If a client doesn’t pay up, what are your options? Here are a few points to consider.

Be patient.

Especially true if you’re working for a larger company, accounting departments can be disorganized places. A company may have multiple bills in the pipeline, so don’t always assume the worst if you aren’t paid on time. Send polite reminders and follow-up emails, make calls and try to speak with an actual representative of the company.

Of course, getting nothing in the way of response is a troubling sign. Try to remain professional and level-headed, but stress the urgency of being paid for all outstanding invoices in a timely manner.

Send a formal collection letter.

If your client remains AWOL after multiple attempts to contact them, send a formal collection letter. In it, lay out the entire situation with even-handed, professional language. Attach copies of invoices, contracts, oral or written agreements (such as emails), and show your client that you are serious about getting paid.

Here are some templates to help get you started.

Work something out.

Sometimes, a client can’t pay what you invoice them because their business or organization is in financial trouble. If this is the case, see what you can work out with your client. Consider accepting payments in installments, or settling on a price lower than what you initially agreed on. It isn’t ideal, but in this rare circumstance it’s better to get reimbursed for at least some of your work.

Threaten legal action.

Nobody wants to have to go to court. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and can be a headache overall. Your client, however, needs to know you’re serious about collecting payment.

Send another formal collection letter, this time threatening legal action if your invoices are not rectified within a set amount of time (2 weeks to a month is ideal).

Before beginning a project, communicate clearly about the payment process.

It might seem obvious, but a surefire way to make sure you don’t get burned by a stingy client is to communicate clearly about your rate, billing process, and payment process. If possible, draw up a formal contract.

Don’t be shy about the bottom line—if your client isn’t willing to discuss the payment process, they may not be a client worth pursuing. Some companies and organizations have specific dates they want invoices submitted, so be sure to ask about the best time, date, and format to submit invoices.

What if you have to go to court?

If you’ve exhausted all of your other options, the time may come to call up a lawyer and take legal action against your former client. Robert John Hudock, a business attorney practicing in Santa Monica, California, says the following about legal options for freelancers taking their case to court.

“In addition to a claim for breach of an oral contract, you have a claim under what are called the ‘common counts.’ They are somewhat difficult to explain, but for informational purposes, what you need to know is the particular common count that applies in your situation. The common count that applies is simply a common count for services rendered. The count for services states that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff in a certain sum for (or on account of) ‘work and labor done’ or ‘services performed’ for the defendant (or at the defendant’s request). This claim is often more advantageous to a plaintiff who did not enter into a written contract because proving an oral contract can be difficult, and with this common count, you don’t have to prove the elements of a contract; the agreement underlying this count is a ‘quasi-contract’ or implied contract. All a plaintiff needs to show is that defendant became indebted to plaintiff for an agreed upon amount, for work, labor, services and materials rendered at the special instance and request of defendant and for which defendant promised to pay plaintiff. There is a Judicial Council form that lays this all out.”

The post When Clients Don’t Pay: Legal Options for Freelancers appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Of course, many celebrities claim to be active bloggers or social media juggernauts, but a good chunk of them leave the heavy lifting to their PR team. For this list, we’ve included a few of these celebrity-funded projects—but only if they personally invested time or money into getting them off the ground and posting quality content.

Jay Z’s Life + Times

It’s no secret that Jay Z is more than just a rapper. He’s also a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor. To that end, he’s created his own online magazine titled Life + Times, which chronicles everything from the music industry to sports and entertainment.

Although it’s rare for the H.O.V.A. to make an appearance himself, his blog is worth following for its stunning layout and aesthetic appeal. Mr. Z may have 99 problems, but appealing web design clearly isn’t one.

John Green’s Tumblr

John Green is an author, educator, and host of the wildly popular web series Crash Course. You won’t find him dining with starlets in the Hollywood hills, or maybe you would—he is one suave history teacher—but in any case, Mr. Green is an excellent follow for a few reasons.

First and foremost, it’s easy to tell that it’s actually John Green’s tumblr account, and not the work of some awful PR intern getting paid in “experience.” Second, Green goes through great lengths to make learning easy and entertaining. Check him out!

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop

Yes, the subheading “Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop” is a little disturbing, but less so when you realize Goop is actually the name of her very popular, and highly successful, online publication. Goop is primarily centered on women’s issues, fashion, and lifestyle topics.

