The following is a guest post by Carmen Rane Hudson. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Freelance writing provides a wonderful opportunity for people who want to work from home.  However, building a successful freelance career is about more than getting the words on paper. Some of the most helpful skills a freelance writer can possess are not writing skills at all.  These “other skills” are the skills that can set you apart from your competition and help you land more jobs.  Here are 4 skills that will help keep those gigs coming.

Interviewing Skills

Some of the best information, the information that will really make projects great, can’t be found on any website or in any library.  Some of this information is all locked up in the minds of some fairly fascinating individuals.

You don’t have to be a reporter to make this work for you.  Often, the only person you’ll have to interview is your client.  Clients often start looking for ghostwriters specifically because they have information or stories to share.  They don’t necessarily want to waste a lot of time jotting down a bunch of notes for you.  Yet many freelance writers don’t want to use any other mode of communication besides e-mail and instant messaging.  You can land these gigs by being the one guy who is willing to spend a few hours on the phone, asking questions and listening to the answers.

Besides, these writing pieces can be some of the easiest products you’ll ever craft.  Interview subjects, especially those who want you to write a book for them, tend to be very passionate about their subject matter.  Many can talk for hours while you quietly take notes.  Once you’re off the phone the research phase of your project is generally complete.  You will be able to immediately turn your attention towards presenting that information in a format the reader will enjoy.

Formatting Skills

A lot of people who buy writing services just want a finished product so they can get on with the business of marketing that product.  Offering even the most basic of formatting help can give you a jump on your competition.  This could mean adding borders, inserting a table of contents, creating basic covers and using footers in a professional way.  Offering a PDF version of your work could also represent a major boon for clients.

Though it’s not an art I’ve yet comfortable with for myself, writers who learn how to format their work for e-readers are likely to enjoy a massive income in the very near future.  This skill isn’t an easy one to master, but it’s growing in demand.  Clients ask me about this service constantly. I predict that anyone who can both write, and format that writing for the Kindle, will find clients ready to hand them money by the shovel-load.

Posting and Submission Skills

Do you know how to post an article directly to WordPress or Ezine.com?  Can you create an auto-responder with all of the correct settings in GetResponse once you’ve written the text for the e-mails?  If a client asked you to submit his press release through PR Web, would you know how to do so?

Many of your potential clients don’t know how to do many of these things.  Many more of your potential clients would prefer not to take the time to do them.  These skills give you an easy way to add value to your work.  They also don’t take up very much of your time.  Thus, you achieve a win-win for both you and the client.  Few writers offer these sorts of services as part of their standard service package.  Being one of the few writers who does will give you an edge.

Consulting Skills

It pays to understand exactly what a client is attempting to accomplish with a particular writing piece.  It also pays to know how he can go about accomplishing that goal.  That way, you’re prepared with a real, helpful answer should the client ask you what his next steps should be.

Educate yourself on branding, marketing, traditional publishing, self-publishing, list building, traffic generation, social media and copywriting.  At some point, one of your clients will have a question about at least one of these items.

Some of your clients are brand new entrepreneurs.  They may be using your writing services to help them build their work-from-home internet business.  Don’t just be a contractor to these people—be a resource.  Be ready to steer them in exactly the right direction.  If they’re about to make a change to the title of their book, for example, that would absolutely gut their ability to differentiate their brand, be ready to say so.  They might not always take your advice, but they’ll appreciate the fact that you’ve given it with confidence.  Just make sure you know enough to give good advice.  Be able to tell your client why you’re advising what you’re advising.

This awareness also helps you up-sell, which will increase your income faster than finding brand new clients each time you try to get to work.  Up-selling is as simple as asking: “Will you need a press release to go with this book?”  It’s a sale you’re more likely to make if you understand how and why the press release would help your client in the first place.

The Bottom Line

Look for ways to increase your value as a writer and as a business partner.  If you do this, you’ll be more than just another freelancer—you’ll be that professional people are dying to have on their side.

About the Author:

Carmen Rane Hudson is also known as The Deadline Dervish, and has been a freelance writer since 2009.  She also maintains a course for aspiring freelance writers at www.sevendayfreelancer.com.

