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I want to grow my blog to produce a steady monthly income. Meanwhile, how can I make money NOW?
Hello, everyone. How are you? Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope everything is well with you and your loved ones.
Real talk. I know you can’t wait to get back to work. You have families to feed, rent, or mortgages to pay, and debts to settle. I know you’ve heard about people who work from home, but the idea never crossed your mind. You are good at what you do. Your boss loves you. You like office gossips. Life’s good.
But you have a love and hate affair with writing. You once dreamed of being the next J.K Rowling. You’re creative. You love the smell of old books. You thought writing can be a career you can pursue.
Then, life happened. All of a sudden, you forgot about your dream. Your priorities shifted.
Fast forward to today. You are safe (not stuck) at home. You have lots of stored energy #unlimitedrice. You are bored. Netflix is not helping anymore. You are pumped. After breakfast, you turn on your computer and log in to your old WordPress.com blog. You skimmed each blog post. You’re happy it’s still there but slightly embarrassed at the same time. Then, you realized:
It’s time.
I want to work from home and make money with my blog.
Yasss.
Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there. First, congratulations on your a-ha moment. But, hold your horses, because we need to talk about the blogging basics. Remember, this isn’t a hobby anymore. You are starting a business. Therefore, you should start by wearing your thinking hat, and start blogging like a solopreneur.
Here are the things you need to consider.
- Create a 12-month blog plan.
- Invest in the right blogging tools. Start with buying a domain name and web hosting.
- Learn about basic SEO for new bloggers
- Research about affiliate programs for new bloggers and start selling affiliate products on your blog with ShareASale.
- Offer freelance services
What is a freelancer?
A freelancer is a person (also known as a solopreneur) who is self-employed and hired as an independent contractor. Therefore, a freelancer is not “officially” an employee. The relationship between a freelancer and a company is business-to-business (b2b). They are paid per project, usually with no company benefits.
What freelance services can I offer as a new blogger?
1. Blog writing service
I started offering freelance services in 2015. First as a K-12 course creator. Next, as another course creator for an online platform teaching English to Brazilians. And then, as an SEO ghostwriter. Since then, I focused on just offering blog writing freelance services. Sure, I accept other freelance work like social media marketing and email marketing. But recently, I decided to niche down, because my goal this year is to write more blog posts for my website.
As a newbie, my rate was $3/hour. I know this is a shock to those who are native English speakers. But yeah, truth is, it’s hard to charge more when clients know you’re not U.S. based. Sure, there are others that get lucky. But luck wasn’t on my side. I need to work more and spend more hours in front of the computer to make a living. I trade my time for money.
Well, I’m not going to brag about how much I earn now. Let’s just say, it’s “enough”.
But when you decide you want to offer blogging services for companies, there are skills you need to learn.
Blogging is NOT literature. It’s business writing.
Forget about poetic justice, literary criticism, and art theories. Save them for later. Companies hire bloggers to write blogs that convert. Meaning, these are blogs that generate web traffic, leads, and sales.
Another skill you need to learn is basic SEO. SEO stands for (Search Engine Optimization). This allows your blog to “be found” on Google.
But just to help you get an overview of the blogging basics, here’s one that I wrote about how to write a blog for beginners.
3. Printables
What are printables for? Printables are commonly used as a lead magnet. A lead magnet is something we offer for free, in exchange for information, like email addresses.
If you have a flair for graphics and design, you can sell templates. Some of the most popular templates you can sell are:
- Grocery checklist
- Stickers
- Planners (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Coloring books
- Homeschool materials
- Content calendar
Canva made me a self-made expert when it comes to graphics and design. You can always use it for free. However, I think Canva is a great investment for your blogging business. Which is why I am thrilled to share that they offer a 30-day FREE trial for Canva Pro. If you think the free plan is good enough, then cancel anytime at no cost.
So, where do you sell your printables?
Creative Market is the best marketplace to sell your work. Business owners are super busy to create digital assets on their own. That is why Creative Market is great for connecting business owners and artists. Sign up for FREE to open your store, and get free products every Monday.
3. General VA
I hate being paid hourly because I procrastinate like 90% of the time. It’s part of my writing process. Okay, that’s my lazy alter ego talking. Regardless, I disagree with paying writers per hour because clients don’t pay for your time to write. Clients pay for the final output.
Of course, the deadline is important. But this should be discussed before the contract begins.
There are instances where you can offer freelance services as a General VA (Virtual Assistant). You can be a “secretary” to the company CEO, Project Manager, answer emails, payroll. Etc. Basically, you are in charge of the behind-the-scenes.
You can start by earning $500 per month, 40 hours a week. Think of this as a regular 9-5 work from home job. A gentle reminder, note that you are also growing your blog to make money. So if you will work 40 hours per week, are you sure you still have time to publish content regularly on your blog?
4. Video editor
YouTube creators hire video editors. Not all of them, but it’s a fact. For example, Pewdiepie uploads every day. Therefore, he can’t keep up with his schedule unless he has someone to help him out. Shooting a video is one thing. Editing is another. That’s where his video editors come in. There’s Brad 1 (who left in 2019 to focus on his own content and channel) and Brad 2.
If you want to offer freelance services as a video editor, you can pitch your rates with other YouTube creators, or bloggers who need help to repurpose their content.
Some of the most common video editing tools you can use to work from home are:
5. Social media manager
Do you spend hours every day on social media? Well, this is the time to make money off of it. There are companies that hire bloggers to manage their socials, Facebook, Facebook Group Moderator, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.
