Turn Your Blog into an Effective Marketing Machine in 2 Easy Steps

In yesterday’s post, I discussed why I thought blogging for money is a waste of time for most freelance writers. Instead of worrying about making money from ads like Google’s Adsense program, focus your efforts on the following:

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A) Dispense Information: Use your blog to inform your readers about your niche. For example, most of my posts are about the business of freelance writing. I updated it almost daily – giving readers a chance to come back again and again.

3 Marketing Advantages of Consistent Blogging

i) It builds up a body of work: I can refer potential clients to my blog so they can get an idea of my writing style before hiring me. As my blog is over two years old, it showcases a significant amount of my work – more than enough for potential clients to judge my capabilities.

ii) It showcases you: Via my posts, subscribers glean an idea of what I’m like as a person. Consumers buy from those they know, like and trust. Regular readers get to know (and hopefully) like me a little bit more with each post.

Comfortability leads to likeability, which leads to trust and ultimately sales. Clients will rarely purchase from you the first time they encounter your product/service. But, if you’re “in their face” on a regular basis, they come to rely and depend on your advice, your insight, your suggestions, etc.

When the time comes for them to purchase the type of product/service you’re selling, all things like price being equal – you have a good chance of them purchasing from you.

iii) Opens up opportunities: I never dreamed when I started blogging that it would turn into what it has. I’ve been contacted for interviews, jobs (read how blogging led to an Editor-in-Chief’s job offer); and other business opportunities via my blog. You just never know who’s out there taking in your work – especially when it’s put out on such a consistent basis.

B) Create Your Own Product(s): I preach this lesson to freelancers on a continual basis. Whether you’re a freelance writer, freelance web designer, freelance photographer or freelance illustrator, in my humble opinion, it’s imperative that freelancers create their own products to sell.

This can be artistic t-shirts, a unique web design package, a pen line, a freelance writer’s gift basket boutique (something I’ve often thought of doing), etc.

While selling the products and services of others via affiliate programs can be lucrative, why not spend some time creating your own products to promote. When you consider that promoting a product – whether it’s yours or somebody else’s – takes a huge chunk of time and effort, why not put that into your own product?

Advice on Marketing Your Own Product/Service

Many freelancers shy away from this because they may not know what to create or how to sell it. BUT, everything you need to know about how to sell anything can be found online.

Start with the same techniques you use to promote yourself as a freelance writer, designer, graphic artists, photographer, etc.

Just to get you inspired, following are some links to freelancers who have turned their craft into profitable side ventures.

Profitable Side Ventures for Creative Freelancers

T-Shirts: The T-Shirts Guys (Writers, Cartoonists, Graphic Designers) at http://bigstonehead.net/about/faq/

Greeting Cards: The Freelance Photographer who also created a line of greeting cards sold at high-end retail stores. Visit her site here.

Self-Syndicated Column: The Freelance Writer Who Created a Column with a readership of over 2.2 million readers. Read about it here.

Ebooks & Seminars: In my case, I added ebook writing and seminar production to my income streams. To date, I’ve written six ebooks and one e-seminar. And, I’ll give a live seminar in October.

As you can see from these examples, how you apply your talent is up to you – the ways to make money from it are endless – but, you must become an efficient marketer to be successful at it.

TOMORROW’S POST: In tomorrow’s post, we’ll discuss some dynamics on how to become a “Master Marketer.”
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Upcoming Features in Inkwell Editorial’s Newsletter

July 18: Paula Mooney. Blogger who helps other bloggers “make money, get readers and increase their blog’s ranking.” Paula will reveal how she makes money online, and how she’s built a very popular blog in only a few month’s time.

If you currently have a blog, or are thinking about starting one, you won’t want to miss this interview!

August 15: Meryl K. Evans. I tapped Meryl for an interview because she’s found success in the B2B niche. Meryl has written for some pretty notable clients, eg, PC Today, O’Reilly and Pearson to name a few.

This is where the real money in freelance writing is folks (B2B). I’m as anxious to see what she has to say as I hope you are!

September 12: Gordon Graham. We ring in the “editorial season” by interviewing Gordon Graham, aka “that white paper guy.” Gordon writes and edits white papers and case studies. He charges $90/hour just to edit a white paper and a minimum of $4,000 to produce a white paper from scratch.

Now, do you see why I had to interview him?! Most freelancers don’t even dream of making this type of money. I can’t wait for this interview.

NOTE: As editorial is cyclical and slow during the summer, in July and August, the newsletter will be published once. In September, we go back to our twice-monthly publishing schedule. Subscribe today so you don't miss anything!
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
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$132,994.97 in Google Earnings!

