Updates & Articles

Before getting to the biggest freelance question of all (‘How much should I charge?’), you have to decide how you would like to charge your clients. There are four common ways of pricing your work: per word, per hour, per ...

Between essays, articles, stories, and exams, students do a lot of writing during their college and university career. It’s stressful trying to complete all of your writing assignments but thankfully there is plenty of help on the internet. From brainstorming ...

No matter how talented you are as a writer, procrastination has the potential to bring your writing career crashing down. We all face procrastination because, dare I say, it’s a normal part of the writing process once in a while.

We know life as a student is busy and full of writing opportunities so we wanted to make sure you can showcase your work in the best way possible. That’s why we’re introducing the Academic Plus Subscription for students!

The writing world has a lot of ups and downs to navigate so let's make a pact to support fellow writers and help each other find our way. We need to lift each other up whenever we can. But as ...

Have you jumped on the podcast train yet? There are more podcasts than ever, on every topic you could imagine, with hosts from celebrities to the teens down the street. Podcasts are super convenient since you can listen to them ...

Most writers, regardless of their niche or genre, share several unique traits and habits.

To a newcomer, one of the most appealing things about freelance writing is the low barrier to entry.

Starting a freelance writing career is like mastering a three-ring circus - there’s always more going on than you think.

Doubt. Imposter syndrome. Uncertainty. A lack of confidence is one of the biggest obstacles a writer has to face.

If you want your writing to pack a punch, there are specific words to watch out for. These words tend to be lazy and ambiguous, taking up space without adding clarity to your piece.

Maybe you dreamt of what life would be like as a full-time freelance writer or perhaps your friends and family think you have loads of free time during the day.

Finding freelance writing work can feel like an endless trip on a hamster wheel, so knowing where to look for new gigs will save you time and frustration. We’ve rounded up ten of the most popular and active job boards ...

You’re starting to think about branching out into freelance writing or journalism, while still maintaining your full-time day job. It’s exciting, full of opportunities, and you’re feeling good! Just know that along with all the excitement, you’re about to get ...

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you’re frustrated with parts of your corporate nine-to-five job and you want to do something you’re actually excited about. Something where there’s no Sunday night dread or Monday morning blues.

For the freelance writer who is tired of working by themselves at home, coffee shops are a lifesaver. You get to enjoy human interaction (even if it’s brief), a new environment, and delicious drinks at the ready.

When you’re on the road to building a successful freelance writing career, there are many challenges to navigate like choosing a niche to start with, finding good clients, and raising your rates over time.

A great way to build your freelance writing business is using testimonials that capture the attention of potential clients and editors. By adding a few raving testimonials to your website, you’re showing new clients that you have a proven track ...

After A Levels result day on Thursday, many young people will have their place at university confirmed. While the jubilation of finishing sixth form or college is gradually starting to sink in, the panic of getting prepared for first year ...

SEO copywriting is the balance between writing for readers and optimizing for search engines. The key to successful copywriting is prioritizing your readers over the search engines.

We’ve all been there at least once, if not once a week. Staring at our computer screen with no idea what to write. As a freelance writer, sometimes it’s challenging to constantly be coming with new article ideas and new ...

Personal essays may not be the way you’re making a living as a freelancer, but they still make useful material for your blog. Don’t let recent chatter on the death of the personal essay boom fool you: they’re still a ...

It’s a bit of conundrum, isn’t it? You need a full writing portfolio to get hired to write paid articles, but you need to write articles to fill your portfolio.

Freelance writing is often a roller coaster ride of busy periods and dry spells. If you’d like to even out those highs and lows, cold pitching is a great place to start. Send out cold pitches consistently, even during your ...

We’ve rounded up a list of thoughtful gifts that writers of all kinds will absolutely love. Maybe you need a gift for another writer’s birthday or maybe you’re just looking to treat yourself to something new. Either way, we’ve got ...

I’m willing to place a bet that you’ve either already written for free or have considered it before. Whether or not you should write for exposure is hotly contested on the Internet and you’ll find that some writers stand firm ...

Whether you’re focusing on copywriting for businesses, writing features for magazines, or reporting for your local paper, you need a good writing portfolio to get hired for more work. Obviously, you need to include your best articles but what else ...

For a writer, finding the perfect writing environment can have a major effect on our productivity. We made a big fuss over finding the right desk, chair, coffee shop, beverages, snacks, and more. Fair enough though, because for me, the ...

A quick but polite “No thanks,” from a magazine editor. A short and rude “No way,” from a popular blog. Crickets on your short story submission. Rejections will stack up quickly during your writing career.

Journo Portfolio makes it easy to create unique and interesting page layouts so you can achieve exactly what you need with your content.

It’s hard to count how many assumptions there are about what it means to be a writer. Perhaps people assume you spend your days in starving-artist-mode, huddled over a keyboard, living off black coffee and chain-smoked cigarettes in tattered old ...

One of the many great things about freelance writing is that business expenses can be kept pretty low. When it comes to marketing, sure, you could invest in fancy printed fliers, slick business cards, and catchy Facebook ads… but who’s ...

When looking to earn more money and find new writing projects, the first thought that comes to mind for many writers is sending out more pitches and scrolling through job boards. And while that can be an essential part of ...

As we’ve been over before, your portfolio is crucial to helping you get the freelance writing work you want—and deserve. But what good is a portfolio if no one sees it?

