Since I started TheSavvyFreelancer.com, I’ve become convinced that freelancers should blog. Simply put, blogging can help freelancers attract clients.
I am proof. A couple of weeks ago, I gave up a regular paid blogging job so I could focus on writing for my own blog about online copywriting and marketing.
Since then, I’ve attracted one paying client who hired me for a project where I earned several hundred dollars. I’ve also gotten an inquiry from a potential client.
Not bad for a couple of posts, huh?
Not All Freelancers’ Blogs Are Equal
That said, having a blog will not automatically get you clients. You have to be strategic about it.
For starters, you need to attract the right kind of readers. Your blog won’t serve you if you’re attracting fellow writers, graphic designers, programmers or other freelancers in your field.
Instead, you want to attract your Ideal Client.
With this in mind, you can publish posts that appeal to your Ideal Client, instead of to other freelancers — a common mistake I see in freelancers’ blogs.
To see what I mean, please read a recent post I wrote for Freelance Folder, “5 Kinds of Blog Posts That Attract Clients.”
The key idea is to write posts that showcase your expertise, the results you get for clients, and what solutions you offer.
Let your blog be one long, extended sales letter for your freelancing business, with content that’s slowly dripped to your readers.
How to Run a Profitable Freelance Business Through Your Blog
If you want more detailed guidance for publishing a client-attracting blog, I highly recommend “The Blog Business Funnel” by Skellie.
I first discovered Skellie in 2007 when I started a blog to support UNICEF’s breastfeeding campaign in the Philippines.
Skellie was still a university student back then, but she was already getting known as a smart and effective blogger.
Her blog attracted paid blogging gigs for Skellie, where she charged nothing less than $100 per post and she eventually became the Tuts+ Manager of Envato.
This 93-page ebook is where Skellie shares her own blogging strategies which helped her attract freelancing jobs through her blog alone.
Click here to read more about “The Blog Business Funnel,” including one-page excerpts of each chapter.
There’s only one thing that I don’t agree with in Skellie’s ebook, and that is where she says you can blog about topics for your fellow freelancers.
Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a number of great ideas to make my blog more profitable — including a chapter on launching or re-launching my freelancing services in the same way that infomarketers launch their information products.
I can’t wait to try it!
PS: If you do purchase or have purchased “The Blog Business Funnel,” I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Do share by posting a comment below.
