Yakezie.com

Since January 2014 I’ve been in charge of building out a corporate blog as part of my part-time consulting duties. It’s been a good challenge that has effectively lowered marketing costs for the company, improved the company’s authority, and allowed the company to tell their story the way they want. So far so good.

Instead of hiring tons of writers, I wanted to hire only a handful of writers who I felt could each bring a different perspective on various topics. I also wanted each writer to be able to write with authority due to the experience he or she has. There would be no such thing as someone writing a post based off pontification under my leadership.

With a healthy budget, I got to work finding quality over quantity, which I think all of us at the Yakezie Network believe in.

Let me share with you what I think makes a fantastic freelance writer for those of you interested in freelance writing part-time or as a career. My perspective comes from not only being a managing editor of a corporate blog, but also as a blogger who has survived through all the Google land mines over the past five years and makes a viable income stream online.

TIPS FOR BEING A GREAT FREELANCE WRITER

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For five years in a row I’ve been posting on average 3-4 times a week. I just went with this posting schedule frequency because that’s what I had in me. But as I get older, I’m beginning to lose a little steam in my enthusiasm for writing a lot as frequently. Search engine traffic makes up 70%+ of my traffic, so the incremental return of publishing a new article isn’t as great anymore.

I’ve been thinking about going down to a two times a week publishing schedule for the summer. Seasonal online traffic trends are pretty evident once you get to a certain amount. If people are away, why bother writing as much?

There used to be a certain amount of guilt if I didn’t keep up with my publishing frequency. When I left my job in 2012, there definitely wasn’t an option to publish less because I had so much more time. But now, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove anymore. I’ve reached my traffic and revenue targets and I’m happy with the way things are.

HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH ONLINE?

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Social media has changed a lot of things in the last few years. It’s changed the way companies have to publicly respond to customer complaints, its increased the spread and speed of information, it helps people stay in touch, its given us a closer inside look into many celebrities lives, and its become a standard way companies, people, and blogs promote themselves.

A lot of people love social media so much they’re addicted to it, perhaps including you. But not so much for me. I feel a bit like the odd ball in the room because I find social media painful and rather a waste of my time. When you have the 20th picture of a friend posting a selfie or a fabulous vacation picture, it gets kind of old don’t you think? Read More