On today’s show I provide a recap of The Content Byte Summit, which was held in Sydney, Australia, September 15-16. I attended virtually and was super impressed with the content, particularly all the discussion around artificial intelligence. There was also a lot of great tactical advice about running your freelance business, so even if you’re not a writer, I think …

The podcast is back after my summer hiatus! Thanks for continuing to listen and support the show.  Here’s what I share with you in today’s episode: Biz Bite: The 1% rule of thumb (by Brian Hood) The Bookshelf: “Beyond That, the Sea” by Laura Spence-Ash Resources:

Today’s guest is Austin Church from Knoxville, Tennessee. Austin helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. Lately, he’s been working as a fractional chief marketing officer (CMO), consulting for creator economy companies. He also coaches freelance creatives. Austin was one of the six-figure freelancers I featured on the show in May 2021. We’ve since become friends, and …

Today’s guest is Helen Jane  Campbell. Helen is from Wales and recently moved from Hay-on-Wye, Wales, to Worthing, England. Helen is a life and business coach for ambitious and creative entrepreneurs, bringing authenticity and energy to all she does. Clients turn to Helen when they feel ready to bring more joy, energy, and abundance into their lives and their teams. …

Melanie has appeared on several podcasts talking about being a freelance business owner, including providing writing and editing services to membership associations, particularly in health care. If you are interested in booking Melanie on your podcast, email her at melanie@meledits.com. 2022 The Freelance PodclassThe Freelance Writing Niche Class with Melanie Padgett Powers Hustle & Grace with Hilary SuttonSix-Figure Low Stress …

On today’s show I share my structure, agenda and my action plan developed during my most recent solo business retreat. Here’s what I share with you in this episode: Biz Bite: Let an app do your errands The Bookshelf: “The Verifiers” by Jane Pek Resources:

Today’s guest is Eman Ismail, an email strategist and copywriter who is originally from England and now lives in Finland. She also coaches copywriters.  Eman is the person to call when you want to make money from your emails. As an email conversion strategist and copywriter, she helps six-figure-plus online business owners and ecommerce brands fire up their conversions, evergreen …

On today’s show, I discuss how I found myself in the dreaded “famine” part of the feast-or-famine cycle and what I’m trying to do about it. Here’s what I share with you in this episode: Biz Bite: Use the two-minute rule to get things done The Bookshelf: “Nora Goes off Script” by Annabel Monaghan Resources:

Today’s guest is Ernie Smith, a longtime writer for nonprofits and membership associations. He also has a lot of experience in graphic design, content strategy, content management systems, newsletter creation, and content. Ernie is also a tech writer — that includes writing about technology for Vice magazine — and Ernie is a self-proclaimed tech nerd. His name and voice might …

On today’s show I discuss some client wins, a fail and some ongoing challenges in my freelance business so far in 2023.  Here’s what I share with you in this episode: Biz Bite: Consider your rubber balls versus your glass balls(thanks to Alysha Love for sharing this at ACES) The Bookshelf: “Wake” by Shelley Burr Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer …

Today’s guest is Eva Stabenow, a Pilates teacher and movement coach who helps freelance writers, translators and other desk workers heal their bodies through movement while continuing to pursue the work they love.  In the early 2010s, after a successful career as a German medical translator, Eva began to suffer from severe shoulder and wrist pain caused by long hours …

Today’s episode features several guests who all have an interest in ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI). Their varying backgrounds and experiences in tech, writing and editing provide unique insights into the potential and risks of generative AI such as ChatGPT.   ChatGPT has risks and opportunities. Most of us are hearing how ChatGPT plagiarizes, how we can’t fact-check what the …

Today’s guest is Michelle Jackson of Denver, Colorado. Michelle is a freelance content creator. She has been blogging, writing and talking about personal finance for the past decade—although she will tell us in today’s episode how she’s pivoting her business away from that.  But, I’ve been following Michelle on Twitter for a while and learning from what she has to …

