I've been a member of mediabistro.com for a number of years, but only recently began to utilize it for its full potential. I recently upgraded from a free account to Avant Guild member to get even more from the site. It offers courses, online and in-person, job listings, a marketplace, and a wealth of news from around the media world. I use this site more than others and just love it!
There are several other sites for freelancers, though, that can help you boost your visibility online. Here is a list of a few of the ones I'm familiar with. I don't use all of these, but you might find me on a few here and there...
creativehotlist.com
talentzoo.com
freelancewriting.com
problogger.net
worldwidefreelance.com
freelancewritinggigs.com
In addition to these types of sites, with forums, discussions, news, classes and techniques, along with job listings, I write for several sites. I love having the freedom of writing when I want on a wide range of topics for a variety of sites. Check out some of these sites...
associatedcontent.com
demand studios.com
hubpages.com
suite101.com
helium.com
examiner.com
breakstudios.com
So, there are some wonderful resources to get you started and keep you going on your freelance journey!
Until next time!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Walk Dogs for $105,000 a Year (Or Make a Living Doing What *You* Love) - Chris Guillebeau
I subscribe to Copyblogger, which is a really great blog for those who enjoy writing or blogging for a living. (Seriously, if you are truly into freelance writing, subscribe to their newsletter.) The other day I received this post from Chris Guillebeau. He was working on his latest Empire Building Kit (which is now closed) asking for submissions. In the blog, though, was a really great story. It was very inspiring and I just wanted to share it with you......so here it is!
Walk Dogs for $105,000 a Year (Or Make a Living Doing What *You* Love)
I recently put out the word that I wanted to interview small business owners for an upcoming project, the Empire Building Kit.
These were the criteria: you had to net at least $50,000 a year with two or fewer employees, you had to be willing to talk about money in specific terms, you had to share your biggest mistakes as well as your greatest successes, and you couldn’t be a professional blogger.
(Obviously there’s nothing wrong with professional blogging — I just figure that bloggers get enough attention already. Besides, if you want to create a business, there are much easier models.)
I heard back from 300 people with all kinds of different backgrounds, but Lisa’s email stood out from the rest.
Walking dogs around the park for cash isn’t really my thing, so I assumed I’d say no.
But then Lisa told me how much money she makes: $88,342 in 2009, and now on track for $105,000 in 2010.
That got my attention. She makes six figures as a dog-walker? Wow. Now that’s a story.
And in marketing, of course, story is everything. If you can build a real business around something you’re passionate about — in this case, Lisa loves dogs — I think that’s worth some attention.
Finding a way to get paid for doing what you love is both feasible and sustainable. The trick is to construct a lifestyle business around something you’re passionate about that other people are willing to spend money on.
The difference is crucial: I can be passionate about eating pizza and playing video games, but so far I haven’t found anyone willing to pay me for it. Therefore, I have to orient my business not only around my own interests, but also around what other people are willing to pay for.
I built the rest of the Empire Building Kit around conversations and insights from people like Lisa. The photographer, the triathlon coach, the translator, the guy who makes baseball art, the murder mystery host, and so on.
You’ve probably never heard of most of them, but they’re doing very well doing something they love.
Last month I released the product on board a 44-hour Empire Builder train from Chicago to Portland. It was a huge success, with rave reviews from our inaugural group of emperors — and a freaked out merchant account that wanted to know why so many sales were rolling in.
Long story short, today I’m doing it again. It’s for 24-hours only, before I get on a plane and head overseas as part of my quest to visit every country in the world. If you’re interested in joining the inaugural group of new emperors, I’d love to have you on board.
To that end, I’ve compiled a truckload of resources and hand-holding to make sure that happens. The Kit includes:
15+ Case Studies. From 300 initial respondents, I narrowed it down to more than 15 thriving emperors from at least as many different backgrounds. I asked for their stories, their secrets, what they wish they had known before they started.
The case studies come in a variety of formats: video interviews, MP3 files, PDFs, with complete transcripts. So you can get the most out of them no matter what your learning style.
365-step Email Series. You get one mini-lesson today, one tomorrow, and 363 more over the rest of the next year.
According to the folks at Aweber, it’s officially the longest follow-up series in their history. The key is: if you do one thing a day, it will be much easier than trying to do everything at once. But you also have to make sure you’re doing the right things, so we help with that too.
A 52-step Product Launch checklist. Even if you’re not launching from the “bloggers’ lounge” onboard an Amtrak train, something always goes wrong with a product launch.
