Since starting this blog, I have posted new content at least once per day; that is until yesterday. Trouble with my ISP held me back from posting new content for the first time in about three months. While this is not a huge deal, it can be disappointing. After all, I take great pride in updating this blog every day.
So what did I learn from this? First off, using the WordPress time stamp feature is a great idea. If I would have had a time stamped post waiting, the lack of an internet connection would have made no difference.
Additionally, I also learned that blogging can be an addiction. I was checking my internet connection all day long in hopes that I could sneak in a quick update for all my readers. Unfortunately, this never happened, but none the less I spent a lot of time Saturday thinking about this blog.
When it comes down to it, not updating your blog one day is not going to kill your readership. But remember, this is not a habit that you want to get into. Hopefully I can start another long streak of at least one post per day!
When you start a new blog, do you set a deadline for success? In other words, do you know that you will give the blog one year (or some other time frame) to hit all your goals? I think that it is very important to set goals for your blog, but as far as setting a deadline for success, this is another topic entirely.
I don’t know much about search engines, but from what I have been reading, it appears that there are two things a blog must do in order to achieve success with them. First off, posting unique content seems to be the best thing you can do in order to catch the eye of the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. To go along with this, I have read on three different blogs that you need to be consistent for at least six to twelve months to see solid results. As mentioned above, I have no idea if this is the case or not.
Personally, I have no timeline for the success of this blog. I enjoy writing at least one post per day, and as long as that does not change, ChrisBlogging will live on!
If you are going to put a timeline on your blog’s success, there is one very important thing that you must do. You need to know what the word success means when applied to your blog. Does success mean attracting a certain number of readers? Or are you like most bloggers who measure success with dollars and cents? Once you know what it takes to meet your expectations of success, you will at least have a chance of meeting your deadline.
While I am not one to put a timeline on the success of a blog, you may be different. Just make sure that you know what you are working towards before you set a deadline for success.
Being a freelance writer does not mean that all I do is write all day. While I wish this was the case, it is far from the truth. I spend a lot of time on administrative tasks, and of course, trying to locate new jobs from time to time.
There are two ways that I get new work. A client either comes to me via my website or a referral, or I find them in one way or the next. But no matter what, I will have to work with them in order to come up with a mutually agreed upon price. The best clients are those who ask for my standard rates, and then do not attempt to negotiate them. Unfortunately, this does not always work out.
Weighing a freelance writing job offer can be difficult for a number of reasons. While payment is always something to consider, there are other factors that should go into your decision.
1. When it comes to payment you need to be careful. There is nothing wrong with taking a lower paying job if you have the time for it, but you do not want to find yourself in this habit. Remember, if you complete one low paying job for a client, they will expect the same treatment for each subsequent project.
2. Does the client come across as difficult to work with? If you get a bad feeling about a client from the start, you may want to walk away instead of accepting the work. Of course, make sure that your concern is valid. In the past few months I can think of two occurrences when I went against my gut, and then ended up burnt by an unruly client.
3. Anytime that you take on a new freelance writing job, you need to have time to complete it as specified. Even though an overloaded work schedule may sound like a dream to some freelance writers, take it from me when I say that this is not the case. I have done this to myself in the past, and the result has been 10 to 12 hour work days.
When you receive an inquiry to complete a writing job, use the tips above when deciding whether or not to accept.