Today’s guest is Miranda Marquit. She lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Miranda has been writing and podcasting about money on a freelance basis since 2006. Her work has appeared in various media, including CNBC, NPR, Forbes, and TIME.  She has a background in journalism and enjoys telling stories about finances and creating your own financial journey. Miranda has created a …

I finally have had a moment to reflect on last year and look at my numbers. I reflect briefly, taking a qualitative look back, but this is mostly a quantitative look.  Here’s what I share with you in this episode: Biz Bite: Overestimate your time for deep work The Bookshelf: “The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer …

Today’s guest is Mary Tindall. Mary launched Mary Tindall Communications in 2018. She is a content marketer and thought leadership strategist in Orlando, Florida. Mary leads a boutique agency team that specializes in healthcare content marketing, working with leading institutions and innovative startups across the U.S.  Mary became a six-figure freelancer in 2020, which was a goal of hers. Then …

As the year ends, please consider supporting this free podcast at Buy Me a Coffee. Your support is helpful financially, obviously, but it also boosts my spirits and keeps the show going.  Today’s show is my special wrap-up episode where I share my top 10 books of the year. I read 65 books in 2022, as of December 19, and …

Podcast news: After much deliberation, I’m changing the schedule of Deliberate Freelancer slightly. We will stick to weekly Thursday episodes, and the episode format will remain the same. However, I will now publish in two big seasons, with breaks in between. So, after December 22, 2022, the podcast will go on hiatus until February. Then, the schedule will resume through …

Podcast news: After much deliberation, I’m changing the schedule of Deliberate Freelancer slightly. We will stick to weekly Thursday episodes, and the episode format will remain the same. However, I will now publish in two big seasons, with breaks in between. So, after December 22, 2022, the podcast will go on hiatus until February. Then, the schedule will resume through …

If you’re like me, you’ve learned the hard way that if you don’t plan for January right now, you might have a very slow start to the new year.  A lot of places shut down between Christmas and New Year’s Day, which can make that a great time of year to take off from your freelance business — but it …

This week I’m excited to recap the third quarter of my business. Some great news first: I’m starting to feel like myself again, after a summer of grief and anxiety. Even before that, I was definitely languishing through the pandemic, and I’m not sure I’ve felt this great since before the pandemic—almost three years ago!  As for quarter three, you …

Today’s guest is Erin Brenner, an editor in Massachusetts. Erin is the owner of the editorial services agency Right Touch Editing, which specializes in providing small and midsized organizations with writing and editing teams. Erin also offers training in writing and editing, particularly for editors and for professionals who write.  Today, Erin talks about how she is building a team of …

Today’s guest is Lauree Ostrofsky, who is a coach and speaker living in the Hudson Valley of New York state. Her business is called Simply Leap. Lauree’s clients are A-students and introverts wanting to feel more confident putting themselves out there in a bigger way, including in their own businesses.  Lauree has written two books: a happy how-to called “Simply …

In the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group I asked listeners: What questions do you want to know about how I run my six-figure freelance business?  One listener replied: I know you achieve an incredible amount in a relatively short period of time. What’s the secret to this? Do you use a timer? Do you have to shut down distractions?  So, in …

A recent “escape” or vacation, and big family news are both helping me get through this summer’s grief, languishing and brain fog. So, in today’s episode, I am thinking about ways we can learn to love our business again when we need a fresh start in business or in life.  I want to embrace this “fresh start” concept starting in …

In today’s episode, I talk about the power of finding and really zeroing in on your very specific niche and how that’s unique to you. I think there are a lot of benefits to knowing exactly what your niche is and not getting sidetracked by other work—getting to the point where you turn down other work and not just say …

Today’s guest is Sabrina St. Peter, founder of SmartSpark Business Solutions, a bookkeeping firm that supports brand builders and storytellers, such as professionals in public relations, marketing and advertising. Sabrina, who is based in Chicago, is passionate about small businesses in every form—from the freelancer to agencies with multiple employees. Understanding that most people did not start their business to pour …