Use this checklist to avoid big mistakes, and dramatically increase revenue. One step produces an average revenue increase of 30% every launch, no matter the price of the product. Another step ensures you can sleep at night by not screwing up the confirmation emails. And so on.
“Show Me the Money” module. All the details from behind the scenes of my own Unconventional Guides business. You’ll learn how much money each product brings in, where I’ve screwed up, where I hit it big, and so on.
Ok, so I could go on about all of that for a while. But what you really get is insight and context from people who have successfully cracked the code of following your passion. They all talk about money, they are all extremely candid, and they’re all real people doing fun things while getting paid.
Care to join Lisa and the rest of us? You can find out all about it right here, but it’s only available for 24 hours, ending Wednesday morning at 9am Pacific Time.
And if it’s not a good fit for you, of course, that’s fine too. Most importantly, I hope your business is as enjoyable as Lisa’s — and as enjoyable as mine.
About the Author: Chris Guillebeau travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people at chrisguillebeau.com. Follow his live updates from every country in the world at twitter.com/chrisguillebeau.
Exciting stuff! Like I said, the 24 hour window is obviously closed, but it would be very inspiring to read these stories shared by individual business owners making good money doing what they love. Wouldn't you want to read their stories?
Until next time...
Walk Dogs for $105,000 a Year (Or Make a Living Doing What *You* Love)
I recently put out the word that I wanted to interview small business owners for an upcoming project, the Empire Building Kit.
These were the criteria: you had to net at least $50,000 a year with two or fewer employees, you had to be willing to talk about money in specific terms, you had to share your biggest mistakes as well as your greatest successes, and you couldn’t be a professional blogger.
(Obviously there’s nothing wrong with professional blogging — I just figure that bloggers get enough attention already. Besides, if you want to create a business, there are much easier models.)
I heard back from 300 people with all kinds of different backgrounds, but Lisa’s email stood out from the rest.
I have a dog-walking business in Minnesota. Can I contribute my story?I’ll be honest: I didn’t think much of it at first. A dog-walker? Shouldn’t we be talking about affiliate marketing, information products, and Facebook ads?
Walking dogs around the park for cash isn’t really my thing, so I assumed I’d say no.
But then Lisa told me how much money she makes: $88,342 in 2009, and now on track for $105,000 in 2010.
That got my attention. She makes six figures as a dog-walker? Wow. Now that’s a story.
And in marketing, of course, story is everything. If you can build a real business around something you’re passionate about — in this case, Lisa loves dogs — I think that’s worth some attention.
Follow your passion? Yes . . . sort of
The thing about following your passion to the bank isn’t so much overrated as it is incomplete.Finding a way to get paid for doing what you love is both feasible and sustainable. The trick is to construct a lifestyle business around something you’re passionate about that other people are willing to spend money on.
The difference is crucial: I can be passionate about eating pizza and playing video games, but so far I haven’t found anyone willing to pay me for it. Therefore, I have to orient my business not only around my own interests, but also around what other people are willing to pay for.
I built the rest of the Empire Building Kit around conversations and insights from people like Lisa. The photographer, the triathlon coach, the translator, the guy who makes baseball art, the murder mystery host, and so on.
You’ve probably never heard of most of them, but they’re doing very well doing something they love.
Last month I released the product on board a 44-hour Empire Builder train from Chicago to Portland. It was a huge success, with rave reviews from our inaugural group of emperors — and a freaked out merchant account that wanted to know why so many sales were rolling in.
Long story short, today I’m doing it again. It’s for 24-hours only, before I get on a plane and head overseas as part of my quest to visit every country in the world. If you’re interested in joining the inaugural group of new emperors, I’d love to have you on board.
All the details
The goal of the Empire Building Kit is to help people build a business in one year by doing one thing every day.To that end, I’ve compiled a truckload of resources and hand-holding to make sure that happens. The Kit includes:
15+ Case Studies. From 300 initial respondents, I narrowed it down to more than 15 thriving emperors from at least as many different backgrounds. I asked for their stories, their secrets, what they wish they had known before they started.
The case studies come in a variety of formats: video interviews, MP3 files, PDFs, with complete transcripts. So you can get the most out of them no matter what your learning style.
365-step Email Series. You get one mini-lesson today, one tomorrow, and 363 more over the rest of the next year.
According to the folks at Aweber, it’s officially the longest follow-up series in their history. The key is: if you do one thing a day, it will be much easier than trying to do everything at once. But you also have to make sure you’re doing the right things, so we help with that too.