Zooey Deschanel Miscellany and HelloGiggles

Okay, let’s go ahead and answer this question: a miscellany is defined as “a group or collection of different items; a mixture.” That’s a pretty good definition of Zooey Deschanel’s tumblr blog, which contains quite the mixture indeed.

Unfortunately, she hasn’t updated the site in quite some time. It’s still a great archived read for fans of the actress and entertainer, however. And hey, we don’t blame her. Maybe her blog was a way to get her mind off of Ben Gibbard, the world’s most beloved almost-famous indie-not-indie music producer. A Los Angeles divorce lawyer is no therapist.

Never fear, Zooey diehards. She’s also launched HelloGiggles, a “positive community for women.” Unlike her tumblr blog, HG is a very active blogging community. In fact, Deschanel just sold it for a whopping $30 million.

The Richard Dawkins Foundation

It’s no secret that biologist Richard Dawkins’ tweets regularly get him in trouble, but the rebel scientist saves his best work for the podium—and his blog. The Richard Dawkins Foundation is a curated news and editorial source for issues relating to science, education, and rethinking religion.

Dawkins’ blog also features videos from John Green’s Crash Course, along with a lot of other neat science-y stuff. It’s worth following if science education, secularism, atheism, logic, separation of church and state, or philosophy are important topics to you.

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The post 5 Awesome Celebrity Blogs to Follow appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Let’s face it: unless we studied law in college, we generally have a hard time understanding what we’re actually reading when it comes to legal documents or court cases. Never fear, however, because there is a solution to this problem. As a writer, it’s important to do your fair share of reading. This broadens your intellectual horizons and, importantly, may open you up to new niche subjects to write about. In order to get familiar with the rule of law, then, it might be necessary to follow an expert—or two, or four. Here’s our picks on where to get started.

Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today

Our first pick might seem a little conceited, since Johnathan Bailey did, after all, write for Blog Herald. But he’s a great writer to keep an eye on for a few reasons.

Mr. Bailey has been hard at work defending artists from plagiarism over at Plagiarism Today. Johnathan’s online publication deals with the DMCA and copyright law, but is particularly focused on the “societal ill” of intellectual property infringement. Basically, if you have questions regarding plagiarism and copyright law, as well as their broader complications, Johnathan is the guy to follow.

Sullivan and Worcester of The Art Law Report

The legal team that makes up Sullivan and Worcester publish a brilliant blog on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities.  The site is edited by Nicholas M. O’Donnell, a legal expert at S&W’s Boston office.

The Art Law Report’s most notable achievement was their coverage of the discovery of a cache of art in Munich, Germany. The Nazis were apparently responsible for stealing and hiding this priceless collection. The Report’s unique legal perspective on the situation is a must-read for anyone wishing to approach a similar subject.

Harris Moure of the Canna Law Blog

There are countless activism websites related to the legalization of marijuana, but there’s little information out there about the legal issues faced by legal marijuana businesses. Enter Harris Moure of the Canna Law Blog, who focuses his legal expertise on subjects relating to marijuana businesses and their owners and employees.

With articles like Oregon Marijuana: Draft Rules for Labeling, Concentration and Testing, it’s easy to see why the Canna Law Blog is a must-follow for anyone interested in getting into the marijuana businesses—as well as us bloggers who encounter this subject with frequency. Once you understand the laws surrounding marijuana regulation, you’ll find it’s much easier to tackle the subject.

Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson of BeLabor the Point

Yes, that firm is a mouthful—but BeLabor the Point is actually one of the most accessible (and entertaining) law blogs out there. Its authors present legal matters relating to labor and the workforce in easily-understandable language, and they also try to create enjoyable reads—something rare in the stone-faced world of legal blogging.

A Short Digression on Local Blogs

We’ve previously written about blogging local and covering crime, and now we’d like to write a few words about following your local legal experts. As a rule, it’s easier to write about topics you’re familiar with, and if you live in a major metropolitan area, there may be job opportunities available to bloggers who are intimately familiar with their community. Even if you get a job writing for a website based in another city, it’s important to become familiar with city and state legal issues. If you’re writing for a website based in Phoenix, Arizona, and you’d like to cover a local crime or public interest story, imagine how much more authoritative your writing can become if you follow some Phoenix criminal lawyers in the blogosphere. Get their insight and expertise from a local perspective, and your writing will shine.

The post Top Legal Experts to Follow in the Blogosphere appeared first on The Blog Herald.

