Finding a balance…seems to be the ultimate challenge in life, right? Balance to me has never been about finding “the answer” to the problem, but rather learning how to juggle this and that in a manner that seems somewhat successful. Haha. I’ve also realize that what feels balanced right now can easily feel out of whack a week later. That constant adjusting is actually a really smart thing to do and it’s also important to know that you’re never going to figure “it” out fully. Knowing that is actually really reassuring. We’re all juggling.

I’m a huge planner and someone who likes to have a say in how things are going to take shape. I know that’s silly because I can’t control the universe, but I sure do try. The beauty and the beast of freelance/consultant work is that you have to live in a world with very little to no certainty or set path. That uncertainty will constantly be swirling around the timeline of your next paycheck, who going to hire you, and how your going to evolve your brand over time. That uncertainty is also the guide to many unexpected awesomeness. You will get more info at smart-ak .

Hi guys. Are you dragging yourself out of bed today, just I like I am? Man, Mondays are hard! I thought I’d start this week off my sharing some recent resources that have been helping me out as I figure out this world of full time freelance. It’s been 1.5 years and yup…still figuring it out.

BOOKS: The first life changing resource was suggested to me by the lovely Jessica Comingore. During one of our online chat sessions we got to talking about the always brought up topic, also known as pricing and proving your worth as a designer. We got to talking about specifics when it comes to pricing certain aspects of the work we did and she suggested I get my hands on the Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. I don’t know how this book slipped through my fingers, but it’s got concrete numbers you can use as a reference when pricing your services. It also has example invoice forms, contract, etc…all very useful! You can buy it on Amazon, here.

TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS: A few weeks ago, I reached out to a graphic designer Facebook group I’m a part of and inquired about the best online tool for keeping track of where your time goes throughout the day. I wanted to be able to log hours per client, per project and then see everything beautifully represented in a  graph at the end of the week. I know I was asking for a lot, but found my answer in the free app called Toggl. The interface is nicely designed, it’s easy to use, and it also comes in a desktop and mobile version so you can track your time no matter where you’re working. Others that were suggested to me were RescueTime, and the StayFocused Chrome Plugin.

I’m sure you’ve heard about one of the biggest things to hit the web in the last few years: blogging.

A “blog” (derived from the term “web log”) is basically just a website with two key differences: First, it’s extremely easy to add information to it. A blog is like an online journal, so you just log in, type what happened today, post it, and you’re done! Second, you can add a simple little feature that automatically tells a whole bunch of other websites that you’ve made an update to your blog–every time you make a change.

However, what you may not know is that a blog can also be a very powerful marketing tool for your business, and some people actually earn an income just from blogging alone, learn more about professional marketing tools at https://www.advertisepurple.com/what-is-affiliate-marketing/ or sites like https://victoriousseo.com/verticals/wordpress-seo/.

The fact is, blogging is fast becoming an extremely important strategy for any online marketer. An effective blog can:

• drive swarms of traffic to your main website,
• generate more product sales,
• create an additional stream of advertising income,
• be a great customer service tool,
• and much more!

Blogs have an informal, conversational style, and readers can join in by commenting on each post. Blogs can be chatty, informative, opinionated and often humorous, and it’s this “human” aspect of blogs that draws many people to them.

But the best part about blogs is how accessible they are to everyone. Blogs are free (or very inexpensive) to set up using services like Blogger or TypePad . They’re also easy to use (you can literally create your own blog in less than five minutes) and easy to promote with all the new tools and resources that have been created specifically for blogs.

How You Can Use a Blog to Accelerate Online Success

The fact is, blogs are no longer just online diaries of people’s personal lives. Both online and offline businesses can use blogs to take their products and services to a wider audience, increasing their traffic, leads and sales.

Let’s look more closely at a few of the extremely powerful ways your business can benefit from a blog. With an effective business blog, you can:

• Humanize your business. Because a blog is much more informal than other websites, you can write posts in your own voice and give your business more of a human face. This helps reassure prospective customers that there’s a “real person” behind the website who’ll take care of their needs. It also allows you to inject much more of your own personality into your online business than your main sales site could do.
• Improve your customer service. Your blog can act as a kind of interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and you to answer them. You can also provide product updates, how-to articles, and other information of relevance to your customers. Prospective customers who see your blog will be encouraged by your commitment to good customer service.
• Give your target market the information they’re looking for. With its automatic archiving feature–by date and category–a blog is a fantastic content-management system. It’s easy for you to post new information on a regular basis, and it’s easy for your visitors to find the information they want. With a well-written, regularly updated blog, you can become a reliable resource in your industry and build a following of loyal readers who depend on your content. These people will be your best potential customers.
• Drive traffic to your sales website. If you already have a website, a blog can give your traffic levels a real boost. For starters, your blog will attract new visitors that you can then redirect to your main sales website through links and special offers. But an even more effective technique is to use strategic keywords and links to specific sales pages to dramatically improve the search engine rankings of both your blog and your main website.
• Build your credibility and establish yourself as an industry expert. You can give your credibility a real boost by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. It’s a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area, and allow your visitors to feel much more comfortable buying from you.
• Promote your products or services. You can actually sell products directly from a blog, or you can use your blog to mention new products and direct visitors to your sales website.
• Generate extra income. There are now several advertising programs available, such as Google AdSense, that allow you to monetize your blog and generate an extra revenue stream.

3 Key Tips for Starting a Business Blog

Excited yet? You should be–blogging’s not just a winning strategy, it’s also a lot of fun! The beauty of blogging is that you can easily incorporate it into your daily schedule of tasks. You can even blog when you’re on the road.

But what does it take to become a really successful blogger?

1. Great content: If your content isn’t interesting and relevant to your target market, your blog won’t work. It’s as simple as that. You’ll be surprised, however, how easy it is to find things to write about if you really put your mind to it. It could be news articles about your industry, product updates, interviews, personal insights into topics of importance to your target audience, and much more.
2. Regular updating: I won’t lie to you: there are some days when I really find it hard to find the time to post a new article. But if I don’t post, no one will come back. It’s like subscribing to a daily newspaper but only getting a copy delivered now and then! So post often and your audience will keep coming back. And regularly adding fresh content to your blog also gives you a boost in the search engine rankings.
3. Your own distinct voice: It’s important that you write in your own voice. A blog is no place for formality and corporate speak. It’s more of a forum, a place where ideas can flourish and topics of current interest can be debated. You don’t even need to be a brilliant writer; you just need to be able to relate to your audience and give them good content.

To blog or not to blog….seems to be the summer blog trend. It’s trendy to say “I’ll be back next week”, but this freedom has me feeling a bit disconnected, disconnected from my norm. My routine is off and my inspiration juices aren’t flowing as fluidly as before. The emergence of summer really throws a wrench into the whole blogging process and finding inspiration and reasoning to STAY INSIDE is pretty darn impossible at times.

As many of you loyal readers know, blogging is a full time job of gathering inspiration, processing information, taking photos, creating original content, writing, typing, and hopefully hitting publish after the exhausting process. Who the hell wants to endure all of that when you could go drink lemonade on a picnic blanket?