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When we are service oriented in our business, we often forget that while we need to have money coming in from the clients, we also need to invest in our business.  That means that we need to work for ourselves.

Start your day off by doing something that is going to directly benefit you.

This could be:

• writing a blog post
• contacting a potential client (by email or phone)
• making social network connections
• spending some time on a forum
• working on a personal project like an ebook
• working on a free report to give away with to new subscribers of your email list
• working on a joint venture project

Freelance writers especially need to remember that work does not come easily.  You need to get out there and find it.  You need to have good samples that clients can find.  You need to promote yourself and your business.

No matter what kind of work you do – online or offline – you need to make yourself visible.

And no matter what, you need to remember why you are here in the first place.  It is usually because you want to do something that you enjoy.

If you don’t make working for yourself a priority, others are not likely to want you to work for them either!

Work for Yourself First, Others Second is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I can’t believe that I’ve had this blog for two years already!  I know that the first year was…wasted, really.  I didn’t do a lot with it.  I had not clue what the purpose was.  Well, I knew that I wanted it to help my business but that’s about it.  I didn’t know how I wanted to do that.

So, I just want to take a minute to look over the past two years.

The Blog Posts I’m Proud Of:

• How to Write a Great How-To Article
• Freelance Writers Can Stay Motivated with These 7 Tips
• 9 Ways for Freelance Writers to Improve Their Proofreading Skills
• How Dare You Write for Peanuts?
• Thinking About a Freelance Writing Career? Start With a Blog
• Do I Really Need a Facebook Page?
• 4 Tips for Beating the Dreaded Writer’s Block
• How Much Do You Get Re-Tweeted?
• Email Newsletters – Value or Clutter?
• Why Businesses Should Hire Professional Writers
• What Does the “Free” in “Freelance” Mean to You?
• 7 Awesome Chrome Extensions for Writers
• Blogging for Small Businesses
• Lay the Groundwork

What I’ve Just Learned By Making This List:

I just realized that my posting has been no where near consistent!  I mean, I knew that my consistency needed work, but WOW!  I really need to make consistency more of a priority this year!

<Mentally adding that to my list…>

Design Changes:

Ok, yes, I realize there have been a lot of different looks here over the past two years.  I like change.  I get bored easily.  But I’m going to try to be a little more consistent over the next year or so.

I was going to go to the WayBackMachine to get some screencaps but for some reason they have nothing for my blog.  Is that weird?

Here’s to Looking Forward!

Hopefully, any changes you see here in the next while will make it better!  Suggestions are welcome!

It’s My 2 Year Blogiversary! is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Another Sunday and a lot of reading today.  I’ve increased the number of blogs that I subscribe to in an effort to get a more varied reading list.  Hmmm – did I achieve that?  Well, a lot of my favorites are still in here but I think I have a couple of new blogs for you to check out.

• Is Article Writing Profitable and How Much Can You Make? « Writing Tips Blog – This is a questions that those who are new to freelance writing often ask.
• How to drive Facebook likes | Social Media Today – I’m always looking for new ways to increase “likes” on my Facebook Pages (my own and the one I manage for a business college) and this had some great ideas.
• Should Writers Create Newsletters for Marketing? | All Freelance Writing – You know, we are all told that writers need to have a newsletter.  I even created one.  But do YOU need one?  Not everyone does.  It all depends on your purpose.
• 25 WordPress Plug-ins that Keep Blog Visitors Engaged | Social Media Today – You can never have too much knowledge of plug-ins.  Check this out and see if any of them jump out at you.
• 10 Key Points to Remember in an Effective Blog Writing Checklist | Social Media Today – Handy checklist to keep by your side when you are writing blog posts.
• Tips for Freelance Writing Research | From Diapers to Deadlines – When you are first getting started with freelance writing the research can be the big time killer that either makes writing profitable or not.  Nice tips here.
• Choosing the Best eBook Service – If you’re interested in publishing an ebook, this is worth reading.
• Part-Time Freelancing Is Okay, Too | All Freelance Writing – This one especially spoke to me because I just made the big move to full-time freelancing.  And now I’m thinking about applying for a job.
• The Benefits of Writing a Blog Series – I’ve done a blog series on other blogs and I have to admit that they can be a great way to bring people back to your blog.  And in the reverse, I’ve come back to people’s blogs again and again because of what started as a series.
• NaNoWriMo: The Quasi-Okay Prep Phase | All Freelance Writing – Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?  I’m still thinking about it.
• The Blogger’s Guide to Unleashing a Manifesto (or, How to Attract 7,986 More Visitors to Your Blog in 5 Days) – Got a manifesto?  Me neither.  But thanks to this post I’m thinking about it.
• Five Best Sites For Freelance Writing Opportunities | Get Paid to Write Online – I often get asked where I find jobs and I’ve talked about that before on this blog.  Sharon throws a few more out there for you.