The unfortunate reality is that working from home is hard work, indeed. Sure, you don’t have to wake up and drag yourself to the office—but that convenience comes with a price. In our quest to be successful, sometimes we create the inverse scenario: the office never leaves us. As it turns out, your work/life balance may actually be more difficult to manage when your workplace and home are one and the same. It’s hard to keep up with things when you work all hours of the day and night, only sometimes finding time to eat and sleep.

If we’re not careful, our personal lives can suffer. In particular, excessive working hours can take a heavy toll on our interpersonal relationships. We must remember to keep room for friends in our lives and, if we’re in a romantic relationship, we have to avoid letting work kill it. Here are a few simple ways to ensure your work/life balance is properly calibrated for the betrothed.

Co-ordinate with your partner to create a compatible work schedule.

If your partner works nine to five, but you prefer to roll out of bed at noon and start working by one, your schedules will seriously conflict. If your partner works swing or graveyard shifts, adopting a nine to five work schedule may not be conducive, either.

Co-ordinate with your partner to create a compatible work schedule. Try to maximize your time together by adopting a schedule that has you both working around the same times of day. If possible, try to schedule your days off together. That way you both have the opportunity to get out and tear up the town, if you so desire.

“For some couples, incompatible work schedules can lead to other problems,” says Tony Dunne, a divorce lawyer in San Diego. “Some couples are fine with spending less time around each other, but for others, their relationship begins to suffer.”

But what if your partner doesn’t work outside the home?

Spend your break time with your partner.

We all need to take regular breaks to stay healthy (and sane!), so why not try taking them with your partner? Sit down for an episode or two of a TV show, cook a meal together, take a walk, or do whatever you like to do together.

Which brings us to our third tip…

Make time for meals.

It’s always tempting to grab a bag of beef jerky or whip up some ramen soup when we’re “in the zone,” after all, those precious calories keep us going. But instead of mindlessly snacking or making a meal for one, try breaking for lunch and dinner with your partner. If possible, go out to eat together on occasion. It’s nice to get out of the house and get away from work on your lunch hour, and you’ll be in good company if you bring your partner along.

Go to bed.

“Just one more minute” is a catchphrase for too many freelancers. Of course, it’s important to get our work finished on time, but try to manage your schedule so as to prevent incompatibility with your partner’s sleep cycle.

Remember that “one more minute” often turns into several more hours, and if you’re overworked your output will suffer. Besides, catching some Zs together is an important and intimate activity for many couples, and is often a hallmark of good relationships. Don’t leave your partner waiting for you too long.

So there you have it: a few simple tips for keeping your relationship intact. Of course, your circumstances may vary. Some freelancers have strict schedules mandated by their clients, forcing them to work a particular set of hours. But no matter your schedule, there’s always time for the people you love.

The post Freelancers: Don’t Let Work Kill Your Relationship appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Content writing can be just as fun and profitable as blogging and article writing, but is better suited to those of us with a more technical mindset. How does content writing differ from blogging? First, let’s define it.

Content writers write and polish the text you read on professional websites. This makes it a mixture of copywriting, SEO, and corporate content creation. Content writers often wear many hats, but they are primarily concerned with delivering concise, highly readable prose for a private company’s website.

While it’s still totally possible to make a living as a blogger or article writer, writers who specialize in general content are a dime-a-dozen. That’s because this type of work retains a highly artistic and personal element, and ultimately allows for more creative freedom. As a content writer, you’re bound to whatever your client wants you to write.

Content writers often wear many hats, but they are primarily concerned with delivering concise, highly readable prose for a private company’s website.”

As a result, you’ll find less private clients as a blogger. In fact, you’ll probably have to stick to blogging networks and constantly search the freelance boards. This works great for some people, but others want more stability.

As a content writer, you are a one-person business. It’s mostly up to you to find clients and convince them you’re right for the job. But once you do, you’ll likely have a contract with them that guarantees a certain amount of work—and the profit margins are much, much larger. It takes more time and energy to get started, but once you do—a steady stream of referrals and return business is in your future. Assuming you’re good at what you do, of course.

As a content writer, you are a one-person business. It’s mostly up to you to find clients and convince them you’re right for the job.”

“Professionals want someone who is able to review the resources we give them and work closely with us to effectively communicate our ideas to potential clients,” says Kevin Todd Simon, a Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney. “Accuracy is key, there’s no room for personal opinions.”

