Did you know that about 54 million Americans are freelancers?
Despite being part of a 54-million-member movement, being a company of one is a huge adjustment. You don’t have the financial resources of a larger company, nor do you have the advantage of working with a team who shines in areas where you falter.
When you first start out, working alone can be isolating and overwhelming. You have to be the CEO, marketer, salesperson, customer service rep, and best worker in the company.
If you’re going to be a freelancer, you need to be ready. Get ahead of the competition in 2016 by keeping an eye on these incredibly helpful freelancing blogs.
If you’ve got a couple of blogs you like that aren’t on the following list, share with us in the comments; we’d love to hear from you!
In no particular order, here we go:
Freelancers Union focuses on helping full-time freelancers get paid and access decent benefits such as health insurance. You can join the union for free.
The blog is mostly written by Freelancers Union members and feature short, sweet posts full of bite-sized information about life as a freelancer.
Must-read from Freelancers Union: Stop chasing clients; start chasing relationships.
2. Millo
Millo offers actionable articles on everything from finding clients, to business finances, and what’s holding you back as a creative.
Writers at Millo are real-world freelancers, building actual six-figure businesses. They share their tips, hacks, and discoveries as they journey together with you on the freelancing and entrepreneurial road.
Millo’s founder, Preston Lee was also featured in a recent post here at CreativeLive, “How 12 Freelance Business Owners Earn Over $100,000 Per Year”
Must-read from Millo: What your pricing strategy says about you as a freelancer
3. Fizzle
Even though portions of Fizzle are found only inside their paid premium community, the team at Fizzle puts out a phenomenal free weekly podcast and publishes a new article each week all around starting, running, and growing an independent and creative business.
Their shows and blog posts are packed with tons of great insights for freelancers.
Must-listen from Fizzle: Rebuilding a Freelance Business from Scratch
4. Paul Jarvis
Paul Jarvis is a freelancer who launched a freelance web design business in the ‘90s and has survived several economic downturns. He has had a full client roster and a multi-month waiting list for over a decade. He shares his deepest thoughts and most actionable advice on his blog.
Must Read: Common mistakes freelancers make with their business
The Freelance Report is run by the team at Millo. They take hours every week to comb through all the freelancing content they can find around the web, filter it down, toss out the garbage, and publish only the best freelancing content available. Every Monday, they send out the top content of the week. If you’re short on learning time, but ready to make a big impact in your freelancing business, The Freelance Report is made for you.
6. The Freelancer by Contently
If you live in a major city, you’ll dig Contently’s reviews of the best coffeeshops in places like Phoenix, Montreal and more. The relatively new site is packed with tons of great articles for all aspects of freelance life.
Must Read: 25 Things You Should Probably Outsource
Double Your Freelancing is run by Brennan Dunn, a talented freelancer and entrepreneur who has been in and around the world of freelancing for 7 years now. His articles offer solid advice on doubling your income, finding better clients, and building a thriving freelance business.
Must Read: How To Prepare Yourself To Quit Your Job And Go Freelance
8. Crew Blog
If you’ve ever used Unsplash to download free stock photography, you’ll love the blog by their parent company, Crew.
These articles run the gamut: from beating stress to firing bad clients. There seems to be an emphasis on psychology that helps you run your business, such as in the cognitive biases that are killing your decisions. Since the psychological aspect of freelancing is often overlooked, these articles are a breath of fresh air.
Must read: 5 ways to stop dry spells from ruining your freelance career
Tomas Fransson does a great job writing about marketing for creative freelancers.
The Flaunt My Design blog focuses on the success of individual creative entrepreneurs and includes articles about specific marketing tactics that disclose every detail of the methods a freelancer took and the end result.
Must Read: How $200 in promoted tweets got this freelancer a 6-month contract
10. 99U
The original creators of the massive community Behance started 99U to provide “insights to make ideas happen.” Check out their featured videos, as well as articles on productivity and innovation for a fresh look at how your freelance business can and should be running.
Many of their posts expand on ideas from more popular blogs, like the must read mentioned below which builds on an article from Zen Habits.
Must read: Achieve Goals by Gamifying Them
11. Help Scout Blog
If you’ve ever felt like you need to understand your client or customer better, this blog is for you. You’ll learn about how to provide awesome service as well as the psychology behind buying behavior.
The insights into serving your customer and becoming a more productive and creative worker make it a great resource for anyone in business for themselves.
Must Read: 27 Ideas on Building a Business People Love
Though this blog isn’t updated as frequently as the others on the list, it provides keen insight into the less sexy aspects of freelancing like contract negotiation and choosing work that will keep you from starving.
Created by Katie Lane, a consultant who specializes in helping freelancers with legal issues, you’ll find tons of insight into how to negotiate for better terms and legally protect yourself.
Must Read: Is Your Invoice Helping You Get Paid?
What did we leave out?
This list is by no means a complete one. There’s a lot of help out there for freelancers, and just as many great free communities where you can ask questions and contribute.
If you’re still in a full-time position and want to ditch your daily grind in 2016 for a chance at freelance superstardom, use the blogs in this list to accelerate your success. Good luck!
If you’re ready to start a freelance business, or get serious about growing your existing client base, download our free eBook, The Freelancer’s Roadmap.