Got some great posts of your own that you’ve come across this week?  Written a post you’re really proud of?  Share it in the comments.  I dofollow you know.

Sunday Reading #5 is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping track of the blogs that I’ve been enjoying this week so there’s a load of them.  Enjoy!

• 50 Can’t-Fail Techniques for Finding Great Blog Topics | Copyblogger – I thought this was a good one to start with this week since many of us are doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge and need ideas for blog post.  And you can’t go wrong with Copyblogger.
• 7 Secrets of Spectacular Bloggers | Write to Done – If A-Listers are doing it then it must work right?  Actually, I just like the 7 things on this list because they just plain old make sense.  Which is likely why A-Listers are doing it.
• Beware of “X” Article Template – The EZine Article Blog has some great article templates.  After all, they want to keep us writing.  Which is great if you are participating in the HAHD contest.  Which reminds me – we’re like a week in and I haven’t written a damn article yet!  Arg!
• The Importance of Testimonials for Your Business – Let’s face it – you’re not good at something until someone says you are good at it.  That’s why I made a point of going out and recruiting some of my past clients to write testimonials for me.  You can see them on my professional writer’s site.
• Google Alerts, RSS Feeds & More: 5 Sources of Content to Tweet – If you’re running out of ideas of things to tweet about check out this post.
• How to Get Backlinks to Your Website: Guest Posting on Other Sites – Ya need backlinks if you want the Big G to think you’re important.  Guest posting can be a fun way of getting them.  I’ve guest posted for Carson Brackney (who seems to be farting around with his blog again so I can’t link to him) and Cathy Miller and I have a couple others lined up for the future.
• Freelance Writers: How to Prioritize Your Own Projects | All Freelance Writing – Jennifer Mattern has some great advice on making your own projects a priority and not letting them slip by the wayside.
• 10 Killer Titles That Will Provoke Your Facebook Fans – Want to stir up conversation on your Facebook page?  Try using some of these techniques.  Could work well for blog posts, too, if you give them a bit of a twist.
• Turn 1 Article Into a Set of 8 – This is one of  my favorite posts of the week.  Why didn’t I think of this before?
• How to Make a Living as a Writer : Freelance Writing Jobs | A Freelance Writing Community and Freelance Writing Jobs Resource – So, while the lovely Carson Brackney has been breaking his blog (and hopefully fixing it), he’s also been guest posting.  Which I’m glad of because I love his bare bones approach to solving problems.  And have you seen his picture?  He’s kinda cute, too.
• Tips for Finding Freelance Writing Work | From Diapers to Deadlines – Sandi is new in my RSS reader so I had to bring this one to your attention.  New writers will appreciate these points.
• Six Ways To Sharpen Your Writing Skills | Get Paid to Write Online – Sharon has brought in guest blogger, Ivin Viljoen, to talk about how writers can sharpen their skills.  Old and new writers alike will get some value from this post.

So, lots to read for you there.  If you have a blog you think I should check out (yours or someone else’s) please leave me a comment and a link!

Sunday Reading #3 is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Do you use Facebook?  I think most freelance people are using it on some level to either market themselves or just to have a place to meet other freelancers.  But are you taking advantage of all the great groups and pages there are out there?

Since I’m on Facebook I frequently join pages or groups that have to do with writing and social media.  Some have proven to be more useful than others.  Here are some of my favorites:

Groups:

• Writing Gigs Community

Pages

• Freelance Folder
• Sharon Hurley Hall
• Facebook4Freelancers
• Freelance Writing Jobs
• The Work at Home Life
• Savvy Freelance Writers
• The Blog Squad
• Social Media Examiner

Each of these pages and groups have their own advantages and can bring something to you Facebook experience.  Instead of just hanging out on Facebook and playing games why don’t you check out some pages and groups and learn while you’re there?

Of course, I would love it if you’d join my page as well.  Danielle Gibbings McGaw is still growing but I’d love to see some interaction happening!

Do you have others that I’ve mentioned?  Do you have your own?  I’d love it if you’d leave a link in the comments!