Bloggers and article writers often take for granted the fact that their work sometimes allows for the interjection of personal opinion. Their goal is to create something compelling for readers to enjoy—they aren’t trying to communicate a specific message to a particular demographic. They write to be thought-provoking, to entertain, or to keep readers hooked. Content writers, on the other hand, consider carefully each word choice. Every sentence needs to reflect the core values of the organization they’re writing for. The goal is not to entertain or enthrall, but to keep readers interested in the message they’re trying to convey—and ultimately to convince them to read more and take action.

It might sound like content writing is synonymous with copywriting. While there are numerous crossovers and the two terms are often used interchangeably, it’s important to note that they’re not necessarily the same thing. Copywriting is an umbrella term that includes content writing work, along with working on direct advertisements and a myriad of other kinds of work.

Content writing, however, refers strictly to creating text for websites. It often has an advertorial slant, but it isn’t necessarily intended for the same purpose as straight-up advertisements. If the reader is on the web page, chances are they’ve already been advertised to. The content writer’s job is to explain the purpose of the website clearly and succinctly, and sometimes to “convince” their audience to take action.

So there you have it, the differences between blogging and content writing. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to choose one over the other. Many freelancers are successful because they take on a variety of work—so mixing your writing outlets up a bit is never a bad thing. Happy writing!

The post Making Money at Home: Blogging vs. Content Writing appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Squirrel Away A Small Percentage Every Time You Get Paid

A fairly obvious little trick that we hope you’re already doing, setting aside a small percentage of each check you collect and depositing that money into a savings account is the easiest way to make sure you’re covered come tax season. Even ten to fifteen percent is more than enough, especially when compounding interest is added.

As an added bonus, your owed taxes are usually less than what you’ve saved–giving you a nice bonus to play around with.

As a Blogger, You’ll Owe the Government ‘Estimated Taxes’

‘Estimated taxes’ are something people with “regular” jobs don’t have to worry about. Basically, the IRS usually deducts small amounts of money from each paycheck you receive from an employer. This all goes toward your end-of-the-year tax statement, and usually means a Government tax refund.

As a blogger, however, you’re an independent contractor. Taxes typically aren’t taken out of what you’ve earned because you’re a self-operating business. Therefore, you’ll usually owe estimated taxes to the IRS every quarter. The due dates for these taxes are April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. For more information on estimated taxes, visit the official website of the IRS.

Don’t Forget About Self-Employment Tax

You may think of yourself as a writer, or an artist, or a “blogging extraordinaire,” but to Uncle Sam you are your own private business. As such, you’re required to pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes your employer would typically be required to take care of.

It’s a financial pain, yes, but if you save accordingly–it’s an easy expense to meet. Think of it this way: would you rather let your great grandpa Irving, who fought in World War II, won the battle of Iwo Jima single-handedly, worked hard all of his life, and gave birth to your grandpa continue to collect his Social Security checks? Or would you rather skip out on paying your fair share and make poor great-grandpa Irving have to hire a Phoenix bankruptcy attorney because he’s going broke and too old to work? Taxes are a necessary due we all must pay, and being a blogger doesn’t make you exempt from that.

Deductible Expenses

It’s not all bad news for the tax-paying blogger. Being your own business makes you eligible for a number of tax deductions related to your work. Buy a new computer for your office? How about a desk? Office supplies? Spend any money on advertising? It can all be deducted. Even your rent or utilities can go toward a deduction if you use your home as your office. This helps offset the extra taxes you’re required to pay as a self-employed person.

In conclusion, know what you’re going to have to pay ahead of time by estimating how much you make and what percentages will come out at the end of the tax year. Try to set aside some cash to use for paying off your tax balance (and giving yourself a nice bonus), and remember: as a blogger, you are your own business. Most tips and tricks that can be used by business owners can be used by you. Take advantage of a good tax consultant, or have a knowledgeable friend help you file.

The post Don’t Owe A Thing: Tips for Bloggers Filing Taxes appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Here are some tips for writing great blog posts about crime, law, and justice.

Find Reliable, Unbiased Sources

In the modern internet age, fact and fiction coexist side-by-side, and it can be difficult to distinguish the two. Websites with a particular political or social bias often appear like totally legitimate news sources, but editorialize their content in such a way as to make them an unreliable source.

