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Insurance Marketer and Advisor

I worked in corporate America for 20 years before I transferred my skills to become a work at home mom. Writing content is something that I love and am good at, so I decided to help other moms who want to create streams of passive income. I share different passive income ideas and show them how to achieve it through my blog posts, guides and tutorials.

7 Tips to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out

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Have you ever considered the power of having a good LinkedIn profile and what it can do for your freelance career? Don’t discount it! This week, I had TWO new clients contact me, based solely on my LinkedIn profile. I don’t have 1st level connections with either one of them. They simply did an organic search for my skill set and called me based only on that.

YES, a well-written LinkedIn profile DOES work for finding new clients, new business or referrals. Don’t discount it as a serious marketing tool, no matter what industry you’re in. LinkedIn is a great tool for branding and standing out from others in your industry, and all it takes is a few tweaks and attention to detail to make it work. Here are some things I did to my profile (and continue to do) to keep it relevant. You can also implement these same tips to ramp up your LinkedIn marketing and get some business calls rolling in:

  1. Write a thorough profile description: This is not the time to skimp on words in terms of describing what it is that you actually can do for potential clients. Make your profile complete in every way, including jobs that you’ve had and freelance clients that you’ve managed.
  2. Include keywords in your title. This is, after all, how potential clients will find you, so make it relevant. Include those same buzzwords in your job descriptions and the write-ups down in the job listings.
  3. Write relevant articles and blog posts. Aim to publish anywhere from 1-3 articles per week, if possible. This shows your level of expertise and skills and also keeps your name out in front of your audience.
  4. Include image(s). This one should go without saying, but your photo and any related images show potential clients that you’re a REAL person, who REALLY exists and that you care enough about your business to take the time to make your profile complete and professional looking with a photo. Enough said.
  5. Synchronize your employment dates. Check and re-check your work dates to ensure that you’re showing a smooth transitional flow from one job to the next. Even if you’re freelancing, make that clear in your employment timeline.
  6. Solicit testimonials and referrals. No one has a problem writing testimonials for you, if you ask. If they’re too busy or perhaps a little slow in responding to your requests, help them out a little by offering some assistance. Write the testimonial for them (make it succinct, but to the point) and after they’ve approved it, just ask them to copy/paste it to your profile as a referral. Presto!
  7. Include a background image. This is not the image of you necessarily, but is preferably your branding image, your logo or any relevant image that you have available. For instance, for my background image, I use the header image from my website. It has my name and logo on it and makes my profile more personable looking, actually.

If you don’t feel comfortable with your writing skills to make your LinkedIn profile really shine, then outsource to another freelance writer who can give you what you’re looking for. The main thing is to do something with it right now, no matter how small, so you can attract those who are looking for what you have to offer.

Good Luck!

What is Lifestyle Blogging?

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When I think and talk about the term, “Lifestyle Blogging,” I am specifically talking about blogging as a part of your daily lifestyle, your daily routine. Now I am aware that other people may call it something different, but for me, I’m referring to blogging about what people do as a natural part of their daily lives. This can include things like:

Research (Googling)

Cooking (developing meal plans, tweaking recipes)

Remodeling (DIY home projects)

Fitness (working out, eating healthy)

Cars (restoration, purchasing, etc.)

 

Just about anything you can think of that you do on a daily basis can be done as a lifestyle blogger. For instance, for me, every day I look forward to two things:

1. Working out, either outside or at the gym, and

2. Working on my passive income business ideas

Now although I’ve freelanced for years as a business writer, I’ve come to completely enjoy writing about my lifestyle and the things that interest me. I’ve been steadily on this journey since 2009, and no matter how many freelance clients I’m managing, I always, ALWAYS come back to my lifestyle interests when I’m in between clients. It was after a few years and a few clients later that I started noticing this trend that was developing. I absolutely love writing, researching, digging, experimenting and figuring out things related to the two things that I love.

I’ve tried to separate my passion from practical application, as in doing something that will bring me a solid income as opposed to writing from my passions. But no matter what, I would always find myself daydreaming about my passions and spending hours and hours Googling and YouTubing stuff related to either health and fitness or passive income. The “do what you love and the money will follow” is a true statement.