A 52-step Product Launch checklist. Even if you’re not launching from the “bloggers’ lounge” onboard an Amtrak train, something always goes wrong with a product launch.
Use this checklist to avoid big mistakes, and dramatically increase revenue. One step produces an average revenue increase of 30% every launch, no matter the price of the product. Another step ensures you can sleep at night by not screwing up the confirmation emails. And so on.
“Show Me the Money” module. All the details from behind the scenes of my own Unconventional Guides business. You’ll learn how much money each product brings in, where I’ve screwed up, where I hit it big, and so on.
Ok, so I could go on about all of that for a while. But what you really get is insight and context from people who have successfully cracked the code of following your passion. They all talk about money, they are all extremely candid, and they’re all real people doing fun things while getting paid.
Care to join Lisa and the rest of us? You can find out all about it right here, but it’s only available for 24 hours, ending Wednesday morning at 9am Pacific Time.
And if it’s not a good fit for you, of course, that’s fine too. Most importantly, I hope your business is as enjoyable as Lisa’s — and as enjoyable as mine.
About the Author: Chris Guillebeau travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people at chrisguillebeau.com. Follow his live updates from every country in the world at twitter.com/chrisguillebeau.
Exciting stuff! Like I said, the 24 hour window is obviously closed, but it would be very inspiring to read these stories shared by individual business owners making good money doing what they love. Wouldn't you want to read their stories?
Until next time...
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Get Paid for What You Write!
Ever dream of being a PAID freelance writer from the comfort of your home?....That's what I do! Join me!
Associated Content is a site that's ahead of the curve, providing thousands of people the opportunity to get paid for their work. Simply set up a free account, write and get published, and get paid. If you have always dreamed of being a freelance writer and getting paid for what you write, then you can't pass up this opportunity.
It's easy. Just click on this link and follow the steps to set up your account.
Associated Content is a site that's ahead of the curve, providing thousands of people the opportunity to get paid for their work. Simply set up a free account, write and get published, and get paid. If you have always dreamed of being a freelance writer and getting paid for what you write, then you can't pass up this opportunity.
It's easy. Just click on this link and follow the steps to set up your account.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Make Money from Home Easy with Rat Race Rebellion
If you are a military spouse or a stay at home mom and want to work from home as a freelancer, you should know about Rat Race Rebellion . Mike and Chris, the founders of StaffCentrix and RatRaceRebellion.com have been tirelessly working to help you find work from home opportunities and sifting through the scams. They pre-screen their job listings and weed out the scam artists to find several true, legitimate listings every single week. They list the latest job openings each week, but also have all their job listings categorized so you can troll through all the listings in your preferred field of expertise. There are tons of jobs listed in most categories so there is always plenty of jobs to choose from. RatRaceRebellion has been working with the military for several years.
"Christine Durst, founder of the Virtual Assistance industry, is co-founder and partner of Staffcentrix, a leading training and development firm providing virtual-careers training and resources to the US Department of State and the Armed Forces." (from the RatRaceRebellion.com website)
Michael Haaren, an Army vet, has an extensive background in law and entrepreneurship. He and Chris devote an enormous amount of time to helping the military in numerous ways, including finding opportunities for spouses to make an additional income, no matter where in the world they happen to be stationed. With Chris and Mike's site, many spouses have found lucrative, legitimate work from home careers and have found a whole new way to have their cake and eat it too.
Whether you are an accountant, a teacher, a research specialist, a paralegal, a graphic designer or a consultant, RatRaceRebellion has over 100 different categories of job listings. You may find you have an interest or expertise in more than one category, which give you that much more opportunity to find a job online that suits your individual needs.
As a freelance writer, there are numerous job postings on the ratracerebellion.com site that I have personally responded to with greater than expected results.
Be sure to find them on facebook and get on their weekly mailing list to receive all the latest news and info on work from home opportunities as well as getting the first shot at some of the listings!
Happy writing...
"Christine Durst, founder of the Virtual Assistance industry, is co-founder and partner of Staffcentrix, a leading training and development firm providing virtual-careers training and resources to the US Department of State and the Armed Forces." (from the RatRaceRebellion.com website)
Michael Haaren, an Army vet, has an extensive background in law and entrepreneurship. He and Chris devote an enormous amount of time to helping the military in numerous ways, including finding opportunities for spouses to make an additional income, no matter where in the world they happen to be stationed. With Chris and Mike's site, many spouses have found lucrative, legitimate work from home careers and have found a whole new way to have their cake and eat it too.
