The Social Freelance Writer » Sharon Hurley Hall

Sunday Reading #13 – Freelance Writer Blogs

Danielle — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:07:33 +0000

I’m going to try to do something a little different with my Sunday Reading series. Instead of just linking to a bunch of blogs I’m going to try to introduce you to the blogs and their owners. I’m going to tell you what I know about them and why I like reading them. And hopefully, you’ll meet some people that you haven’t met before.

Get Paid to Write Online

This first blog has been mentioned here before several times. It is the blog of Sharon Hurley Hall, my mentor. Well, I guess we’re kind of past the mentorship relationship now, but when I first started writing it was Sharon who helped me out. We met on this site called Writing Up. It’s also where I met Dana Prince (maurleymauve) and a few other great writers. And if you need someone to coach you on your freelance writing business, Sharon does offer a coaching service.

When I first started reading Get Paid to Write Online, Sharon was still on Blogger but shortly after that, she moved to her own hosting. And the blog you see now has become a great place for those who want to learn how to make a living writing online. Not only does Sharon write her own blog posts but she has some great guest posters like Dana Prince and Dan Smith.

Go and check out some great posts at Get Paid to Write:

Your Words, Your Voice

This is the blog of Lisbeth Tanz, another freelance writer, an educator, and a post. You know, I’m not really sure how Lis and I met online but I do believe that it might have been on Twitter. Oh – or maybe through the Ultimate Blog Challenge? Hopefully, she’ll remember more than me and come and clue us in.

Anyway, I like her blog because she has an ability to blog about things in a different light. She’s unique that way. And she is truly there to help people. She isn’t one of those people that claims to care and then never respond to questions on posts or never responds to tweets (I’m getting pretty frustrated with that). Lis loves people.

Want to see why I love her blog? Check out some recent posts:

So, check out a couple of my favorite freelancers and enjoy some reading!

Sunday Reading #12 (daniellemcgaw.com)
50 Reasons Freelance Writers Should Be Using Social Media (daniellemcgaw.com)
Sunday Reading #11 (daniellemcgaw.com)
Appearances Do Matter (daniellemcgaw.com)
Sunday Reading #10 (daniellemcgaw.com)

Sunday Reading #13 – Freelance Writer Blogs is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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

50 Reasons Freelance Writers Should Be Using Social Media

Danielle — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:57:33 +0000

When it comes right down to it, I know that as a freelance writer, you are busy. Whether you are a freelance writer that supplements the household income by writing or a freelance writer that is working part-time or a freelance writer that using writing as the main source of income for the household, we all have to make sure that our time is efficient.

And it is true – social media can be a big time sucker if you aren’t using it with purpose. But have a focus, and know why you’re using it and social media can be a great investment of your time.

Why? Well, there are 50 good reasons why!

Here are 50 reasons why you should be using social media:

To Build Awareness

Promote your website. Your website has no value whatsoever if no one knows about it. Whether you have a blog or a simple site that displays the services you offer and some samples, you need to be found for it to have value.
Establish a web presence. Potential clients will Google you and if they find nothing they will assume that you are new and inexperienced.
Promote your articles. Whether you are writing articles for back links or for residual income, they are worthless if no one is reading them.
Build a brand. Who do people buy from? Usually, they buy from brands they are familiar with. So, whether you are using a business name or your given name as your brand, increase awareness of it.
Give away free reports. Free reports can show off your skill as a writer and your knowledge of a specific niche. You can also give potential clients a prime example of a product that they also can use to promote their business. Give people the permission to share your free reports.
Demonstrate your strong ethics. By being professional, respectful, and mature you can display a major characteristic that clients look for.
Share your resume. There are several ways that you can share your resume such as a page on your site, your LinkedIn profile, or one of the many resume building websites that are available.
Let people attach a face to your brand. People feel closer when there is a face that they can identify. They like to know that there is someone behind the brand and they are more likely to feel they can trust you.
Share what others say about you. When others have good things to say it validates what you have been saying all along. People are much more likely to believe what someone says about you than what you say about you.
Stay in the forefront of people’s minds. When people have writing work you don’t want them to think, “How am I going to find a writer?” You want them to think of you because they already know you are a writer and they believe that they can trust you.

