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Freelancer Artistry Blog, How to

How to Talk to Clients During the Holidays

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Key Points:

  • When talking to your client about the holidays, be sure to clearly communicate the relevant information.
  • The holidays can be a stressful time, so it’s important to show understanding in your communication.
  • Be prepared to adapt your approach and offer solutions that meet their specific needs.

Need to know how to Talk to Clients During the Holidays?

It’s important to be clear, concise, and empathetic in your communication. Start by providing them with relevant information. This may include any changes to your business hours or services during the holiday season.

Consumers will overwhelmingly shop online during the 2022 holiday season. With 21% planning to shop more online than in-store this year compared to 2021. That means sales are usually booming this time of year.

For some, December is a time to relax, take a break, and wait until spring to begin working again. For others, the Holidays are an intense time that consists of marketing efforts, holiday campaigns, and stressful requests.

As a professional, you need to know how to stay talk to clients and stay proficient while still openly discussing your Holiday plans with clients. These talks consist of time off, travel time, and other expectations that sometimes get a little chaotic during the Holidays.

With that said, let’s jump into how to keep it civil:

How to Talk About the Holidays with Your Clients

You may be one to offer solutions and suggestions that can help your clients to plan for the holidays. Especially if you are planning to take time off ahead of time.

This could include providing holiday-themed content you’ve pre-designed or offering special deals or promotions. You may also find yourself providing support for any holiday-related challenges that your clients may be experiencing.

The best way to talk to your client about the holidays will depend on the specific context of your relationship and the goals you want to achieve.

Here are a few tips that may be helpful:

  • Be clear and concise: When talking to your client about the holidays, be sure to clearly communicate the relevant information. Avoid using jargon or complex language. This will help to ensure that your message is understood and that your client is able to make informed decisions.
  • Show empathy: The holidays can be a stressful time, so it’s important to show understanding in your communication. This can help to build trust and strengthen your relationship with your client.
  • Be flexible: Depending on your client’s schedule, they may have different needs and preferences when it comes to the holidays. Be prepared to adapt your approach and offer solutions that meet their specific needs.
  • Offer solutions: In addition to providing information, it can be helpful to offer solutions and suggestions. This can include things like providing holiday-themed content, offering special deals or promotions, or providing support for any holiday-related challenges.

Overall, the key to talking to your client about the holidays is to be clear, empathetic, flexible, and solution-oriented in your communication. This can help to ensure that your client is well-informed and able to make the best decisions for their business.

Why Reach Out During The Holiday Season?

How a brand reacts during a crisis has been shown to affect customer loyalty. 6 in 10 (57%) would be inspired to shop with a retailer that supported its staff and customers during the pandemic. (Accenture)

The holidays can be a busy and stressful time for many people, so reaching out and providing support and assistance can help to make their lives easier. In fact, stress levels reportedly increase during the holiday season for 38% of people.

Learning how to talk to clients during the Holidays can lead you toward a successful partnership.

Reaching out to clients during the holidays can help to strengthen your relationships with them. By showing empathy and understanding, and offering solutions to their challenges, you can build trust and demonstrate the value of your services.

This can help to ensure that your clients continue to do business with you in the future.

The holiday season can also be a good time to connect with clients who you haven’t heard from in a while or to reconnect with clients who you may have lost touch with.

Steps you can take to ask your client for time off

First, make sure to review and ask for your client’s policies on taking time off. Some companies may have specific procedures in place for requesting time off, so it’s important to know what these are and follow them.

Consider the timing of your request. If possible, try to ask for time off well in advance of when you need it. This will give your client plenty of time to plan and make arrangements for your absence, especially if you are a key member of the team.

When asking for time off, be professional and respectful. Make sure to provide a clear reason for why you need time off and how long you will need it. Also, be prepared to discuss any potential impact your absence may have on your work and how you will make sure that your responsibilities are covered while you are gone.

Lastly, be open to negotiation. Your client may not be able to grant your request for time off as is, so be prepared to discuss potential alternative arrangements.

Last year, holiday retail sales reached $789.4 billion despite the consequences of the pandemic. – NRF

Holiday Client Outreach

Client outreach is an important part of any business, as it allows you to build relationships with potential and existing clients and promote your products or services. You can use the Holiday season as a cheerful excuse to reach out to clients you are still building trust with, or old clients that may have a new project on their mind.

An easy template like this could work:

“Hey Bob! I haven’t heard from you in a while and just wanted to send you this quick note to wish you Happy Holidays! I saw on LinkedIn recently that you (insert cool thing here). I recently had some time open up and wanted to reach out to you to see if you need my (insert super useful service here)…”

There are several things that are important to know about client outreach:

  • It’s important to understand your target audience and what their needs and interests are. This will help you tailor your outreach efforts to be more effective.
  • It’s important to have a clear and compelling message that explains what your business does and why it’s unique or valuable.
  • It’s important to be persistent and consistent with your outreach efforts. This means following up with potential clients and staying in touch with existing ones to build and maintain strong relationships.
  • It’s important to measure the success of your outreach efforts and make adjustments as needed. This could involve tracking the response rate to your outreach efforts, the number of new clients you are able to generate, and the overall impact on your business.
  • Be yourself and reach out in your own special way. This type of personal outreach can be beneficial to building lasting clientele relationships.

That’s About It

How talk to clients during the Holidays is a process. Client outreach consists of building relationships with potential and existing clients in order to promote your products or services. It involves understanding your target audience, having a clear and compelling message, and being persistent with your outreach efforts.

Client outreach is an important part of any business, as it allows you to generate new clients and maintain strong relationships with existing ones even during the stressors of the Holiday season.

If you need any help with your efforts, contact me today, I got you!

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Freelancer Artistry Blog, How to

Voice Search: How to Optimize Your Content

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Key Points

  • Voice SEO is vital for gaining traffic, in fact, 40% of the total population in the U.S. are actively voice searching.
  • You can optimize your content by creating a FAQ page, using conversation keywords, and understanding your audience.
  • You need to keep your website fast and mobile-friendly to rank for Google snippets.

40.2% of the United States population use voice search features. 71% of those consumers prefer to conduct queries by voice instead of typing.

Additionally, in 2021, one-third of all US consumers owned a smart speaker.

If you don’t have an Alexa or Google nest by now, you probably will soon.

Big tech companies such as Amazon, Google, and Tesla are evolving massively every day. In fact, Elon Musk has stated he hopes to have a robot in every home by 2050.

I mean, have you heard of Neuralink?

But, I’m getting way ahead of myself here. The rest of this content will cover how to keep up with the times and optimize your content for voice searches.

Ready to destroy your competitors? Keep reading!

Voice Search Optimization for Websites (Voice SEO)?

Voice search or voice SEO is the optimization of keywords and keyword phrases for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. According to thought-leading experts, voice SEO is vital for websites to rank effectively in SERPs (search engine results).

As well as searches conducted through voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Nest.

58% of consumers use voice search to find information about a local business online. Additionally, 27% of the online Google population is using voice search on mobile. One important thing to remember about voice search SEO is that you need to target a natural-speaking language.

