Do you want to take your freelance business to the next level?
There’s a problem to solve, and you have the solution. You just need the resources to deliver at the highest level.
Here are the tools I recommend.
Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. For more details, please read my full disclosure.
Courses
Earn More Writing
I'll start with a disclaimer - I have not taken this course. But I know several 6-figure freelance writers who have, and who credit Earn More Writing as being instrumental in their success. You can purchase add-ons, but the standard course is a steal at $199. If you're trying to build a freelance writing business, it's an investment worth making!
Hit Publish
Every freelancer should have their own website. But starting a blog and creating content that builds an audience isn't easy, the learning curve is steep! Hit Publish teaches you how to write high quality articles that rank on Google, helping you avoid the early mistakes so many new bloggers make. Course creator Ashley Barnett is the content mastermind behind some of the highest traffic blogs in the business, and she's also a good friend. This course wasn't around when I was starting out, and I wish it was.
Tools
Zero to Freelance Work With Me Page Printable
Struggling to create a Work With Me Page for your freelance website? We've got you covered with our FREE Work With Me Page printable. This one-pager lists the 6 key ingredients every Work With Me page needs, along with some Do's and Don't's. Head to the landing page, become an email subscriber, and grab the full-color PDF!
Zero to Freelance Content Management for Freelance Writers
This simple, yet powerful Google spreadsheet is what I use to track all of my client projects, as well as my income. Manage content, record daily word counts, track your time and income, all in one place. There's even a built-in habit tracker that lets you create word count goals, and challenges you to stick to a daily writing habit.
Grammarly Premium
A mistake I made early on in my freelance business was not using Grammarly to back up my work. All along, I knew that my writing often lacked clarity, and to a lesser degree, tone. As soon as I began using Grammarly Premium, everything improved. Whether you write as a hobby or you get paid, don’t do what I did. Sign up with Grammarly, and thank me later. There is a free version, but Grammarly Premium has a lot more to offer, for less than $12/month.
SiteGround
When you build your freelance website, you'll need a web hosting service. There are several that can get the job done, i.e. BlueHost, HostGator, but the one I recommend is SiteGround. Why is that? Their customer service is THE best I've ever experienced when dealing with an online business. I've been with them for over two years, and they continue to amaze me with their responsiveness and desire to help. With an introductory price of $6.99/mo, the StartUp Plan is perfect if you only have 1 website to manage.
FreshBooks
I ask A LOT of freelancers which invoicing software they use, and the most common response is always FreshBooks. It’s packed with features and functions seamlessly on desktop or mobile. Throw in the capability for online payment, advanced time tracking, and a ton of 3rd party integrations, and you end up with a top-notch app to help you run your business. Right now, you can get 70% off for 3 months using my exclusive link.
Books
Atomic Habits
In the spring of 2019, I was making about $500/month in my freelance side hustle and was struggling with how to grow my income in the limited number of hours I had each month. That's when I picked up James Clear's Atomic Habits on a whim. Within four months, my freelance income had tripled, and within a year, I was earning almost $4000/month. My problem wasn't a lack of work. I didn't have the systems in place to work effectively. More than anything, what Atomic Habits taught me is that success is often nothing more than the sum of many small improvements, repeated over and over again. If you're struggling to stick to good habits and break bad ones, you need to read this book.
Affiliate Disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with some of the brands listed below, which means that I will receive a commission, at no cost to you, when you purchase a product or service after clicking through from this page. I only recommend products that I myself have used, or can recommend based on the feedback of people I trust. For more details, please read my full disclosure.