What’s on the iPod: Misfits and Lovers by The Wallflowers
Happy Writers Worth Month 2015!
It’s been a while since I put together a resource guide –the 101 Resources to Rock Your Freelance World was a massive undertaking, enough that I took two years to try it again.
What better way to start this year’s celebration than with a list of resources? This list contains some of the best advice from around the freelancing blogosphere that are sure to hold at least one nugget you can use right now.
Here are some key posts that I think can help you gain a bit more traction in your career:
1. 101 Ways to Make a Living Writing in 2015: Why not start a list with a list? Jennifer Mattern shows us plenty of areas where our writing talents may fit.
2. Losing Motivation and Finding it Again: Yolander Prinzel shows us how to get our freelance mojo back.
3. The Wrong Way to Get Freelance Jobs: Dr. Freelance Jake Poinier on why skipping the relationship-building part of marketing makes you look like a putz.
4. Guru Follower’s A-ha Moment: Cathy Miller shows us why successful gurus don’t always make great teachers.
5. The Dangers of Bargain-basement Copywriting: Emily Fowler on exactly why you need to stop under-pricing yourself. Now.
6. 7 Resolutions to Revitalize Your Business Writing: This post by Ashley Festa was published a while ago, but the advice is stellar no matter when you hear it.
7. Is Your Website Bio Creating Trust or Indifference?: Stephanie O’Brien graces Peter Bowerman’s blog with a fantastic reminder that image is essential to our survival.
8. Put These in Place and You’ll Grow Your Copywriting Business Faster and with Less Stress: Speaking of Peter Bowerman, he shows us how to build a structure of fulfillment and why we absolutely need one.
9. 6 Habits You Should Banish from Your Writing Life: I give you six reasons why your career could be stalling.
10. How to Attract Great Clients with LinkedIn: Ed Gandia and guest Melonie Dodaro walk us through powering up our LinkedIn presence.
11. Attracting Your Ideal Customer with Effective Marketing: Thank you, Mike Foster, for explaining the why and how of finding those clients.
12. 6 Tips for Finding Prospects on LinkedIn: Melonie Dodaro makes it so easy to do it right.
13. Creating a Stronger Freelance Business: I give you seven ways to do it. What can you add to the list?
14. 50 Do-it-yourself Marketing Tips: Well put, Patrick Wood. His is excellent advice.
15. 6 Ways You’re Scaring Off Clients: By yours truly. Any one of these could be sinking you.
16. How to Get the Writing Pay You Deserve: Sharon Hurley Hall says it starts with knowing your value. Amen, Sharon!
17. How to Appeal to the Three Types of Buyers: I love this post from Neil Patel. He breaks down each argument beautifully.
18. 5 Stupid Excuses Freelance Writers Make for Not Reaching Their Goals: Why I love Jenn Mattern — she doesn’t sugar-coat it. Fix these and you’re golden.
19. 20 Tips for Freelance Writers: Thank you, Mark Nichol, for a great list of career-boosting advice.
20. Nurture Relationships for the Best Client Referrals: Lauren Tharp nails it on how to remain in front of your clients without being a pest.
21. Networking is Bullsh*t: Zach Freedman builds an excellent case for losing the jargon and remembering the point of it all.
22. How to Make More Money as a Freelancer: Common-sense advice from Marco Massaro.
23. Lead Generation: Content Marketing Strategies that Connect Better with Audiences: Top translator and Twitter chum Catherine Cristaki offers a fantastic guest post by Nick Rojas on how to win more business.
24. Creating a Stronger Writing Business: I walk you through simple ways to improve your outcome.
25 How to Set Professional Boundaries with Freelance Clients: Again, Lauren Tharp delivers. This is a great post on maintaining your business integrity.
26. Writer Marketing: How to Focus on Value: Sharon Hurley Hall does it again with a great post on how to convey value to your clients.
27. The Best Way to Run a Freelance Writing Business: Jake Poinier examines everything from generalizing to pricing.
28. How Freelance Writers Should Charge – by the Hour, Word, or Flat Fee: Veteran writer and good friend Anne Wayman goes over each option and helps you understand when to use each one.
29. When a Freelance Writer’s Marketing Stops Working: Chum Anne Wayman walks us through how to handle when our efforts fall flat.
30. How to Charge More Than $10 Per Article: A brilliant four-part series by Sharon Hurley Hall. Follow the link, which includes links to all four posts.
31. Build Your Audience from Zero to Traction: Excellent post by Brian Casel, and one worth memorizing.
32. Are You Really Worth More Than Content Mills?: Newer writer Katliegh Merrier does a great job of telling us why content mills are the wrong place to start.
33. What is Customer Service? Seth Godin knows, and he gives us a solid primer, plus ways it can apply to every business.
34. 6 Strategies for a Powerful About Page: For anyone who’s ever been tempted to write about their family or cats, Paul Back shows you a much, much better way.
35. Why Even a Big List Won’t Save You from Bad Strategy: Chris Garrett, you had me at “why.” Terrific advice.
36. Content Marketing as a Food Truck: Rethinking Content Marketing in a World of Splintered Attention: Chris Brogan at his best.