That means question keywords and long-tail keywords are vital to voice search engine optimization. Not only will AI affect your Google search, but it may soon affect your smartphones and the rest of your life as it continues to evolve.

First, let me start off with a couple of great keyword research tools you can use starting now:

With that being said, let’s move on to how you can create a great content marketing strategy with voice SEO:

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How to Optimize Your Content for Voice Search

58% of consumers use voice search to find information about a local business online. That means if you’re reading this, you might have been a part of that 58% that asked a voice assistant for an answer. That’s a fairly large number considering, that’s one of the reasons it’s so important to create content that is not just optimized for Google, Bing, or Yahoo, but for voice assistants as well.

Another way to keep your website SEO voice-friendly, you need to use the following words in your content:

  • Who
  • What
  • When
  • Where
  • How
  • Why

Many voice searchers begin with these words. “When did Queen Elizabeth die?” Also, consider conversational context and intent when someone asks a question. “Who wrote ‘The Raven’?”

So, I’ve thrown a lot of random information at you and a lot of statistics to express how important voice SEO is to your digital marketing strategy, so let’s jump into some actionable steps you can take right now to improve your pieces of content:

Know Your Target Audience

If you’ve ever read any of my other articles, then you know I’m always telling you to know your audience! I’m not just talking about demography either. I’m talking about creating and designing an audience persona.

Voice Search Optimization relies on knowing what your audience will ask before they do. So, it’s not exactly mind-reading, but it’s kind of close.

HubSpot has created one of the best Audience Persona Creators I’ve seen. Here’s how it works:

Think if yourself as your own customer. Who are you?

Let’s say you’re a finance blogger and your customers are your readers. Pick an avatar and pick their age. You can use real statistics from your Google Analytics, or you can take a guess.

You’ll then be guided through an in-depth look into who your customer would be. My best advice while doing this is to try and put yourself in the shoes of who you are trying to sell your product or service.

Once you’ve plugged in all of your customer information, you will be given a report about where online your readers hang out, and where you can find the best traffic.

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In a nutshell, your customer persona makes come out looking something like this:

Once you’ve discovered who your audience really is, then you can begin to create content around how they would naturally ask a question or better yet, what questions they haven’t considered asking yet.

For example, if you own a finance blog, then a voice question might resemble this:

“How much money should I save each month if I make $75,000 annually.”

This key phrase is detailed, it’s targeted, and it’s something your audience wants to know. It’s vital to answer your reader’s questions and then some.

Use Conversational Keyword Phrases

As I previously mentioned, keyword phrases are key to being able to optimize for voice searches. Conversational keywords refer to the use of complete sentences and other natural-speaking search queries. In other words, use natural language in your content.

Historically, internet searches were based on smaller searchers such as, “best stores near me.” While these keyword phrases are still useful within your content, you may be missing out on some voice search traffic. That’s one of the reasons it’s important to optimize your site for voice search.

Instead, your content needs to include questions or full-sentence keyword phrases to help boost some of your content for voice SEO strategy.

For example, instead of, “blog writers near me.” You can include, “Here is how to find blog writers near you.”

Moving forward, let’s dive further into how you can improve your SEO for voice search

Have a FAQ Page for Voice Search

SEO and voice search go hand and hand, in fact, a FAQ page lets you provide content around any keywords that you’re trying to rank for. For example, while you may want to address questions through your high-quality pieces of content, your FAQ is a great place to include other more direct long-tail keywords and phrases that your users may find helpful.

In general, good FAQ pages are great for SEO. Additionally, people won’t find any value in answers that don’t directly solve a problem or provide some type of solution.

That means it’s your job to answer any FAQ your audience may ask now, in the future, or during any stage of the buyer’s journey.

Use Google’s Featured Snippets

Google’s search results show listings or meta descriptions where there’s a chunk of information describing a page under a link. Results displayed in this way are called snippets. You’ve probably seen them a million times when conducting any given Google search.

The entity Google states that they display featured snippets when their systems determine that that format with help people diver what they’re seeking in a faster way. They are also especially helpful when on mobile or searching by voice.

Google continues by stating that Featured snippets come from web search listings and Google’s automated systems are the ones that determine whether a page would make a good featured snippet to highlight for a search.

Neil Patel states that you need to answer questions as quickly as possible, use headers, and stay within 50 to 60 characters. Always try to answer the people also asked section of your keyword.

If you can get highlighted by Google, then voice SEO is sure to pick your helpful content.

Additionally, you can submit your content to platforms like Quora, Google News, and Flipboard. This will help you raise your domain authority and rank which will then affect your ability to rank in voice searches.

Use Local SEO

Local SEO is determined to be one of the best ways to target your content for voice searches. Using keywords such as “near me” can help boost your content to be featured as a voice assistance answer to a question.

Local SEO can be boosted by filling out your Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) and creating a Google map business listing. Additionally, creating a local Google ad can help you boost your authority and traffic.

It isn’t necessary, especially if you’re just starting out, but it may be something to consider further down the road.

Also, as a second thought, you may also need to optimize your website for local keywords and mobile-friendliness. The faster your content loads, the faster a voice assistant can find and rely on your informative content.

That’s About It!

Content creation is hard, and if you’re extremely overwhelmed by all of this information, don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional like me.

I got you!

Next Up…

Blogging Platforms, Freelancer Artistry Blog

Best Blogging Platforms and What They Offer

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Key Points:

  • WordPress
  • Medium
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn Articles
  • HubPages.com

There are over 600 million blogs circulating the internet today. That means there’s bond to be a good list of best blogging platforms.

You may be considering starting a business blog or maybe it’s just a new hobby you’re curious about.

Either way, finding the best blogging platform for you and your needs should be top priority when starting a new blog.

The remaining content will show you the best blogging platforms out there today and what they can offer.

Ready to succeed?

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Best Blogging Platform: WordPress

WordPress.com

In 2022, there is an estimated 455 million websites powered by WordPress today, including this one! WordPress has been a personal favorite of mine for years and is considered to be one of the best blogging platforms out there.

Back in 2009, I used WordPress and Xanga for storing my poetry and short stories I thought would be worth something someday. Little did I know, I was setting myself up for future success.

Out of the top 10 million most visited websites on the internet, WordPress is the CMS of choice for 38.2% of them.

That means, if you can learn WordPress, you basically just learn an extremely sought after skill which can help you build your own blog or build someone else’s.

From Website and Content SEO to Website and Graphic Design, WordPress is undeniably one of the major players on this list.

With that said, how do you know WordPress is right for you?

Let’s explore:

What this best blogging platform has to offer:

WordPress offers a free version of WP which includes a free WP domain name which looks like the following:

“domain.wordpress.com”

If you want to gain unlimited traffic to your website, then you’re going to need to spend $15 USD on a domain name with a .com, and purchase at least WP Basic to begin using additional features.

Trust me, a free WordPress plan is super limited in regards to what you can do.

Additionally, WP also offers a basic, premium, business, and eCommerce plan.

