make people want to work with you more than your qualifications and work experience.

4. Networking is easy with social media.

5. It pays (literally) to experiment and have fun with your business.

6. Blogging can enable you to add more products and services to your business, to diversify and to increase your income.

7. Blogging improves your mind, makes you more creative and increases your bottom line.

If you’d like to carry on learning about blogging and increase your knowledge here are 11 links to some of the most useful blog posts on Successful Blogging.

These articles answer some of the most common blogging questions and solve the most annoying blogging problems:

1. Free Blogging Tools
2. Launching a Blog
3. Overcoming Fear
4. Getting Noticed
5. Blog Post Length
6. Guest Blogging
7. Search Engine Optimisation
8. Blog Content Ideas
9. Blogging Schedule
10. Blog Writing Tips
11. Affiliate Selling

That should keep you busy until next time and hopefully reading this will inspire you to start blogging, stick with it and achieve your goals.

But first take a moment to congratulate yourself for being a life long learner. Not everyone keeps building their knowledge and bettering themselves. You are and it’s great to have you on our team.

PS. Look out for a post tomorrow about a business marketing course and book sale. Subscribe by email now so you don’t miss it.

Happy Blogging Until Next Time

Just leave your comments and questions below – I’ll answer them there or in a separate blog post.

Ready to take your blog to the next level and achieve your business goals? Check out my updated workbook and audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps. Click here to find out more.

I’d also love to help you more through blogging consultations or smart blog design.

12 months ago I wrote a post a post by the same name about how I was struggling to keep up with the demands on my time and working far too hard.

One reader commented that they almost cried when they read that post and I sometimes feel like crying too because, although I’ve made changes since then, I still work long and crazy hours. For example, I am writing this on a Saturday in the middle of a long weekend while my husband and children are away camping.

You can read the original post here but this is a recap of the demands on my time:

• Writing and maintaining two blogs – Successful Blogging and Get In the Hot Spot;
• Running my web design and copywriting business Mucho;
• Managing a large house;
• Three active, hungry and intelligent children who deserve more fun time with their mummy;
• The Mucho Man. My husband is more of  a help than a demand on my time so it would be good to spend more fun time with him too.

But Wait, There’s More!

Just to add to the excitement this year I announced here that I want to write and publish my travel book.

I started blogging three years ago so I could write a book and now I have the sought after platform but no time to complete, or even start my book. It’s already April and I haven’t done any dedicated writing for the book yet.

I am also running an intense three week series of blogging talks close to where I live as a continuation of my personal challenge to do more public speaking and make sure I’m as well known in my local area as I am in North America where many of my lovely readers are.

Recently I was invited to be a World Vision ambassador. I couldn’t resist that because it’s a cause that’s close to my heart and it’s a privilege for me to use any influence I have for social good. For example, did you know there’s a food crisis in Niger right now? You can read about that and how bloggers are helping here on the World Vision site.

Then here at the beginning of the year I got invited on a press trip to Japan for travel writers. That was the first press trip I’d ever been asked to go on but since then I’ve been invited on three more international press trips and have accepted Tourism Canada’s invitation to go make my first visit to Canada.

I can’t wait to see Vancouver, the Yukon, Banff and Calgary. Sorry Hong Kong and France I can’t fit you in right now but I really appreciate your kind invitation and hopefully I’ll get to visit you another time.

As I travel writer and lover I get very excited about overseas trips and these press trip invites are an indication that my travel blog Get In the Hot Spot is respected and that brands want to get featured on it to connect with my 20,000 plus monthly readers.

But sadly press trips don’t pay. In fact, they create extra strain because they involve hectic schedules so I can’t work while I’m away and I’m forced to play catch up when I get home under added pressure to write about my trip fast and as often as I can.

Plus of course there’s guilt about being away from my children and leaving my husband with a lot more work on his hands.

Blogging Success Vs. Blogging Victim

It’s complicated because blogging has made a successful writer and blogger.