Facebook Pages and Groups for Freelancers is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I’ve got a treat for you today! My friend Cathy Miller (who I met on Twitter) agreed to do a guest post for me here and I thought it would be a great ideas because one of the things that she focuses on is health. And really, as a freelance writer I know that my health is often the last thing on my mind!

As freelance writers, we have to think about so many things. Not just about how much money we are making but making sure invoices get sent out and our records are intact and finding new jobs, and of course we have to maintain a presence on the social web so that our names out our there. No wonder we forget to take care of our health sometimes!

So, check out this great post and when you are done make sure that you go to her site and read more of her work!

By CATHY MILLER, Business Writer

Practice what you preach. That was my first thought when Danielle asked me to write about freelance writers taking care of their health.

Knowing Better

Like many of us out there, I know a lot about good health. I spent over 30 years in the health care industry. Ironically, it has been since I left to become a freelance writer that I returned my focus to good health.
Don’t get me wrong. I am getting better, but I am not as diligent as I need to be. So, instead of preaching, I will take the journey with you in exploring what freelance writers can do to take care of their health.

Work Smart

Most freelance writers love the freedom that freelancing offers. Whether you are a Work At Home Mom (WAHM) or working solo, there are things you can do to work smarter and healthier.

Ergonomic Education

One of the gifts I brought from Corporate America was the advice of an ergonomic specialist. I worked at a brokerage firm at the time that had a specialist in its workers compensation area. His simple guidance helped me stop wrist pain and sore, dry eyes. How’s that for a combination?

Here are a few tips for a healthy writing style.

The Mouse – Old school types (like me) are overly dependent on the mouse. If you must use it, make sure you use your whole arm in moving it. A better solution is using keyboard shortcuts.

Moving the mouse, just by hand – in a side-to-side motion – puts a strain on your wrist. Do you use the mouse pad with the cushioned rest? Bad idea – it encourages the side-to-side motion.

Monitor – Keep monitors at eye level. If you have your computer above your head, your eyes dry out from tilting up, and it strains neck and shoulder muscles. You were wondering where I got the dry eyes from, weren’t you?

Keep the monitor at a distance where you can read it, but not too close.  There are all kinds of recommendations, like 20-25 or 30 inches. I am all about unique. It’s a middle child of seven affliction. Everyone is different, so you have to find what works best for you.
Posture – This is the tough one. I probably abuse this one more than any other. What the specialist told me was “think right angles.” Math – ugh.
Your feet should be flat on the floor. Your legs are at a right angle from your hip. Do not lean forward – my downfall. Lean back, with lumbar support just below your waist.
Keyboard – Position keyboards slightly below your elbow so your wrists are straight when resting. If the keyboard is too high, like those of you who put it on the desk, it puts a strain on your wrists, shoulders, and other places you never knew about. Trust me, I’m a baby boomer.
Like I said earlier, you have to find what works best for you. Your body will thank you for it.

Shake That Booty

Writers hate to interrupt when they are in the zone. While great for productivity, it may not be so great for your health.
Get up and move around. Even while your booty is in the chair, change positions, rotate your ankles, your head. Let your arms drop before they drop you. Move, baby, move. Set a timer if you need an audio reminder or have a child. Okay, that may be a tad extreme; however, you get the idea.

Know Your Numbers

Sorry to take you back to math, but this is important. Dr. Oz offers great information about knowing your numbers for healthy test results. Here are a few key ones.

• Blood Pressure: 115/75
• LDL Cholesterol: 100 or less
• HDL Cholesterol: 50 or higher
• Resting Heart Rate: 83 or lower

I know how difficult it is for a freelance writer to find affordable health insurance. That is a blog post for another day.
Even if you do not have health insurance, it is vital that you have your preventive screenings. As a seven-time walker in the Susan G. Komen, 3-Day, 60-mile Walk for Breast Cancer, I encourage mammograms.
It is far less costly (and deadly) to catch the early stages of health problems. Many places offer free blood pressure and other screenings. Check your local drug stores and clinics for information.
Additional free online resources include:

• American Heart Association
• My Pyramid
• Start Walking Now

Help Off the Health Pedestal

I hope you do not feel an urge to push me off the health pedestal. At least that would get me out of this chair. This all brings me back to where I started. Practice what you preach. I’ll promise to do a better job of balancing freelancing with good health if you will. After all, isn’t that what we are all looking for? A better life.

Cathy is a business writer who has been writing professionally for over 30 years. To keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours, get in touch with Cathy at Simply stated business, or email her at cathy@millercathy.com.

