Today, I’d like to talk about inspiration.

What inspires you to keep freelancing?

I ask because freelancing isn’t always easy.

Why Freelancers Need Inspiration

Sure, we enjoy a lot of perks. Just the other day, for example, I got out of bed after 9 am. I can do that, because my work schedule is flexible. I can work anytime, anywhere I like, just as long as I meet my deadlines.

That said, freelancing isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be pretty darn hard.

For example, those of us who freelance from home can feel pretty isolated at lot of times. We don’t have co-workers to socialize with. No water coolers to hang out in for some small time. Sure, there’s Facebook and Twitter, but it simply isn’t the same.

And then there’s the constant need to hustle. We always have to be marketing and promoting our services.

I can go on and on about the disadvantages of freelancing… but that’s a topic for another blog post.

When the going gets tough, it helps to go back to our inspiration.

What inspired you to become a freelancer anyway? And what inspires you to go on?

My Inspiration

What inspires me is an ideal. It’s an ideal world where I can take care of my family–be there physically for them–while at the same time doing something I love and am passionate about.

My family and my professional life go hand in hand.

I don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. I don’t have to relegate the care of my kids to strangers in order to pursue my passion. At the same time, I don’t have to put my creativity and professional growth on hold to care for my family.

My children inspire me to model a different way of living. One that isn’t characterized by dragging yourself out of bed in the morning, because you have obligations to meet and bills to pay. One where being “out of the mold” is rewarded, not punished.

Other parents inspire me to prove that it can be done. It’s possible to be a good parent, a good provider and a fulfilled individual all at the same time.

Other moms and dads who have gone ahead of me and created their own freelancing lifestyles inspire me. People like Kelly McCausey, Lynn Terry, Alice Seba and Nicole Dean inspire me. They’ve living my ideal! They’re living proof that you can be your own boss and be a good Mom and support your family.

How About You?

Now it’s your turn.

What inspires you?

photo credit: Kyle Kruchok

Many freelancers are service providers and from my interactions with them I know they find blogging challenging. Do you have any quick tips in advance of our session for freelancers who want to use a blog to grow their businesses?

Hey there, Kelly, here’s my answer:

Up until recently, I wasn’t convinced that blogging was a necessary tool for freelancers to find clients.

Because truth be told, blogging is a lot of work. I mean, it’s one thing to write and publish posts. And then it’s another thing to promote your blog and actually get readers.

And unless you have readers, then you are blogging in vain.

That said, if you can manage to write at least one post a week and spend a few minutes every day to promote it, then blogging is truly worthwhile.

Is Blogging for You?

I say this only because I’ve seen first-hand how effective blogging can be for finding clients.

I can’t promise that blogging will be as effective for other freelancers out there.

You have to know that my freelancing is purely online. I don’t target local businesses. I never have to meet my prospects or clients face-to-face.

They are all small business owners who promote their products or services online. So my freelancing business is very much based on the Internet, which makes blogging an excellent fit as a marketing strategy.

So how can you make blogging easier?

5 Tips to Make Blogging Easier for Freelancers

1. Know what your goal is.

Get clear in your mind why you are blogging. You’re blogging to attract your Ideal Clients. You’re not blogging for fun. You’re not blogging to keep friends and family posted on the latest happenings in your life. You’re not blogging to help other writers, designers, programmers, virtual assistants… etc. do their job better.

You’re blogging so people will hire you, baby! Never forget that!

2. Know who your target readers are.

Now that you know number one, the next question is, who is your Ideal Client? Is it male, female, single, married? What type of business is he in? What kind of income does she make? What topics are they interested? Which blogs do they read?

3. Use an editorial calendar to plan your topics.

The best way to make blog posting easier is to plan out what you’re going to be writing about in advance. Make an editorial calendar and have a schedule of posts.

4. Stick to a schedule.

Decide how often you’re going to publish to your blog and stick to it. Be realistic. If you can manage only one post per week, or one every two weeks, then so be it. The most important thing right now is to be consistent.

Also have a schedule for actually writing the posts. Maybe you can carve out one hour once a week. That’s enough time to draft at least two posts.

Get them written, schedule them for publishing in WordPress (you ARE using WordPress, aren’t you?), and reward yourself with a cupcake. You deserve it!

5. Live and write.

The next best way to make blogging easier is to actually be involved in your field. Be on top of the latest trends. If you’re a website designer, read all the latest blogs, books and magazines. In other words, live, eat and breathe your expertise!

Interact with freelancers in your field. Hang out in forums where your Ideal Clients tend to exchange notes. Find out what they want, what bothers them, how you can help them.

By doing this, you will never run out of ideas for topics to blog about. And you’ll always be relevant and interesting.

There’s a bit more to blogging than what I’ve mentioned here. You do have to know about search engine optimization, backlinking to your site and all that fun stuff.

If you’ve been on the Hot Seminar Series, you know a lot of this already.

Don’t think you have to know everything before you start blogging. You can learn by doing.

And the sooner you get started, the better.

See you at the Hot Seminar Series on Wednesday!