Can Naming Your Freelance Business Raise Your Income?

If you were a business looking for a writer, would you hire Robin Flanigan or The Kinetic Pen? Holly Leber Simmons or Red Pen Editorial? Elna Cain or Innovative Ink? Flanigan, Simmons, and Cain are all freelance writers whose business name is different from their own. Should you do the same? Ask yourself why you want a different business name “Sometimes...

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Can You Actually Make Money Self-Publishing on Medium?

With 120 million readers and a Partner Program that pays writers, Medium is worth a look for freelancers thinking about self-publishing. But is anyone actually making money on Medium? And if so, how much? According to the Medium Writers Newsletter, 66 percent of writers or publications who published at least one story for members earned money in August....

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3 Ways to Expand Your Skillset During the Cold-Weather Coronavirus Months

Will this virus send us into another lockdown? Will it just disappear? Will a vaccine free us soon from its grasp? Nobody knows. But even without explicit lockdown orders in the coming cold-weather months, you probably won’t be running to bars, restaurants, movie theaters, or any other indoor haunts. We have just the thing to tide you over in the...

Sep 2020

What You Need to Know About Newsletter Platforms Before You Jump In

In the game of musical chairs that is self-publishing platforms, writers have recently been racing toward newsletters. Substack, MailChimp, Medium, and Patreon are among the most popular platforms. Earlier this year, Substack alone claimed to have “tens of thousands” of paid subscribers. The company also told BuzzFeed in 2019 that their 12 biggest writers...

Sep 2020

Does the ABC Test Already Exist in Your State, and Could It Harm Your Career?

In April, Good Housekeeping accepted a pitch from freelance writer Ericka Andersen. She was ecstatic. “I immediately started reaching out to experts about my subject matter,” Andersen said. “I dug into the story right away, and I filled out all the paperwork.” The glee was short-lived. About three days later, the editor emailed Andersen to say that...

Sep 2020

Contently’s Clients Are Looking for Civil Infrastructure Writers

Contently powers the content marketing programs of the world’s most valuable brands through its complete content marketing solution: expert content strategy, an industry-leading content marketing platform, and the highest-rated creative network on earth. As part of that mission, we connect our clients to skilled freelancers who can help them create...

Aug 2020

Slack, Asana, Harvest…Oh My! How to Deal With Client App Fatigue

Victoria Morrison works as a freelance remote copywriter. Like many independent contractors, she is drowning in apps. In the past few years alone, Morrison has used Asana, multiple Slack channels, Harvest, Trello, Teamwork, Clockify, third-party billing apps, and various CMS platforms. “One of my clients even made their own ticketing system app,”...

Jul 2020

What Freelancers Need to Know About Insurance

Ready to think through all the ways you could become too sick, injured, or otherwise debilitated and unable to work, destroying your ability to earn a living? Welcome to insurance, the worst thing to think about. But worse still is being financially unprepared when bum luck does befall you. While it’s hard to consider paying for something you might—and...

Jul 2020

3 Ways You Can Be A Good Freelance Ally Right Now

From the outside looking in, it may seem like Black freelancers are thriving. Our ideas are being heard. We’re building relationships with editors. And publications of all kinds are eager for our stories. But behind the scenes, we’re exhausted and anxious. Will our voices still matter after the protests abate? Are we being tokenized? How can we deliver...

Jun 2020

Contently’s Clients Are Looking for B2B Tech Writers

Contently powers the content marketing programs of the world’s most valuable brands through its complete content marketing solution: expert content strategy, an industry-leading content marketing platform, and the highest-rated creative network on earth. As part of that mission, we connect our clients to skilled freelancers who can help them create...

Jun 2020