A Basic WordPress Plan will get you:

  • Best in-class hosting
  • Jetpack essential features
  • Unlimited customer support via email
  • Dozens of free themes
  • Basic design customization
  • 6 GB storage space
  • Remove WordPress.com ads
  • Payments
  • Subscriber-only content

A Premium WordPress plan will get you:

  • Best in-class hosting
  • Jetpack essential features
  • Unlimited customer support via email
  • Dozens of free themes
  • Basic design customization
  • 6 GB storage space
  • Remove WordPress.com ads
  • Payments
  • Subscriber-only content
  • Pay with Paypal
  • Google Analytics integration
  • Advanced social media
  • Site monetization
  • VideoPress support

A Business WordPress plan will get you:

  • Best in-class hosting
  • Jetpack essential features
  • Unlimited customer support via email
  • Dozens of free themes
  • Basic design customization
  • 6 GB storage space
  • Remove WordPress.com ads
  • Payments
  • Subscriber-only content
  • Pay with Paypal
  • Google Analytics integration
  • Advanced social media
  • Site monetization
  • VideoPress support
  • SEO tools
  • Install plugins
  • Install themes
  • Remove WordPress.com branding

An Ecommerce WordPress plan will get you:

  • Best in-class hosting
  • Jetpack essential features
  • Unlimited customer support via email
  • Dozens of free themes
  • Basic design customization
  • 6 GB storage space
  • Remove WordPress.com ads
  • Payments
  • Subscriber-only content
  • Pay with Paypal
  • Google Analytics integration
  • Advanced social media
  • Site monetization
  • VideoPress support
  • SEO tools
  • Install plugins
  • Install themes
  • Remove WordPress.com branding
  • Accept payments in 60+ countries
  • Integrations with top shipping carriers
  • Unlimited products or services
  • eCommerce marketing tools
  • Premium customizable starter themes

Unless you’re someone who wants to dive deep into website design and build a large online store. I find as a beginner, a premium or business around (for the plugins) would do just fine for your needs.

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Types of Websites Hosting WordPress Offers
A personal blog with a free domain.wordpress.com blog
A photoblog
A professional portfolio
A government website
Magazines
News/Press websites
Online forums and communities
Networking websites
Business websites
Table with different types of sites WordPress can host

Best Blogging Platform: Medium

I wanted to first mention quickly that there are many different blogging platforms such as Ghost that many people swear by.

A few of include:

  • Blogger
  • Wix
  • Spuarespace
  • Weebly

I mean, the list just goes on.

I’m sure there are many other platforms bloggers use and would feel is the best blogging platform. However, I am only exploring platforms that I know for a fact can boost your blog traffic because I’ve either done it myself or witnessed it.

Medium is a popular blogging platform, in fact Medium has 100 million monthly visitors and readers spend 4.5 million hours on the website every month.

There are loads of opportunity to be found on Medium. As a small business blogger or a Freelancer, Medium is one of the best places to either write or republish some of your great content.

Can you get paid on Medium?

Medium.com
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I, myself, have not been paid on Medium, however, many people make money on Medium. And I mean, good money.

Medium has some really big names and big publishers that make a ton of cash on the platform.

With that said, Medium is totally worth it for new writers as well.

Let me share my noob experience on the platform:

I recently began posting some of my articles on the website and have already racked up almost a dozen of organic followers in less than a week.

After I posted 6 articles, I waited just to see what would happen.

To my surprise, my articles reached more people than I expected and I also received some engagement via claps, followers, and comments.

Okay, I know, that doesn’t seem like much, so let me throw some statistics at you to back me up:

“The platform paid out over $11 million dollars during the period. Also in 2020, the largest payout to a single writer was said to be $49,705, and one article earned almost $16,700 – the most by a single story published on the platform up to that point.”

Bloggerguide.com

Medium has over 60 million monthly readers to date.

If your piece-of-content is great, then you’ll be able to boost your organic traffic not only on your content but on your website as well.

What it offers:

A few benefits to using Medium include:

  • Mediums import tool is where it’s at
  • You can engage with your audience easier
  • You will reach more people 
  • Metrics seem accurate
  • You run the possibility of getting discovered
  • There’s no API
  • Certain niches do really well
  • You can guide your readers to your website and/or socials

Best Blogging Platform: Tumblr

Tumblr.com

It is a great for a select crowd of people.

Tumblr works if you want to express yourself or want to share some forms of art with the world. Creatives would do well here.

Here’s the catch. Business blogs may not do great on this platform.

To be fair, it’s not impossible, however, it might not be as great for an SEO blog or marketing blog.

But, it may do very well for a gaming blog or a Wiccan Spirituality blog.

With that said, if you’re interested in growing your target audience on this platform, you need to understand exactly who uses Tumblr.

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What it can offer you:

  • Tumblr is a social networking platform as well as a blogging platform
  • It’s extremely customizable
  • Tumblr has its own unique tagging system
  • Tumblr is a community-driven platform
  • Tumblr is good for building relationships with your audience
  • Tumblr is best for creatives

LinkedIn Articles

LinkedIn Articles

If you do or even if you don’t have a blog yourself, LinkedIn articles is a great place to post your content.

By publishing high-quality articles you can boost the value of your services as a thought-leader in your industry or blog niche.

The trick here is to link your blog in your content to bring traffic back to you. This helps to create a social backlink to you.

Link-building is an important part of SEO and helps prove to Google your website is authoritive.

LinkedIn articles can help you bring some exposure to your website, your services, and even bring in new clients if that’s what you’re hoping for.

This powerful platform can be a good source to find freelance clients as well.

In fact, based on its global advertising audience reach numbers, LinkedIn has at least 849.6 million members around the world in July 2022.

What it offers:

  • Help you generate new leads
  • Improve your basic SEO
  • Improve your networking and online reputation
  • Boost your visibility
  • Boost your engagement and interest
  • Thought-leadership
  • Position yourself as a professional and/or expert
  • Help you build an audience

Best Blogging Platform: HubPages

Hubpages

This is one of the best blogging platforms is a great place to begin your blogging career, just don’t expect to make 6 figures in 3 months.

The platform does pay, however, they pay based on views and engagement. These can take a long time to generate income. And, I mean a long time (trust me, I’ve tried),. While it’s a good place to start, it’s not something that will help you pay the rent.

It’s important to backlink back to your own Medium or WordPress domain to create further traffic.

Hubpages vets their content before it’s posted on their website. You need to make sure that your content is up to par before posting.

If you’re lucky, Hubpages will promote your article on one of their sister websites.

It’s a good place to post, but income is less likely than Medium.

What it offers:

  • Can become a good source of passive income (but it will take a while)
  • Helps guide users to your website
  • They only post high-quality content
  • It’s reliable if you get consistant
  • It’s a good community

Wrapping It Up

Whew!

That’s a ton of information. If you’re considering posting some of your articles online, try some of these blogging platforms out and let me know which one your favorite is.

If you’re super lost and don’t know what to do, contact me today! I can help!

Next Up…

All About Google, Freelancer Artistry Blog

Google’s Big Helpful Content Update, What Does It Mean For You?