This week’s episode is unique in that it’s a cross-post episode. What that means is that I, Melanie, was invited on Hilary Sutton’s Hustle & Grace podcast recently. Not only does that episode debut on Hilary’s podcast this week, but I agreed to share it here on Deliberate Freelancer.  Hilary is a writer, speaker and consultant. And she has become …

Trigger warnings: pet death, pet euthanasia, pet illness, grief over the death of a loved one, anxiety, bike accident I’m back! Back from my extra-long summer hiatus—longer than I expected or planned for. In this episode, I explain why it took me so long to return and share the grief, anxiety and other mental health struggles I’ve been dealing with this …

In April 2021, Jasmine Smith quit her full-time job to pursue freedom and creativity through self-employment. She is the Founder of SmithCo, an experiential marketing agency, and co-founder of Open Door Concept, a rental space centered around community, conversation and creativity in Washington, D.C. Motivated to share her experience and the experience of other Black entrepreneurs, Jasmine launched the podcast …

Trigger warnings: pet death, pet euthanasia, pet illness, grief over the death of a loved one. On April 25 my cat Bella died. We had to make the agonizing choice to humanely euthanize her. And I was heartbroken and full of guilt. But I still had a freelance business to run. So, how did I do that when I could …

Today’s guest is Susie Jackson, a finance and pricing mentor for freelancers from the U.K. Susie helps freelancers figure out how much to charge and how to manage the financial side of our businesses so we can earn a decent living doing what we love. Susie is also a freelance copy editor and a Spanish-to-English translator specializing in academic texts …

On today’s show, five Deliberate Freelancer listeners are sharing their tips. Specifically, they share the systems, processes and tools they use that have helped them create a successful freelance business. Some of these listeners are previous guests. See the resources below for links to their previous guest appearances. You will hear from: Amy Ragland Treasa Edmond Poornima Apte Danna Lorch …

How did your first quarter of the year go with your business? I’m recapping my Q1 in this episode, but I’d love to hear about your Q1 also. Please share in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group your successes, challenges, lessons and any questions you have for your fellow Deliberate Freelancers. As I talked about in January, I had a slow …

On today’s episode, I want to be open and candid about a failure I had this year. Here are three main thoughts or lessons around failure that I’m trying to always keep in mind: #1. Failure is not necessarily a bad word. There can be times when you completely mess something up, but there can be times when something just …

Learn more and subscribe at https://meledits.com/newsletter.

Today’s guest is Katherine Reynolds Lewis, an independent journalist based in the DC area. After Katherine was laid off in 2008, she started freelancing in the middle of the Great Recession. What does Katherine love about freelancing? Being self-sufficient, being able to write on a variety of topics and having control over her schedule. Katherine shares her 3 P’s model …

Today’s guest is Portia Wofford, an award-winning nurse, writer and content marketer who lives in Alabama. After dedicating her nursing career to creating content and solutions for employers, Portia now runs a content marketing agency, The PW Agency.  Her agency empowers health and nursing brands to grow their communities through engaging content that connects and converts. As part of her …

Today’s guest is a freelance editor from Durham, N.C. Laura is the owner of Archer Editorial Services. She exclusively provides editing to university presses. She also develops and conducts training for editors and publishers. As defined by the Success Alliance, mastermind groups offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support to sharpen your business and personal skills. A …

In today’s episode, writer Treasa Edmond walks us through several client scenarios many of us struggle with—scope creep, treating us like an employee, not paying us on time—and gives us the script for what to say and how to say it. This episode is like Treasa is handing us all templates on great client management. Treasa is the owner of …

The Center for Independent Journalists, aka The CIJ, is a new organization—launched in September 2021—to provide advocacy, education and support to freelance journalists of color and those from other underrepresented groups in the media. Programming is open to anyone, and white journalists can also join the organization. It’s open to all freelance journalists, not only writers. Currently, membership for the …

Atlas Katari is the owner of Katari Creative, a B2B organic content marketing agency focused primarily on LinkedIn marketing with some SEO and content creation. Atlas is a self-described “LinkedIn nerd” and walks us through the latest LinkedIn offerings and how to best use LinkedIn for our businesses. They say that LinkedIn has an incredible organic reach you can use …