It has taken me from being a timid writer and copywriter who never dared tell anyone she was a writer to a confident writer and global brand with readers all over the world.

Blogging has even got me dream writing jobs like being well paid to have a massage and write about it, as well as the travel opportunities which are just starting to materialize.

1. Started deleting emails that won’t help me earn money, learn something new or have fun.

I’m talking about the hundreds of emails I get each week from search engine companies, content marketing companies and PR companies who want me to write about them, their business or their products. If I had a dollar for everyone who asked me to review their app I’d be laughing.

2. Stopped giving free advice on how to win business online.

When I get an email from someone who wants help I recommend that reading my book or booking a consultation with me is the best way to move forward. Book sales of Succcessful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps and bookings for consultations have increased which is brilliant because I love working personally with other writers and small business owners and that way everyone wins.

3. Asked for help.

I’m working on getting the kids to help more around the house and household duties are now shared evenly with my husband. Yes, three cheers for the Mucho Man who does most of the cleaning in the Candy house.

4. I take time for myself.

I rely on time alone and exercise to keep me healthy and happy so I power walk on the beach every other day, do light weights and stretching on the other days and go to a weekly boxing class.

5. Perfect lifestyle for me.

I live in beautiful Noosa in Australia and work from home. I don’t waste any time commuting and when I want to get out in nature (another lifeline for me) I just have to step outside. We go to the beach or for a walk as a family about four times  a week.

What I’m Working on Improving

1. Focus

With these myriad and varying demands my thinking is often scattered. After reading Uncertainty I decided to stop thinking about meditating and actually do it. I’ve been to a meditation course, downloaded guided mediation podcasts and am practicing daily.

2. Deleting more emails

This sounds harsh but I don’t delete as many emails as I should. I’m a social person and I like helping people so it’s hard for me to put up that barrier and accept that to protect myself and my family I can’t help everyone on the planet.

3. Productivity

I’ve been writing more blog posts this year but I still don’t think I write as much as I could.

I currently rate my productivity level at around 60% and would like to increase that to 90% with the other 10% of my time dedicated to reading other blogs or hanging out on social media. It’s hard to class that as productive but it’s an important and enjoyable part of my job.

4. Delegating

I know I’m missing out on blog advertising and sponsorship opportunities because I don’t have time to actively pursue them and I don’t like the idea of working with a blog advertising agency who may not have my reader’s best interests at heart. But I’ll probably have to go that way soon. I can’t do everything and some things are best delegated to others.

5. Getting help

I don’t have an assistant and when someone asked if they could be my intern I deleted their email because I don’t like the idea of someone working for me without getting paid. But at some point I’ll have to start looking for someone to help me with tasks that can be delegated and that person will be able to learn a lot from me so it should be a mutually beneficial relationship.

What Success Means to Me

Lest you feel sorry for me let me confess now that our business is growing and I took six wonderful weeks off work over December and January while my kids were on holiday.

While my press trip to Japan was very full on it, was also heaps of fun and I’m looking forward to flight-seeing, hiking, horse-riding, wildlife spotting and much more in Canada.

I’m also slowly racking up air miles points so I can take a well-earned holiday with the Candy family sometime soon.

I’ve always been the type that likes to work intensely then do nothing. That suits me.

But I need to stop wasting time so the essential  jobs can be done within school hours and I can spend more time relaxing.

That way, in 12 months time, I can update this post for the third time with even better news and even a few tears of joy.

What does success mean to you? How do you balance work and play? What are you doing right and what do you need to work on?

Do you ever feel bamboozled by all the technical jargon involved with blogging? Don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

We all had to start somewhere and we all start knowing very little. So here’s a mini overview of blogging jargon to get you started although it doesn’t include my favourite blog jargon – blawg – which is a blog about law.

Akismet – A useful plug-in which catches spam comments.

Blog – Stands for Web Log.

Guest Posting – Writing a blog post for someone else’s blog without getting paid. Find out what you’d want to do that here and how to go about it here.

Link love – Linking to another blog without being paid or asked to.

Lurker - A blog reader who never comments.