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Key Points:

  • Google has changed its algorithm again. It is called “Google’s Big Helpful Content Update”. This update may affect websites that write their content strictly for SEO.
  • Google has stated this update won’t affect person-first content.
  • Experts believe this update may change the way you rank in SERPs.

Oh, snap! On August 18th, 2022 Google rolled out another algorithm update called “Google’s Big Helpful Content Update” Some of the effects from the update can be seen as soon as this week! 

This begs us to question, is my content created to rank or created to help? 

If this update has a big impact experts are predicting, content creators may be in for a rude awakening similar to the launch of Penguin a decade ago. 

With that said, if your content is heavily focused on SEO rather than creating content that is indeed helpful, this could affect your website’s performance. 

Ready to dig a little deeper? 

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Google’s Big Helpful Content Update: What to Expect Moving Forward

Let’s begin with this snippet of information. 

Google stated in their blog post about the new helpful content update that this update will not negatively affect best SEO practices. 

They go on to mention, “SEO is a helpful activity when it is applied to people-first content.” 

Let’s dive deeper:

Google’s Big Helpful Content Update: What are they saying?

Google is basically saying that using SEO is great, utilize it to the best of your ability, but still try to create content that is high-quality and useful.  

Also, Google’s crawlers know all. 

They will know if you are trying to outsmart the system and they will know if you are trying to create great content with the help of SEO practices. 

They will know. 

Okay, that sounded a bit ominous, however, only time will tell how true this statement is. 

Another element to consider regarding the update is that it is website wide. 

This means that you need to revamp your entire website and not just one piece of content to make sure that Google doesn’t devalue your whole business. 

If you are a member of the “my content is super helpful, I’m fine” group, you may need to reconsider and ask yourself:

  • Is all of my content helpful, or just some of it?

What can you expect moving forward? 

Google processes over 8.5 billion searches per day, and 90% of those users stay on Google’s first page, and 60% of those same users are very likely to click on only the first two or three results.

Google wants to provide people with the absolute best, most accurate, and most helpful information possible. 

This update is looking like high-quality content is the future of searches rather than beefy keyword-rich clickbait. 

Authentic, helpful, content is what Google wants to push its users towards. Which is a good thing, especially for a dominating entity like Google. 

So expect websites that are solely based on SEO-only content to be de-ranked, and more useful content to gain much more traction. 

That means the little guy might actually have a chance to rank for previously untouchable keywords and niches that have been dominated by the SEO guy that knows the algorithm better than everyone else. 

Oh no, what if you are that guy?

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What If You Do Write Your Content Just to Rank? What Now?

Yikes! Well, stop doing that ASAP! 

Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but really.

If you’re writing content just to rank, you’re only out to help yourself and, to be honest, the world doesn’t need any more of that. 

Google seems to agree, however, they have created a list to help you help yourself. 

Here’s how Google suggests knowing if you’re ranking just for SEO:

  • Are you writing for humans or for search engines?
  • Are you creating a ton of content on various topics just to rank?
  • Are you using bots or automotive apps to produce a ton of content?
  • Are you simply summarizing what others have already said without adding value?
  • Do you only write what’s trending just for traffic?
  • Does your content leave your audience unanswered?
  • Are you strictly writing a word count that you think Google will like? (Google states there is no perfect word count.) 
  • Are you only writing content because you think it will rank, but you aren’t passionate about it?
  • Is your content Clickbait?

With that said, Google is pretty careful about using the word, “penalty”, you may not be penalized for creating content solely based on SEO, however, it might feel like it. 

Why you may ask? Because Google will use signals to categorize this type of content in similar ways it signals that a website is authoritative and trustworthy. 

It seems like the helpful content update signals will be similar to the Penguin and Panda updates which started out as filters but are now a part of the core algorithm. 

How do you fix your broken content?

If you are indeed that SEO guy, but you begin to see the error of your ways and begin creating high-quality content with actionable steps to actively help your audience, then you can fix the damage done. 

Obviously, the first step is to write for humans, not for Google’s crawlers. 

All you need to do is improve your content. 

Try checking out this ultimate blogging tips and tricks guide if you aren’t sure how to write an awesome article that is written by and for people. 

Keep your content:

  • Friendly, direct, with short paragraphs
  • Use basic SEO (this update won’t strike you down for it, Google just wants you to write good content too)
  • Use keywords in your title, sub-headers, and throughout your content
  • Offer helpful, actionable steps 
  • Use relevant external and internal links (nothing older than 2 years)
  • Understand your audience’s search intent
  • Hire a freelancer to do it for you
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That’s About it!

Blogging can be hard, and Google’s random updates have made it even more difficult to know what will work and what won’t. 

There are so many different people creating so much content daily, it’s difficult to rank in search engines anyway, even if your content is helpful, SEO-friendly, and up to Google’s standards.

If you aren’t sure where to start, contact me today so we can succeed together!


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Freelancer Artistry Blog, Tips and Tricks

Ultimate Blogging Tips and Tricks For Beginners

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Key Points:

  • Some of the tips and tricks listed are about keeping your paragraphs short, understanding what your audience wants, and using SEO.
  • These tips and tricks can help you gain more traffic, conversions, and sales.
  • Blogs can be hard to write, and even harder to master, keep practicing, and don’t give up!

There are more than 600 million blogs online today and over 43% of websites on the internet are powered by the blogging platform WordPress, that’s why you need to learn the Ultimate Blogging Tips and Tricks For Beginners.

That is well, a lot of blogs. All of these blogs consist of thousands of different niches and subcategories with the exact same goals in mind. 

Traffic, conversions, and sales. 

With that said, these are the ultimate blogging tips and tricks that I have learned over the years writing for hundreds of different professionals. 

Without further adieu, let’s get started! 

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Ultimate Blogging Tips and Tricks For Beginners

Most articles online will tell you to pick something you like and stick to it. Eventually, traffic will come to you, you’ll make 6k a month, and you’ll live happily ever after. 

Well, writing a blog post is easier said than done. 

Obviously, you need to pick something you’re passionate about, otherwise, you won’t get very far. 

Another element you need to consider is saturation. 

Okay, so what exactly is blog niche saturation?

Let’s use food as an example. Everybody eats, and everybody likes food. 

You might be thinking that’s an awesome niche because recipe-related content is actually one of the most profitable blog niches. 

However, imagine how many other bloggers have had the exact same ideas as you, but have done it way before you, and way better. 

That’s blog niche saturation, which is bad m’kay. 

Additionally, you need to be consistent! I cannot stress this enough. You need a blog posting, social media posting, and newsletter sending schedule. 

In fact, publishing 16 posts/mo gets 4.5x more leads than those that publish 4 posts/mo.

Thought leadership is a concept I don’t see mentioned in articles very often, only the thought-leaders mention thought leadership in their content. 

If you plan to write articles on specific topics, you need to know everything about that subject so you can teach it to your audience, answer their questions, and give them as much information as possible. 

If you can succeed at all of these elements, you will see results and profit from them. 