Today’s show is all about how I’m feeling right now—that blah feeling of languishing. If you feel like that too, or are dealing with any mental health challenges right now, please listen to this episode and then join us in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group, where we’ll be talking about this and solutions that might help each of us. Resources: …

Today’s guest is Molly Rose Speed, founder of Virtual Assistant Management, which provides trusted virtual assistant (VA) solutions and flawless tech execution for busy entrepreneurs. Molly Rose is the go-to professional for some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the speaker/author and content creator industry. She is also an awarded military spouse and solo world traveler who believes in creating a career …

On today’s show, I talk about my word (phrase) of the year and what I’m hoping to do in 2022. Then, I talk about the importance of habit formation and give several strategies to build better habits. As I begin to work on developing better habits this year, I want to point out that if you try to introduce too …

FACEBOOK UPDATE: The Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group is now live! Please join at www.facebook.com/groups/deliberatefreelancer. In today’s episode, I look back at my time tracking for 2021’s Q4 briefly and then I dive into analyzing the entire year. At the end, I share some questions that can help you evaluate last year and plan for this year. My average weekly time …

This episode is all about books! And it’s the last episode of the year. My next episode will be January 6, 2022. Happy holidays! As of December 5, I read 51 books this year. I will likely finish book #52 this week, but I probably won’t hit my goal of 60 books in 2021, which is OK. I set a …

On today’s episode, Ashlee Sang talks about how you can work with purpose-driven solopreneurs and service providers. She also explains how you can base everything you do in your freelance businesses around a set of core values—and how that will help you make decisions, find the right clients and grow your business. Ashlee lives in Central Illinois. She owns Ashlee …

On today’s episode, I’m leaning in to the theme of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and sharing seven things I am thankful for in my business. Beyond just telling you about these things, I’m sharing why I’m thankful and asking questions to you that I hope will prompt you to think about how to improve your business life. …

On today’s show, I want to talk about simplicity and how to pare down your network. I talk a lot about building business relationships, which is a different way of considering how to build your network. Former podcast guest Anna Hetzel talked about this also, how to build community intentionally. By definition, a community will be smaller than a network. …

Today’s guest is Danna Lorch from Brookline, Massachusetts. Danna has been a freelance writer for 11 years, mostly focusing on journalism. She has covered the visual arts, design, architecture, the trades and parenting. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Architectural Digest and many other publications. Before becoming a writer, she managed nonprofits in the Middle East and …

It’s time for my third quarter roundup. Each quarter I review and analyze my time tracking, hours worked, money earned and client mix. My hours in Q3 were similar to Q2. I worked an average of 28 hours a week in Q2 and an average of 27 hours a week in Q3 when you take out my vacation. However, I …

Today’s guest is Emma Siemasko, the founder of Stories By Us, a content marketing business. Emma, who lives in San Jose, California, also offers freelance writing coach and is co-host of the Freelance Writing Coach podcast.  Emma has been a solopreneur for six years. She is an expert on writing case studies to promote our businesses. She created the DIY …

Today’s show is all about the benefits of time tracking. But it’s not about my experience today. Instead, five Deliberate Freelancer listeners sent in audio files about their time-tracking experiences and explained the various ways time tracking has helped their freelance business. Information is power. I believe if you know how you’re really spending your time—rather than making assumptions or …

Today’s guest is Courtney Chaal. Courtney is an American now living in Vancouver in Canada. Courtney helps creatives, coaches and consultants stop being broke and start getting more clients by creating an irresistible service that they can eventually turn into a scalable offer. End goal? Freedom! Courtney is a copywriter turned business coach obsessed with making complex concepts (like business …

Today’s guest is Anna Hetzel, from Columbus, Ohio. Anna is the owner and founder of Strange Birds, a business they started five years ago in which they convert copywriting and strategy for websites and community design and strategy. Anna works with service providers and entrepreneurs who are trying to expand their reach and figure out how to talk to their …