RSS Feed – A way of following a blog and finding out when it’s been updated. Find out more here. Stands for Really Simple Syndication.

RSS Aggregator – A service that automatically checks RSS feeds for new items so you can keep track of changes to multiple blogs in in  one place.

Permalink – The website address for each of your blog posts which someone can use to link to your post and which Google will refer to when ranking your blog. or example: http://www.successfulblogging.com/blogging-tips-a-z-j-for-jargon/

Podcast – An audio recording of a blog post or a blog post which is only available as an audio file. Learn more in the podcasting guide.

Susbscribers – These are your most loyal readers. The people who sign up for your email updates or register for your RSS feed are your subscribers. Nurture and cherish them.

Themes – Templates which govern the lay out of your blog. I recommend free theme 2010 or the premium theme Thesis.

Trackback – A protocol that allows a blogger to link to posts on other blogs and pings (emails) the other blogger to let them know. Blogging software that supports trackback includes a trackback URL (website address) so each post displays other blog posts that have linked to it, usually above or below the comments.

Troll – Someone who leaves mean comments on blogs.

Vlogging – Video blogging where you create video blog posts instead of text-based blog posts.

There are many more fun blogging jargon examples but hopefully you can guess what they mean and avoid getting blogstipation or becoming a blogaholic.

Although they’re both perfectly normal and almost certain to happen at some point in your blogging career.

So don’t get bamboozled by all the blogging jargon – just keep blogging – or blawging if you’re a laywer.

What did I miss? Suggest some blogging jargon in the comments below and I’ll add them here.

Happy Blogging Until Next Time

Blogging Tips A-Z runs every Sunday (or Monday if you’re in Australia). It’s a quick start guide for new bloggers and a refresher course for bloggers who want to stay motivated and inspired. Subscribe now by email or RSS feed so you don’t miss out.

Need more blogging help? Check out my workbook and audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps.

When you buy it you’ll be helping yourself achieve your blogging goals as well as supporting this site and Kiva who get 10% of all proceeds from book sales. Sounds good? Click here to find out more.

Do you dream of a becoming a freelance writer? Would you like to earn your living by writing full-time, working from anywhere and at a time that suits you? Those are the three main benefits of freelance writing and why people often ask me how they can become a freelance writer too.

How I Became a Freelance Writer

I was a magazine journalist in Paris, France and I’ve been writing web copy since 1995 when I studied my MA in Design for Interactive Media. But it was years later I became a freelance writer and started charging people for my copywriting work.

Being a freelance writer is the perfect job for me because I like to live by the beach 90 minutes away from the big city of Brisbane. I’m lucky to be able to work from my hometown even though it’s a small holiday resort so jobs are scarce.

Freelance writing offers potential to earn a good living from writing and escape the trap of being the proverbial poor writer. Freelance writing hourly rates range from US$30-150 with a reasonable rate for an experienced freelance writer around $125 per hour.

As well as allowing me to get well paid for my writing, today I’m lucky that I get to pick and choose jobs.

Much of my work comes from web copywriting but blogging has allowed me to diversify into paid blog writing and travel writing including one sweet job where I had to get a massage or go stand up paddleboarding and write about it.

Sounds good? But before we get carried away let’s look into downsides of becoming a freelance writer.

Do You Really Want to Become a Freelance Writer?

These are the drawbacks which you need to consider before you rush into your new freelance writing career:

1. If you set up your own freelance writing business and work for yourself it will take time to get your business started. You may earn very little for six to twelve months. You need to have either a financial cushion to keep you going to begin with, or a full or part-time job that you can maintain while you become a full time freelance writer.

2. Even when your freelance writing business has been established 12 months or more when you’re self-employed you often have an irregular income. Some months you may earn only $2,000, the next month $10,000.

3. It can be lonely working from home. No more chats around the water cooler or after work drinks with your colleagues. Of course we have Twitter, Facebook and now Google+ to help fill that gap but social media can never replace face to face meets ups.

