Freelancing 101 – XIIA

August 13, 2010

The last thing that any self employed person wants to deal with is their business not growing. That is unless of course, you have enough work to do. That’s probably not all that likely, in fact chances are that you feel like you are always looking for new work. It is important that freelancers make sure they do not burn themselves out, but at the same time, the last thing that a freelancer wants is to open up their calendar and find long blank spots that they will not be working.

This can not only be a bit of a downer mentally, it could also mean a long spell without pay. Therefore the predicament is how do you make sure that you do not have long dry spells income wise and still make sure that you do not over-schedule work. Well there are two options – the safe way – getting additional clients – or the risky way – taking some chances. Since the process of gaining clients is not different than what we have talked about previously, here are some of the risks you could consider taking. It is important that you remember – not each of these opportunities will work for every person, nor are they right for every person. You alone will have to make the decision of what works for your personal circumstances. Here is the first part of this series,

Blogging for Cash

This is perhaps one of the most practical opportunities for many freelance writers. First, it adds to your portfolio and it adds to your longer term residual income. Ignore the advertisements you hear about people who are making thousands of dollars a week from blogging, while some of them do exist, you will probably fight and scrap for every dollar you make. You can make decent money but you will have to work on it. Here are some ways to increase earnings from a blog:

Marketing - It is a great idea to add regular content to your blog. Do not however assume that just because you post, that you’ll get readers. Make sure you know how to increase page views and earnings on your blog. The proper use of Social Media Marketing is very helpful in promoting your blog;
Advertising – You can make use of AdSense other inline advertising programs. Using these programs will help increase your daily earnings (don’t expect huge earnings!!);
Affiliates - Don’t forget to check out affiliate programs that are available from Amazon, Commission Junction and other legitimate affiliate programs, you can earn from each sale.

Remember, none of these are likely to make you rich, nor will they likely bring you in hundreds of dollars a month. But, a steady growth in popularity will help your pennies add up.

Our next piece will focus on Social Sites that can help generate income.

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.