It's Friday and I'm still in my writing funk. BUT, like a junkie with a drug habit, I felt the need to post today -- something I usually don't do on Friday's.

So, I'm bringing you this little missive.

What about the Google earnings you mention in the title? I'm gettin' there.

Alas, the check didn't belong to me -- it belonged to Jeremy Schoemaker, the brain behind ShoeMoney.com. Of it, he writes, "This was the bigest paper check I have ever recieved. It was way back in August of 2005 and since I have moved to wire transfers so dont look for anything bigger from me."

I ran across Jeremy's site in Paula Mooney's blog -- specifically, her post on blogger salaries, which, if you read yesterday's post, will see that I referenced. Paula -- geniously I think, compiled a list of blogger salaries.

While some moan that it's incomplete, it's a good snapshot on who's making what in the blogosphere.

For grins, giggles and "I want that" envy, click here for more Google checks featured on ShoeMoney.com. Now, does that inspire you to get going on a site!

Enjoy and be inspired.

Until Monday,
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
P.S.: Have you checked out Inkwell Editorial's work-from-home ebooks yet? The are some great deals on this first-hand advice on how to succeed as a freelancer, and it makes great weekend reading (hint, hint: buy today).

Monday's Post: Are you making 50K or more? Do you worry about being down-sized? Have you been down-sized? Career advice for mid-level managers.

Blogs That Make You Think . . .And/Or Do Other Stuff

On April 26th, Lillie Amman awarded this blog the Thinking Blogger's Award. As described on her blog:

Iker Yoldas at The Thinking Blog* created the award and describes the award and the rules in Thinking Blogger Awards. The award recognizes blogs that make people think, and those who receive the award then pass the award on to five blogs that make them think.

*NOTE: This blog is no longer online, but the award lives on. Tres cool! {NOTE: Cartoon courtesy of www.weblogcartoons.com.}

Needless to say, I was flattered beyond belief. So, for my five picks:

1. Problogger.net: If you want to know about blogs, this is THE blog to go to. Darren (the blogmaster) is a six-figure blogger and the depth of information to be found on this site is astounding -- especially about monetizing a blog.

Other things I like about this blog -- it's professionally written; the topics are timely and relevant; and the best thing about this blog -- the information is in-depth and helpful.

Darren doesn't gloss over topics like a lot of blogs do. He really goes into detail so you always come away feeling like you got a new, better and/or different take on an issue.

2. The Golden Pencil: This blog reminds me of my own in the sense that it relays helpful information to freelance writers via articles. It also lists jobs for freelance writers and has links to other blogs on freelance writing.

3. Paula Mooney's Blog: I first encountered Paula's writing on AssociatedContent.com. A black woman who knows tech stuff -- I was jealous and incredulous all at once.

Paula writes across a broad spectrum and her pieces have great headlines that just suck you in. Eg, a recent entry is Paula's List of Blogger Salaries...Are you on the list? Who wouldn't click on that?! NYU School of Journalism, you should tag her blog to teach how to write effective headlines.

FYI Paula, I'm going to tap you to help me cowrite a book on tech stuff -- as soon as I can finish formulating the idea in my head -- this should be before the year 2020.

4. Hot Diggity: This is Jenna Glatzer's blog. She's a successful freelance writer who's collaborated on a book about Celine Dion, has authored children's books and was the founder and editor-in-chief of AbsoluteWrite.com, one of the best freelance writing sites on the web.

Even though I first ran across Jenna's writing while doing some research on freelance writing for an article a few years ago, I read her blog not because she is a fellow freelance writer, but because her sense of humor cracks me up.

On her blog, she writes about almost everything but writing -- which is the blog's purpose -- to get away from writing about and promoting writing.A sample of Jenna's humor can be found in the following missive from her 2/7/07 post:

I love my electronic toothbrush, but it seems I can't handle it. I manage to get toothpaste on myself about every other day. And toothpaste has this supernatural quality-- you can rinse it off, really rubbing the fabric so it looks like it's all gone, and when it dries, poof! The toothpaste is still there. Taunting you. Like those birthday candles you can never blow out.

5. Jason Kottke's blog: I rarely check in to Jason's blog anymore, but for a while it held me spellbound because he made a big splash in 2005 when he quit his job as a web designer to blog full time. Stories were all over the net and in newspapers about it.

Jason's been blogging almost daily since 1998 -- which is a major feat, when you consider that most bloggers give up after a few months. During the year that he blogged full-time (he gave it up as a full-time gig in 2006), he raised $39,900 from 1,450 donors. Read an update in this piece.

Jason blogs about any and everything and his blog is neat and well organized -- always a big hit with me. I check it out from time to time out of loyalty and admiration.

