As a freelance worker, you are responsible for actively selling yourself, fine tuning your skills, and maintaining the motivation required to produce quality work that keeps the paychecks coming in. The upside of this work for freelance designers, developers, photographers and writers is the ability to maintain a flexible schedule and work remotely as you wish. The downside is that most creative people tend to flourish when they have the opportunity to work face-to-face with other professionals in their field and share ideas.
If you are not working with an in-house team, it is a great idea to use the Internet to your advantage and follow the blogs of fellow freelancers to stay current in your field. Here is a list of 10 blogs every freelancer should be reading if they want to achieve ultimate success.
Blogs for Freelancers – 1. Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon is a blogger living in Austin, Texas who writes and draws. He made it to the New York Times bestselling author list with his three illustrated books Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work!. Through his blog, he helps freelance artists identify how to access their inner talents and utilize them to their advantage. The Atlantic referred to him as, “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet.” Check out “10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered.”
2. Freelancers Union
Freelancers Union is designed to educate freelancers about the ins and outs of the business. This blog is especially helpful around this time of year – tax season – when many freelancers are left scratching their heads trying to figure out how to report their wages and how much taxes they will owe. Check out “4 Tips for Taking the Stress Out of Tax Season.”
3. A Better Lemonade Stand
A Better Lemonade Stand aims to inspire new entrepreneurs in the world of online e-commerce and provide more insight about the necessary tools and resources required to enhance your online business and drive sales. Check out “How to Get Your First 100 Sales.”
4. The Branded Solopreneur
The Branded Solopreneur markets themselves as delivering “Visual Strategies & Branding Badassery.” As a freelancer, you may be underestimating the value of your brand and content strategy. Check out “20 Visual Marketing Strategies to Help You Propel Your Brand.”
5. Just Creative Design
Jacob Cass is the man behind Just Creative Design, a blog and design portfolio of his work. Even if you aren’t a designer, you stand to benefit from analyzing Jacob’s ability to successfully self-promote and navigate the freelancing world. Check out “How to Invoice Effectively to Avoid Poor Cash Flow.”
6. Minterest
Minterest is a blog that focuses on information relevant to the fields of technology and digital marketing. If you are looking to brush up on your marketing skills, this is the place to go. Check out “How to Write a Perfectly Optimized Blog Post.”
7. Guerrilla Freelance
Guerrilla Freelancing offers, as they put it, “Bullshit-Free Business Growth Advice.” If you are looking for motivation on how to be tougher as a freelancer, work harder, and stand out among your competition, check out, “Dare to be Different: A Guerrilla Freelancer’s Manifesto.”
8. ProBlogger
ProBlogger is a great resource if you are interested in learning how to make money as a professional blogger. If you are looking to get noticed, check out, “5 Ways to Grow Your Blog Without Relying on Google Traffic.”
9. Zen Habits
Zen Habits is an especially helpful blog for freelancers that are struggling to keep their stress levels and sanity in check. Freelancing requires immense self-discipline and work ethic. Check out “3 Small Discipline Habits You Can Train.”
10. Copyblogger
Copyblogger strives to help you create quality content and master a successful content marketing strategy – which is essential is you want to get paid. Check out “53 Freelancing Mistakes That Are Costing You Clients, Cash, and Credibility.”
Did we miss your favorite blog? Share it in the comments section!
