Tips To Help You Get Started as a Professional Freelance Blogger
If someone asked you what your dream career would be, what would you say? There are an endless amount of career options to choose, but when it comes down to doing your passion for a living, how many people are actually doing what they love? If you answered, “writer” or “blogger” to the first question, then this article is for you. There’s a lot that goes into being a professional writer and/or blogger. First and foremost, it is absolutely necessary to be great at writing! If you’re going to be marketing your work, it’s important that you are providing the best quality work possible. When it comes down to landing a few blogging gigs, or even building your own niche blog, there are a few things to keep in mind in the process of getting your blog off the ground.
Take a look at a few tips we have to becoming a professional freelance blogger.
Create a Personal Blog Site/Website
If you’re trying to make it in the freelance blogging world, it is absolutely essential to have a personal website/portfolio site to display your work. Think of having a personal website as your resume, a place where potential clients can go to view your experience and writing style.
When creating a personal site, be sure to keep it clean and professional. Creating one is simple and can be done and little to no cost. First thing you will want to do is see if your name domain name is available. For example, if your name is John Smith, head over to Bluehost.com and navigate to their domain page and type, JohnSmith.com, in the search bar. The results will come back as the domain being available, taken, or up for sale. After you’ve purchased your domain name, use a blog website, such as WordPress.com, to design your site.
Not everyone is as efficient in web design, so it may be a good investment to hire a professional web developer to design it for you. This will save you both time and headache! Once your website it up, it’s time to get to work!
Network
It’s one thing to have a great blog – whether it’s your own niche blog or a portfolio site to generate paid blogging opportunities, but it’s a whole other ball game to grow your name or your brand. The best way to do this is through networking. Send out emails to public relationships companies to have them add you to their media database, attend professional networking events to meet with other professionals who may need a blogger for their company, or who may know someone else who does.
The best things to do is have business cards made to pass out to every person you meet that is interested in hiring you to do work for them. Or, perhaps they would like to read your blog. Either way, talking to people and building relationships is key to generating new business and building the readership of your blog.
Time Management
Working as a blogger means that you’ll probably have to have a lot of self discipline. This means waking up at a decent hour and being able to work at your computer – likely in your home, which can often lead to a lot of distraction! Being able to manage your time properly when working for yourself can be a lot more difficult than it sounds.
Quick Tip: 10 Maxims of Successful Blogging
Try to make a daily schedule for yourself, as if you worked a normal work day at an office. If you find it hard to work from home, try taking your laptop and other materials to a local coffee shop or a public spot that offers Wi-Fi where you can sit and work.
Be Reliable
Last, but not least, be reliable! If you’re building your own blog website, whether it be fashion or travel, be sure to keep a consistent post schedule. If you stay on a schedule with your posting, your readers will take you more seriously and you will likely gain readership over time.
On the other hand, if you’re blogging for clients, being reliable is one of the most important things to do to keep them as clients. Sending in your work when it’s due each and every time proves that you take the client’s work seriously and they can trust you to submit the work on time.
Are you a Freelance Blogger? Do you have any tips to breaking into the business? Tell us about it in the comments!
A Florida native filled with charm, a sense of humor, style, and a passion for writing, Dana Damato is a talented journalist covering all things entertainment, fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle. Dana first realized her dreams of becoming a writer at age ten and wrote her first book at the age of 12. With a growing passion for writing, Dana knew from then on that being a writer is what she needed to do as a career.