Health and the Freelance Writer – the Novel! is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Not the blog – me, as in I’m moving to a new home.  And I’m packing.  Do you know how much I hate packing?  I’ve got today and tomorrow left and the whole house needs to be packed up.  And then I have to unpack it all!  OMG – I really hate this!

So, I just wanted to let you know that for the next week my entries might be kind of sparse.

But I’ll be back in like a crazy woman once I am settled and have my Internet hooked up.  I’m still participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge so I’ll have to play a little catch up (I have one blog post pre-dated and I might get a few more in there).

But as much as I have to pack do you think I’m packing right now?  No.  I’m procrastinating!  LOL

So, while I’m getting my act together (because it is sure to happen any time now…) why don’t you check out some posts from the past that you might have missed?

Moving is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I’ve met a lot of great people online since I started freelance writing and some of them have been very encouraging.  Most of them really.  Most recently, I’ve become familiar with Carson Brackney and his writing.  I immediate fell for his writing style and have been hooked on his blog ever since.

And today, I’m lucky enough to have him as my very first guest poster!

—————–

From the Recliner of Carson Brackney on a late morning in June

Danielle asked me to write a guest post for this blog and I decided doing so was a perfect excuse to take a break from an ongoing project. I moved from my desk to the recliner, flipped on the television and open the laptop.

She thought it might be interesting for me to write about how I got my start in this crazy business. Did I dive in headfirst? How did I prepare myself? What made me think it would work? Would I do anything differently? What inspired me to take the plunge?

I’m starting with the last question. Inspiration.

One of my inspirations is ten feet behind me in the next room. She’s six years old and she’s making a greeting card for a friend in the playroom. A few minutes ago, she yelled out for some spelling help.

Another inspiration walked by me less than ten minutes ago. You can’t get to the laundry room without sneaking through the corner of my basement office. She just moved a load of wash to the dryer after putting the baby down for a nap.

That little sleeper wasn’t around to inspire me to get started, but she’s part of what keeps me going now.

The sun is shining through the sliding doors of the split-level, streaking across my propped up bare feet. I found Channel 199, the MLB Network. The Rays have a 1-0 lead on the Padres. I’m thinking about firing up the grill again tonight.

I just looked at the clock. 11:27 a.m.

Right now, I know there are guys in suits checking their clocks. There are guys in Dockers and snug polo shirts with nametags on lanyards looking at their watches. In thirty-three minutes, they can walk out of their offices or away from their cubicles for a lunch break. Maybe they’ll call home and check on their kids. Maybe they’ll call their wives. They’ll eat and gripe about work. They won’t see Longoria steal second on a one-hop Hundley peg. They’ll go back to work. I’ll answer another spelling question and I’ll give my wife a kiss.

This is the story of my inspiration: Our first child was a few months shy of entering the world and I realized that I didn’t want to be one of those dads–the kind who make it in the nick of time to the preschool Halloween party, out of breath and anxious, hoping they can get back in time for a meeting or presentation. I knew I couldn’t be a “hug you in the morning, kiss you goodnight and hope the stuff in between is going well” kind of father.

I liked the idea of bare feet, an office at home, and being there. If I had known that the MLB Network was going to be part of the deal, I would’ve liked that, too.

I was always a good employee but that came from effort, not instinct. I don’t take orders well. I don’t like answering to anyone.
Money? Yeah. I wanted money. As much as I like Thoreau, I’ve never had a desire to hide out in the wilderness. I like things. I’m not greedy, but I’m not into self-deprivation, either.

So, that’s the tale. The baby was coming and I knew a change was in order. I had at least some idea of what that change needed to look like.

The question, of course, was how to make that vision into a reality.

The Internet seemed like a good place to start.

I started looking at ways to make money online. I did my homework. I read, read, read, and then I’d read more. I learned everything I could. I developed the ability to separate the bullshit “get rich overnight” schemes from reasoned advice. I learned how things worked, why they worked and what things might continue to work.

My first project of note, which I completed during my spare time, involved the creation of a series of Adsense-monetized free Blogspot blogs. Good keyword research, good content and a lot of good luck combined and it worked. I went from making a quarter per day to cashing nice monthly Google checks very quickly.

Those checks were nice, but they weren’t going to replace my income and there was a limit to how much I could scale my little blog network. There was also a reasonable amount of risk involved–sometimes those seemingly perfect projects would crash and burn. That’s fine when you’re a hobbyist. It’s not good if you want your income to buy diapers.