37. Does Your Freelance Website Pass the Five Second Test? What a great post! Conrad Feagin helps us get instant improvement in our client engagement via a simple website examination.
38. How to Attract Freelance Writing Clients with Optin Feature Box WordPress Plugin: Who doesn’t need a little help attracting clients? Samar Owais shows us a tool that can help.
39 .Writing Revisions and Doing the Right Thing: In this post, Jake Poinier talks about revisions versus rewrites, and when it’s not okay to say yes.
40. 5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Freelance Writing Niche: Jenn Mattern asks the important questions we should be asking ourselves before we specialize.
41. Speak Up and Grow Your Writing Business: Thank you again, Peter Bowerman, for an excellent post on how we can extend our business into speaking engagements.
42. Surf the 7 Cs of Business Communication: I love Cathy Miller. When you read her posts about how to improve how you talk to your clients, you will, too.
43. Three Secrets for the Successful Marketing of Your Writing: Anne Wayman gives you three simple ways to get the word out.
44. 5 Easy Editing Tips to Instantly Improve Your Writing: Ashley Festa shows you how easy it is to be your own editor.
45. Three Growing Fields in Freelance Writing: Allena Tapia gives us the low-down on what they are and how to approach them.
46. Freelance Referrals Gone Bad: He’s not called Dr. Freelance for nothing – Jake Poinier explains the lessons learned from giving a referral that didn’t work out.
47. The Benefits of Sending e-Newsletters: Emily Fowler does it again with a neat little post that helps you commit to an e-newsletter.
48. The Dreaded B Word in Business Communication: It’s something Cathy Miller never is. Are you?
49. How to Write an ‘About’ Page for Your Website: And no, it doesn’t include your pets. Ashley Festa shows us how to do it right.
50. What Kind of Writing Should I Do?: Allena Tapia answers the ages-old question.
51. How to Think Outside the Box When Developing Multiple Revenue Streams: Steph Auteri’s title says it all.
52. Are You Hitting a Home Run with Your Pitch Letter? Elna Cain thinks you can do better. And she shows us resources that can help.
53. What’s a Freelance Writer Platform? And Do I Need One? When Jenn Mattern speaks, just shut up and listen. She’s showing us how to create more presence and bang for our business.
54. Why the “Welcome to My Website” Introduction Makes Me Want to Gag: Alicia Rades has a great way of putting things. That’s why you’ll never see boring, generic intros on her blog.
55. What to Do When Your Freelance Blogging Career is Going Nowhere: Sophie Lizard is the strongest voice in blogging. Here’s her advice on how to reset your blogging career button.
56. 52 Free Tools and Resources to Superfuel Your Freelance Blogging: Robin Geuens gives us more ways to pump up the career.
57. 5 Ways to Supercharge Business-centric Content with Stories: I love finding new voices. Francesca Nicasio is one of those voices I’m interested in hearing more from.
58. Steal the 3 Systems That Raised My Freelance Blogging Income from Zero to $4,000 a Month: Gina Horkey shows us how easy it is to get that income up to fighting weight.
59. How Do I Make Money as a Freelance Writer?: Once again, Elna Cain has the answer.
60. How to Spend Less Time Marketing and More Time Making Money: Another reason to pay attention to Francesca Nicasio.
66. The Forgotten Gift: Using Intuitive Intelligence for Greater Business Success: Coach Carolynne Melnyk reminds us how to use our brains.
70. 6 Reasons to Fire Your Client: Alison Jordan shared this post with Freelance Union members, and it’s a good one.
71. How to Fight Scope Creep (Politely): Freelance Union regular Kate Hamill gives a three-step solution to keeping the workload in check.
72. How Do Great Freelancers Find New Clients? Caitlin Pearce shares the results from a Freelance Union Hive event.
73. 5 Things Freelancers Should Know About Sales: Karen Swim knows sales. This post is an example of how she excels at knowing her audience.
74. What to Do When You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Shit: Mridu Khullar Relph is inside your head.
75. 5 Sure-fire Ways to Meet Deadlines for Freelancers and Web Workers: Abhijeet Mukherjee’s great post on how to stay on track.
76. 80 Great Ways to Become a Better Freelancer: Creative Boom’s Katy Cowan shares 80 ways. Which ones fit you?
77. Define Your Role as a Freelancer: Anthony Baggett’s post is short, but dead on — especially his first point.
78. Why My Plumber Would Make a Great Freelancer: Chris Spooner takes a unique approach to revealing the skills we freelancers need for success.
79. 15 Tips for Freelancers: What to Do in Slow Days and Dry Times: A great post from the people at 1st Web Designer.
80. 61 Ways to be Productive Working from Home: We’ve all had those days. Mridu Khullar Relph tells us how to block out the crap and get back to producing.
81. 100 Killer Ideas For Your Social Media Content: Never sure how to keep up your social media presence? Jayson DeMers gives you 100 ways.
82. Creating Content That Sells: 9 Top Lessons From a Conversion Copywriter: Joanna Wiebe is a really big deal in the copywriting world. See her best advice for upping your content’s impact.
