A lot of people are asking whether it’s possible to make good money offering freelance blogging services.
The answer in one short word is – yes.
But it’s important to remember that most of the successful freelance bloggers who have gone down this path, have only started making money after putting in a lot of effort + tons of hard work!
You can’t start blogging today + make money tomorrow – unless you’re a celebrity or have major connections in the blogging industry that will back you + make sure you get noticed.
A lot of freelance bloggers are sharing their success stories all over the web.
For instance, Tom Ewer of Leaving Work Behind did this post recently at Daily Blog Tips aptly tiled ‘7 Lessons from a Full Time Freelance Blogger’. Not to be outdone, Oni of Young Prepro followed up with his story ‘4 Smart Ways to Get Freelance Clients from Your Blog’.
Another post that caught the eye; the post on Freelance Switch with the title ‘How to Become a Freelance Blogger’ by Leo Babauta. The Leo Babauta. I was still scratching my head until I noticed the words that the post originally appeared in 2007.
The Question is: why do you want to become a freelance blogger?
Ask yourself why you want to become a freelance blogger? Why not other forms of freelance writing?
+ You choose books or blogs over magazines and newspapers
+ You enjoy helping people market their services
+ You enjoy writing with a personal tone
What you need to become a successful freelance blogger
+ Your own blog
+ To have spent some time – months – developing content worth referring your potential clients and readers to.
+ A niche. What sort of topics will you write about? If you intend to write for businesses in the health care sector, you could identify a niche and write about that. If you want to go after companies that sell software, your blog will naturally focus around those sorts of topics.
+ Some sort of a testimonials page. This could initially include a list of influential blogs where you have guest posted on. You could quote what the bloggers have said about you. By doing this, you’re not only providing clips (samples) for your work, you’re also establishing yourself as an expert. You’re saying to companies that you have the industry knowledge and you know what you are talking about.
+ Mentors.
+ An understanding of why businesses need blogs so you could offer consultancy service on top of your regular services.
How to find companies that will hire you
You’ve done all the ground work, you’ve been blogging at a professional level for a while, you have your niche + great content on your site, you have guest posted on a few A-list blogs + you’ve set up a Hire Me/Contact me page with the necessary information. Now is the time to start approaching businesses.
Remember:
+ The only kind of business that can pay you well will have substantial marketing budget. Mom + pop operations, start-ups, one-person shows generally can’t afford to hire serious freelance bloggers.
+ You can demand higher rates if you’re a subject matter expert. Your niche will help here – tremendously.
+ Understand blogging as a marketing tool for businesses. Be prepared to educate them about thebenefits of blogging for business, if necessary. However, it works better if they already have a blog that needs regular content.
The steps are simple really:
- Identify companies that meet the two criteria detailed above.
- Get in touch with them + enquire if they hire any freelance bloggers.
- Highlight your experience, qualifications + what you bring to the table.
- Make the pitch about them, how you can help them attract more traffic, leads + convert them into paying customers. Spell out all the benefits.
Want us to help you out with setting up your blog? Get a quote now.
