I bet you want to make money blogging and it’s something a lot of new bloggers try their hand at, but for many it doesn’t work out.
Why? Not enough pageviews.
Not a big audience.
Too new.
Well, what if I told you, it’s possible to make money from blogging without traffic or having a big audience? Yeah, I know. It sounds a bit ludicrous.
But, I’m a freelance writer and I get paid to blog.
If you’re interested in blogging for a living, I have an easy step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog for your business.
Make Money Blogging
If someone had told me when I first started out as a freelance writer that I would make $600 on a post, I’d think you’re crazy.
What?
People actually pay for words?
For a blog post?
Really?
Yeah, I would have been shocked.
But, in only two short years I worked my way up from landing my first gig at a $100 per post to making $600 from my last client blog post.
If you’re interested in getting paid to blog, here are the steps I took to dodge the low paying blogging gigs and get paid what I’m worth.
This was my way to make money blogging.
1. Established My Name
I was new to the blogging and freelancing world when I first started. I had no idea what WordPress was, didn’t have a Twitter account, and I sure as heck didn’t know what a blog was.
Yeah, I know, right?
But, I wanted to stay home and raise my twins and when I found out about freelance writing, I thought I could totally do this. The blogs I was reading were from other moms who were side hustling as a freelance writer.
I knew that if I wanted to get paid for my writing I had to get my name out there. I signed up to some freelance marketplaces but never had any luck with them.
What did work were these critical things:
Guest Posted
Guest posting is the BEST way to grow your blog and to get your name, brand and business out there. I learned pretty quickly that to prove I was a capable writer, I first had to find some blogs to guest post on for free.
One of the first guest posts I landed was for A Nation of Moms. Since one of my niches early on was natural health and parenting, I felt I needed to show a sample in that niche.
I also landed a prestigious guest post on PsychCentral – a leader in mental health content. Since my background is in Psychology and education, I felt I could make a sample in this niche and hopefully land a client (which I did, but almost a year later).
I guest posted on two other blogs – Brazen Careerist and Social Media Today. Both of these guest posts weren’t in my intended niches, but my Social Media Today guest post proved to help me get started in the digital marketing niche (the niche I currently write in).
These guest posts helped me build my portfolio as a freelance writer. I made sure to only guest post on blogs that benefited me, i.e. showed my writing in a particular niche.
I Left Comments on Popular Blogs
Blog commenting can be insane for helping you put your name on the map. Someone like Ryan Biddulph comes to mind when I think of how to leave an impressive blog comment.
Early in my biz I made sure to comment on popular blogs like SmartBlogger (at that time it was BoostBlogTraffic), Blogging Wizard, Successful Blogging and other blogs I visited.
This lead to working with Sue Anne Dunlevie of Successful Blogging in the future as well as help me land my gig over on Blogging Wizard with Adam Connell.
Set Up My Social Media Profiles
As I mentioned, I really wasn’t online when I first started out blogging and freelancing. I made a website and started a blog but aside from blog commenting, not many people knew I existed.
So, I decided to make a Twitter account, LinkedIn Account, Facebook Page and Pinterest account. At that time, it was all about promoting my freelance writing business and it helped me grow my client list quickly.
Now, my Twitter and Pinterest account are being shared with Twins Mommy. My Facebook Page was also shared, but I made a new Facebook page for Twins Mommy and was ecstatic to finally create separate brands!
I knew it was important to be online early on in my biz. I mean my clients are online practically 24/7, and I need to appear like I was too!
And this helped to make money blogging!
2. I Kept Asking For More
My first freelance writing job was $100 a post. This equated to around $.10/word. My next gig I was able to negotiate $.12/word and from there it just went up and up.
So, for every new inquiry or job ad that came my way, I quoted a higher rate than before.
This is the quickest way to make money blogging. Offering a service like freelance blogging is perfect for mommy bloggers.
You set your rate, create content you enjoy writing about and get paid for it, all the while taking care of your little one.
3. Secured Great Testimonials
When I landed my ideal client – perfect rate, perfect project and flexible deadlines – I asked for a testimonial. From there, whenever I landed a notable freelance writing gig, I made sure to ask for a testimonial.
This is social proof and it’s a pretty powerful marketing strategy. Whether it’s for your sales page, service page or opt-in form, when you see that someone else vouches for you – your service or product – it helps them take the next step.
4. Niche Down
When I created my first blog I didn’t focus on a niche. I just wrote what I enjoyed and at that time it was a mix of blogging, freelance writing and being a work at home mom.
It took me a long time – over a year – to niche down. I knew I wanted to focus on freelance writing, but that’s a huge audience.
There are freelance writers that are side hustling, bloggers that want to moon light as a freelancer, college kids interested in generating some quick cash and the list could go on.
It wasn’t until I made my freelance writing course that I knew I had to focus on aspiring or new freelance writers.
From that point one I wrote only to new freelance writers.
It was the same for my niche that I wanted to get paid to write in. I decided to focus on digital marketing, but it wasn’t until I niched down to write about email marketing and lead generation that I found my ideal clients.
So, whether it’s your blog or your business, it’s important to figure out first the main topic and then to go a level deeper.
Want to Make Money Blogging with Freelancing?
I absolutely LOVE being a freelance blogger. Yes, at times it can be crazy, but overall, I write about the topics I enjoy and I’m making a living doing what I love.
If you’re interested, go ahead and take my free course on helping you land your first client. The opportunity is endless. There are authors, editors, copywriters, social media marketers, mommy bloggers and virtual assistants that took my freelance writing course. It’s totally awesome!
Let me know if you’re interested 🙂
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