4. You need to be self-motivated, create your own deadlines and work on growing your business even when you don’t have any paid work.

5. Like any job there are boring parts to being a freelance writer. You might have to write sales copy about something uninspiring like air-conditioning units and you’ll have to get systems in place to organize invoicing and pay your own taxes.

Still up for becoming a freelance writer? Then let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Freelance Writing Training, Skills and Qualifications

You don’t need to have any special qualifications to become a freelance writer, just a love of writing. The more you write the better your writing skills will become but a stint in a paid writing job where you write daily and stick to deadlines will help you improve fast.

This is the route I took to become a freelance writer. Think about how you can build up the writing and communication skills you need to become a good freelance writer.

• I have a degree in French and English so have a strong background in writing, grammar and communications.
• I’ve worked as a journalist which helped improve my writing skills and taught me how to write faster and more accurately.
• I have an MA in Design for Interactive Media which allowed me to specialize in web copywriting.
• I set up my own web design business and started writing copy for my clients free of charge.
• When demand picked up I was able to start charging for web copywriting and that’s still a big part of my business.
• I started writing about travel on my travel blog then pitched print travel publications as a freelance writer. I’ve been published in print but it’s not as lucrative as other work and I sometimes get paid to write for other travel blogs like Gadling.
• I’ve done editing and writing jobs on reports and guides for local businesses and government organisations.

How Can You Become a Freelance Writer?

1. Practice your writing skills regularly

My advice to anyone who wants to become a freelance writer is to write. Start practicing and improving your writing skills now.

2. Start a blog

Create a showcase of your writing skills by starting your own blog. Make sure your blog looks good and presents you as the professional, well paid freelance writer you want to be. A sloppy looking blog or website will make you look sloppy.

Think about what other content you want to share and keep your about, contact and services page relevant and up to date.

In time you can add a portfolio or testimonials page.

Choose a blogging topic and stick to it then update your blog regularly – at least once a week to begin with.

Branch out into guest blogging for other blogs to grow your own blog and boost your portfolio.

You can find more information about how to get started in my ebook Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps.

3. Get some freelance writing experience under your belt

Become a member of freelance writers group The Freelance Writers Den with support from experienced freelance writers Carol Tice and Linda Formichelli teaching you how to get freelance writing jobs, where to look for them and how to make your freelance writing pay.

For a small monthly fee The Freelance Writers Den gives you learning materials galore, access to a supportive community, and the chance to ask great freelance minds for help becoming a freelance writer and growing your writing income.

Carol Tice is a dynamic writer who still works as a freelance writer and started teaching other people how to become well paid freelance writers because she hated seeing writers working for peanuts. I’ve had a look inside The Freelance Writers Den and led webinars with Carol and am affiliate for The Freelance Writers Den because I’m so impressed by her and what’s on offer.

The support and community will motivate you to stick with it but you also get to:

• Attend a live monthly Webinar;
• Join weekly live Den Meeting Q&A sessions;
• Enjoy unlimited, on-demand access to more than 200 articles, Webinars, teleclasses, and podcasts, organized into handy theme courses for your convenience — so you can learn what you need when you want;
• Get questions answered privately during weekly Den Mother’s office hours;
• Chat with other serious freelance writers 24/7 in the Den forums.

Click here to find out more about The Freelance Writers Den. The doors are only open from now until April 24th this month and spaces are limited so you can’t sign up right now make sure you register so you don’t miss out next time.

4. Get your first paid job

Accept that to begin with, when you don’t have much experience you’ll need to charge a lower rate but as time goes on and your experience increases along with demand you should be able to slowly increase your rate.

5. Network

There are plenty of places you can look for work like Elance but I recommend business networking groups for face to face meet ups and online networking on Twitter. Other copywriters may also be happy to refer you work if they have too much on.

You can network online but do also get out of the house and go to local business groups or even social events. If you have an area of expertise organizing your own events can be an effective marketing tool.

6. Be versatile

Be prepared to write anything from reports to ebooks and website copy to magazine articles. There may be one area you prefer but to make your career as a freelance writer work you should be willing and able to take on almost any type of writing job.