Additional Blogging Tips and Tricks For Beginners

This wouldn’t be the ultimate blogging tips and tricks for beginners if I didn’t dive deep into some awesome tips for creating SEO articles and blog posts. 

Actually, creating high-quality blog posts can increase your chances of ranking higher in search engines by a staggering 434%! Which is insane!

Blogging has developed into an art form, and if you don’t do it just right, you won’t get anywhere.

You need to be open-minded and flexible. If what you are doing isn’t working, then you need to change it.

With that said, here are some additional blogging tips and tricks to help you succeed: 

  • Use high-quality images, infographics, and generally appealing graphics
  • Keep your content between 1,000-5,000 words
  • Keep your content relevant to your topic niche or sub-niches
  • Develop a brand voice or use your own

Furthermore, let’s dig deeper into some of the more important strategies to help you succeed: 

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Keep it readable, and scrollable, with short paragraphs 

I cannot count how many times I’ve read an article and scrolled through it thinking, “blah, blah blah.” 

In fact, the average page visit lasts less than a minute and users often leave web pages in just seconds. That means you need to keep your content friendly, direct, and straight to the point. 

Don’t use fluff, unnecessary words, or otherwise obvious information.

I like to think of it like this. If you already know it without researching it, it’s probably fluff. 

Paragraphs also don’t need to be more than 3 sentences long. 

I recently wrote for a professional who has a ton of great content, but their articles look chunky, hard to read, and well, let’s just say they weren’t getting much attention. 

They weren’t super open to the idea of change either, so we didn’t work together for very long. 

At that moment, I realized their inflexibility caused them to miss out on endless search engine optimization, traffic, conversions, and so much more.

Don’t be them, if you want to hire an expert or if you’re considering why you should hire a freelancer, be open to resolving if your strategy is failing. 

Ask experts for guest posts

If your blog content isn’t working, there are countless opportunities out there for guest posting to help you generate more backlinks for your blog. 

Additionally, an Ahrefs study suggests that 87% of bloggers come up with guest post ideas themselves, but only 52% of them do the actual writing.

Accepting guest posts is a fantastic way to grow your blog without doing much work. Guest posters share their content and in turn promote your blog. 

Guest posts are essentially cheap or free marketing. 

That free marketing can end up leading to more social shares, backlinks, and brand awareness. 

Here are some helpful tips for guest posting:

  • Know your goals
  • Find bloggers to help you
  • Form connections with website owners
  • Choose good topics
  • Write awesome content (or have me do it for you!)
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Research and Know Your Audience

So, you’re interested in starting a blog. You begin writing but all of your content is about you, and how you can help someone, or how much you know about a topic. 

That’s awesome, you know a whole bunch. However, that isn’t going to help your audience. 

Do you know what will? 

  • How-To’s
  • Tutorials
  • Listicles
  • Actionable steps
  • Infographics
  • Suggestions
  • Free tools and resources

Another problem I see in many of the articles I read is that many bloggers don’t really know their audience. 

Generic data statistics are usually “men and women, ages 18-35, from the US.” 

That information is common knowledge. All blogs have that audience and you need to dig deeper. 

For example, this blog post is targeting small business owners who aren’t really sure how to begin blogging even though it is something they have been considering for some time. 

If you run a mommy blog, you should be targeting other mommies. If you run a food blog, you need to target foodies. 

Here are some tools and tricks to gain a deeper understanding of your audience:

  • Google Analytics, Keywords, Adwords, & Trends
  • Facebook insights (although this has changed some since the Apple Privacy Update)
  • Conduct polls and surveys 
  • Spy on your competitor’s audiences
  • Use customer engagement tools

Ultimate Blogging Tips and Tricks For Beginners: Keywords

Alright, so let’s jump into some technical SEO blog writing for a minute or two. If you aren’t interested in SEO, you need to be. 

SEO basics such as keyword research are extremely important for Google’s algorithm. 

Even with the new helpful content update, Google wants you to use keywords so it can index it and share it with users. 

There are a ton of different tools both free and paid you can use to conduct keyword research:

Using the right tools is so important for your digital marketing strategy. Blogging isn’t just about writing the best content, you need to prove to Google that your content matters. 

If Google or other search engine crawlers don’t view your content as relevant, no one will see it.

Because driving traffic to websites is a major marketing priority for 54% of marketers, you may be wondering, what type of keywords drive traffic?

Keywords that drive traffic are: 

  • Question keywords (How to “insert keyword”)
  • Long-tail keywords (Best cupcake bakeries near me)
  • Keywords with high search volume and low competition (you can view the data using any of the tools mentioned above)

Another question I get asked a lot is, where do you put keywords? 

I’m going to keep this section direct, so there’s no room for error. 

Put your keywords:

  • In your intro
  • Throughout your content (but don’t keyword stuff)
  • In your headlines close to the beginning
  • In your subheadings (h2 and h3)
  • In your alt-text
  • In your link text
  • In your graphics

That’s All Folks!

Blogging can be difficult, but it is also one of the most rewarding creative endeavors you can profit from in the modern world today. 

Keeping up with the latest blogging trends, knowing your audience, and understanding SEO, can all help you achieve more traffic, more conversions, and more success.

Check out some of my other blogs for more helpful tips and tricks to get you started!

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Contact me today so we can succeed together!

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Freelancer Artistry Blog, How to

How to Write a Blog Post: For Beginners

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Key Points

  • Some of the tips in this article are using SEO best practices, short paragraphs, and good outlines.
  • Some of the information in this piece of content is about using writing tools to enhance your written content.
  • This article is geared toward beginners rather than proven professionals.

“Quality of content” is considered the number one most important success factor among all bloggers. That’s why it’s vital to learn how to write a blog post.

Not just that but, Adobe published a survey stating that the most common complaints about content are it being too wordy, poorly written, or poorly designed.

With that said, I’m going to walk you through how to successfully write a high-quality piece of content, the best tools to use, and everything else you need to know about how to write a blog post for beginners. 

Ready to wow your audience? 

Keep scrolling!

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Best Tools for Writing a Blog Post

Tools are one of the most important parts of successful SEO blog writing. 

You need to be able to edit, create well-crafted visuals, and have a basic understanding of keyword research tools to help you succeed in any niche industry.

In fact, only 26% of bloggers actually work with editors, which means that many blogs you read online today are fully written and published by bloggers themselves.

If those bloggers can do it, that means you can do it too. 

You just need to have the right formula, the right information, and the best tools.

With that said, here’s a list of free tools you need for SEO blog writing: 

  1. Google Docs
  2. Canva
  3. Trello, Asana, or Clickup
  4. MailChimp
  5. Grammarly
  6. WordStream Free Keyword Tool
  7. AnswerThePublic

Google Docs

Google Docs is the modern version of Word. 

You can do everything Microsoft Office can do, and more. 

On top of that, Google Docs is free. 

Docs is easily accessible by multiple team members and helps you create anything from professional emails to blank documents.

Additionally, Google’s G Suite, which includes Google Docs, has reached over 2 billion active monthly users and continues to grow. 

If you aren’t familiar with Docs, then you need to be. 