I am really good at saying no. Today, I’m going to walk you through nine common scenarios freelance business owners experience and tell you how I say no to these questions and situations. Even if the language I use doesn’t resonate with you, I hope it will get you thinking, encourage you to say no more often and help you …

Today’s guest is Madalena Sanchez Zampaulo. Madalena lives in Southern California and owns a boutique translation agency called Accessible Translation Solutions, which she opened in 2010. She continues to do freelance translation work as well, specializing in medicine and life sciences. Madalena shares her knowledge and years of research to help freelance translators and interpreters improve their online presence—from their …

This week is a short episode because I’m supposed to be on vacation. Tune in to hear how this part-working vacation, part unplugged real vacation is going so far. Biz Bite: Schedule a Monthly Self-Care Reminder The Bookshelf: “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir Resources: Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter.

Today’s guest is Suzy Bills from Utah. Suzy is an editor and author and a faculty member in the editing and publishing program at Brigham Young University (BYU). She was previously a lead editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, and she’s owned a writing and editing business for more than a decade. Suzy’s book, “The Freelance Editor’s Handbook” is being published this …

For the past several years, I’ve chosen a word (or words) of the year in January, a theme to keep me focused on a particular goal or area. In 2021, my word was simplicity. I think I needed that after 2020. Plus, in January 2021, things were still looking a bit bleak. COVID numbers were high, I hate winter, a …

Today’s guest is Sarah Greesonbach from Richmond, Virginia. Sarah is a B2B content marketing writer and has been freelancing since 2013. She operates the B2B Content Studio, a freelance consultancy that helps agencies and Fortune 500 technology companies in the HR, retail/e-com and higher education space develop B2B content marketing assets such as white papers, thought leadership articles, case studies …

Today’s guest is Anita Kwan, from Columbus, Ohio. Anita is the owner of a video production company called Reel Hoot. Her mission is to hold a safe and inclusive space in video production while having fun. She helps women, people of color and LGBTQ+ businesses thrive with video strategy and marketing content. Connection is important to Anita. She co-runs an …

On today’s episode I am talking through my embarrassing business secret: procrastination. It’s my biggest struggle in my business and the thing I hate the most about my business self. I feel like it makes me look lazy or unreliable.  I’m a big fan of time tracking, and time tracking has showed me that I don’t get a lot done …

Today’s episode is all about books and reading! I talk book podcasts and tell you about a great book list app. I also recommend the seven best fiction books and one best nonfiction book I’ve read so far in 2021. My new favorite book podcasts, which I also support on Patreon to get the extra podcast content, are:Sarah’s Bookshelves Live …

At the end of every quarter I’m going to conduct an analysis of my time tracking, income and clients and projects. I use Toggl to track my time, and it is particularly helpful to let me know how much I am earning per hour for projects in which I’m paid per word or per project. It also tells me how …

Today’s guest is Sarah Townsend from the city of Gloucester in the UK. Sarah has been a freelance marketing copywriter for more than 20 years and is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller “Survival Skills for Freelancers: Tried and Tested Tips to Help You Ace Self-Employment Without Burnout.” Sarah uses clever copy to help businesses become more successful, and …

Bianca Gonzalez is a marketing writer from New York state who specializes in corporate social responsibility; diversity, equity and inclusion insights; and multicultural consumer insights. Bianca was preparing to graduate college in the spring of 2020 when the pandemic hit. Because of her health risks as a brain cancer survivor, she turned to freelancing and working from home. Bianca has …

It’s my 100th episode! For this very special episode, I invited back my very first guest (in episode 4), Jennifer Goforth Gregory. Jennifer focuses on B2B technology content marketing writing. She is a leader in the content marketing writing world—she literally wrote the book “The Freelance Content Marketing Writer”—but like so many of us, the pandemic brought many challenges. She …

Amy Posner lives in Olympia, Washington. She calls herself a serial entrepreneur and has been a business owner for three decades — she had a computer start-up, a New York City agency and then built a very successful (and lucrative) sales team in the telecom industry. But for the past decade, Amy has been an in-demand conversion and direct response copywriter, …

