Providing blog writing services is a great way to make steady income as a writer, as well as diversify your portfolio.  Hundreds of companies, bloggers and online magazines are searching every month for realiable content creation services for their Web 2.0 properties.  Search engine friendly content is king, and it’s important for these prospective clients to acquire fresh, targeted content on a regular basis.  Why not be the person who can satisfy their needs?

Professional blog writing services can be extremely lucrative.  For starters, you will most likely be charging your clients on a monthly basis i.e. $97/month for 10 blog posts.  If the blog is doing well and your content is engaging their target audience and regular readers you will be well on your way to becoming a known “expert” in that particular niche.

Many people who start off as blog writers make the mistake of  operating under a ghost writing status – meaning that the content is not getting published as yours, but that of the blog owner(s).  If you want to be getting the recognition for your work, it’s essential that you make clear arrangements which state that all content you provide must be published under your name or pen name.  Taking this step this will guarantee that your reputation continues to soar along side the success of the blogs you write for – potentially opening up salary-driven opportunities to write for large web corporations like Smashing Magazine or Mashable.com.

All in all, if you’re looking towards soliciting your blog writing services there are a few great places to start looking for work.  The ever-popular Elance.com is one of the best places to start.  Be sure to fill out your complete profile and state your objectives, blog writing samples and preferred rates.  Sift through the marketplace daily being sure to respond to every and any blog writing gig that appeals to your interests.  Tip:  don’t take on a writing gig for a php website if you know nothing about programming.  Stick to what you love, know and enjoy and success will be right around the corner.

Let’s take a look at a few different ways writers can boost their business into a profit-pulling machine by implementing a few tweaks and suggestions:

Make sure your rates are right

This is probably mistake number one with regards to new or struggling writers who are seeking freelance writing jobs.  If you’re charging too much compared to your direct competition, your potential clients will be seeking services elsewhere rather than fork up %20 more than various other talented writers in the marketplace.  On the flip side, if you are being overly modest with your rates interested clients might not take you seriously or be expecting some sort of “catch”.  Balance is important with every business, regardless of the industry.

The going rate seems to be between $6-$15 per 300-500 word article.  If you’re going to start off charging $15 per article, be prepared for the possibility of more demands from your clients.  At $6 per article most clients won’t even bother to ask for a change or revision.  I suggest starting off somewhere in between, for example you could start your rates at $6 for 200-300 words, $9 for 300-500 and $12 for 500-700 etc.

As time goes on it won’t be that difficult to introduce a standard rate for your work within a more broad per word range.  Do you really think it will be that hard to get people to pay $25 per article for anything between 500-1000 words?  Not at all.  Your clients will pay for quality, reliability and rapport.

Daily marketing is an absolute must

When you’re beginning to search for freelance writing jobs you must market yourself on a daily basis.  Visibility is crucial from the get-go and you should be taking full advantage of the many online writing communities which allow clients and writers to interact, find each other and secure business relations.

There are two great places to start:  elance.com and odesk.com.  Both of these communities receive thousands of targeted clients each and everyday who are looking for high quality, affordable writing solutions.  Set up your profile and make it a routine to search the marketplaces first thing in the morning, sending out response to any and every job posting available within your writing medium, niche or style.

Before marketing yourself, I would highly suggest setting up a website that you can send potential clients to.  Have pieces of your work, contact information, and a blurb about yourself/company/objective.  It’s equally important these days to also maintain a blog – because believe it or not this is where business oriented traffic will look first.  They want to see what you’re about, what type of community you have and how you’re using it to promote your services.

Follow these guidelines and you should be on your way to a $100/day freelance business in no time.  Remember, customer service is crucial, so brush up on your email etiquette and don’t be shy to make the occasional phone call to let your clients know that things are moving along well with their project.