I experimented with affiliate marketing, too. I had some success utilizing article distribution and a pre-sell landing page bearing my affiliate link to generate commissions. Between the affiliate sales and the Adsense, I was generating a nice little side income.

During all of this experimentation and learning, which took place over the course of a few months, I reached a few realizations:

• My greatest strengths were in writing and research.
• I’ve always loved writing.
• Much of the online world was convinced that “content is king”.
• Much of the content online looked like semi-literate little kids wrote it.
• My own experiences confirmed the value of quality written materials with respect to generating online earnings.

I connected the dots.

My first writing job involved creating little informative profiles about various famous golf courses. I was surprised at how easy it felt. I was encouraged by the client’s effusive praise for the work. When I did the math, I discovered that I made pretty damn good money on that gig, even though the per word rate was well below what most people would find acceptable.

I took another gig. And another. I didn’t use the job boards and I didn’t work for third parties. I found a handful of good clients and that led to others through referrals and the connections I made. Eventually, I started reaching out to people I thought I could help.

Originally, I planned on slowly but surely building up a fund equal to about six months’ of my salary. That would take about a year, I thought. Then, I could “go full-time”.

Well, the requests for work were coming in faster than I thought. The only way I could keep up with them would be by quitting my day job. I had to choose between taking a big chance and riding the brakes.

I took the chance. The baby was still a baby and I didn’t want to stall another minute. My wife supported the gamble.

And now I’m watching Adrian Gonzalez roll a ground ball to second with one out in the third, knowing that I’m no more than twenty seconds away from finding and hugging my inspirations.

I’ve made a million mistakes since I started writing for a living. Some are small and specific to me and my circumstances. Others have been big, nasty whoppers. If I were going to start all over again, I would do a number of things very differently.

I think that’s true for everyone, though. I don’t feel bad about those blunders. It’s part of growing.

We’ve had great months when we feel like part of the Rockefeller family and, I’m not ashamed to admit, there were times when macaroni and cheese seemed like a smart choice for a dinner entree. I’ve made clients swoon and I’ve infuriated people so much that they still might give me a well-deserved gut punch if we met on the street.

Along the way, I have figured out a few big things.

I won’t call them secrets for success, because they’re not that secret and because I’m not willing to call myself a success. I’m a work in progress. But I will tell you that these are damned good recommendations if you want to find a way to make a living as a writer. They may not be right for everyone, but they worked for me and I know they’ve worked for others.

Write. Putting your ass in the chair and working consistently is the most important thing you can do. If you’re working, you’re earning or you’re setting yourself up to earn. When working becomes habit, income flows.

Learn. Never stop learning about new things. Keep your eyes on new trends. Read what other people in the business and your clients’ businesses are writing. Knowledge is power and its fuel for creativity.

Grow. I started as a would-be Internet marketer. I became a content writer. I transitioned into doing better-paying copy projects. I started doing more consulting work. As I’ve grown and changed, I’ve maintained the best parts of those experiences and have jettisoned the others.

Believe. Danielle asked me why I was convinced the writing thing would work for me. I don’t really have a good answer for that. I didn’t give it a great deal of thought to it. It made sense to me. It felt right. I believed in it and I believed in my ability to make it work.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of this recliner and move back to the desk before I fall victim to a nap. I need to get some work done if I want to sneak off to the swimming pool with the girls for an hour this afternoon. I’m not turning off the game, though.

********************

Carson Brackney is a freelance writer and consultant. He thinks you should follow him on Twitter and become a regular reader of his freelance writing-oriented blog. He is currently sporting a Mohawk at age 39 because his daughters think it’s funny.

On Becoming a Freelance Writer: One Guy’s Story is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

Why not subscribe to the newsletter and get your free copy of Fire Your Boss! today?

My main freelance form of income is writing.  I write for a variety of people – some are regular clients and others are one-time need clients.  But writing is not the only way you can make money as a freelancer.  Anyone who has a skill that is needed by others can offer their services on a freelance basis.

Here are some ideas of things you can do on a freelance basis:

• bookkeeping
• virtual secretary
• graphic designer
• artist
• web designer
• song writer
• decorator
• technical assistant
• coder
• video/picture editor
• advertising services
• song writer
• cartoonist
• translator

The list could go on an on!  So what are you good at?  What do you like to do?  Put your skills to use and start a freelance life!

Writing is NOT the Only Freelance Life is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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