That’s all I have to say about how to become a freelance writer. I love freelance writing so I’m happy to help you start your own freelance writing career and become a professional freelance writer if it sounds good to you.

The main key is to stick with freelance writing because no business is built overnight but in time you will gain the experience you need to make a success of it.

Resources to Help You Become a Freelance Writer

Online Resources

Books

Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps is a timeless resource that will help you set up your own business and market it effectively. I wrote it specially to help small business owners and writers tap into the power of blogging.

The book demystifies blogging and is designed as a self-study course with checklists and activities so you don’t miss anything. It covers everything from blog planning and design to content writing and blog promotion.

There’s also a chapter on guest posting and a bonus chapter on motivation to make sure you stick with blogging long enough to reap the benefits. Click here to find out more here.

Mentoring Programs and Courses

The Freelance Writers Den is a membership site with a difference because it’s run by freelance writers for freelance writers. For a small monthly fee you get access to courses and forums as well as individual help from experienced freelance writers who know exactly what you need to do to make your freelance writing business work.

Click here to find out more about The Freelance Writers Den or register your interest in joining now. The doors are usually only open for a few days each month (until April 24th this month) so be sure to leave your email address to stay in the loop.

Are you a freelance writer or would you like to be? Share your questions or tips in the comments.

Photo credit: Erin

Looking for inspiration on what to blog about?

Ideas are everywhere but the best starting point for blogging ideas are your blog readers.

New bloggers and business bloggers often start with the back story when they write their first blog posts. It’s good to sum up the who, why and what of your blog but even better to jump straight in and give readers the information they need most of all.

Here’s an example from a recent blog consultation. My client has a water filtration business and sells water filtration products such as  filters you can buy for your home to get clean, chemical free water.

It’s a great business and a topic that’s trending as more people get water filters installed or try to ensure they have clean water in their house by buying drinking bottled water.

The business owner had some ideas for topics around the problems with water, why water is contaminated and what the effects of drinking unsafe water can be.

These are all great topic for her blog but I recommended she focus immediately on the problems or questions people who were actually searching for information about water filters and thinking of buying one might have.

While she could write about city water problems and rain water or sewage contamination in rural areas in the future it’s better to focus on the immediate problems of people who want to buy a filter right now. For example, what to look for in a water filter system, how to choose one and how to get it installed.

9 Ways to Get Blogging Inspiration

1. Think about your readers. Consider their most urgent problems and address those first.

2. Choose a main topic for your blog and between three and eight sub-topics.

3. Look at which of your blog post topics can be divided up into an on-going series.

4. Use blog popular blog headlines or headline formulas like How to, Why or list posts to come up with ideas within each of your sub-topics.

5. Read widely both on and offline, not necessarily about your niche. Inspiration often comes when you least expect it or stop forcing  it.

6. Use the Google Adwords keywords tool to find out which words and phrases connected to your niche people are actually searching for.

7. Spend ten minutes brainstorming for ideas. Find a quiet place free from all distractions and write down all your ideas. Don’t censor yourself. Just challenge yourself to write down as many ideas as possible. You can select the best ones later.

8. Keep a note of all your blog post ideas either on paper, on email such a Gmail where you can easily find them or in Evernote.

9. Read your blog comments to find out more about your readers and see what makes them tick.

Get more details on some of these ideas as well as find more blogging inspiration tips in 11 Easy Ways to Get Hundreds of Great Blog Post Ideas.

You might run out of time when it comes to actually writing about all those great ideas but you’ll never run out of blogging inspiration again.

Happy Blogging Until Next Time

Blogging Tips A-Z runs every Sunday (or Monday if you’re in Australia). It’s a quick start guide for new bloggers and a refresher course for bloggers who want to stay motivated and inspired. Subscribe now by email or RSS feed so you don’t miss out.

Need more blogging help? Check out my workbook and audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps.

