Face it, being a freelance writer is never an easy task. You need to be good at writing and have strong portfolio to gain you work that pays well – perhaps more than you ever imagine. However, there are so many freelance writers that are willing to earn smaller income as long as there are work for them.
Still, being a freelance writer has its own perks such as setting our own working hours and setting our own rates too.
Now, why you need a blog if you are a freelance writer?
1. Exposure: Everything is about exposure these days. Remember, you are running your own business in writing. You need to ‘sell’ your services to the public. To sell, you need to promote your own services. Otherwise, who would know what you are offering. It is like having a home. People will find you easily with an address. Invite them to visit you, talk to them and they will be interested in what you are offering (i.e. your writing services).
2. Portfolio: A blog also acts as your portfolio. In fact, a blog is the easiest way to display your work because you are the one running the blog and write for the blog. Direct your potential customers to your blog and showcase your blog writing skills. They will be impressed.
3. Professionalism: Since you are running your own business, you might want to appear to be more professional in your career. Having a blog in writing is like gaining the authority in writing industry. Remember, there are many writers around you (which means competitors) and you need to stand out in the crowd. Do something that is like a signature mark from you. Write something unique to attract more people to your blog. Good content will always attract more readers. More readers mean more exposure and more opportunities for you.
A bonus tip: Print your own business cards. Personalise it. Spread it. Make sure you include your name, address, emails, blog address and a short description of who you are and what you offer. This will allow your potential clients to reach you whenever they need you.
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I know my blog sends me plenty of clients while building my name. It's an extremely valuable asset for my freelancing business, and it doubles as a complete portfolio for my writings.
what is a good rate to charge per word? i am new to this i have only written 2 articles for myself so far… i have heard of article spinning what do you think of that? for just myself
Twitter: writingc
July 3, 2009 at 3:26 pm | Permalink |
The best rate to start would be $0.01/word. However, this will be increasing when you gain more experience.
0.01/word is not much, but i find quality of these cheap content not meet my expectation. I use to use text broker.
Definitely agree with this. Everyone needs a blog, there is literally no downside apart from your time and a massive upside of course.