The following is a guest post by Bailey Harris. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

If you are a freelance writer or editor, or would like to be, you can find many places online that post new job opportunities every day. With a little bit of time and a few clicks of your mouse, you may find just what you are looking for. Here are 10 great sites that regularly post freelance writing and editing jobs.

Freelance Switch – Although it costs nothing to browse job listings here, for $7.00 a month, subscribers to Freelance Switch can apply to any of the jobs they are interested in. Freelancers are welcome to view forums, read blogs, and have access to a comprehensive resource directory for free.

Freelance Writing – Since 1997, this free user-friendly website has assisted many freelancers in finding successful writing and editing jobs. This site also features current workshops and events, writing contests, discussion forums, and more.

Freelanced.com – Here job seekers can search writing and editing jobs and even post a profile so they can be sought out by potential employers. Before browsing, writers and editors can view featured freelance jobs. Each of the featured posts indicates how much the job pays as well as the number of people that have already applied. This information can be seen without even clicking on the job, making it easier to decide if it’s something worth checking out.

FreelancerCareers.com – Membership at FreelancerCareers.com is free, and it allows freelancers to browse a large database of jobs. Here members can choose projects that best fit what they are looking for.

GoFreelance – At GoFreelance, writers and editors can browse jobs by choosing a specific category or by doing a simple keyword search. Freelancers also have the option of signing up for “The Secrets of Freelance Success.” This feature is free and includes daily updates on job postings via email, a report entitled “How to Find Freelance Work,” and a free course on successful freelance writing.

iHirePublishing – By signing up for a free membership, freelance editors can search over 2,000 job postings. Job searches can be done by keying in a job title or zip code.

Online Writing Jobs.com – This site allows freelance writers to view thousands of job opening ads. Quick searches can be done by clicking on a category–categories include Freelance Writing Jobs, Freelance Magazine Writing Jobs, Blogging Jobs, Website Writing, and more.

PoeWar – This easy-to-use site features “job lists” to help the browser narrow down job searches. Searches can also be done by category or month. Being able to search by month makes it simple to find the most up-to-date postings.

Simply Hired – Here freelancers can view writing and editing jobs by location or keyword search, or simply by browsing posted ads. By signing up for a free account, members are able to save job searches, and can even receive email alerts when new jobs are listed.

Sunoasis Jobs – Becoming a subscriber to Sunoasis is free, and it allows freelance writers and editors to search job postings and job links. By signing up, new job posts and links can be sent directly to the member’s email.

Long gone are the days of daunting job searches. With today’s technology, freelance writers and editors can find work online without even stepping outside the home or office. It’s quick and simple, and most of the sites are free to use. By taking some time to browse for freelance writing and editing jobs online, finding a job that fits your needs and qualifications might be easier than you think.

About the Author

Bailey Harris is a freelance writer. Bailey writes on many topics, including Auto Insurance Quotes for www.carinsurancequotes.net.

The following is a guest post by Joel Ohman. If you like to guest post on this blog, please contact me.

The person who says that there’s a business that can be started in a day without any real work or planning involved is simply lying, and the person who says freelancing is not a real business but just someone living day to day finding whatever work happens to come along is plain wrong.

Growing any business takes time and effort, and freelancing takes dedicated determination — sometimes even working a regular 40 hour job on top of the freelancing until the freelance work begins to bring into the household a regular, steady paycheck.

That all said, here are 10 freelance jobs that can be started up in a single day without requiring a large upfront investment or causing you to ring up charges like crazy on your business credit card and go into debt:

1. Catering
2. Consultant
3. Delivery Driver
4. Desktop Publishing
5. Event Planning and Promotion
6. Freelance Writing
7. Home Cleaning
8. Telemarketing
9. Tutoring
10. Web Page Design

Each of these freelance positions require little to no equipment, have very low start-up costs and do not necessarily require any special kind of education (additionally, most do not even require any special business licenses or certification as does many types of sales oriented careers like selling auto insurance as an insurance agent or selling real estate as a realtor).

Catering

A lot of people believe catering is all about setting up fancy dinner parties inside hotels or entertainment halls. For the most part, they would be correct; however, there is much more to catering than big wedding parties or corporate sponsored events. Plus, one can start up right out of his or her own kitchen.

