Sarah Caron and Leticia Barr presented a session on freelance writing and problogging at the Type A Parent Conference Advanced in Philadelphia in 2013. This session was designed to provide experience bloggers with helpful tips on how to find professional blogging opportunities, writing good pitches, approaching editors, and finding freelance gigs.

1. Freelance Writing and
Problogging
Leticia Barr and Sarah W. Caron

2. Introductions
Leticia Barr
TechSavvyMama.com
@TechSavvyMama
Sarah W. Caron
SarahCaron.com
@SarahWCaron

3. Problogging:
Start with your own blog
• Don’t forget about your own blog
• Your blog is a marketing avenue for your
work
§ Make sure the content and look demonstrates
what you can do
§ Invest time and money in your own site to polish
it for professional gigs
• Keep an eye out on job boards like

4. Problogging:
Finding opportunities
• Network!
o Think about who you know in the PR world
o Make sure others in the space know your
skills
• Keep an eye out on job boards like
ProBlogger

5. Problogging:
Sponsored opps?
• Another avenue of problogging
• Demonstrates your ability to blend your
blog with a sponsor's messag

6. Problogging:
Finding sponsored opps
• Sites like Social Spark
• Networks such as:
o Clever Girls Collective
o BlogFrog
o The Motherhood
o Collective Bias
o Mom Central
o Mom it Forward

7. Freelance Writing:
Know who you're pitching
Understand who we are as a site, who our
audience is (or ask if you’re not sure), and
the voice and approach we feature on the
site.
~Michael Kress, Parents.com

8. Freelance Writing:
How to write a good pitch
• Don't be dry
• Show your personality
• Know how to tailor your experience to
opportunities
• Don't send a general pitch!

9. Freelance Writing:
Approaching editors
A straightforward, straight-to-the point
email, explaining the idea in some detail and
why I should be interested in it, how you will
approach the topic and how you will source
the piece, and your own credentials and the
expertise and/or experience you bring to the
story.
~Michael Kress, Parents.com

10. Freelance Writing:
Polish your writing samples
• Join a writing group
• Develop a personal tribe
• Edit. Edit. Edit. And then edit more.

11. Freelance Writing:
Why editors will take a chance on you
The story idea is most important. Make sure it’s
not already on the site—a cardinal sin in pitching,
of course—and that it fits the personality and goals
of the site as you understand them from reading
the site. Experience as a professional writer
(especially in the parenting realm) and/or as an
expert in the field helps but is not essential.
~Michael Kress, Parents.com

12. Freelance Writing:
Finding freelance gigs
• MediaBistro
• ProBlogger.net
• Ed2010
• JournalismJobs
• Craigslist (exercise caution!)

13. Freelance Writing:
How to get repeat assignments
No great magic here: Be a professional, by which I
mean, do your assignments well—keep the articles
crisp, readable, on point, accurate and well
sourced, and at the length we request—hand them
in on time, and be able to handle feedback and do
needed revisions or answer questions without a
problem.
~Michael Kress, Parents.com

14. Freelance Writing:
Managing your business
• Personal editorial calendar
o Tools: paper calendar, online calendar,
printable templates available online
• Tracking your business
o Spreadsheets can help track pitches, and
assignments, invoices, and income
o Tools: Google Spreadsheets, Excel,
QuickBooks, FreshBooks, paper and pen

15. Freelance Writing:
Managing your business
• Long term contracts vs. one off
assignments
o Pros and cons of both
• Worthwhile investments
o Invest in yourself to maintain connections
o Prioritizing tools to invest in and what to skip

16. Freelance Writing:
Social networking for writers
• Importance of being active on social
networks
• Deciding which networks to spend your
time on
• Using social networking to get gigs
o Yes, it happens!

17. Next steps:
Make an action plan
• Sign up for blog networks and sites to
locate freelance gigs
• Know how to tailor your experience to
opportunities
• Diversify your writing
• Hone your niche

18. Daily Reminders:
Tips for success
• Edit!
• Network, network, network
• Take a chance! Don't be afraid to apply for
opportunities you feel are a good fit

19. Questions?
Contact us:
o Leticia: TechSavvyMama@gmail.com
@TechSavvyMama
o Sarah: Sarah@SarahCaron.com
@SarahWCaron