I’ve got a number of freelancing blogs that I read and enjoy during the week, links to some of which you’ll find in the sidebar. But I’m always on the lookout for more.

If you’re writing about your freelance career and experiences, blogging about starting up your business, working online, then I’d love to hear from you. These kind of things are of great interest to me - watching people take an idea “from the page to the stage” so to speak.

Leave a comment with your link or RSS feed, bag yourself a new reader of your works (and possibly a link on the sidebar as well).

Popularity: 21% [?]

FreeAgent is a streamlined money management tool for busy freelancers. It takes care of your money, letting you get on with running your business.

This one was flagged to me today as I continue to explore options on managing your finances and billing as a freelancer. While I’m quite content continuing with FreshBooks, a service I’ve spoken about in the past, it is always good to keep the options open.

FreeAgent Central will certainly be of more assistance to those based in the UK as the online software caters for

• UK VAT Returns
• UK Balance Sheets
• UK Corporation Tax (if you’re in company mode)
• UK Income Tax

Having gone through the tax and accounts cycle in recent months, I can tell you that every little bit of assistance helps when it comes to working out your taxes for the year!

As an accounting solution, FreeAgent keeps track of the money coming in and going out. You get access to an invoice timeline, account statements, time tracking on projects, out of pocket expenses and more. You can also create a log in for your accountant to enable them organise information needed when it comes to filing for your end of year accounts.

There are a few price plans, the first available being US$20 per month for a universal account (the UK accounts have different settings when it comes to tax etc.) but your first 30 days are free. If, like me, you’re continuing to explore options on managing the finance end of your freelancing business, then give FreeAgent a look.

You’re not tied into any contracts either so if you decide to cancel after a month, or two months, you’ll only pay for what you’ve used.

If you’re already a FreeAgent user, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below or feel free to drop me an email.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Unexpected as it was, there’s been a break in blogging activities for the Pro Freelance Blogger.

Normal service resumes, thankfully, as I’ve managed to put a number of projects behind me over the past ten days or so, as well as cram in a long weekend working on a music festival.

If there’s one tip that I can offer you if you’re working for yourself - get out of the office and volunteer for something creative. Sure, you might get paid, maybe not, but it’s hard to beat the joy of working a few days in a completely different environment with a lot of creative minds (and in my case some very creative musicians).

Let’s see what comes out of the blog bag today…

Popularity: 10% [?]

I had a terrific and in depth conversation last night with someone in a pub (a quiet pub). There was a lot of talk about business, business ideas, eventually swinging around to promoting yourself online through the use of blogs and social media. I ran through a number of points as to why you need to have a blog when you’re working online so here are 10 reasons freelancers (that includes you!) need a blog…

1. A Blog Is A *Free* Promotional Tool
   If you want to get run a blog for yourself, you can have one up and running in a matter of minutes thanks to free services like Blogger or my preferred Wordpress. Wordpress offers a free hosting service or a DIY service (if you’ve got your own domain and hosting).
2. Google Loves Blogs
   It’s not just Google either… search engines love blogs. Your content is written in a structured form, proper headers, keywords and content and every time you write a blog post you’re pinging a number of services to say “hey, look over here, see what I’ve written today!”. Your blog content can appear on some search engines in a matter of minutes making you instantly searchable online.
3. Blogging Breeds Networking
   Because you’re searchable online you can now attract people interested in your niche or area of expertise. As blogs come with an open comment platform and easy ways for people to contact you, you are now opening the door to networking and making new connections with fellow freelancers and bloggers in your area of work.
4. You Get To Showcase Your Work
   You can use your blog to showcase samples of your work, running a blog as a free portfolio site. Why not post about jobs you’ve just finished, or as a writer, provide samples of upcoming articles
5. Email & RSS
   Through services like FeedBurner you can provide free email subscriptions and promote your RSS feed across the web. Your RSS feed contains references to each and every post you write. If someone subscribes to your RSS feed through a web browser or email service, they are getting your latest news, updates, portfolio updates - whatever you post. All this without having to come back to your website to see what you’re doing, allowing you to broaden both your network and audience and be seen on a greater scale.
6. Blogs Generate Money & Income
   While it is hard work to earn thousands of dollars a month in blog revenue, it is not impossible to start earning revenue as early as tomorrow. Services like Google Adsense, Widgetbucks, Text Link Ads all exist to help you earn revenue from displaying advertising on your blog. If the ads are relevant to the content your offering and relevant to your blog audience, you have a chance of earning revenue from people clicky your ads or trying affiliate services from your blog. The busier your blog, the higher the chance of creating a good revenue stream for yourself. Over time you can use this income to offset further online costs - pay your hosting bills, your Skype credit, buy software licenses, put a downpayment on a house (you see where this is going…)
7. You Can Become An Authority
   If you’re going out to work for yourself as a freelancer, an assumption is made that you already have the skills to complete the jobs at hand. You’ve got skills, experience, knowledge, know how - so use it. A blog is the perfect tool to assist you in being seen as an authoritative figure on your chosen blog topic / niche / career-type. You can share this knowledge by posting your tips, sharing your stories, helping people with tutorials and advice. This all goes towards building your audience, increasing your visibility, building your own brand.
8. Blogging Can Attract Potential Customers & Clients
   I’ve had it done - someone comes along and sees that I’ve written a number of blog posts on a particular topic, or have written a lengthy post on a particular topic and next thing you know I’m being approached for work. As an example, a number of articles I’ve posted across other blogs have lead to a blog seminar I’m leading this summer; my podcast shows (which I do out of sheer love of music) have brought offers of podcast work. You have the tools to do the same - promoting your work and practices through your blog opens the door not just to readers, but potential customers and new clients. After all, you never know who might be watching your blog.
9. Blogging Is Learning
   I’ve started a number of blogs in the past on topics I knew little or nothing about (American Football being one) but through writing blog posts and researching topics online for potential blog posts, I’m learning all the time. After a while I had no problem explaining the rules of the game, sharing my thoughts on player deals, coach tactics and beyond. You can use blogging and blog writing to help keep yourself to the front of your game. Practice and evolve structured writing, publishing reviews, critiques, how-to articles, and learn by reading other blogs, researching subjects, discovering news from within your industry.
10. People Like To See The Person
    It is an element of human nature that we like to know what each other is up to. Greetings in the street always start with “Hi, how are you?” or “Hi, any news?”. You can use a blog to keep people updated on projects, test the waters on a new idea, tell people what it is you’re up to. People like to see the person and people like to read what the person is up to in life, allowing you to connect with people on a whole new level. Be personal in your blogging, but not too personal.

Can you think of anything else? Feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add your suggestion to the list.

Popularity: 18% [?]