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Canva

Canva is an awesome free graphic design studio that you can use for free right now to help you create professional-looking graphics, logos, templates, and so much more. 

In fact, as of March 2022, Canva has over 75 million users in over 190 countries. 

That is huge growth, and it means that Canva isn’t just a platform for users to create cool stuff. 

Canva is a professional, and widely used platform that businesses all over the world turn to, to help them create and publish stunning website visuals like infographics, statistics, and presentations. 

Trello, Asana, and ClickUp

Trello, Asana, and Clickup are all content-managing calendars that help you keep track of blog tasks. 

You can invite team members and assign them tasks to help you keep track and manage what posts you plan to create, under what categories, and what topics. 

Using a content managing calendar is vital to the success of your blog. 

You need to be able to stay consistent, and these different types of platforms help you do just that in a super user-friendly way.

Every successful blog I’ve written for has used at least one of these platforms. 

MailChimp

Once you have successfully learned everything about your target audience and have begun to gather 1st party data, such as emails, you can then begin to send out weekly or monthly newsletters about your blog.

This tool is free for up to 2,000 emails and helps you keep track of data in a safe and secure way without putting your audience at risk. 

This tool not only helps you create knock-out emails, but it also has a WordPress plugin you can attach to your blog if WordPress is your chosen blogging platform. 

In fact, 37% of brands are increasing their email budget and subscriber segmentation is the most effective email marketing campaign strategy. Additionally, 40% of B2B marketers state that newsletters are essential to their marketing efforts!

As a freelancer who has participated in many email marketing campaigns, I can tell you that more people respond to a personal email than to answer a phone call from an unknown number. 

Grammarly

Grammarly is a fantastic app that helps you write better. It’s an AI editor that helps you with grammar, spelling, and formatting and even has some other really cool tools built in. 

There is a free version of Grammarly that won’t pick up on everything, but it’s a great place to start to check for spelling and basic grammar errors.

If you aren’t planning on working with an editor, then you need Grammarly. 

WordStream Free Keyword Tool

There are many, and I mean many, keyword research tools. 

I prefer WordStream because I feel like it’s really user-friendly for beginner bloggers who are just dipping their toes into the world of SEO.

WordStream will help you target low-competition keywords, and really that’s all any blogger wants. 

This tool will help you target the right keywords for your topic and help you understand what people are actively searching for.

As a pro tip, over 29% of keywords with over 10K+ monthly searches consist of 3+ words, which means you need to use question keywords and long-tail keywords to convert a viewer into a buyer.

This tool helps you find the right keywords to help you do just that. 

AnswerThePublic

AnsweThePublic is a fantastic, free tool you can use to find any question keywords people are looking for regarding your target topic.

For example, if you’re blogging about the hottest new tech, then you want to know what your target audience is searching for.

This may involve question keywords such as, “where is the cheapest place to buy new tech?”

These types of question keywords can help you help your audience. If you don’t know what questions your audience is asking, then you can’t answer them in a helpful and informative manner.

AnswerThePublic and a quick scan of Google’s “People Also Ask” is a great place to start.

Should you use AI to write your blog post?

AI software like Copymatic can help you generate well-written and formatted blogs. 

With that said, you will need to fact-check, proofread, edit, and adjust wordage and match and fit your brand voice.

You won’t be able to use AI to fully create an entire blog post, but it can help save you time and effort if you choose to do so.

Just keep in mind that your readers may be able to tell the difference between an article written by an AI and an article written with a human touch. 

AI most certainly won’t be replacing creative writers anytime soon and won’t tell you how to write a good blog post, but AI can help with certain writing tasks such as:

  • Editing
  • SEO research
  • Headline testing 

With all this said, let’s move on to how to write an SEO-friendly blog post for beginners: 

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How to Write a Blog Post For Beginners Without Fluff

Once you have all the tools you need to write out your blog post, you’re then left with a blank page.

You need to begin with an outline of your chosen topic. You first begin by adding a header that has your target phrase included. 

For example, this blog post is called, “How to Write a Blog Post: For Beginners.” 

My target keyword here is “how to write a blog post.” 

Your blog post should include your target phrase in your title or h1, it needs to be included in an h2, and an h3. 

Your content is just as important as your headers. 

You need to answer your headers questions and then some. However, you need to understand what fluff is and how to avoid it.

Fluff is this:

  • Everyone knows that…
  • It’s obvious that…
  • The sky is blue…
  • Cats like to meow…

Keep your content relevant, friendly yet direct, easy to read, and understandable. 

If your title is, “how to stop a cat from scratching the rug?” 

Then your article needs to directly answer that question and then some.

Here are a few tips for writing a great blog post:

  • Start with a clear outline of your chosen topic
    • Title Topic (Use low competition, high volume keywords)
    • Hook (Statistics: Type into Google, “any niche statistics 2022”, Source It!)
    • Content (Keep it Relevant and Answer Audience Questions!)
    • Call-to-Action (Check Out My Other Blog Posts!)
    • More Content (Provide actionable steps: Tips & Tricks!)
    • Conclusion (Don’t say Conclusion: Let’s Wrap It Up!)
    • Call-to-Action (Book a Call Today!)
  • Write your content according to your outline
  • Create an engaging headline
  • Perfect your blog introductions
  • Read your content out loud to make sure it flows 

Additionally, begin your blog posts with an interesting or catchy hook. 

I find that beginning a blog post with an interesting statistic is something that not only hooks your reader but also expresses your authority in your industry. 

Again, you need to offer solutions to the problems of your reader. For example, this blog is offering the solution for how to write a blog post for beginners.

I am not stuffing my services down a reader’s throat, I am simply offering a solution to a problem. 

How long should your blog post be?

A Medium study suggests that engagement starts to drop for posts with a reading time longer than seven minutes, and 75% of the public prefers reading articles under 1,000 words.

With that said, depending on your industry, longer-form content can actually increase conversion rates and audience retention.

So, the average blog post length is 1,416 words in 2022, but all it takes is one Google update to change that. 

Consider keeping up with Google algorithm updates just to make sure that you are on the right track. 

Many SEO experts believe that most blogs should at least be 1,000 words or more to effectively increase your SEO efforts.

If your website content is over 1,000 words then you can be positive that Google won’t penalize your content for keyword stuffing or scammy, unreliable information. 

Basically, if you can convince Google that your content is worth it, Google will be more likely to share your blogs with its users. 

Best Tips for Writing a Blog Post

There are approximately 600 million blogs in the world today. 

Whew, that is a lot of blogs and that means your content can get drowned out by your competitors. 

That’s why it’s so important to understand what needs to go into a blog to make it a successful read for your viewers. 

Here is a list of helpful tips for creating a blog post:

  • Write engaging content
  • Use shorter paragraphs to break up pages
  • Use bullet points
  • Add images to help explain your point
  • Optimize for basic SEO
  • Add a clear CTA (call-to-action)
  • Address an engaging topic
  • Come up with a great title
  • Outline your post with target keywords
  • Write from what you know or hire someone who can
  • Offer solutions to problems such as tutorials or “how-tos”

That’s About It!

