Ready for the hottest topics freelance writers wanted to know about in the past year? I’ve got it for you in this post.
As usual, the best posts are the ones that you freelance writers took the time to read. I pay close attention to what more people want, and you can bet there’ll be more great content like it in the coming year.
This year’s best-of is a special list, because 2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of Make a Living Writing.
Shortly, this blog will publish its 1,000th post. That’s a lot of content!
Given that, I decided to do the best-of list a little differently this year. Below are the five most popular posts of the past year. And below that are the five most popular posts of all time, in the history of this blog. Consider this a quick guide to what you need to know most to be a successful freelance writer.
These posts are packed with useful info for growing freelance writers’ income. Enjoy! And watch for more treats and goodies as the blog celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Best posts for freelance writers 2017
1. Get Paid to Write: 26 Sites That Pay $100+
Getting out of the world of tiny pay is important, and readers responded big-time to this list of better-paying blogs by freelancer Evan Jensen. Expect more niche lists of good-paying markets to come this year.
2. Freelance Writing Forecast: Ride These Epic Trends in 2017
It’s important to know where the world of freelance writing is headed, so you make the right moves. Our annual forecast has often been one of our most popular posts of the year. See how well we did with this one now, and stay tuned for the 2018 forecast next week.
3. Master Writing Jobs Exposed: Learn How to Spot Writing Scams
Exposing scams and keeping writers from being ripped off is my passion, so I was thrilled to see this one was read by over 10,000 writers. I hope you’ll all share this basic offer-vetting information with every writer you know. You can definitely count on me to continue watching what’s going on out there and steering you away from ripoffs.
4. Freelance Writing Gigs with Great Pay: 50 Niches to Explore
Again, finding where there’s good money for freelance writers is key. Too many writers are still wasting time on tiny clients that’ll never pay what they’re worth, so I’m glad this found a big audience.
5. Inside 4 New Content Mills: What Freelance Writers Need to Know
Freelance writer Allen Taylor did some solid reporting on the move-up mills in this blog post. The trend of emerging ‘move-up mills’ with different pay models is one I’ll continue to follow closely.
All-Time Best Posts for Freelance Writers
A lot of our posts are so useful, people read them for years after they’re published. Here are the most popular evergreen posts readers enjoyed in the past year:
1. How I Make $5,000 a Month Blogging
Well-paid blogging is the dream of many writers. This is a post I wrote early on, but updated recently.
2. Earn Money Online: 92 Websites That Pay Writers $50+
We’ve cranked out a lot of niche lists of paying markets since this post, but big lists, like this one by Jennifer Roland, are highly useful, no? We get it. Stay tuned for a new big list next week.
3. The Truth About How Much Freelance Writers Make
Real information about professional rates is hard to come by. This post gives you resources and hard data.
4. 12 Great Writer Websites That Magnetically Attract Clients
OK, full disclosure: This post is actually an update of the most-popular post I ever did on writer websites, because sites disappear and change over time. But I know creating a writer website that really gets you good clients remains a top concern. Figured you’d find sites with mobile-friendly themes and all more useful than ones from 2010.
5. 10 Mistakes I Made Publishing My E-Book — And How You Can Do Better
Self-publishing is an opportunity every freelance writer should be looking at, to see if you can create independent income beyond doing client work. There’s a ton to know about how to actually sell that self-pubbed book, and I’ll definitely continue tracking best practices in how to self-publish and earn.
My takeaways for freelance writers
As always, I use this best-of list to read the tea leaves on what content you need most. In the past year, I made a big commitment to commissioning monthly paying-market lists, for instance.
While the paying-market lists include many blogs, there were fewer popular posts this year with ‘blog’ or ‘blogging’ in the title. I think many writers are busy moving up to more sophisticated, better-paying types of writing. Good for you!
What else should the Make a Living Writing blog cover? Come tell me on Facebook or LinkedIn.