Whether you are an accountant, a teacher, a research specialist, a paralegal, a graphic designer or a consultant, RatRaceRebellion has over 100 different categories of job listings. You may find you have an interest or expertise in more than one category, which give you that much more opportunity to find a job online that suits your individual needs.
As a freelance writer, there are numerous job postings on the ratracerebellion.com site that I have personally responded to with greater than expected results.
Be sure to find them on facebook and get on their weekly mailing list to receive all the latest news and info on work from home opportunities as well as getting the first shot at some of the listings!
Happy writing...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Make More Money with Killer Headlines
When writing a piece for online publishing or for any hardcopy print mediums, it is of the utmost importance that your headline be effective. In today's highly over inundated society, advertisements find their way into an average person's life in more ways than ever. That means, each person has more streams of media to disseminate every single day. We are all subjected to TONS of advertisements on a daily basis and the mind can only handle so much of it. So, what does that mean for you? If you want your stuff to get read by other people, you have to first get their attention with your headline.
The headline is so important, in fact, you should probably spend the same amount of time concocting your perfect headline as you do with all the actual content writing for the piece on which you're working. In other words, if it takes you an hour to write a 500 word article then you probably should spend an hour making sure the headline will do it justice. In David Ogilvy's book Confessions of an Advertising Man, he states,
"On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy."
It's definitely true. I have witnessed this phenomenon first hand working in the advertising business for so long. So, it's important to know that the headline will determine if the person will continue to read the body of your article or not.
So what makes a good headline? Let's talk about that...
The way to make sure your headline will be effective is to make sure you talk directly to the person you want to target. All people want to know "what's in it for me?" or "why is this important to me?" If you don't give your reader a reason to read your content, then they surely won't. Give the reader a reason to stop and read your article.
Headlines that offer something to the reader are a sure-fire way to get and keep readers interested in what you have to say. Classics such as "How to" or "Top 5 Reasons You Can't Live Without" or "Best Kept Secrets" or "Introducing the New" are used over and over because they are some of the most effective headlines ever created. They offer something to the reader that makes them want to learn more.
When working on your headline, try to remember what it is you're offering to the reader. What's in it for them? One thing that many writers overlook when they write is the features vs. benefits rule. Features are all fine and good, but the benefit to the reader is what you need to focus on. When you think from the reader's perspective, find the elements in your article (features) and relate to the reader by showing what the feature can do for them. For example, if you are writing a story about adding fiber to your diet, you can use the benefits of adding fiber to your diet in your headline: "Lose Weight and Enjoy Life More with Healthy Fiber Choices." Simple. Just show the reader what the feature will do for them. Don't focus so much on the features...highlight what the features can do to improve their lives.
When talking about what makes a great headline, it's also important to point out what isn't a good headline. I love cute, catchy, funny, witty wordplay, but there's no room for that in writing effective headlines.You want to appeal to the reader, not your ego. Leave the cute witty wordplay for other fun-time activities because they will not get you the readership you want.
When writing headlines keep in mind that the object of the headline is to get the reader interested enough to read your content. The purpose of any headline should be to draw in the reader. If your headline doesn't do that, then it's just not effective. You must get the attention of the reader. You do this by relating to them. In order to relate to them, you have to make sure you know who you're talking to. Don't be too generic or vague with your audience. If you are targeting teens, then make sure your headline is talking to them. If you are talking to middle-aged housewives, then don't use slang lingo. You get the picture.
According to The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly, there are eight different types of headlines.
Happy writing...
The headline is so important, in fact, you should probably spend the same amount of time concocting your perfect headline as you do with all the actual content writing for the piece on which you're working. In other words, if it takes you an hour to write a 500 word article then you probably should spend an hour making sure the headline will do it justice. In David Ogilvy's book Confessions of an Advertising Man, he states,
"On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy."
It's definitely true. I have witnessed this phenomenon first hand working in the advertising business for so long. So, it's important to know that the headline will determine if the person will continue to read the body of your article or not.
So what makes a good headline? Let's talk about that...
The way to make sure your headline will be effective is to make sure you talk directly to the person you want to target. All people want to know "what's in it for me?" or "why is this important to me?" If you don't give your reader a reason to read your content, then they surely won't. Give the reader a reason to stop and read your article.
Headlines that offer something to the reader are a sure-fire way to get and keep readers interested in what you have to say. Classics such as "How to" or "Top 5 Reasons You Can't Live Without" or "Best Kept Secrets" or "Introducing the New" are used over and over because they are some of the most effective headlines ever created. They offer something to the reader that makes them want to learn more.