So, there you have it -- my picks.

I don't spend too much time reading blogs because as a full-time freelance writer, time is money and I'm usually trying to beat a deadline.

To Darren, Anne, Paula, Jenna and Jason -- continued success with your blogs.

Sincerely,
Yuwanda
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
P.S.: Re the freelance writing e-books that I've been promising will be back online forever and a day now. Finally, finally got them proofed and ready to upload. BUT, what happens. Software problems -- arrgghhhh! Got the kinks worked out last night and -- fingers crossed -- just have to put in the PayPal codes for payment and back up they will be by tonight (I pray!).

P.P.S.: Look for the great discounts!

Tomorrow's Topic: What to Do When You're Tired of Writing (Advice for Freelance Writers)
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
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I want to apologize for the delay in getting to this post. I was recently in a car accident and suffered severe whiplash; am getting better with the help of a wonderful chiropractor.

Sincerely,

Yuwanda Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com

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Now, on to the much-delayed Part III of this post, Lessons Learned from Two Years of Blogging.

Lesson 11: Reference other blogs. Referencing other blogs means that you must read other blogs. Much like reading a newspaper to know what’s going on in the world, read other blogs to find out what’s going on in the blogosphere.

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Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.

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Lesson 12: Stay on top of blog technology. Referencing other blogs benefits you in numerous ways, namely:

i) Updates you on new blog technology. Want to learn which technology allows you to blog faster, make more money, advertise your blog better, etc.? Like all mediums, blog technology changes rapidly. Consult other blogs to stay abreast of it.

FYI, Darren Rowse’s blog, problogger.net, is a great one to consult about all things related to blogs – software, increasing income, pervading opinions on blogging, etc.

ii) Increases your blog’s rank. Especially if you link to high-ranked blogs like http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com, http://www.thegoldenpencil.com, and http://www.writersweekly.com.

Lesson 13: Copyright your material. Many blog without ever thinking about how they might earn income from it down the line. Most think in terms of making money from the ads that appear on their blog.

BUT, you never know when your ideas – the text itself – can become invaluable. I copyright all of my material. Why? A little story:

I was watching Oprah one day and Dolly Parton was her guest. She asked her about her finances and where most of her income came from. She said from her songs, as in, the publishing rights to the library of over 3,000 songs she’d written.

When Whitney Houston recorded I Will Always Love You (yes, that was written as a country song by Dolly), she said she made a mint. Her songs have been sampled, re-recorded used in movies (she wrote the hit, Working 9 to 5, for the popular movie, in which she starred), etc.

Every time any of these happened, she was paid.

So, while it may seem like your copy is disappearing into a black hole on the net and no one cares about it but you, you never know who is reading it and may have a valuable use for it.

Lesson 14. Make your blog posts serve double duty. What do I mean? Each entry I make into my blog serves three purposes:

i) first and foremost, it’s a blog post;

ii) second, I circulate this material to free article directories to drive subscribers to my site; and

iii) sell it whenever possible.AssociatedContent.com pays for content – whether it’s been published before, or not. It’s a nominal payment (pay ranges from a low of $3 up on up to $40), but I figure, as long as I’ve written the material, I might as well get paid for it.

Other Ways Your Blogging Can Pay

a) It serves as a body of work to show to potential clients; b) You can dig deeper into a topic – I try to keep my posts to between 700-900 words. See my 10/10/06 post for why I think this is an ideal length for articles/blog posts.

You can also do a web search for an article I wrote entitled, Why Longer Articles Make You More Money. It’s found on several sites on the web.

However, many times I’ve written a post and wanted to learn more about a subject in order to sell the piece, which I go on to do. This brings me to my next lesson:

Lesson 15. Use series whenever possible. Many write to me wanting to know how I find fresh topics to write about, especially as I write within a niche. One of the ways I expand posts so that I don’t run out of material -- which you never have to worry about even if you don’t use this tip -- is to write series (eg, Part I, Part II, etc.).

Like soap opera cliffhangers, series not only allow you to break longer posts into smaller ones, it gives readers a reason to come back. If readers think enough of your writing to return again and again, before long, you will build a loyal readership who come to trust and rely on your blog.

Lesson 16. Link back to articles on your blog. Why? Quite simply, I find that it creates connectivity and gives readers a sense that you really know what you’re talking about.

If you’ve written a body of work that is so valuable that readers can find useful info in posts from a year ago, then you’re on your way to becoming more than just a blog; you’re building a resource – with you as the “expert.”

Tomorrow’s Post: Cash in My Pocket -- Some Benefits I’ve Derived from Blogging (And How You Can, Too!)
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.

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