Then you have tabloid sites, like TMZ or the UK’s Daily Mail, who aren’t particularly rigorous about checking their own sources. If you want your story to be taken seriously, avoid these sites like the plague. In fact, it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid any editorialized content as a source. Even if it seems to be perfectly journalistic in nature, it’s easy to get lost in all the erroneously added details.

Instead, opt for straightforward reporting from news agencies like the Associated Press. Their reports are often short and to the point, giving you all the critical info you need to form the framework of your story, without slipping in any questionable details or opinions.

Turn Dry Reporting Into a Captivating Story

Try to make your post compelling to the reader. Some people prefer straightforward reporting, but they’re much more likely to visit the aforementioned news agencies to read that kind of content. Instead, give the story a little flair without exaggerating the details or making anything up.

For example, if a report by the Associated Press reads:

“Mr. Thompson says he woke up early in the morning on Saturday, around 6:00am, and found his front door had been bashed in.”

Your story could retain the same facts and information while being more interesting to the reader, like this:

“It was a Saturday morning like any other. Mr. Thompson awoke around 6:00am and discovered something disconcerting; his front door had been bashed in.”

Implying that it was a “Saturday morning like any other” is about as much embellishing as you should allow. It grabs the attention of the reader better than the AP report does, and taking that slight liberty is worth it. Remember, as a blogger, most of your material falls under the editorial category, even if you’re reporting recent news. It needs to be interesting to the reader yet able to pass rigorous fact-checking.

Get to Know Local Law Enforcement

As a blogger, you’ll probably be covering news stories from across the globe, but it still pays to have local contacts in law enforcement. Such individuals can provide valuable insight into a particular story and, if they’re willing, may provide a quote for your article.

Making contacts across the legal spectrum will give you valuable resources for your content. Even if the story you’re covering took place in New York while you live in LA, you can still ask a few Los Angeles criminal lawyers for their take on the story, and possibly include their statements as a quote.

So, how do you develop sources within law enforcement and the legal profession? This free course from Poynter News University will help you get started. It takes about an hour to complete, but the insights and tips it provides are totally it. Once you’ve learned how to cover crime, you’ll master the genre in no time.

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The post Crime Beat: How to Cover Crime Compellingly appeared first on The Blog Herald.

For many, working from home is the dream. But those who do it note it comes with a few significant drawbacks. For one, it’s all too easy to let your suddenly sedentary lifestyle get the best of you, making you lethargic, uninspired, or downright inactive.

Combatting this takes a lot of effort, but once you get into the swing of things, it does get easier. Here are some tips for staying active while working a sedentary job.

Take Your Breaks Outside

By now, you’re probably aware that you should take regular breaks when you work from home. They’ll help you focus and prevent you from getting burned out. But taking a break involves more than checking Facebook. Instead of remaining at your desk, take your break outside. The fresh air is invigorating, and exposure to sunlight might ward off that growing strain of vampirism.

This suggestion is great for lots of reasons. Writer’s block got you down? Take a walk! Stressed and frustrated by the day’s activities? Enjoy a cup of tea in the back garden. Whatever you have to do to get yourself away from that computer chair.

Schedule Exercise as Part of Your Work Day

There’s more to working from home than making money. If you’re only concerned about the bottom line, you’ll fatigue yourself pretty quickly. At the same time, it’s difficult to resist the temptation to keep working, even at the expense of your own health.

To counter this, try scheduling fifteen to thirty minutes of exercise into your work day. If you typically work eight hours, one work out session near the beginning of the day will keep your mind sharp and your body happy. If you work for more than eight hours, try to squeeze another work out in there.

Enjoy Healthy Snacks

One of the quickest routes to inactivity is eating unhealthy food that bogs you down. Snacking on chips and cookies might be satisfying, but they’ll also leave you lethargic. Instead, keep healthy snacks like nuts and fruit within arm’s reach. Healthier foods will give you the energy you need to get up and go when the time comes.

Consider Hiring a Personal Trainer

In addition to short workouts during the work week, consider hiring a personal trainer. It’s easy to skip out on hitting the gym, especially after working all week. That’s why many trainers have begun making house calls, which is not only more convenient, but may help you work out more consistently.

When hiring a trainer, be sure to review their qualifications. “Personal fitness trainers are not presently required to have a state license,” says Christine C McCall, a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer. “Proposals to require such license have failed in recent years. There is, of course, a strong trend toward certification by one or more voluntary organizations of fitness professionals.”