When working on your headline, try to remember what it is you're offering to the reader. What's in it for them? One thing that many writers overlook when they write is the features vs. benefits rule. Features are all fine and good, but the benefit to the reader is what you need to focus on. When you think from the reader's perspective, find the elements in your article (features) and relate to the reader by showing what the feature can do for them. For example, if you are writing a story about adding fiber to your diet, you can use the benefits of adding fiber to your diet in your headline: "Lose Weight and Enjoy Life More with Healthy Fiber Choices." Simple. Just show the reader what the feature will do for them. Don't focus so much on the features...highlight what the features can do to improve their lives.
When talking about what makes a great headline, it's also important to point out what isn't a good headline. I love cute, catchy, funny, witty wordplay, but there's no room for that in writing effective headlines.You want to appeal to the reader, not your ego. Leave the cute witty wordplay for other fun-time activities because they will not get you the readership you want.
When writing headlines keep in mind that the object of the headline is to get the reader interested enough to read your content. The purpose of any headline should be to draw in the reader. If your headline doesn't do that, then it's just not effective. You must get the attention of the reader. You do this by relating to them. In order to relate to them, you have to make sure you know who you're talking to. Don't be too generic or vague with your audience. If you are targeting teens, then make sure your headline is talking to them. If you are talking to middle-aged housewives, then don't use slang lingo. You get the picture.
According to The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly, there are eight different types of headlines.
- Direct Headlines
- Indirect Headlines
- News Headlines
- How-to Headlines
- Question Headlines
- Command Headlines
- Reason-Why Headlines
- Testimonial Headlines
Happy writing...
Monday, February 15, 2010
Well, Here We Go...
Hi! I'm Jodie, also known as the Milspouse Writer. I am a military spouse currently living in Germany. Although that may sound amazing, and don't get me wrong, it really is, there are some setbacks to being married to the military. First of all, part of my job a lot of the time is being a single parent. My hubby takes off on TDYs, school, training, or even deployments and I'm left for weeks or months at a time with our young son, playing the roles of both parents. So, there's that.
Another biggie for me was giving up my career. When I married my husband, I had been working on moving up the ladder in my industry and was on-track to go into another aspect of my field within another year or two...but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Albeit, my former career wasn't all that anyway. I could've made it into a great career eventually, but where I was at the time wasn't great. But that's not the point, is it. The point is, it was mine. It was my 'thing that I do' that made me into who I was. But, having a job or career that you can just pick up and move across the country or overseas and continue on, well...that's a little difficult to come by.
So, once we landed in Germany I knew I was gonna have to figure out something else to do with myself. I mean, I'm not designed to be a housewife! I would definitely get way too bored with that. I had been a writer all my life, even in my career, and wondered if there was a way to make that work for me somehow. So, I went into freelance writing.
It didn't happen overnight. I lamented day after day over what I was supposed to do. It took me several months to really decide that's what I wanted to do. I bought a few books, did some online research, read a lot of blogs and newsletters and here I am.
I'm glad you're with me. This is a learning experience for me and I want to share all that I learn with you and help you on your journey as I explore all that is in this writing life. For a military spouse, freelancing from your home, building your business completely online is a wonderful way to keep your business going even when you don't know where in the world you'll end up next!
Welcome!
~Jodie
Another biggie for me was giving up my career. When I married my husband, I had been working on moving up the ladder in my industry and was on-track to go into another aspect of my field within another year or two...but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Albeit, my former career wasn't all that anyway. I could've made it into a great career eventually, but where I was at the time wasn't great. But that's not the point, is it. The point is, it was mine. It was my 'thing that I do' that made me into who I was. But, having a job or career that you can just pick up and move across the country or overseas and continue on, well...that's a little difficult to come by.
So, once we landed in Germany I knew I was gonna have to figure out something else to do with myself. I mean, I'm not designed to be a housewife! I would definitely get way too bored with that. I had been a writer all my life, even in my career, and wondered if there was a way to make that work for me somehow. So, I went into freelance writing.
It didn't happen overnight. I lamented day after day over what I was supposed to do. It took me several months to really decide that's what I wanted to do. I bought a few books, did some online research, read a lot of blogs and newsletters and here I am.
I'm glad you're with me. This is a learning experience for me and I want to share all that I learn with you and help you on your journey as I explore all that is in this writing life. For a military spouse, freelancing from your home, building your business completely online is a wonderful way to keep your business going even when you don't know where in the world you'll end up next!
Welcome!
~Jodie
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