Some caterers specifically work for restaurants, providing specialty dishes and desserts. Other caterers work on a smaller level, coming into someone’s personal kitchen, preparing several weeks worth of meals, then freezing the rest for the client to use at a later date.

To work on a larger scale, such as a wedding or graduation party or other event, a caterer can contract with a company that provides catering equipment and supply rentals. Most larger cities have such a service, and the caterer can rent anything from salad forks and tablecloths to candle globes. The caterer does not have to store or maintain any of these supplies, only pass the cost onto the client, set-up and tear down.

Consultant

In today’s tough economic environment where the displaced worker seems to be more of the norm than full-time, regular employment, consulting can become not only a viable option, but a lucrative option. Anyone that has acquired enough experience in one specific field can become a consultant. Flip to the back of any industry trade magazine, and there is a list of consultants for hire.

Of course, advertising in a trade magazine can be an expensive up-front investment, especially for someone just starting out or for someone who has just lost his or her job. Job, Interview, and image specialists (which are consultants themselves) offer the following advice: put aside bad feelings, and approach the company that fired you. More than likely, the company did not want to do the firing or the laying off in the first place, but the budget had to be cut somewhere, and now they are left short-handed.

Delivery Driver

Small companies are popping up all over the country’s metropolitan areas offering delivery services. These delivery services handle everything from medical supplies to hospitals and nursing homes to hamburgers and milkshakes to local households.

Interestingly though, these delivery companies normally do not have employees; instead, they contract out with people to do the deliveries. All one requires to get involved in such a freelance job is a vehicle and a clean driving record, and depending upon how the delivery service is set-up, the driver can contract with various companies.

Desktop Publishing

Desktop Publishing does require at least the availability of a computer. Software requirements include software applications such as:

• Adobe’s InDesign
• Microsoft’s Publisher
• Quark Express
• PageMaker

However, these commercial-grade desktop publishing software solutions can cost a hefty penny—Adobe’s InDesign, for example, costs nine hundred dollars. Freeware is not a bad option to get started with. Several excellent programs are available for desktop publishing experts. Here are a few:

• Scribus
• Serif PagePlus Starter Edition
• OpenOffice
• Avery DesignPro
• GIMP
• Inkscape

Some of the different products a desktop publisher can put together and design are:

• Newsletters
• Flyers
• Banners
• Posters
• Business cards
• Invoice and purchase order designs
• Print media kits and news briefs
• Professional letterhead

Event Planning and Promotion

Event planning and promotion is sometimes confused with catering, but the majority of event planners actually contract with caterers to provide the food needs of their clients.

An event planner and promoter coordinates and advertises an event. An event planner can provide theses services to many different and varied clients. The most common clientele is the up and coming music band.

A band schedules a gig at a local bar, but they want to turn this into more of a party or public relations effort as opposed to just a gig at a local bar. The band then hires the event planner and promoter to turn a simple gig into the must attend event of the season.

The second most common event a planner and promoter will coordinate is a wedding. Other possibilities include:

• Corporate team building events
• Anniversary parties
• Class reunions
• Gala openings
• New Business Opening Celebrations

Freelance Writing

For the general public not involved in freelance work, the most common or well known freelance job would be that of a writer. People tend to picture a brooking author hunched over a desk or sipping coffee at the local coffee shop, alone and enjoying the solitude.

This is far from the truth.

The freelance writer is heavily involved with people – editors, clients, newspaper and magazine publishers, just to name a few.

Some of the possible jobs for a freelance writer include:

• Newspaper sports stringer
• Magazine author
• Short story author
• Creating online content
• Brochure content
• Greeting card content

One does not need a degree, experience or a computer to get started freelance writing. He or she just needs to be a good writer. For Internet work, a library computer can easily be utilized.

Of course, experience is a plus, but this can be easily aquired through online based writing sites such as textbroker.com or Demand Media Studios.

Home Cleaning

Home cleaning can be an interesting line of freelance work. People who don’t want to clean or don’t have the time to clean will hire the cleaner to come into the house either while they are present or sometimes when they are not present.

A home cleaning freelancer will do everything from the laundry and dishes to dusting and sweeping. The home cleaner may also branch out to office cleaning as well.