As I started noticing that I was spending SO much time on these interests, it only made sense that I should direct my passions towards these things. After all, how could I NOT do that when I could easily spend 4 hours solid on YouTube researching about my 4c natural hair and the science behind it? Yes, that really happened.

So as a lifestyle blogger, talking about the things that interest me are so very easy to do. And, making money by doing it is even easier because I’m doing what I love. It’s like the frustration you feel when you have to do something as opposed to when you want to do something.

Blogging as my lifestyle is not hard at all, and nor should it be for you. You should enjoy what you do and do it with all that you have. Determine that you want to monetize it as a business, and you’re set. If you decide to follow me on this journey, I’ll share with you my tips and knowledge so that we’re all successful. If you’re ready to do this, come on and join me!

6 Tips on Growing Your Freelance Business

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I have been freelance writing for over 18 years, and there have been many times when I wondered how to get my next client. That’s a part of the life struggle of a freelance writer, but here are a few tips you can use that will keep you from (hopefully) getting frustrated and worried about where and when your next client is coming.

1. Love to Write

First off, you have to at least love writing and make it a daily practice if you really want to get something out of it. If writing is going to be your livelihood, then you need to make it a part of your lifestyle, at least. Right? One other thing to do is to start writing a little each day, then build from there. Go slowly from 200 words a day, to 400 words, then 900 and just keep building, depending on your goals. One phenomenal writing tool I’ve used to help me with this is Scrivener. You can also read this Scrivener software review I wrote about it if you’re seriously considering using it.

2. Business Growth

Realize that it takes time to grow a writing business. This is especially true if you want to get good-paying, long-lasting clients. So buckle in and get ready to work hard to grow your business and create endless streams of income.

3. Real Business

No matter what anyone else says about your “freelance lifestyle,” it is imperative that you treat your writing business like the real business that it is. Otherwise, you’re nursing a hobby, and while that’s fine too, it’s not accurate to call it a business if you’re not treating it like one.

4. Grow Slow

It might be smarter to start growing your business on the side (read: after hours) before you decide to go all in full-time. Slow growth ensures that you’re ready when the time comes and that you’ve gotten things to a level that requires your full-time attention.

5. Network, Network, Network

Network with other writers in your area of expertise. I’ve gotten and given a lot of writing gigs this way, especially when we’re all overloaded and need to meet deadlines. I have writer-friends that I’ve met online over 10 years ago and still talk to today. Real, genuine connections never fade away.

6. Writer’s Website or Page

Create a basic writer’s website. This can be something very simple with your Main Page (landing page), the About page and some samples of your work. This gives potential clients a “place” to find you and take a look at your work. It also helps you look very professional, which is what you want. Include links and clips you’ve done, no matter how small or (seemingly) insignificant they may be.

And finally, never stop learning! There’s always something different to learn in web writing. Different clients have different requirements, even the content mills, so it’s best to understand what each one wants so you’ll be successful.

Good Luck!

6 Real Facts About Passive Income Creation

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One of the reasons why I love the concept of passive income is having control of my time. When you trade dollars for time, someone else has control of your time, and that to me is just not ideal. As a super busy mom, I need to be able to have complete control over my schedule and manage things in a way that’s conducive for me. So that’s why I continuously tout the wonders of passive income.

But what I have seen online over the years concerning passive income is that there are a lot of “Get Rich Quick!” and “Make Money While You Sleep!” kind of nonsense rubbish that’s sweeping different work at home circles. There is NO SUCH THING as getting rich quick, or else someone would already be there AND I doubt if they’d share their tricks with us. Don’t believe the hype. Creating passive income is undoubtedly a lucrative business idea, but it does take work. A lot of work. An insane amount of work. But it’s far easier to promote hype and sell some new marketers that proverbial pie-in-the-sky rather than be honest.

I won’t do that to you. I’m going to be blunt and tell you, you’re going to have to work your tushy off to set up your business idea before you can start to reap the rewards from it. That’s just the truth. No matter what your passive income idea is, be prepared to put in work. A lot of work. But fret not. I do have good news.

