My first three months as a freelance blogger.

I began 2021 with a bit of a bang! I quit my regular job in the middle of a pandemic to start a new chapter. It felt like such a risk, but I put my big girl pants on & I did something for me. I embarked upon a new life, working as a freelance blogger. It's been three months since I made the jump, with lots of highs and lows. Here's my story & my first three months as a freelance blogger.

Why I decided to go freelance.

Why would I give up my stable income, for a job that provides the complete opposite? I have a mortgage, a family to provide for & an unknown at the time, baby on the way. Quitting my job goes against everything my family and society has ever taught me. It seems like madness doesn't it.

I've been blogging for quite some time now, and although I've always enjoyed it, I never really believed it could be something I could make a career out of. I'm too laid back and I'm the worst at keeping myself accountable. Was a freelance life really the right decision for me and my family? I guess I'd never know if I didn't try!

After turning thirty, enduring numerous lockdowns and feeling like it literally was 'now or never', I just knew that I had to go for it! Luckily I have a very supportive husband, who if anything, had been trying to get me to make the move for months. He gave me the reassurance & that extra push to do something for me!

I wanted to start 2021 trying and regain a bit of work/life balance. I've never been massively motivated by money, perhaps it's a downfall of mine? What I strive for however is time! My main goal is to regain time with my family and to enjoy my daughter whilst she's still young. If I could earn money whilst doing so that would be a bonus!

My initial feelings going freelance.

Although being a freelance blogger was always my dream, it was never something I actively sought out. Why? Because I'm the biggest self doubter of all the self doubters! It's one of my worst traits and something which annoys my Husband to no end!

I've been working on my website & growing my knowledge around blogging, marketing & SEO over the last six years. I enjoy it so it never really felt like work to me. Blogging never really felt like I was adding to my skillset so highly, because for me it was something I did as a hobby. It's always been something I'd do for fun.

So why couldn't I do something I did for fun as a career?.. There was absolutely no reason! When I got my head into this positive mindset, that's when the work started coming in. I'm not massively into manifestation, It's not really my thing. Although I couldn't help but think if the reason I was getting collaborations was because I was believing in myself and opening myself up to them.

How I gained work during my first three months as a freelance blogger.

It's naive to believe that bloggers get everything handed to them on a plate. We still have to apply for jobs like everybody else. In fact, I think it's actually harder because we apply for different jobs so regularly. Some weeks I'm applying for ten jobs a time. You really have to put yourself out there, which for me as someone who's pretty introvert, I originally found pretty difficult.

Knowing where to apply and what websites to use was one of the most difficult things. I had a certain level of pride in the beginning of my first three months as a freelance blogger; I didn't wan't to come across as the person who was asking all of the noob questions, but sometimes you just have to. Being vulnerable and opening myself up to other people, helped so much in terms of me knowing where to go for blogging work.

Get Blogged.

I have an account with Get Blogged & regularly check their website for jobs. I find their website really easy to use and one of the quickest ways to gain a bit of extra money. I've done various articles with them so far this year including 5 ways to create a visual impact with interior design, 5 things I'd do differently on my wedding day & 10 indoor activities to cure your kids boredom this lockdown. The payments aren't huge compared to other jobs I have taken on this year, however as a regular top up of income I think Get Blogged are brilliant.

Facebook groups.

Facebook is no longer a place for me to catch up with friends. During my first three months as a freelance blogger it's become more like a job centre to me. I'm part of various groups such as bloggers required, blogger opportunities & one that's more local to myself Yorkshire bloggers, events & opportunities. It's through a facebook group that I discovered Your Baby Club & have become a regular writer for them. This is one of my biggest career achievements as a freelance blogger as my work is being read by such a large audience. My latest article 'fourth trimester reassurances' has had such a high number of views & I couldn't be prouder.

Freelance for other bloggers.

Over the last three months I've picked up work freelancing for other bloggers. Essentially this means I have been doing work for them that they don't really have the time for. I haven't done a great deal of this as ultimately I'd rather be working on my own blog, however when the chance arrises to make a little bit of money, I've taken it. I gained this work through word of mouth and being recommended by another blogger which was lovely. I'm not sure if I would advertise these services, as like I say, I'd rather be working on my own content, but it was an easy and fun way to make a bit of extra money.

Affiliate links

I've only just started dipping my toes into the world of affiliate marketing. If you didn't know, affiliate links work like a commission scheme. A specific link is created giving the blogger a percentage of commission at no extra cost to the person buying the product or service. Affiliate links seem like a no brainer & an easy way to make a bit of extra money through very little effort. I've recently signed up to Awin & Amazon affiliates, I just need to use them properly & put them into practice.

Keeping on top of emails.

You know I mentioned earlier that bloggers don't get things handed to them on a plate. Well sometimes we do & it's such a good feeling. Over the last three months I've had a few wonderful opportunities make their way into my inbox. I'm grateful for all of these unexpected jobs & they're the brands I make sure I keep good relationships with. They're the types of jobs I feel I can charge more for as I think surely these people want to work with me, otherwise why would they initiate the collaboration. One of my favourite unexpected jobs was partnering with Onoco & telling new parents exactly why they needed the baby & toddler app. It's been my highest paying job so far and the one I feel the most proud of.