While we know that working from home is basically living the dream, it’s not long before I start to go a little mad with cabin fever. Sitting inside and staring at the same four walls all day, every day without ...

There’s a classic philosophical saying out there: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I was thinking about it the other night and a similar question could ...

Think about it for a minute: can you count the number of publications you’ve pitched to over the course of your freelance writing career? Whether you have two months or ten years of experience, we’re betting you’re well past having ...

When it comes building a beautiful online portfolio, your writing only tells part of the story at a glance. If you want a portfolio that will quickly catch the attention of potential clients and employers, you’ve got to add professional ...

Working as a writer has a few advantages I would never want to give up. I get to choose my hours, work wherever I like, and partner up with interesting clients. Not to mention the fact I get to wear ...

Starting a freelance writing career sometimes feels like a Catch-22: in order to find work, you’re expected to have a robust portfolio showcasing all you can do. But in order to build up a portfolio in the first place, you ...

If there’s one thing almost all writers have in common, it’s being masters of procrastination. Set a blank screen in front of us, and we dread it so much that we can find any number of other things to do, ...

There’s nothing like a new year and the idea of a clean slate to renew the motivation in your writing career. Take advantage of the resolution-setting mindset and set yourself some new writing goals for the year ahead. Not sure ...

Online portfolios allow writers and journalists to collect their clips and show off what they can do, but it's not just writers that can benefit from a good portfolio.

As a writer, the mere act of creation gives you the copyright to your work. You don’t have to file anything in triplicate or send away with a self-addressed stamped envelope for a special certificate. If you write it, it’s ...

When you’re working on a new article, writing the first draft is only half the battle. The editing process is what makes your work start to shine. Yet no matter how good your first draft is, editing can feel like ...

Traditionally, the workload for writers starts to slow down during summer months and the Christmas season every year. As we approach this next slow period, you might already be seeing clients reducing their budgets and editors getting ready for vacation. ...

Freelance writers know how to get shit done. There isn’t really a rulebook for what we do, which makes it all the more exciting and worthwhile for so many of us. It’s a welcome challenge—a chance to take this craft ...

It is rare that a writer can get hired without providing work samples. Clients want to know that they are hiring writers who can effectively communicate messages within a certain industry or about a particular topic. Some clients are looking ...

Whether you’re about to put together an online writing portfolio for the first time or have had one for years, you’ve probably asked yourself this question a couple of times.

When starting out as a writer, you may not have the number of articles an experienced writer will have to populate their portfolio. Here are some ideas on what to include instead.

As a journalist, blogger, or content creator, you should always be looking to improve your writing skills. After all, it’s a natural instinct to want to get better at something. Plus, you can find better writing opportunities and even increase ...

Every freelance writer has a brand, it may not be in the same format as the big company brands we are used to encountering in our every day lives, but it is a brand none the less.

There’s no way around it: To grow a freelance business or land a full-time journalism job these days, university students must have an awe-inspiring online portfolio.

Competition in journalism is constantly increasing. In sports journalism, for example, a vast array of up and coming writers are attempting to make their name through covering football, tennis and a plethora of others sports. Like in any profession though, ...

For the latest interview in our series speaking with Journo Portfolio writers we caught up with Andrew Darley. Andrew is a Dublin-based music, art and film writer who writes for The 405, No Fear Of Pop and Nomoreworkhorse and is ...

Few occupations suffered more than the journalism profession during the Great Recession and its aftermath. However, now that the economy has stabilized, it’s time for freelancers to focus like a laser beam on retirement savings. Recently, I spoke with two ...

Digital marketing is an undeniable presence in the life of the modern freelance writer. Whether you’re creating content to promote a client or to promote yourself, you’ll encounter the need to perform or at least understand digital marketing in some ...

Good case studies are a very powerful “soft-sell” business tool for promoting products or services, particularly in a B2B environment. Most case studies are short, only a couple of pages, and tell the story of how the customer benefitted from ...

As part of a new series interviewing some of the many writers using Journo Portfolio we spoke with Akshita Phoolka.

Imagine being in a mall with a number of shops, when all you need to buy is one shirt. How do you decide which shop to go to? The most obvious step for any person would be to have a ...

Getting through to editors is sometimes difficult. They are always busy. Particularly on Press Day, for print publications. Although more and more content is online, there are still thousands of magazines, newspapers, and local publications which have a press day ...

Hello, fellow freelancer! Congratulations on joining a growing revolution of freelance professionals who enjoy a more creative, open, flexible environment than a traditional workplace can provide.

So you’re getting those bylines. Beautiful, aren’t they? And you’re getting the checks that come with them. Could the checks be a little more beautiful? Yes, they could. That’s where grad school comes in.

On any website it is normally useful to use analytics to analyse how people find, use and behave on your portfolio. However, this isn't done just for the sake of it and is pointless unless you make use of the ...

We all know the power of images to convey a message, trigger an emotional response or simply look beautiful so it makes sense you should put effort into the choice and display of images on your writing portfolio.

One of the great features about Journo Portfolio compared with other portfolio-building platforms is that it lets you easily create a site with multiple pages.

This article takes you through some of the best practices for performing SEO on your writing portfolio (not necessarily built on Journo Portfolio). Journo Portfolio makes your life easier by doing lots of the best practices automatically, but there is ...

Version 3 of Journo Portfolio has now been launched bringing together a few small changes to make a big impact on how the site works. Combined with a bold new branding and site design we think Journo Portfolio is better ...