When you settle on which idea you want to pursue to create a passive income stream, the next thing you must do is adopt a system or method for making that happen. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. That’s not necessary. Just find reputable, honest and experienced marketers who are doing what you want to do and follow their business setup patterns to the letter. If they’re accessible, ask questions. Subscribe to their blog posts. Follow them on social media. Do everything you can (short of stalking, cause that’s just creepy) to find out how they’re successful with their passive income business and do what they’re doing. The top reason why so many new (and experienced) internet marketers fail at passive income creation is because they go into thinking that things are going to be easy or not too hard to learn, so they bow out at the first sign of resistance. The reason why you want to find a working method is so that you can by-pass some of the learning curve you’ll meet and just get right to the nuts and bolts of getting your business set up and running. I’m going to short-list for you some of the things that I’ve encountered with setting up and running passive income business ideas:

1. Money, Money, Money

You will need to spend money. To make it you’ve got to spend it. No such thing as “free” when you’re an online entrepreneur. So even if you buy a $5 ebook, prepare to spend a few dollars. Or a lot of dollars.

2. Business Education

And speaking of purchasing ebooks, make it a priority to invest in your internet business education. The ‘net is constantly changing and there are always new things that you’ll need to learn. Don’t get distracted with the idea that you’re just going to set up a cash machine using an ebook you bought as a guide and think that’s all there is to it. No, you’re going to need a website, a domain name, hosting services, autoresponder services, web design services, content, etc. While some of these things can be outsourced for a decent fee, there is always learning involved for YOU as the business owner.

3. Adjust Your Schedule and Your Life

Everything that you’ll do with your business will depend solely on you. That’s one of the pros and cons about online marketing. With that said, understand that at 5:00 p.m., your day won’t necessarily be “over,” especially if you’re doing this on the side. Prepare to live, eat, breath your new business at all odd hours. If you don’t build it, they won’t come.

4. Manage Your Time

Again, since we’re talking about business building, you’ll need to adopt and practice essential time-management skills and productivity skills as well. This is critical for you if you have a family and other responsibilities, so be sure that you take care of your physical body through proper rest and exercise. And if you find that you need to wake up at 4:00 a.m. and work on your business a little bit, then do that and manage yourself as you need to so that you can achieve that success.

5. Avoid Information Overload

Don’t be like some people and buy up every ebook, course, tutorial you see or download every video that promises to “cut your time in half” and have “millions in your bank account in 90 days.” It’s a very real wake-up call when you find unopened material on your hard drive that you purchased 3, 5, or maybe even 7 years ago that you forgot you had, all in a quest to race to the top of the money-making pile as fast as you can. Now I can’t say that I know of anyone who has done that, but I’m just saying, don’t.

6. Check Them Out

And finally, vet everything and everybody you come across when you’re business building. There are a lot of sleazy people online who are more than happy to part you with your money in exchange for a great idea. Don’t do it. Research before you buy. Ask questions before you click the PayPal button. Have you read the person’s testimonials or checked to see if there were any negative reviews out on the web? How long have they been online and doing marketing? Do you trust their words, in your gut? Be careful of really well-written sales pages that make those promises that sound too good to be true, because it usually is. It’s up to you to protect yourself, your business AND your money.

8 Online Business Expenses

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What’s It Going to Cost to Do Business Online?

The cost of doing business online is about the same as doing business offline, except you typically don’t have the usual overhead expenses like office rent, insurance, payroll, etc. (I’m referencing businesses where the brunt of your business is done virtually with delivering a service or product without the need for storage or employees). Remember, there are expenses with ANY business, but many online marketers happen to prefer the online method because operating costs are significantly less and you can get started creating an income much quicker than with traditional offline methods.

I’m going to outline a few of the expenses you can expect to incur with most any online business. Everything you do to start your business online is going to cost you, whether it’s in money or with your time, or both. But, you have to decide for yourself what and where you want to spend your time and money, and if your actions get you closer to your overall business goals.

My blog setup posts series gives you a step-by-step guide in setting up your online business blog. The posts take you through the entire process of setting up your blog property yourself instead of paying someone else to do it for you. You’ll learn how to write effective blog posts, draw traffic to your site and make money in the process.