83. Freelancing: A Complete Guide to Setting and Negotiating Rates: A great little article by Tom Ewer over on How to Be a Copywriter.
84. How to Use TripAdvisor to Create Enticing Travel Content: Here’s a new market for many of us. Dustin Walker tells us how to make the most of it.
85. The Real Problems with Low Freelance Rates: Our good friend Jake Poinier shows us why low rates are killing us.
86. The 5 Most Common Objections During Prospecting and How to Overcome Them: Or getting past no, you could say. Bryan Gonzalez gives us some guidance.
87. 10 Biggest Mistakes in Sales: First, yes — you’re in sales. Second, Grant Cardone knows what you’re doing wrong.
88. How to Attract Only People Who Fit Your Ideal Customer Profile: I’ve been a Marcia Yudkin fan since her days writing for Writer’s Digest. Maybe she still does, and if so, it’s because of gems like this.
89. 50 Shades of Mediocrity: Does Content Have to Be Good, or Just Good Enough?: Sometimes you find that one person who’s saying the very thing that resonates with you. Ann Handley is that person for me. Love her insights here.
90. Generating Leads Through Social Media: A great, collaborative guide to finding leads in your feeds. Thank you, Ivory Research.
91. When and How a Freelance Writer Should Hire Help: John Soares is one of the most productive writers I know. John walks us through hiring help (and when we should).
92. The Number One Problem Writers Don’t Address When Pitching: Kelly Clay nails it. How you approach your query really does matter, and no, enthusiasm isn’t enough.
95. 6 Assumptions About Writing Clients That Will End Your Business: Well, hypothetically. But Anne Wayman hits all the main points in this one.
96. 4 Ways to Kill Your Writing Business: One of the more popular posts here on this blog, I show you what’s not exactly working in your favor.
97. Query Letter, Cover Letter, or Letter of Introduction? Allena Tapia gives us a primer on when each one is appropriate.
98. Free Advice Friday: Writing a Terrific Query Letter: Me again. This post got a ton of traffic, too. It’s my version of how to write a slamming query.
99. 4 Essential Small Business Marketing Tools: Thank you, Emily Fowler, for keeping it simple and manageable.
100. Tools for Avoiding Grammar Pitfalls: Cathy Miller, a grammarian at heart, gives us plenty of ways to improve our skills and check our work.
101. 24 Hours to a More Successful Freelance Writing Career: Yes, it is this simple. Thank you, Jenn Mattern, for reminding us.
Thanks for sharing one of my posts!
Thanks for writing it, Alicia! Good stuff. 🙂
Holy resources, Batman! What a great way to kick off Writers Worth month. I am so humbled to have posts included in this great list, Lori. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is getting bookmarked for my reading pleasure. I read many of them but I am anxious to check out the ones I missed. And heck, with my boomer brain, I'm sure there are some I read and forgot I read. 😉
Thanks for all you do, Lori. You rock!
What Cathy said – and what great company to be in… thanks so much!
Been working on this one for a month, ladies. Happy to have you BOTH on the list. 🙂 And you rock too, Cathy!
Wow, awesome list!! Thanks so much for putting this together. I've been really looking forward to Writer's Worth Month, and this is an excellent start 😀
There's enough great info on this list to keep us busy through the entire month, and beyond. Like Cathy said, I've already read some of them, but I can always use a refresher.
And yes. One of the first things I thought of when I woke up this morning was, "It's May! It's Writers Worth Month!"
Amazing resource, going to put some 'me' time aside over the weekend to read through (or re-read!) everything.
Thank you for including me in there too! :o)
What Paula said! You've given us so many great resources here. How are we going to keep up with everything still to come? 😉
There are plenty of posts here that somehow I've missed, so I can't wait to catch up on some reading. There are even a few bloggers in here that I'm not following yet. Time to update Feedly! 🙂
Paula, I knew you'd be bouncing out of bed with excitement. You've been the biggest cheerleader!
Thanks, ladies. Happy to round 'em up for you. I didn't write them (well, I did write a few) — I'm just showing you where the good stuff is.
What a list! I have a LOT of reading to do. Thanks for including a few of mine 🙂
You're welcome, Ashley! They were great posts — happy to include them. 🙂
Wow, what an awesomely comprehensive list. Thanks for assembling this.
I have some reading to do this weekend >_<
You do indeed, James! Maybe for a few weekends. 🙂
Heck yeah! I make up 0.029% of this list! *fist pump*
Thanks for including me! 😀
This is such a valuable resource with advice that spans real-world business issues for freelance writers. Thank you so much for including me in this post which is so rich with great content it really is like an encyclopedia!
Lauren, a well-deserved fist pump it is, too. Thanks for great content!
Karen, happy to include you! Thanks for providing such great advice.
Great list! It's going to take me all month to get through them all but it will be worth it!
Wow–a belated thank you for the linkluv! And as several others have pointed out, a splendid homework assignment on additional reading and RSS feeds 🙂
Enjoy the month, Nikki! LOL It's a great list from some of the best sources.
Jake, you are welcome! And thank you for such great content!
Thanks Lori for including my posts over on Freelancer FAQs.
I'll be sure to bookmark this post!
Elna
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