Today’s guest is Austin Church from Knoxville, Tennessee. Austin helps e-commerce founders stand out online with their brand strategy. He also coaches freelance creatives. After Austin got laid off in spring 2009, during the U.S. recession, he became a freelance copywriter. Does Austin consider himself an agency? Not exactly. He likes to pull in other creatives as necessary, and he …

Today’s guest is Quiana Darden from Richmond, Virginia. She is a launch copywriter, which means she supports coaches and service providers who are launching or rebranding their high-ticket offers. She offers sales page copywriting, email marketing sequences, social media copy, landing pages and ad copy. She started as an elementary school teacher, but later decided she wanted to home-school her …

On today’s show, I introduce you to Cal Newport’s new book, “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.” First, I talk about his concept of the “hyperactive hive mind” and the problem with email and instant messaging tools like Slack. Then, I talk about his solution briefly. And then I share my own thoughts and …

Today’s guest is Cathy Wilkes, who coaches people through a transformation, helping them figure out what their true dreams and goals are and how to jump-start that transformation. Previously, Cathy built and led high-performing sales teams in the financial services industry. She used her philosophy of building people up, and helping them find their greatness, to create a better sales …

On today’s show, I’m doing an audit of my time tracking for the first quarter of the year. I used to do time tracking using pen and paper, mostly to keep me on task. That worked, but it didn’t allow me to easily track and analyze my data to improve areas of my freelance business. I now use the Toggl …

On today’s show, I want to talk about something super positive: post-pandemic life! Let’s look ahead and see where we want our business to be once lockdown is over. Most of us were affected in our business lives in some way when the pandemic hit last year. We lost clients, or had to suddenly work from home 100% of the …

Today’s guest is Kat Boogaard. Kat is a full-time freelance writer in Wisconsin who provides blog content for software clients in the productivity, project management and business ownership spaces. Some of her past and current clients include Atlassian, Trello, QuickBooks and Loom. She also provides advice and resources for freelancers through her blog, weekly newsletter, private Facebook community and a …

Today’s guest is Jennifer Duann Fultz from Bloomington, Indiana. Jennifer is a freelance writer and business educator specializing in creating online courses for business owners who want to leverage their expertise through scalable information products. She is also the founder of Chief Executive Auntie, a blog and podcast where she helps Asian American and other BIPOC freelancers and creatives earn …

Today’s guest is Emily Derouin, a licensed psychologist in Denver, Colorado. She works as a clinician and supervisor at a community mental health center, where she is a generalist, helping people with a wide variety of issues. She also works one day a week in private practice, where she specializes in eating disorders.  As we approach the one-year anniversary of the …

Today’s guest is Mario Boone, a science writer for a science organization in the Washington, D.C., area. In fall 2020, Mario gave a presentation as part of the Association Media & Publishing virtual annual conference. The session was about how to attract and embrace diverse employees. During Mario’s portion, he talked about what it was like to be the “only …

Today’s guest is Reggie Holmes, the owner and creative director of Enthuse Creative LLC, a branding and design firm based in Tysons, Virginia. Enthuse Creative is a strategic creative partner for businesses and organizations and specializes in brand-focused strategy consulting, brand design and brand management. Reggie is also a graphic designer, but he’s a strategist first, with his clients and …

On today’s show, I quickly go over my top 10 favorite books of 2020—and the one I absolutely hated—before listing out my most anticipated books of 2021. The 2021 list will include several nonfiction books that could help you as you think about your freelance business. For more in-depth descriptions and information on my top 10 list for 2020, read …

Today, I want to hopefully motivate you, inspire you and encourage you to consider the aspects of your business that need improvement or to make a plan to work on things that you personally struggle with. This episode goes through seven areas that I would love for you to improve upon, if you haven’t already. They are: 1. Embrace a …

New Year’s resolutions fail for a lot of reasons, but January can still be a good time to take a new look at your business and personal life. Instead of resolutions, I like to choose a word (or two, or three) of the year. It sets my theme for the year and reminds me to focus on something in particular …