Pros: You will be exposed to different social media content strategies that you can apply to your blog.
Cons: You will manage multiple accounts at the same time. Different accounts, different strategies. This freelance service, not only involves posting on social media. You need to engage, ie. comment, follow, like, etc. on behalf of the company. Lastly, companies expect results.
So if this is something you are good at, update your WordPress blog and add this to your Freelance Services page.
6. Email marketer
Yes, you can write emails for a living. Some businesses do well with emails rather than social media marketing. You can offer email marketing services like:
- Newsletters (weekly or monthly)
- Email sequence (for a product or service launch)
- Promotions
- Regular email update
For bloggers, it is also important to grow your email list. Now is the best time to learn email marketing for new bloggers.
7. Sales funnel expert
A sales funnel is a business model used to convert leads to sales.
For example, assuming you found my blog on Pinterest. My sales funnel is like this.
Pinterest pin > User clicks and is redirected to my blog > Scans my sidebar > Clicks the image that says Buy a winning domain name > Clicks > User is redirected to my affiliate link > Makes the purchase
Basically, a sales funnel is a roadmap for customers to make a purchase.
To be a sales funnel expert, you need to learn how to write a killer landing page copy, learn about ClickFunnels, and search for companies who need freelance services like this.
Companies pay up to $2000 for landing page copy alone.
8. Facebook Ads Expert
A social media manager is different from a Facebook Ads Expert. Running Facebook ads isn’t only about boosting a post. This freelance service requires, targeting, retargeting, installing Facebook Pixels, all that jazz. And believe me, it’s not something you’ll learn in one sitting.
Coach Julian Canita is your go-to person if you want to learn about Facebook ads. I had the honor to write a guest post on his website, too.
9. Pinterest Manager
I discovered Pinterest by accident. I joined a Facebook group of bloggers in January and was surprised about how bloggers rave about Pinterest and how it saved their blogs from extinction. I didn’t believe it at first, because Pinterest is not really a big deal here in the Philippines.
However, I discovered that in order for us to reach the U.S. market, Pinterest is the way to go. It is the 3rd largest social network in the U.S. Now, 80% of my website visits are from Pinterest. The rest are from Facebook. In 3 months, I was able to grow my Pinterest from 0-65k monthly viewers. I still have a long way to go. But believe me, it’s a crucial part of the blogging basics you need to learn.
10. SEO Specialist
One of the most highly-profitable freelance services you can offer while you work from home is to be an SEO Specialist. Usually, the pay starts at $800/month.
So, if you can help a company, or a fellow blogger be found on Google, and you love keyword research, offer SEO freelance services.
11. WordPress Developer
Starting a blog that makes money is exciting. But what if you’re not tech-savvy? Sure, you know a thing or two about the internet. But, how about creating a self-hosted WordPress website?
That is where a WordPress Developer comes in. A WordPress developer will help you set up your domain name, web hosting, and install WordPress in a flash. The process starts with a discovery which will cover the web design, web copy, color palette, and functionality. I can create a WordPress website in as fast as two weeks, as long as all the creative assets are ready to go. Regardless, WordPress development freelance services can last for up to 30 days, with a monthly retainer for website maintenance.
12. Podcast Audio Editor
Do you love listening to podcasts? I do. In fact, it has become part of my morning routine. My recent favorites are The Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher and The Blogging Millionaire by Brandon Gaille
Podcast episodes are pre-recorded. Therefore, just like YouTube videos, podcast episodes need editing. That’s where you come in.
Here are free Podcast editing tools you can download.
13. Podcast Audio Transcriber
Earlier, I mentioned something about repurposing content. If a blog post can be repurposed as a YouTube video, the same concept applies to podcast episodes. You can hire bloggers to transcribe your podcast episode for you, and turn it into a blog post. Podcast audio transcribers charge per minute or per number of words.
14. Bookkeeper
Are you a CPA? If yes, there are companies out there who hire bloggers as bookkeepers. But first, since you work from home, you have to learn about accounting software like Freshbooks.
15. Amazon Product lister
Do you have the power to persuade people to buy online with just a few words? Then get hired as a product lister. A product lister writes irresistible product descriptions that are SEO friendly, which makes people want to “Add to cart”.
Where do freelance bloggers find jobs?
Excellent question. Here are my suggestions.
- Pitching (cold emails)
- Create a “Services” page on your WordPress blog
- Guest posting
- Facebook groups
How do I sell my freelance services?
- Package deals (For example, 60 Pinterest pins for $50)
- Hourly (Puh-lease. Do not accept freelance gigs lower than $10/hour)
- Pay per post (Charge $50-$300 per blog post)
- Monthly retainer ($500/month as VA)
How do I get paid for my freelance services?
Money transfer for freelance services
Conclusion
Of course, we want our blogs to make money on autopilot. That’s the ultimate goal anyway. But while we wait for the magic to happen, there are many ways we can do to make money NOW. I’m actually loving the work-from-home vibe because of offering freelance services. I remember a conversation I had with a business coach. She said the reason why I like offering freelance services is that it gave me the freedom I want. And she’s right. Freedom does feel good. But it has its limitations.
I know you are curious about how other successful bloggers do it. You know, “living the life”. Stick around. I will help you GET THERE. Bringing Up Business is filled with tips on blogging basics that you don’t want to miss out on.
What freelance services do you offer on your blog?
