I find immense joy in helping people, which is my goal with Expert•ish Freelancer Newsletter. (If you haven’t subscribed yet, sign up now!) In fact, my personal mantra is: Be Kind. Do Good. Give Thanks.
Driven by this philosophy, I aim to offer valuable resources to help you successfully run your freelance business. Here, you’ll find training, tools, services, websites, blogs, podcasts, books, videos, and more to inspire you, jumpstart your creativity, streamline a process, save you time, save you money, or boost your business. Go ahead…dig in!
I’ll continue to add more resources, but here are a few to get you started.
Freebies from Expert•ish Freelancer
To help you in your freelance journey, I’ll be adding a variety of Expert•ish Freelancer resources such as checklists, tip sheets, and templates. As a newsletter subscriber, you’ll be the first to know about these resources—many of which won’t be publicly available on this Resource page!
Bonus #1: 10 Steps to Kickstart Your Freelance Writing Journey
Tools & Services
*Note: A handful of these resources (designated with an asterisk) are affiliate links based on products/services I personally use and recommend. If you’re thinking about purchasing any of these resources (or even signing up for a free account), I’d appreciate it if you click on my link. It will cost you nothing and might even give me a little extra pocket change so I can fund my coffee addiction. 😉 And if you notice any bad links here, please let me know.
- bitly: Generates a shorter URL and QR Codes for marketing, social, etc.
- Calendly: Online scheduling tool.
- *Canva: Design tool with thousands of templates, photos, illustrations, and more–perfect for your social media, business, and marketing needs.
- CoSchedule: Marketing tools to help you organize your business.
- Hunter: Email tool, great for finding email formats for editors/prospects.
- Muck Rack: Media database and portfolio tool—free for journalists.
- *Otter.ai: Transcription service, great for interviews when you need to transcribe audio files into text.
- *QuickBooks by Intuit: Simple-to-use accounting software that generates invoices, tracks receivables, generates reports, and integrates with tax reporting.
- Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week: Sonia scours social media, culling freelance pitching opportunities and distributing them through her weekly newsletter.
- Stock Photos: If you’re looking for amazing, high-quality images to use for free in your marketing, check out Unsplash, Pixabay, Gratisography, Pexels, and Picjumbo. A few sites offer niche-focused photos (not all of which are free), such as Foodie Fix (food), CreateHER Stock (people of color), and New Old Stock (vintage and historic). Read each platform’s usage terms and conditions, but in general, they offer royalty-free, no-cost photos–and some even offer videos. As a professional courtesy, please credit the platform and photographer for each image you use.
- TapeACall: Easy-to-use tool for recording interviews, phone meetings, or other phone calls.
- Trello: Project management tool. I use the free version to manage all my projects and assignments.
- Write Jobs PLUS+: Affordable Patreon job board that rounds up the latest freelance/remote writing opportunities and calls for pitches with clear pay rates.
Podcasts
- The Deliberate Freelancer: Freelance writer/editor Melanie Padgett Powers launched this podcast in 2019 to help freelancers build a successful freelance business.
- High-Income Business Writing: Business-building coach Ed Gandia provides tons of expert advice and resources via his podcast and website.
- Marketing Mentor: Run by Ilise Benun, for creative professionals, consultants, or freelancers who want better clients, bigger budgets, and better projects.
Books
- Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, 2nd Edition, Ann Handley
- The Freelance Content Marketing Writer, Jennifer Goforth Gregory
Websites
- Associations and Nonprofits: Discover thousands of professional and membership associations, industry groups, trade organizations, and nonprofits at websites such as Directory of Associations, Wikipedia (for both international professional associations and U.S. industry trade groups), CauseIQ, and Charity Navigator.
- Content Marketing Institute
- Freelancers Union
- Hubspot Academy
- Moz SEO Learning Center
- O’Dwyer’s PR Rankings
- SEM Rush
- The Business Journals
- Writer’s Digest Best Job and Market Websites