Twitter hashtags.

Twitter has quickly become one of my favourite social media platforms this year. I think it's because I've become so much more interactive over there. There are a few hashtags I regularly check such as #bloggersrequired, #bloggerswanted & #journorequest. The first two are the couple that generally put me in the right direction of blogging work, although I check the third because it has it's own separate benefits. I actively seen out journalists requests in the hope that I can gain back links from them. The more back links I can gain, the higher my Domain Authority becomes, which in turn means I have more evidence behind me to charge more money.

Gifted collaborations.

Receiving PR samples in exchange for free content is something I've tried to steer away from. I have taken on a few 'gifted campaigns' during my first three months as a freelance blogger, however have carefully chosen what I have decided to take on. The reason behind this is when I register as self employed (I'm currently in the £1000 hobby allowance) I have to declare items I have taken on as 'gifted' for tax purposes. I've worked with Femme Luxe a couple of times & often feature their clothes on my socials and within blog posts. One of my favourite PR samples from Femme Luxe has got to be this white cable knit wide leg loungewear set. I've barely taken it off! It's the most comfy thing, even for my expanding tum!

Knowing how much to charge.

I think this is the same as asking 'how long is a piece of string?'

The beauty of being a freelance blogger is that I can charge whatever I want. As I'm currently only three months into my journey I feel I'm not charging as much as I could, but I'm trusting the process!

Anything I can charge for, I charge giving myself an hourly wage & then add on any costings for outgoings. For me, my outgoings are very little at the moment. I pay for monthly hosting using Lyrical Host. They're tech geniuses who keep this little website of mine afloat. I have an affiliate link which gives you 10% off hosting with Lyrical Host - CLAIREMAC10. I'm lucky in the sense that as I'm just starting out my outgoings are relatively low.

Over the last three months I've become very knowledgable in my own abilities and understanding exactly how long a job will take me. This has given me the confidence to go to brands with my price & know I'm charging a fair amount which we can both be happy with. There have been times where I've gone in with a price and they've agreed straight away, which has made me think I should maybe have charged more. It's a learning curve that has only spurred me on to charge more on my next job.

Understanding that a brand aren't always going to agree to your price first time is something I've had to learn. If a brand can pay you less, of course they're going to want to, so it'd be naive of them not to ask. you just need to know when to barter, when to negotiate and when to say no.

How do I deal with an unsteady income?

I was always worried about loosing my steady income. It's why I didn't make the jump sooner, but the risk of an unsteady income was outweighed by so many positives.

I'm very lucky that my Husband is super supportive. I know if I have a month where I don't make an awful lot of money, then we'll be okay. We have a backup amount of money that was originally, and still is saved to act as a deposit for moving house. We haven't needed to dip into it so far...

How much did I make?

Let's talk about that fluctuating income. I assume that's what the vast majority of you will be interested in. You're nosey!... So am I! But please forgive me for not being 100% exact with my figures. I still want to keep a little smudge of secrecy.

January.

£250-£300

January was my busiest month work wise. I took on a lot of various jobs however didn't charge as much as I probably should have, nor did I question amounts. The influx of jobs definitely gave me a confidence boost in reassuring me that I'd made the right decision. I did a lot of work for quite a few different brands, for not a lot of money. Looking back now I know I could have charged a lot more for the work I'd completed. However I can also see the benefits of how it boosted me mentally.

February.

£150-£200

February was a bit of a dip for me. I didn't really have that much work on at all. This was disappointing for me although I was very self assured that this would be a rarity. It was also during this month I'd managed to secure extra work but was shortly after ghosted by a couple of brands after agreeing to collaborations. This experience was what I was most disappointed with. If the brands had gotten back to me and said 'we can no longer go ahead because of XYZ' I'd have been much more forgiving, however that wasn't the case. As rubbish as it is, I suppose the ghosting is all part of the parcel that comes with freelance working. It's only spurred me on to look out for more work.

March.

£500-£550

My best month to date! After quitting my job I had a rough idea of how much I'd like to (and need to) make before it'd be beneficial for us as a family. March is the first month I surpassed that target! Looking at my secured jobs for this month I've actually worked with the same amount of brands I had in January, but I've been paid almost double... And that's been down to my confidence! My first three months as a freelance blogger has propelled my self confidence so much! I can't wait to see what the next three bring!

Looking forward to the future as a freelance blogger.

I'm feeling very positive about the future! I knew I'd say this when I made the jump, but I really wish I'd done it sooner!

I love the balance that I have now acquired through quitting my 'regular job' and doing things my own way. I'm no longer woken up by an alarm, I get to spend all day with my daughter & I'm getting paid to do something I genuinely enjoy doing! Without sounding like a Mrs Braggy-Pants, I really feel like I'm living my best life! Let's see what the next three months will bring.

I'm really sorry this article has been a bit of an essay, but I hope you've found it interesting! I've really enjoyed reflecting on my first three months as a freelance blogger & I can't wait for the future.