Happy New Year! On today’s show I talk about where my head is at for 2021, which is essentially that I am not setting huge goals for myself this year. I’m trying to continue to give myself grace—not be so hard on myself—and to focus on my personal wellness, while maintaining a steady income. I did an audit of my …

Today’s guest is Eva Jannotta. Eva lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and helps bold women leaders defy the status quo, amplify their influence and expand their wealth and power. She does this through providing thought leadership strategy and advisory services as well as communications support. Her Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to end gender and racial discrimination. Many white people in …

Today’s guest is Gresham Harkless, of Alexandria, Virginia. Gresham is the founder of CBNation and Blue 16 Media. CBNation is a business-to-business (B2B) brand. It helps people like you—CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners—with resources and increasing your visibility. It includes blogs under CEO Blog Nation, as well as podcasts and videos. Blue 16 Media is Gresham’s digital marketing agency. He provides digital marketing services, …

Today’s guest is Lynne Testoni, from Sydney, Australia. Lynne is an editor, journalist and content producer who’s worked in high-level editorial positions and as a freelancer for a range of corporate clients. She has been freelancing for only four years, and she specializes in a very specific niche of home design, interior design and food, writing both content marketing and …

Today’s guest is Satta Sarmah Hightower. Satta is a journalist-turned-content marketer who lives in Boston. She produces content for agencies and brands in the industries of technology, health care IT and financial services. She previously worked for AOL and the Tribune Company and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s …

Today’s guest is Laura Pennington Briggs. Laura is a teacher turned entrepreneur, two-time TEDx speaker and freelance writer. She’s the author of the award-winning “How to Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business” and the Amazon bestseller “Six-Figure Freelancer” and the founder of Operation Freelance.  Laura started as a freelance writer and virtual assistant in 2012. Now, she continues to write but …

Today’s guest is Alicia Chantal, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is an editing and writing consultant and the owner of Fresh Look Editing. Alicia is passionate about helping individuals and small businesses create messages that resonate with an audience. She specializes in non-fiction copy editing and proofreading and has a background in public relations. A couple of cool projects Alicia …

In episode #6 of Deliberate Freelancer I talked about how to make the most of conferences. Well, we’ve all had to pivot, and I cannot go to the 4–6 in-person conferences I typically go to each year. So, I’ve learned to embrace virtual conferences, which may be around until at least summer 2021.   Here are a few tips to …

On today’s show, I want to talk about some core principles you’ll need to run a successful freelance business — these are ideas I have come to believe strongly in over the past seven years: Core principle #1: You are a freelance business owner. Changing your mindset and truly believing you are a business owner and the boss of you …

Today’s guest is Sarah DeGeorge, a digital marketing specialist who lives in Philadelphia. Sarah works in paid and organic marketing, public relations, and social media marketing and management. She helps small- to mid-size businesses find their authentic voice for their audience. Sarah started freelancing as a freelance writer while still in college. As she was nearing graduation, she got sick …

Today’s guest is Wudan Yan, an independent journalist in Seattle, who covers science and society. She has written for National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Elemental, Harper’s and MIT Tech Review. Wudan also writes for brands and is a fact-checker. She is the co-host of The Writers’ Co-op, a business podcast for freelance writers. Her co-host is Jenni …

These show notes were updated March 1, 2021. Please scroll down for facts, myths and resources on how to fight against the PRO Act. Today’s guest are Kim Kavin and Karon Warren, two longtime freelance writers who have built successful freelance businesses. Both are active in the fight against the national PRO Act. Kim was active fighting against a similar …

Today’s guest is Anthony Moore, a writer, speaker and coach in California. He is one of the top 100 writers on Medium.com, where he writes about personal growth, self-improvement and writing. I had trouble trying to name this episode because there were so many things Anthony talked about that I wanted to call your attention to. So, I hope you …

On today’s episode, I am sharing three experiences in which I failed and the lessons I learned from those situations. Hopefully, you’ll find a few takeaway lessons here and it will also lead you to analyzing your own failures to see what you can change or learn from moving forward. The idea is not to beat yourself up; we are …