Irrespective of what niche you write in, there are major industry events that you need to be aware of. Reading about them is a terrific way to get ideas for new topics.

In addition, when you are well informed about your niche, you will be able to generate new ideas and base your writing on solid facts, as opposed to opinion alone. It is not just the major events that you should concern yourself with – it significantly helps to keep up to date on your niche in all aspects.

If you are able to blog about an event early in its life-cycle, you can gain several advantages as a blogger, which may not be as apparent at first. Continue Reading

Credit: PriamLimited on Photodune

Maybe you are about to launch a blog or possibly considering how to focus your content to draw a specific customer. Content consumers – your customers – are looking for something when they come to your blog. Do you deliver? How do you know?

In this article we discuss techniques so you can gear your blog content to your target audience. With a solid plan and a little legwork, you can focus your content and capture a more pinpointed audience. To do this, you must follow six clear steps.

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If you have more than one freelance specialty, one strategy is to dedicate a separate site (blog) to each specialty, develop strong targeted brands, and grow them independently across multiple social media. With this strategy comes the question of how can we manage all our sites, keep up with our branding efforts and handle our social media accounts (such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin) all at once?

There are pros and cons to having different social media accounts for multiple websites. It’s important to choose a social media promotion plan that fits your business structure and future goals best.

Though I’ve been writing for a long time, I started publishing when I discovered blogging is a wonderful way to share my interests, and build a portfolio along the way. However, it is also a demanding activity that requires one to be their own blogger, editor, web designer, marketer, SEO specialist, and social media manager. While I mostly enjoy these tasks, it is becoming harder to stick to my own deadlines while I am managing multiple sites. After all, I have an entertainment blog, a writing blog, and several others. Numerous blogs mean that all these tasks are multiplied.

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Backupify: The True Data Bodyguard

A major USP of the cloud and SaaS apps is data security. Anyone with logical thinking would understand the benefits of having their data stored in a world class data center managed by experts and their data duplicated across multiple centres across the globe for redundancy.

7 Ways to Garner Local Clients and Referral Business

It is assumed in the online business, especially in the design field, that most big clients are international.

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at blogging and coworking. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com. Let’s get to the questions! Continue Reading

Hopefully you were able to catch our previous introduction to crazy comment personality types. Last time, we covered the delights of First! Freddy and Angry Andrew.

As we move along into the second half of our list we will be introduced to two more delightful characters. This week: Grammar Gertie and Self-Promotion Sammy.

Writers and bloggers beware. Continue Reading

As a web developer or designer you know how valuable a content management system like WordPress can be in running a client’s website.

But how many times have you run across a client that is comfortable right out of the gate using WordPress? Chances are you are going to be holding their hand and teaching them the ins-and-outs of the system.

Now, thanks to Video User Manual’s WordPress plugin, there’s an easier way.
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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at transitioning from student work to freelancing and blogging about your work. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com. Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: Yesterday, we learned about the most common legal issues you can encounter when running a blog. As part of their trade, many freelancers maintain their own industry blog or contribute to other publications. Read 8 Legal Issues for Bloggers: Part 1 for a discussion on basic blogging concerns. For part two, James Adams returns today to discuss issues specific to student bloggers, adult material, and other concerns. Take it away, James! Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: In addition to their client work, many freelancers keep a blog related to their work, industry, and passion. In a two part series, James Adams helps us explore the legal pitfalls and concerns of publishing a blog. Today we’ll focus on common issues such as defamation and privacy. Watch tomorrow when we go into specific issues and details in Part 2!

Blogging, like traditional forms of journalism, is a legal minefield. If anything, however, it’s even more confusing for bloggers than for journalists, as laws have not yet been adapted to fit with this thoroughly modern method of public interaction. While journalists might have the relevant experience, training and resources to be able to deal with legal problems, chances are, most bloggers won’t. Large companies often take advantage of this fact, bullying bloggers into submission.

If you want to cover your back and stick up for yourself, if and when legal proceedings come your way, you need to do a bit of background reading. The article below acts as an introduction to the kinds of issues you might encounter as a blogger, but you should seek out more comprehensive information and legal advice if necessary. You have the right to free speech, the right to blog anonymously, the right to make fair use of intellectual property and much more. Read on to find out how to safely exercise these rights. Continue Reading

If you’re like many creative freelancers, you have a blog. And being the diligent type that you are, it’s updated at least once a week.

But here’s the bad news: There are a lot of other blogs out there. Which means that you’ll have to work hard to make yours stand out.

Oh, no. Those two four-letter words: w-o-r-k h-a-r-d.

They beg the question, what should you be hard at work on? Here are six suggestions:

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Photo by Hamed Saber.

If you are a photographer and have a website, you need a blog. A blog can be a huge supplement to your website and can offer more for the viewer than just viewing your portfolio online. You can post new work to it and describe a little bit about your recent photo shoots, and add keywords to your copy which in turn will bring the search engines coming back to your site looking for new content.

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