Writing a blog post is hard, and super time-consuming. 

That’s why hiring a freelancer is super important and can save you money and effort. 

Additionally, if you’d like to view this article broken down into a helpful and direct presentation slideshow, click here!

Contact me today, so we can succeed together! 

Next Up…

Freelancer Artistry Blog, Is It

Is SEO Blog Writing Hard?

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Key Points

  • SEO writing can be hard, but it’s worth it to learn for future success.
  • Outsourcing a professional to create your written content can help reduce your workflow and overall SEO.
  • It takes a lot of hard work, time, and effort to learn SEO best practices, but once you get it down, Google will change its algorithm.

SEO blog writing can be, well, difficult and it takes a ton of time, effort, and consistency to succeed. So, you may be asking yourself, “Is SEO Blog Writing Hard?”

In fact, a recent Orbit Media Studios survey suggests that 71% of bloggers say SEO is the most important source of traffic for their website and around 50% of bloggers publish weekly.

Simply put, businesses need SEO to thrive in a modern and ever-evolving world. 

The remaining content will explore how hard SEO blog writing is, how long it takes to create content and the best tools and practices for doing it yourself. 

Let’s start with some of the basics:

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Why is SEO Writing Important?

Writing for SEO is vital to the successful lifespan of your content. 

A fully optimized SEO website or piece of content can attract the right customers to your brand by targeting audiences at each stage of the buyer’s journey.  

In doing so, you gain an increase in conversion rates and organic traffic.

Actually, “quality of content” is rated the #1 most important success factor among bloggers.

Additionally, content SEO writing can give your content marketing efforts a boost and improve your rankings in search engines such as Google or Bing.

This is commonly referred to as SERPs rankings. 

Organic rankings that are achieved through high-quality content tend to have a longer lifespan than the average blog post. 

Not only that, but it increases click-through rates because people generally prefer to visit links that appear naturally on search engine results in pages rather than results that display as ads. 

With that said, here are some SEO basics you should know:

  • Have an understanding of keyword research and targeting
  • Understand on-page and off-page SEO
  • Information Architecture
  • Link building
  • Technical SEO
  • Tracking and measuring your SEO results

Furthermore, did you know that:

Not only that, but Google updates its algorithm 500 to 600 times per year.

That is insane!

What this basically means is that you never really know when or how an algorithm update may affect your SEO efforts. 

That’s why it’s always best to stay up to date with the latest SEO news, updates, and happenings.

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How Long Does SEO Blog Writing Take?

The SEOLady suggests that a 1,000-word blog post or article can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to write depending on the industry and skill level of the writer. 

However, that isn’t counting formatting, editing, understanding of basic audience search intent, keyword research, and other SEO basics. 

SEO thought-leading experts such as RockContent suggest writing two to four articles per week, as this seems to be the best way to see an increase in organic traffic to your website. 

You could, however, outsource your SEO blog writing to SEO writing professionals such as myself, other freelancers, or agencies who know exactly how to write, format, and optimize your content. 

Here are a few tips for fast and effective blog writing:

  • Use outlines
  • Do a content dump and edit it later
  • Do your research first
  • Take breaks to avoid burnout
  • Use tools that make it easier to write
  • Write small and readable paragraphs
  • Use modern but relevant visuals like infographics and memes
  • Don’t use fluff 
  • Use statistics
  • Be direct but friendly
  • Use a spellcheck and AI editor

Should You Outsource Your SEO Blog Writing?

I have met many business owners, and over time, I can tell you how difficult it is to know when to begin considering hiring a ghostwriter. 

Although you may find it risky to hire outside of your company, it may help you focus more on core functions, as this is the most common benefit of hiring an independent contractor. 

You also might be wondering the following questions:

  • Can I afford to outsource?
  • When should I begin outsourcing?
  • Is a freelancer or agency best for me?

To be honest, outsourcing is a whole lot cheaper than growing as a business by hiring more staff. 

Outsourcing gives project managers and entrepreneurs the ability to use contracted employees rather than hire new team members that are part or even full-time. 

This means you aren’t obligated to pay a full salary or other working benefits, all you have to do is pay per project or hour. 

I recently read a report from Clutch that found around 37% of small businesses are currently outsourcing at least one business project or task to reduce costs and improve other available skill sets. 

It also stated that businesses are most likely to outsource IT, accounting, and digital marketing services such as SEO. 

Let’s continue on: 

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Should you use a freelancer or agency?

With that said, how do you know if you should hire a freelancer or agency?

Okay so, I’m going to keep it real with you. As a freelancer, it’s probably best to hire us for a specialized task or project.

For example, do you need an SEO blog article written in 2 days at a reasonable price? 

I got you.

Do you need something that can give you the whole SEO package with digital marketing, blog writing, videos, and everything optimized? 

Get you an agency. 

With that said, here is how to know when to begin outsourcing:

  • You can’t keep up with your workflow
  • Your employees are doing too many tasks
  • Mistakes are happening too often
  • The budget is getting tight
  • You can’t find the right person for the role
  • Routine tasks are taking too much time

SEO Best Practices

If for some reason you aren’t familiar with the term SEO, it means search engine optimization and it’s the practice of using a website’s technical configuration, links, content, and pages to perform better in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

The goal for your website is to appear on Google’s first page, and effective SEO practices provide a conversion rate of 14.6%. 

On top of that, more than half of web traffic is driven by organic search results.

Additionally, remember that SEO is a process. No outsourced mastermind can fix that. 

(source: Solvid)

Meaning, that it’s going to take 6 months to a year before you start to see any major ranking progress. 

It takes time to build up domain authority and become a thought leader in your industry. 

With that said, here are some best SEO practices you can begin using right now:

  • Add your target keyword to your headers
  • Use your keywords early on in your content
  • Optimize your title tag for SEO
  • Optimize your page and website speed
  • Track your results 
  • Don’t forget to alt-text and resize your images
  • Use internal and external linking
  • Create awesome, high-quality content 

SEO Blog Writing Tools

As I’ve mentioned, blog writing is tough, but tools can make it much easier for you. SEO tools can range from keyword planning, metric tracking, editing, and even headline-generating. 

With the help of these tools, you can begin writing SEO-optimized content all by yourself. 

Here are some of the best SEO tools you can use for blog writing:

  1. Google Trends 
  2. Google Analytics
  3. Google Search Console
  4. Moz Keyword Explorer
  5. Yoast SEO
  6. Copyscape
  7. Grammarly
  8. Hemingway App
  9. Canva
  10. AnswerThePublic
  11. Google “People Also Ask”

Google Trends can help you identify what keywords are trending where Google Analytics is awesome for metric and traffic tracking, and Search Console helps you, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your website’s performance in Google Search results.

Moz Keyword Explorer and Yoast SEO can help you find the perfect keyword to target for your piece of content, whereas Copyscape will help you check for plagiarism.

Grammarly and Hemingway App can help you edit and grade your writing so that you are free of errors and spelling mistakes. 

Canva is my personal favorite and can help turn you into a graphic designing genius, free of charge!

That’s About It!