Go Out for Lunch

Being active isn’t just about eating right and exercising. A crucial component is staying active mentally and socially. To that end, you should try to incorporate mentally and socially stimulating activities into your day. Going out for lunch, instead of ordering in or eating at home, is a great way to get out and about. The change of environment will help you decompress, and if you can convince a friend or two to come along—you’ll get your social interaction in for the day.

Of course, going out every single day is expensive and can be unhealthy, so try doing it just once or twice a week. Be sure to make healthy choices when choosing where to eat. If you can’t afford to go out, at least spend some time hobnobbing with the rest of civilization before retreating back to your work cave.

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The post Tips for Staying Active with a Sedentary Job appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get out there, amidst all the action, and then come home and write about it? Here’s the good news: it’s entirely possible, if you find a freelancing gig that’s local to your community.

The bad news? Finding a local freelancing gig isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t know where to look. With dedication and patience, however, it can be done. There’s a plethora of companies out there looking for freelance bloggers who live locally. “Of course we want someone who is knowledgeable about the subject,” says Ted Khalaf, a Pasadena family lawyer, “but someone who lives in the area and really understands the community mindset can be a great asset.”

If you dream of blogging locally, check out these resources to get you started.

Job Boards

As a freelancer, frequently checking job boards is an important part of your work. But many of us have tuned out the more traditional channels like Craigslist and Indeed. These websites are actually very useful for finding local work, however, as they allow you to search by state and city. An Indeed search for “freelance writer” in Pasadena, California, for example, brought up 35 recent job postings. The Los Angeles Craigslist site averages about ten job postings a week in the “writing/editing” category.

Then, of course, you have job boards specifically for freelance writers, like Freelance Writing Jobs, which curates job postings for freelancers and allows you to search by location. A great tool for finding local work in no time at all.

Keep an Eye on Your Community Media

It’s impossible to list every local media company here, so it’s up to you to find them in your own city. If you live in an especially populous area, they shouldn’t be too hard to find. Look for community bulletin boards, newsletters, and blogs that may be circulating around Facebook or other social media sites. The editors at these websites and publications are frequently looking for short or long-term collaborators and freelancers to fill their sites with content, and there’s no better writer for a community-driven website than someone who actually lives in that community.

Start Your Own

Okay, we know this isn’t exactly what you were looking for—but starting your own blog about local events might actually pay off. Many people feel media is becoming impersonal due to advancements in communication, specifically the rise of national and international news on the internet. In an age when every city and town is connected, people are actually flocking to content that has a local angle.

Building a blog from the ground up might seem intimidating at first, but it’s an investment that can really pay off if you know the right steps to take. Not to mention, you’ll graduate from being a freelancer to owning your own online business. At the very least, it’s something to consider. Why not read up on the fundamentals of starting a blog and decide if it’s something you’d like to pursue?

So there you have it, a few simple tools to help you find freelancing work in your local community. Consider each one and decide what the best strategy is for you. Happy writing!

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The post Blogging Local: How to Find Freelancing Gigs in Your City appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Without the work / home divide, it can be easy to neglect your health, or even your sanity. Here are five essential tips for staying healthy and keeping your mind sharp while working at home.

Feed Yourself

You need to eat regular meals. It’s awfully tempting to reach for the chips and sit back down at your computer, but you need the right nutrients to keep your mind sharp and body fit and healthy. After all, you may have switched from a more active lifestyle at a retail or labor job to a completely sedentary one. Eating regularly and eating right are essential to keeping the creative juices flowing. If possible, plan your meals in advance. Take a break when it’s lunch time – don’t scarf down that sandwich while typing away at the word processor. Breaking for lunch will help you process the day better and reduce fatigue by the end of your work day.

Keep Regular Hours

In addition to fighting procrastination, having regular, pre-determined work hours will keep you from feeling overwhelmed. When you work at home, you want to do everything possible to avoid turning your house into “the office”. You need to be able to leave work at the end of the day, relax, and let tomorrow’s work be tomorrow’s work. You’ll find sticking to a schedule actually makes you more efficient and less inclined to goof off when trying to get work done.

Leave the Bottle Alone

Excessive amounts of alcohol and drugs may have worked for Hunter S. Thompson, but a blogger he wasn’t. In this business, we write more text in a day than most people will in months. Being at home, we may at first relish in breaking all the workplace rules. ‘Why not have a drink, or two, or three, while I’m here sitting at my desk? It’s not like I’ll get fired for it.’

