Interview with Deb Ng - Freelance Writing Jobs

Deb Ng is a fantastic person to get to know. She created Freelance Writing Jobs in 2005, and has turned it into one of the top freelancing blogs. She has written an ebook, Beyond Blogging, and was previously community Manager at Blog Talk Radio.

I would highly recommend any potential freelancing visit Freelance Writing Jobs to learn from Deb and her team.

You turned FWJ into a network last year. Was this a difficult transition?

Yes, it was more difficult than I thought. It wasn't easy conveying my vision to the design team, though they did a fantastic job. Also, finding bloggers who shared my passion for writing and for the FWJ community was also challenging. I think though, the most difficult part of the transition was convincing the FWJ community to embrace the FWJ network. Many of them weren't happy about the change from blog to network. We're still running up against challenges here and there: we had to change servers a couple of times because of the unexpected boost to our traffic, and I'm still tweaking the navigation so the community can find all the blogs with no problem. Still, it was a logical transition and I love what FWJ has become - it's definitely worth al the hard we work put into it.

You have published an ebook called Beyond Blogging. Do you have plans for future information products?

Yes, I have several projects in the works. My second ebook is half complete and I may self publish that into a traditional book as well. Plus I have an idea for a couple of websites. Since we're still developing these ideas, I don't want to get into too much detail, but we believe they'll be winners. They all have to do with looking for work.

You were previously community manager for Blog Talk Radio. Did that experience help with your blogging projects?

The experience there helped me with my community building for my own blogs. I didn't get to do much blogging for BlogTalkRadio, but I did learn a lot about dealing with the different personalities and egos. It was a valuable experience, one that I'm not likely to forget any time soon.

How has your monetization strategies for FWJ changed since 2005?

In 2005 I relied mostly on Adsense. Now, Adsense is still a top earner for me but I also use private ad sales and affiliates. It's the private ads that are my top earners. One thing I learned over the years is the importance of getting to know my community. It's not enough to put up ads - they have to be ads my community will respond to. Writers are very choosy about where they'll spend their money and won't spend much on affiliate products. So I had to find non-product oriented advertising that suited my community's needs. I still spend about an hour each day researching various forms of advertising and FWJ's stats to see what I can learn and how to further monetize.

You are co-owner of the blog Kommein. What future plans do you have for the site?

Not sure. It may tie in to a site I'm working on with a few others - a social media site. Right now though we're just enjoying the blog and sharing ideas about community management.

What tips would you have for those looking to get into paid blogging?

The first tip is that blogging doesn't happen overnight. It takes months, maybe even years for a blog to take off. If your client expects immediate results, he's not being realistic. Also, always make sure the end justifies the means. If you're working your butt off for the equivelent of a couple of dollars per blog post, something's wrong. Rather than take a very low paying job, start your own blog and monetize it yourself. There are plenty of higher paying clients out there, so bloggers shouldn't have to settle.

What skills and traits are blog networks looking for in freelancers?

It depneds on the blog networks. Many of the networks paying out only residuals or a cut of the ad revenue don't really look for quality as much as quanity. They want prolific writers who can stock their networks with content at a low price. That isn't to say they don't want good writers, but for them it's more about the traffic and revenue.

The blog networks willing to pay a flat per post fee or monthly rate are generally looking for bloggers with a passion for their topics. They want folks who know how to write independently and clean, but mostly they want the bloggers who know their stuff. Blogging experience is always a plus because editors don't always want to have to take the time out to teach a blogger how to use WordPress or their platform of choice. Plus community building and social networking skills are important tools for any successful blogger.

Do you think everyone has the potential to make a fulltime income as a freelancer web writer?

That's like asking if everyone has the potential to be a brain surgeon, plumber or master chef. Not everyone can be a writer. Writing is a skill and either you have that skill or you don't. For sure, good writers can absolutely earn a full time income as a freelance web writer.