To Learn

Become an expert in your niche. If you write about a specific topic, you need to make sure that you present yourself as an expert.
Find concise batches of information through lists. Most social media sites have some sort of list function. Use it.
Find people to interview. Our articles are more valuable when they have real people in them. Also, interviews with professionals give your work credibility.
Find out about industry events. Industry events give you the chance to network on a whole new level. Learn, make new friends, and find business opportunities.
Find off-line promotional opportunities. Speak at an event, offer a free copy of a book, or give someone a quote to use.
Find out about free webinars. You’ll learn loads and you can often save the audio version to refer back to later.
Learn more about SEO – if you’re a writer this is not negotiable.
Find new slants to articles you’ve already written. Those articles that took you half an hour to write can be re-worked for a different market and pay again.
Ask questions. There are so many people out there that are willing to share what they know – all you have to do is ask!
Get recommendations and share them. You can get recommendations for products, service, tools, and more. Don’t rely on advertising. Experience is a much better means of evaluating the value of a product or service.
Learn new skills. New skills will only make your business stronger. The more value you can offer clients the more you can charge.
Beat writer’s block. We all get it from time to time. Social media offers multitudes of opportunities to get past it.
Find tools to make your business easier. Finding the right tools to run your business can make a difference between working 4 hours a day or 6 hours a day.
Find resources for support. Knowing where to go to get help or where you can find other supports as a writer can ensure that this stays a career you love and not a job that needs to get done.
Be more efficient by using tools that allow you to use more than one social media source at once (you all know I love Hootsuite!).
Increase your writing skills. Writing for social media content involves being very concise. It’s good practice to communicate with less words.
Create a swipe file. Ever find yourself running out of ideas to write about when you write in the same niche (even if it is just for a period of time)? A swipe file can make your job a lot easier and the ideas you get from social media can help you create your own.
Get motivation. Let’s face it – we all need a little motivation from time to time. Social media networks are filled with people and ideas that can motivate you.
Be more portable. Your work and the people you work with can follow you around.
Get information. How do you flesh out those articles? How do you grow as a writer? How do you develop new skills? All by finding and putting to use information.

To Build Relationships

Find a mentor. Gee, I can’t tell you how much having a mentor has helped me. If it were not for the fact that Sharon Hurley Hall believed in me, I don’t know if I would have pursued freelance writing as a career.
Mentor others. Do you have experience and knowledge? I’m sure you do. Give back to the community by sharing what you know with someone new.
Find places to guest post. Guest posting can be a great way to enter a new clique.
Find other writers/business people to collaborate with. Joint projects can help you expand your circle and increase your chances of meeting new potential clients and partners.
Arrange real life meetings. Whether it is clients, partners, or just other writer friends, real life meetings just make what you start online stronger.
Find places to outsource things you don’t like to do or aren’t good at. No one can be great at everything and finding the people who can do certain tasks better can save you time and money.
Connect your networks. You are likely on more than one network so make sure that people can find you where ever they go.
Get peer feedback. Others often see things differently than you do. Ask for their opinions so that you can see it, too.
Develop relationships with other writers. We all need friends that understand us – other writers!

To Increase Income

Increase residual income possibilities. Are your writing articles on residual earning sites or maybe trying to sell an eBook or trying to make money from advertising on your blog? Have a social media presence increases your exposure.
Find jobs. Yes, you can find jobs. There are many ways to do this in social media and some sites (like LinkedIn) are better than others but there are other opportunities as well.
Develop relationship with potential clients. People use the services and products of their “friends” – so be friendly!
Find out where your clients are hanging out. Why be where they aren’t?
Find out what clients really need! No one will use your services if they don’t really need them.
Pitch ideas to potential clients. Feel them out and throw out an idea or two.
Expand your market. If you normally provide your writing services for online content companies you might be able to expand to individuals or larger bricks and mortar companies.
Launch your own product. With your own products you keep all the income.
Understand your clients. Find out what they think, what they value, what kind of education they have. The more information you have about them the more likely you are to be able to market yourself to them.
Get more exposure to a wider array of clients.
Build your email list.

Can you think of any other reasons that freelance writers should leave social media? Leave a comment!

50 Reasons Freelance Writers Should Be Using Social Media is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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

Facebook Pages and Groups for Freelancers

Danielle — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:42:28 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

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

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.

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

New Bloggers Need to Get This Free E-book

Danielle — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:13:56 +0000

When you’re new to blogging it can be pretty intimidating, especially when you get out there and start looking around at all the information there is. One person tells you that you absolutely have to have your own domain (which you have no idea how to get) and then someone else says that you can do it all for free and don’t need a domain. Then there are all those terms – social networking, ping lists, backlinks. If I was starting from scratch I’d be confused, too.

Well, Sharon Hurley Hall has made it all much simpler for you with her E-book, Getting Started in Blogging. What does it cover? From her site:

Hosting

Platform Choices

Free Themes

Customization

Getting Ideas

Planning And Management

Stats

How To Improve Your Blog

Linkbuilding

Advertising and Promotion

Monetization

Blogging as a Business

Resources

I’ve been blogging for years but I always find something new to learn from Sharon. She was my first mentor and got me started on freelance writing and made me believe that I could actually make a living from it. She encouraged and inspired me and still does today. Personally, my favorite section was the Resources because it has some great places that I will go back to again and again.

Oh, and the part you’re going to like best – it’s free. Save yourself some time and money and download this e-book.

And once you have the hang of the basics you might want to consider purchasing Darren Rowse’s 31 Days to a Better Blog. This e-book still has me working and it has a great workbook format!

New Bloggers Need to Get This Free E-book is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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