Some of the following expenses are optional but advantageous for any online business. Some of the costs are non-negotiable, meaning that you can’t effectively do business online without this particular tool. So, let’s get started and take a look at some of the things you’ll need when setting up your online business:

1. Purchasing a Domain Name

Your domain name is your online business name. Buying domain names vary in costs from one provider to another, but generally run between $10-12 per year. I’ve used Bluehost (since 2006) and GoDaddy (since 2010) for purchasing my domain names, but any site that you prefer to use is perfectly fine. I also use NameCheap and Bust-a-Name to brainstorm in finding suitable domain names and combinations.

Cost: $10/year

2. Web Hosting

Once you have a business domain name, you’ll need somewhere for that business to operate. It’s kind of like buying a shingle (domain name) and then finding a building (web host) to hang the shingle. The hosting provider keeps your blog up and running on the internet. This cost also varies, but you can expect to spend about $10-15 per month to host your blog, depending on your selection and what features they offer. If you ever decide to cease your hosting service at any point, most providers offer a 90-day money back guarantee. For me, yet again Bluehost is my web host of choice. I’ve been with them since 2006, have experienced very little down time or problems. But, for you to be totally comfortable in what will be a long-term relationship, be sure to shop around, ask questions and get what you’re looking for and what will match your needs.

Cost: ~ $14/month

3. The Content Management System (CMS)

You can use either a free CMS like Blogger where you set up your blog to run on the free site. Or, you can use the WordPress CMS (I’ve always used this). WordPress is free when you download to your site. (See my lengthier post on the free vs. the self-hosted blogs.)

Cost: $0/month

4. Purchasing or Using Free Themes

Many themes are free with WordPress downloads, but can be limiting. However, there are also premium WordPress themes available from an assortment of online vendors for different prices that you can use to enhance your site. A couple of sites to look at for premium themes is Elegant Themes (which have a wide assortment of themes that are compatible with WordPress) and Studiopress Themes, (which is what I use to build my own site and client sites). The right theme can do wonders for your site.

Cost: $0/month  (value: $300)

5. Free or Paid Plugins

There are several free and very few paid plugins that you’ll need. Most everything you need is free, and I’ll show you the most important ones that you’ll need to download to your WordPress site, including the best ones for security, backups and data tracking. There are other fee-based keyword trackers (Long Tail Pro, Market Samurai, etc.) that can significantly enhance your keywords and blog content, but you won’t have to be concerned with that if you’re just getting started and want to just get good content up. This is something to consider in the future, once your blog is more established.

Cost: $0/month

6. Automated Software

Depending on what you’re selling or offering, you’ll want to be sure to automate your process as much as possible. That means Ecommerce functions, email marketing software (Aweber, GetResponse) or having scheduled blog postings that need to be automated in order to keep you productive and things moving along.

Cost: Can vary ~$20/month

7. Payment Gateways

This is how you’ll get paid! There are an assortment of free portals with different user requirements, but most of them are all free of charge to use (PayPal, E-junkie, etc.). They usually charge a small percentage of each transaction or have a limited amount of monthly transactions per user. I’ll share with you each major one, how to set it up and how to automate it so you can focus on just doing business.

Cost: $0/month

8. Blog Coaching

If you’re new to blogging, you absolutely need guidance or at the very least some type of mentoring system in place. Whether you connect with a blogging group, hire a business trainer, ask a friend or other home-based entrepreneur, make sure you bounce your ideas off of a LIVE person so you can make sure you’re not just spinning your wheels. I’m also offering the option of my own blog coaching services as a part of my blog tutorial series and also as a fellow blogger. For the blog tutorial students, I’ll be offering assessment services free of charge for the entire 6 weeks that the course will be given. I’m going to be available to the students to give tips and answer their questions as they set up their blogs. My personal unlimited coaching services will include Skype (I’m on CST), Facebook and email coaching for any new online marketers who take this course. (Outside of the course, my blog coaching fees are competitive in the market at $35/hour).

Cost: $27/month

You are welcome to use this information as a guide as you set up any website or blog that you already have. Since these are general expenses, remember that as you’re shopping around and getting prices.