Telemarketing

In the past, telemarketing jobs involved going to a call center office to make the phone calls. A lot of companies still operate in this traditional method of telemarketing. However, with today’s advanced technology, the possibility of telemarketing from home is a real and valid way of making money (and usually means that you do not even need to purchase business insurance as your home insurance policy may cover you already).

A lot of home-based telemarketing companies are a scam though (not all), asking for a considerable upfront investment of money and/or equipment.

Tutoring

For the most part, a tutor does need at minimum a bachelor’s degree in the field of study he or she will be teaching. Some cases may not require the degree — such as a parent looking to tutor his or her child in math may opt for a current college student majoring in math.

Or a college student can contract with the university he or she is attending to tutor other college students. Normally, in this situation, the tutor must have passed with high grades in the specific class he or she is tutoring for.

Tutoring is a business one can start pretty much immediately if one does possess the degree.

Web Page Design

Web page design is completely different from web programming. One does need to have a basic understanding of HTML, which is pretty easy to grasp, but the designer does not need to understand CSS sheets, java, C++ or PHP scripts.

The web page designer does need to have an excellent working knowledge of a graphics program such as PhotoShop (the industry standard) or its freeware equivalent Paint.NET.

The designer puts together the web site’s artwork design concept, then forwards this information off to the programmer who tears apart the artwork and design and turns it into functional programming for the Web.

Finding Clients

Though no entrepreneurially spirited venture can be totally and successfully started in a single day, this list of 10 freelance jobs that you can start today, come pretty close.

One still needs clients though.

Clients can be found through services such as Craigslist, Freelancer.com, posting your own website, or approaching your friends and family.

The following is a guest post by Kyle Simpson. If you would like to Guest Post on this blog, please contact me.

Some people just seem to have a better grasp of the English language than others.  Whether they know grammar, spelling, and punctuation like the back of their hands or they have a proven ability to turn a phrase, they can inform, influence, and inspire with their work.  And yet, a strong background in poetry, prose, or even technical writing does not necessarily ensure the ability to make a living with your craft.

So, here are 5 simple tips to help you get it together and adapt your writing style in such a way as to provide for a viable occupation.

1. Try everything.  You won’t really know what you’re capable of until you try, so get your hands on all kinds of work.  Write for publications and blogs with all different subjects, try your hand at marketing or advertising, create an e-zine, or pen some technical service manuals.  The ability to diversify will only make you more marketable (and it will help you figure out what you excel at and what you might want to avoid).
2. Join a service.  As a freelance writer, you will spend a lot of time hustling for jobs and fielding rejections.  This can be extremely disheartening.  To avoid some of the hassle, join a free website like Elance or ODesk that allows you to create a profile (that companies seeking service can peruse) and apply for jobs posted by their patrons.  If you get good reviews and offer a variety of samples, you may soon notice that you receive enough offers to keep you busy indefinitely.
3. Keep learning.  The best writers hone their style through both research and practice, so don’t be too hasty to rest on your laurels.  Just because blogging is big right now doesn’t mean it will keep you employed for the next ten years, so make sure you learn the ins and outs of different types of writing so that you have something to fall back on if the bottom of your bread-and-butter workload suddenly drops out.
4. Be professional.  This means you deliver what the client wants and exercise due diligence to ensure that your submissions meet their standards.  For example, an informative article written for a celebrity blog (think TMZ) is probably not suitable as a press release (even if they contain the same basic information).  And if you can’t tell the difference in style, you are going to be hard pressed to expand your business.  So put in the time to learn various formats so the client isn’t forced to explain your job to you (or give you the send-off).
5. Own it.  Your skill with language and proactive attitude will help you land jobs.  But it’s the personal flair you add to your work that will interest people in hiring you again and again.  Putting your personal stamp on your writing is what makes it desirable, so don’t be afraid to own it.  All famous writers are recognizable in their way.  For example, you wouldn’t confuse Stephen King with Edgar Allan Poe, or Jane Austen with J.K. Rowling.  In the long run, a signature style will get you a lot further than dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s.

About the Author: Kyle Simpson writes for Medical Coding Certification where you can find more information about a career and training in the medical field.