Unless you fancy a trip to a rehab center, it’s best to stick to the good ol’ standard of drinking after work. Drugs and alcohol will negatively affect your output, and worse—could get you into a pretty bad habit of work day intoxication. Keep psychoactive substances in their place and use them recreationally. It doesn’t matter how many gallons of whiskey Hemingway sloshed down while writing The Sun Also Rises, you don’t want to rely on booze to get work done.

Take Regular Breaks

Carpel tunnel and screen fatigue can easily take a toll on you if you don’t remember to take regular breaks during your work day. Ten to fifteen minutes every hour is ideal, but be warned: a short break can turn into “why don’t I just give myself the rest of the day off?” if you aren’t disciplined about it. Instead of turning on the TV, try playing a game like Sudoku or completing a crossword puzzle. These activates will keep your mind sharp and in “work mode” while giving your tired eyes a break from the screen.

Exercise Every Day

It doesn’t matter how small the gesture is, getting up and being active is essential to keeping in good health when you work a sedentary job. It could be a walk around the block or a full-length workout complete with squats, weights, and chin-ups—so long as you get up and get your blood flowing, you’ll have far more energy to get yourself through the day. An added bonus: exercise fights depression, which can affect you more easily than you think when you work in an isolated environment.

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Research: One in three American bloggers writes specifically about health

Healthcare for Bloggers and Podcasters?

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From pop news sites like Mashable to advice sites like LifeHacker, many of today’s most popular online destinations began life as simple blogs; the vision of one person transformed into businesses that rival well-established print and web magazines. Each one is a story of success, and a testament to the power of dedication, hard work, and the ample opportunities the internet provides aspiring entrepreneurs.

TechCrunch

TechCrunch is one of the web’s most prominent industry-specific news sites, but it has humble origins as a blog run by one man, Michael Arrington. His thoughts and predictions soon made him renowned as the “prophet of Silicon Valley”, leading Arrington to expand his site and add more contributors until, finally, it became the frequently updated, minute-by-minute tech news destination it is today. For his efforts, Arrington has become one of the richest bloggers in the world, pulling in anywhere from $500,000 to $800,000 each month.

Mashable

Even if you don’t know it by name, you’ve probably read something on Mashable. It’s one of the largest independent news sites on the web, covering everything from business and technology to social media, lifestyle, and entertainment.

The story of the site’s founding is one that wouldn’t seem out of place in even the schmaltziest Hollywood drama about a fictional business, but Pete Cashmore’s story is all too real. At just 19 years old, he founded the website and ran it out of his bedroom in Scotland. Within a few years, Cashmore was one of the most successful bloggers in the world, raking in between $560,000 and $600,000 a month.

Perez Hilton

The celebrity gossip site run by Mario Lavandeira, better known as Perez Hilton, has for better or worse become a mainstay in popular culture. But when it was launched in 2005, it was nothing more than a simple blog dedicated to the latest Hollywood hearsay, known as “PageSixSixSix”. Now, Hilton’s site is making bank, earning the controversial journalist between $200,000 and $400,000 each month.

Despite being one of the world’s most successful bloggers, most people don’t associate Hilton or his site with the term. It seems nothing will shake the popular misconception that blogs are lonely, isolated places on the internet that nobody visits.

Lifehacker

Entrepreneur Gina Trapani not only founded one of the most popular websites in the world, she popularized a term that has gained widespread traction in the English language. A “life hack” is a simple tip or series of instructions aimed at making one’s life easier. From cracking eggs perfectly to DIY home theaters, Lifehacker has become the number one spot for easily digestible information that saves you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration.

For her efforts, Trapani makes around $110,000 a month.

The Huffington Post

When Arianna Huffington and four others launched The Huffington Post in 2005, few would have predicted the humble blog that seemed more interested in alternative medicine than politics would become the most popular breaking news, opinion, and blogging website in the world. The site even won a Pulitzer Prize, the first online media group to do so.

Arianna Huffington may have been a well-established public figure before launching the Post, but the website’s runaway success is further proof that blogging can take you places. Furthermore, it demonstrates the huge role blogging plays in online media—one that is quite a bit bigger than most people think.

Also read: Turning Your Blog Into a Business with David Risley

The post Popular Websites You Didn’t Know Started as Blogs appeared first on The Blog Herald.