When I was in college, I always knew that I wanted to write and share my knowledge to help others. At this time in 2017, I had launched a DIY blog that consistently received several views per month. However, I had to close the website down after graduating as I no longer had the time for DIY projects with a full-time work schedule and my upcoming graduation. It was right before beginning graduate school that I decided to launch my own business website in hopes of showcasing my work portfolio and acquiring more clients.
Almost two years into graduate school, I took a Strategic Public Relations Management course where we learned to be thought leaders. This class completely changed my vision for my website. Now, it was not only about acquiring clients, but also about becoming a thought leader in my field. So, I began writing longer articles sharing my knowledge, publishing them on LinkedIn, posting them on my new blog and sharing them on Twitter.
The Blogger’s Hustle
If you’ve ever written for a blog or had your own blog, you know it takes an incredible amount of time and work. Blogging could be your side hustle or you might do it as a hobby. Depending on your purpose, you will employ different strategies. Many bloggers that I’ve met through Twitter and blogger groups have an end goal of turning their blogs into their full-time jobs. In order to do this, they have to spend a lot of time building relationships, reaching out to brands, creating content and promoting all their posts in hopes of generating website traffic, sales and conversions. They are full-time bloggers whose hobby or passion has turned into their job. But, there is a difference between being the type of blogger that we just discussed and a freelance blogger. The difference is that a freelance blogger blogs for business.
What do I mean when I say that a freelance blogger blogs for business? Well, when you are a freelance blogger you write for clients. You might have experience with your own blog and working with brands through sponsored posts, but you also write for others. Freelance bloggers produce professional and high quality content for their clients. Think about guest blogging and contributing to other professional websites. You can collaborate with other bloggers and write content for their blogs. When you guest blog, you write high quality content that is professional and informative. Your end goal is to attract their audience to your website or blog. Likewise, when you are a freelance blogger, you write in this same manner because you want the audience of your client to enjoy reading your content, find it informative and helpful, and guide them towards the call-to-action of your client. To put it simply, a freelance blogger is getting paid to write content for their clients, whereas a blogger is writing for free because it is their hobby.
My Tips for Diving into Freelance Blogging
1. Learn Monetization Strategies
Bloggers can earn money from their blogs through monetization strategies like affiliate links, sponsored posts and through selling their own digital products. A lot of bloggers are really good writers, they know the ins and outs of affiliate marketing, they can format their blogs perfectly and they spend a lot of time hustling. They also invest a lot of time learning by reading articles from other bloggers and from professionals on SEO, marketing, graphic design, etc. They can earn a lot of money and turn their hobby into a full-time job.
2. Understand Domain Authority
The job of a freelance blogger is to write blog content for clients. They get paid to create high quality content that is professional and optimized for search engines. You have to keep in mind that blogging for others is always going to be considered more professional and taken more seriously than writing for yourself. This is why it is important to make sure that your content is free of grammar mistakes and is edited. When you write for high profile clients, your writing and freelance blogging will be elevated to new heights. I say this because having your writing on websites with high domain authority will not only help you rank higher on search engines for things you’ve written but also showcase your abilities to a larger audience.
3. Build Your Online Presence
Think about freelance blogging as any other freelance job or career. You are the business owner in charge of getting clients, doing the work, closing deals, delivering materials and sending invoices. As a freelance blogger, you might not only be earning money from doing work for others, but you might also be running your own blog/website and launching your own products. As a freelancer, you need to get your name out there. The first steps are to strengthen your skills, produce high quality content and showcase your work. It will take time to get your name out there, get referrals and become a house-hold name. Keep in mind that a lot of your first few gigs might be free. You might have to write for free before you begin getting paid. Some great ways to start building your online presence, your brand and your name is to have your own blog, be active on social media and collaborate with others.
4. Guest Blog
Collaborating with other bloggers is a great way to build your online presence. Your name will be on more websites, those other bloggers will be promoting your guest post and you will be getting more experience. Guest blogging will also help to increase your domain authority if the linking website has a higher DA. Additionally, you can also link back to those websites featuring your guest posts to help you increase your DA by linking to higher DA websites.
5. Be Active on Social Media
To get these guest blogging opportunities, you need to be active on social media. The three reasons for this are: (1) you are building a following, (2) you can stay on top of other bloggers or brands searching for guest contributors, (3) you can pitch to other bloggers and brands. Being active on social media is also a great way of networking with others in your selected niche.
6. Network
One of the best ways to meet new people, build relationships, make connections and learn from others is by networking. By staying active on social media and building relationships with others in your niche, you are working towards becoming a thought leader in your field. Share valuable content, engage with others, and answer questions. These are great ways to network, meet new people, and become more involved within your niche/industry.
Is freelance blogging right for you?
Freelancing in general takes a lot of time, effort, work and research. A freelancer wears many hats from business owner to marketing director to content creator. Likewise, a freelance blogger wears all of these hats. Freelance blogging is not for everyone. You need to be aware of the time, effort and skills that are necessary to be successful. It is not as simple as writing for your own blog. Like I said before, you need to produce high quality content that is professional and adds unique value to your field, industry and niche. And, you need to do the same or better when writing for your clients because this will ensure that you get hired again, get referrals and build a strong work portfolio.