SEO blog writing is hard, but with the right teachers, information, and understanding you can write awesome, optimized blog content.


Comment below or book an interview with me so we can succeed together!

Next Up…

Freelancer Artistry Blog, Why

Hire a Freelancer: Why You Need To

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Key Points:

  • Hiring a Freelancer is cost-effective, and less expensive than hiring an additional employee.
  • Hiring a Freelancer is safe, and there are many different 3rd-party platforms to enhance the safety of your experience.
  • Hiring a Freelancer is a great way to reduce your workflow, and give you more flexibility to find the best person for your next project.

As of now, there are approximately 1.1 billion Freelancers on the planet today. That means that around 31% of the total workforce worldwide. That means many businesses will eventually hire a Freelancer.

In fact, studies suggest that this number is expected to grow significantly in 2022. 

Before you hire a professional freelancer for your business, you might have a couple of questions:

  • Is hiring a Freelancer safe?
  • How much will a Freelancer cost?
  • Is hiring a Freelancer right for me?

Coming from someone who has been Freelancing for small and large companies for almost a decade, I will answer all of these questions and then some on How to Hire a Freelancer

Ready to succeed?

Let’s jump in! 

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Is Hiring a Freelancer Safe?

Is Freelancing a legitimate outsourcing option for your business?

The short answer here is, yes! 

Freelancing is generally safe.  

The business term “Freelancer” has become a well-known phrase thrown around the corporate world ever since the popularity of the concept began to skyrocket in the early 2000s. 

Over time, many Freelancing marketplaces began to emerge such as Upwork and Guru making outsourcing easier than ever before. 

While hiring a freelancer is generally safe, it’s always best to vet out your Freelancer before setting up a contract. 

Vetting includes:

  • Interviewing was conducted remotely via phone, zoom, Google meet, etc. 
  • Doing a paid test run (this is common for ghostwriters)
  • Asking for references, reviews, or other social proof of experience and skill level
  • Looking through samples or through a portfolio

With that said, I’ve had my fair share of clients over the years.  

And contracts help to provide a safe and reliable experience for both parties. 

As most professionals would agree, a verbal or written agreement before beginning work is highly recommended. 

Additionally, as a Freelancer myself, I also feel that having a clear understanding of business goals before signing on as an independent contractor is a great way to lay out a foundation for a lasting, long-term business relationship. 

If you are considering hiring a Freelancer, always make sure you know exactly what you need from them, have a clear vision to make it happen, and provide a way for direct communication. 

This is the key to success! 

How to Hire a Freelancer

A freelancer is an outsourced employee that works for themselves instead of working under a company. 

Freelancers file as independent contractors and rely on income from completing tasks for a variety of clients. 

This is usually performed remotely. 

For example, many blogs hire Freelancers from all over the world to ghostwrite blog posts. 

This helps bloggers have more time to focus on other business-related work rather than writing out articles.  

In fact, U.S. businesses outsource about 300,000 jobs every year! 

As I briefly mentioned above, Freelancers can be found on platforms such as:

These platforms provide a platform with safe payment options for the completion of work.

Many content creators outsource projects like animation, writing, illustration, design, and video editing. 

For example, the first step is contact. 

You can post a job listing on any of the above job boards and let the talent come to you. 

Remember to mark your job listing as “Freelance or by Contract”.

Finally, your Freelancer will see something similar to this:

You will receive hundreds of applications if your job reaches the right crowd. 

Additionally, the last step would then be to decide which Freelancer is best for your project. 

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Is Hiring a Freelancer Expensive?

CNBC did a study in 2019 that found that while Freelancers have an average rate of $20 dollars an hour, overall Freelancers doing skilled services can earn an average rate of $28 dollars an hour. 

That means that Freelancers earn more per hour than 70% of workers in the U.S. economy. 

With that said, hiring an experienced Freelancer is more cost-effective than hiring an additional employee.

Here’s why:

If you were to hire a full-time or even part-time employee, not only would you have to pay hourly, but you would also have to shell out additional money for employee expenses.

Freelancers usually work hourly or are paid per project or milestone. 

If you have a project that will take 10 hours to complete once every month, then you would only pay a Freelancer who charges $20 an hour, $200 a month. 

Whereas, an employee would cost a lot more. 

Not only that, Freelancers are usually skilled in a variety of areas and have the experience that an average employee may not have. 

Such as my personal favorite, SEO blog writing. 

Why You Should Outsource Your Next Project

As I mentioned above, companies that outsource do it because it’s super cost-effective. 

Actually, around 59% of businesses that outsource say that saving money is the number one reason behind their decision.

A reduction in labor spending and operation is the biggest benefit of hiring a Freelancer. 

Other great advantages include improved efficiency, freeing up some office resources, and mitigating any risks of mistakes on difficult projects.

When and why should you hire a Freelancer?

When you need a short-term or difficult project completed that you don’t have the time or skills for. 

Another reason you should hire a Freelancer is that doing so gives you more flexibility. 

You can hire someone for your task, and for the next one, you can decide to continue working with your current Freelancer, or move on to another one who is more qualified. 

This helps you pick the best of the best. 

It also gives you more control over hiring different experts that best meet each project’s needs and requirements. 

For example, before I began writing SEO content, I was Freelancing as a lead generation expert. 

I welcomed new leads with the hopes of converting them into sales. I would offer a free trial and then offer a more expensive service. 

Anyone can do this job given the right script.

However, not every new business had a proven script, process, and strategy.

That’s where I came in, I would design an appointment-setting strategy to help convert new leads. 

My target audience was small businesses just getting started because it allowed me to provide much-needed conversions to businesses who don’t know how to make first-time contact with a fresh lead. 

Not everyone has the same experience levels and skills, that’s why businesses outsource positions like:

  • Website creation
  • Content creation
  • SEO Blog writing
  • Graphic design
  • Assets and copy for content marketing
  • Marketing 
  • Customer service
  • Virtual assistants
  • Lead generation

Hire a Freelancer: Can it Help Your Business Thrive?

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Business owners have to have tight control over their brands, which is why many companies choose not to outsource their core business positions. 

With that said, at least 70% of British B2B companies are outsourcing key business operations right now.

Regardless of the “titled position,” important tasks that need a different skill set should be handed over to Freelancers. 

In fact, according to an Upwork survey conducted in 2017, 55% of companies are using Freelancers and this is only expected to increase rapidly over time.  

Given this information, businesses will become more likely to rely on Freelancers in the near future.

Furthermore, here are some additional benefits of hiring a Freelancer:

  • The advantage over your competitors
  • Budget-friendly
  • Access to a wider variety of top talent
  • Quicker turnaround time
  • The dedicated team focusing on one project
  • Fresh eyes
  • New strategic partners
  • Help you reach a larger audience
(source: Clutch)

Let’s Wrap it Up!

Before hiring a Freelancer, do some research and always follow your gut! 

Hiring a Freelance expert can increase customer retention and help you free up time so you can participate in important networking events and complete other top priorities. 

Lastly, outsourcing is a strategic partnership between you and your Freelancer. 

Contact me today so we can succeed together!

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