Have you ever wanted the mega-expensive Adobe suite but didn't want to shell out almost a grand for the whole badonkadonk?
Well, check out PaintStar which is totally free. I contacted the program's creator and learned it works not only on the older Windows versions but also on the infamous Vista.
Now that's a nice solution to keep a writer/designer's overhead down.
Alan Johnson lays down some hard truths about non-productivity, in a guest post at Daily Blog Tips. The fact is that some people haven't found their calling and thus won't find much productivity in their current work. That also applies to blogging, especially if you're not working in your dream niche. (Though I should point out that in my experience, freelancers tend to be generalists and thus enjoy NOT focusing on a niche.)
This post triggered a thought I'd had recently, that many new bloggers seem to be relatively fresh out of college and some have never held a job offline post-college. Call me a pessimist, but I think it's a bad idea not to work offline for at least a while before trying to become a full-time blogger. At least unless you're absolutely certain you have a gift for entertaining through writing, and/or you're an experienced entrepreneur, in case blogging doesn't work out for you.
In a related vein, Daniel Scocco wrote at Daily Blog Tips recently, asking do you really need to go to university if you want to work on the Internet or be an entrepreneur? He listed later in the comments several successful, mostly American entrepreneurs who did not get a college degree. But some of these people came from money and others simply had entrepreneurial minds before entering college. Most at least attended college. Read the rest of this entry
For the last couple of years I was spending my hobby time on building a blog in a rather narrow niche - a particular aspect of software development. As many other hobby writers I found it difficult to write regularly and would happily receive some assistance. I keep my site open for the readers and sometimes site visitors posted own articles, but it was never enough.
Therefore since about a year ago I am permanently looking for the freelancers on the topic. I posted ads on Performacning job market, another blogger job board, even contacted authors of the other blogs in the niche. This way I was able to find several writers including the good ones, but never I managed to get as much regular writing as I wanted.
Your skills are wanted
The reason is simple - there are not many writers in any specialized niche. When a person is a professional in his area, he is likely to earn his living from the day job activities and is rarely really interested in freelance writing (unless he is professional in freelance writing). He might like the idea of earning few extra bucks and becoming a known authority in the niche, but chances are that his interests will erode over time.
Certainly, there are excellent writers in any niche, but to get those you got to pay a lot. As a result I believe there are many mid-to-low budget bloggers all the time willing to get more writers on the board. These authors can be novices in blogging, might not commit to the strict schedules and still be very valuable - it is their specialized experience that makes their work attractive. For instance, when I manage to get an experience software developer writing on my blog, I am more than eager to provide him with blogging related advices and even to do the whole editorial part of work.
Got profession - got blogging money
The bottom line is simple. If you have skills in pretty much any area, you can easily earn extra $5-20 an hour by freelance writing in a relevant niche blog - the writer's skills are not important. If you want to explore the opportunity:
Picture cortesy of e-magic @ Flickr
Are you willing to write articles for money?
How much do you expect to get?
Don't give away your work for free
Please read the following. Read twice:
We would like 5 blog postings per week. Each post must be 250+ words. Pay is $55 / month to start.
Source: Software company seeks blogger (November 17, 2007 - 12:21am in Blogger Jobs)
Hello! What is happening here? Read the rest of this entry
I want to thank Performancing because you have really given me valuable resources. I like reading other blogger's posts and learning about what's going on with them. I like their tips on what to do, or what not to do when looking for jobs, I really enjoy the content. And I come here whenever I am down on a my luck, and sure enough things start to turn around for me.
I've been shopping around now for a few weeks for really great blogging jobs, but I guess I have to start small and build my profile up. I've gotten a few smaller paying gigs, so there is hope. I still blog a lot for free at Performancing, my own blogs, and Piggybankpie.
So for now I am plugging away at ehow, and a few sites as a ghostwriter...still waiting for that big blogger job. Or even a medium one. I am hoping to do this full-time someday soon.
Performancing has helped me hook up with a few potential leads, but nothing turned out. One site was too hard as I didn't know the content (MLM business). The other one seemed interested but kind of left me hanging.
I want to know how many people have had success and whether it is possible to blog in the long run. I read one blog that was worried about writer's block. I have so many ideas, I don't know how someone could get writer's block. If anything that person is extremely lucky to have said all they had to say and than run out of things...I can only dream.
So for now I am still waiting for that special job offer, blogging away. Hopefully soon it won't be for free.
Thanks again performancing, for being my resource.
Before I start this post, I have to make a disclaimer. If you want a blogging job, the best way to get the job is to have your own blog.
But what if you don't have your own blog?
That's the situation I was in a couple months ago. I wanted to get into freelance blogging. However, I didn't have the discipline and patience to create and keep up my own blog. Instead, I did these things to get hired as a freelance blogger for two blogs.
I wrote a couple articles for Performancing and Associated Content. Also, I wrote a short 7 page report that I gave away to my SEO clients. I showed these things to blog owners who were looking for freelance bloggers.
By getting published on reputable sites, you show blog owners that other webmasters like your content.
I wanted to freelance blog for SEO and internet marketing blogs, because those are the niches I was passionate about. Also, I was knowledgeable about those niches. I've spent about 2 years reading many of the popular SEO and internet marketing blogs.
To get a blogging job, you need to know your niche well. Blog owners want to hire experts in their niche, so make sure and learn all you can about the niche.
I see too many people trying to get blogging jobs. However, they don't have enough experience and knowledge about the niche.
When I applied to write for Net Business Blog, the blog owner asked each of the applicants to write a 200-400 word post. He wanted to see how his readers would react to the posts. Instead of writing a short post, I spent some time writing an informative 1100 word post. This post helped me get the job because it showed the blog owner and his readers that I knew what I was talking about.
If you want to get into problogging, but don't have a blog, you could still get blogging jobs by getting published on reputable sites and demonstrating your knowledge and expertise.
Three months ago, I used these two principles to get these two problogging jobs.
1. Smart SEO Blog
I wrote for this blog during July and August. I quit because I was offered a more lucrative job with another company.
2. Net Business Blog
I still write for this blog. I was hired in July.
Note: Because of my posts from these two blogs, I was recently hired to write for Sea Waves and Eaton Web.
Boost your traffic, improve your blog and become an authority in your niche with Peformancing Services.