When you buy it you’ll be helping yourself achieve your blogging goals as well as supporting this site and Kiva who get 10% of all proceeds from book sales. Sounds good? Click here to find out more.

After blogging for over two years and reading many great blogs I’ve made some determinations about what works… for me.

Let’s face it, the blogs we subscribe to and truly enjoy aren’t all alike. What would be the point of reading five, ten or twenty versions of the same thing? Exactly.

Like most new bloggers I struggled in the beginning to figure out what my blog was about and why I should continue to write. It certainly wasn’t a ‘how-to’ blog because I would be the last person to suggest I had all the answers on any given subject.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own opinions. In fact I’m very opinionated and I get the most traffic and comments on my blog when I voice my opinions.

I discovered that while following ProBlogger’s book 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. It specifically tells you on Day 19 to write an opinion post. The post I wrote from that prompt is, to this day, the most read and shared.

I didn’t take that as a sign to just spew my opinions daily or even weekly. I simply tucked it away and knew when something was really eating at me and I needed to vent it that was okay. I learnt that even when you’ve found your way with your blog and narrowed down your niche you still need to mix it up once in a while.

My blog is the prelude to my memoir and my writing platform.

I tell stories on my blog. People tend to like my story telling even when the stories aren’t pretty. Discovering my difficult childhood stories were helping others deal with their own childhood demons was all I needed to keep going.

We can all help each other by simply telling our stories in an honest way.

Here are my five best tips for finding your voice:

1. Speak your mind

If you think you should write a certain way or your voice should be tempered to appeal to a particular audience you’re not being true.

The old adage, ‘you can please some of the people some of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time’, will always ring true.

You may discover, when you speak your mind, you actually speak for many who don’t have a platform but will support yours.

2. Mix it up

The reason I read a variety of blogs is because it keeps the experience fresh and interesting. By the same token I love it when one of the bloggers I read writes something totally unexpected that makes me sit up and take notice.

Why is that interesting? Because it shows you another side to that blogger and makes you feel like you know them better.

I’m not a young girl but even at my age there are only so many stories to tell. In between it’s good to share your humorous or creative side and, occasionally, it’s even better to throw your opinions out there.

3. Throw caution to the wind

Annabel Candy was interviewed here on Everyday Bright about how she likes to do something that scares her every day. I think that’s admirable but I’m not that adventurous. However, when I find something that stirs passion in my soul I feel the need to write about it and that can be scary.

This is how the process goes for me… I write like a maniac without any thought to editing. Stream of consciousness all the way. It’s exhilarating!

Then I stop and walk away. My internal dialogue usually goes something like this:

“Wow that really felt good!”

“Sure but you can’t publish it.”

“But I have to publish it. It’s how I really feel.”

“The world doesn’t need to know exactly how you feel!”

“This is important and I want my readers to know this is really me, this is how I feel and I’m not ashamed of it!”

Then with a knot in my stomach I go back and edit.

After that I pace some more and finally with a very shaky finger hit that publish button.

4. Accept the fact that not everyone will share your view

I admit that I love a good argument. I’m open and willing to discuss every conceivable angle of any topic and respect your right to disagree with me.

What I can’t stand is someone disagreeing with me in an ugly way and posting anonymously. I put myself out there and bared my soul the least people can do is share their name in their comment.

If you don’t have the courage of your convictions what have you got?

5. Be honest

We all have many facets to our life and if we are true to ourselves and our readers we will share them.

If you never take chances you’ll never fail. If you never fail you’ll never grow. None of us want that.

So if you want to find your voice speak your mind.

I’ve shared what helped me find my voice. Now it’s time for you to be brave, write honestly and find out what works for you.

Have you ever written an opinion piece? What was the response?

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Barbara Hammond

Barbara Hammond is an artist, writer and published author and illustrator of The Duffy Chronicles, her first children’s book. Blogging made her realize we all have a story and our circumstances do not define us. Barbara is a true optimist and living proof that a good sense of humor and positive attitude can get you through almost anything. Visit Barbara’s blog to enjoy her stories.