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Blogging as part of freelancing

One of the many opportunities that freelance writers can take advantage of is blogging for money. Setting up a blog is easy, maintaining a blog and promoting it well is not as easy. Blogging can be fun and rewarding, but also requires a fair amount of dedication and work. Blogging as a way of earning money or even making a living can be a rewarding career choice. Even on those days when you find that you are not entirely sure how to approach your blog posts, there are always ways to come up with new ideas for your blog.

Remember that earning a living blogging is not going to be easy, but it can be profitable if you stick with it and you take advantage of the tools that are available to you to make your blog stand out from the crowd. While you?re not likely to become a millionaire blogging, you can certainly make some money?with fun, engaging and information filled blogs.

Beginner basics for making money online

In many cases, an online business can be started with skills that you already possess, including freelance writing. Whether a business is successful depends on how hard the potential business owner is willing to work, just like any traditional business. Online business owners work as hard (and in some cases harder) than those who run more traditional businesses. There are many online money making ideas that seem to crop up on almost a daily basis. One of the challenges is finding those that are legitimate and that can be done without investing money up front. While not all programs that require up front investments are bad, there are plenty of available opportunities that can be pursued without an up front payment. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by people who feel a need for instant gratification. More people who decide to work at home give up far earlier than they should. Working online in any form is not a way to secure untold riches in short periods of time. Some of the beginner basics for making money online using blogs include:

Having patience is a necessity ? if you are considering blogging as a business venture, you will have to exercise some patience. Blogging is not likely to create an immediate income flow. Most blogs require several months of posting before they climb up in search engine rankings and until they develop a reader base;

Blogging and networking

In most cases, those who are searching for online business opportunities are going to require a website and/or a blog for promoting their business. In days past, this meant spending hundreds of dollars to set up a website with all the ?bells and whistles?. Unless you are promoting your services as as web designer, you may want to consider using a free website hosting service like Doteasy. They provide several services which can help you launch your business successfully. Blog platforms such as Blogger or WordPress may also fill the needs of an online business. This may be especially true of a freelancer is interested in setting up an to highlight their work. This can provide new freelancers with a bit of a step up from their competition.

Social networking sites like Twitter can also help create a heightened awareness of your online business. Learning some of the practical tips and tricks for successful social networking can help online business owners promote their blogging businesses more effectively. There are several sites that also help online business owners manage their business more effectively by providing free tools including spreadsheets, time trackers, word processing and other tools that are very helpful. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on special software, new online business owners may be able to take advantage of these free tools for business management.

Maintaining your credibility

Not everyone who starts a blog is going to be able to create income from their blog. In many cases, bloggers will find they are earning pennies a day (or a month) and this can cause them to give up quickly. However, those who have the patience to maintain a blog in the face of low earnings can find success over time. There are some tips for successful blogging including:

Target an audience ? the first challenge that a new blogger will face is finding a market that works for them. The best option for most bloggers is to write about something that they are familiar with and that they enjoy writing about;
Write for SEO but do not overlook the audience ? while it is understood that search engine optimization is necessary, writing blog posts that do not make sense to readers is not going to help. Bloggers who focus too much on SEO value may find they are ignoring what their readers want;
Respond to appropriate comments ? unfortunately, blogs are like magnets for spam comments. In general, it is not a good idea to allow comments to go through without moderation. Comments that are appropriate should be responded to. This helps increase credibility with an audience;
Do not damage your credibility ? many of us write and then later (after learning more) we change our minds about certain subjects. Make sure if you have had a change of opinion that you are clear that it is a change. Do not damage your credibility by trying to pretend that this is an opinion you always held.

Blog content and layout checklist

There is little doubt that the content of a blog is what drives traffic to a blog. However, there are certain elements that should be carefully looked at when considering starting a blog. Blog layouts play a significant role in the reader?s experience. Bloggers who elect to use Blogger may have a limited number of templates to select from but there are other blogging platforms that offer a wide variety of templates. Finding the right template means evaluating your audience, your message and what you hope to convey with your blog. Here are some of the considerations that should be made when creating a blog.

Avoiding mistakes on your blog

Blogs can be a great way to earn money, get involved with clients (and potential clients) and develop strong interaction with a community of readers. However, there are some things that should never be done on a blog that are serious mistakes in judgment including:

Calling out readers ? never call out a reader in a blog post (by name). If you want to rant about a problem with comments (that are not published) this might be acceptable but, always keep your readers in mind. Make sure you are professional in how you ?rant? in your blog;
Watch your tone ? it is not always easy to find the right tone for your blog. However, always keeping your audience in mind can help prevent you from sounding like you are talking down to potential readers. Keep your audience in mind at all times and target your tone to that audience;
Absolute statements ? be careful about making absolute statements. Remember that not ?all? people are going to benefit from information that you are providing. Using a more generalized tone may keep readers more interested. Do not try to pass off ?opinion? as ?fact? as there is a significant difference;
Do cite sources ? for those who are writing about technical or medical issues, make sure that you cite sources. This helps add to your credibility as a blogger. Use reputable sources and provide links where appropriate.
Make it easy to share ? make sure that you make it easy for others to share your content by using popular plugins for sharing your work. These include Facebook Like buttons, Twitter buttons and social bookmarking plugins. Don?t overlook the new Google +1 button as well.

A few thoughts in closing

Whether you are blogging, writing articles, submitting content to sites like Squidoo or whatever online business venture you are pursuing, it is sometimes hard to remember that not everyone is cut out for working at home. Working at home requires a fair amount of discipline. Lack of discipline can torpedo a freelancer before they ever get their online business launched. Before you decide that an online business is right for you, make sure that you carefully consider the commitment that will be required. Keep at your blogging and don?t give up too soon or you could become one of those statistics that we all dread ? those who have had blogs that failed.

About Doreen Martel

Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.

albertehalle

Thursday 15 November 2012

The basics of business blogging | Freelancing and More!