23 Freelance Blogs Every Small Business Owner Should Follow

Posted January 27, 2020

Small business owners today are blessed with an incredible wealth of information about starting and maintaining a business — from freelance blogs for entrepreneurs to complete online courses. Now, you don’t have to fly across the country to listen to industry leaders. You can just whip out your phone and watch Ted Talks on YouTube or listen to podcasts on Spotify. You can take classes online or watch webinars for interactive learning without even leaving your living room.

However, there’s still something special about reading blogs when it comes to getting information and actionable tips about doing business. There are so many freelance blogs online if you want to do some research about being a freelancer and entrepreneur or even hiring a freelancer or virtual assistant for your business. Stay informed through a few minutes of reading, or pick up a few tips and tricks from credible sources.

Why You Should Keep Learning

CB Insights, an intelligence and analytics platform that helps companies make better-informed decisions, compiled investigative data about business failure. Among the top reasons that startups fail are:

Lack of Market Need
Insufficient Cash
Team Incompatibility
Competition
Pricing Issues
Non-user Friendly Products
Lack of Business Model
Poor Marketing
Loss of Focus
Legal Challenges

Of course, the actual reasons vary per business. One company’s challenges and circumstances differ from others, so there is no single formula for success. What you can do is keep tabs on the different aspects of business, be on the lookout for industry news, and adapt this information to your situation.

HTC CEO Cher Wang once said,

“It takes humility to realize that we don’t know everything, not to rest on our laurels, and to know that we must keep learning and observing. If we don’t, we can be sure some startup will be there to take our place.”

If you want to stay on the forefront, continuous learning is non-negotiable. This is why blogs are essential to every entrepreneur’s quest for continuous self-education. Credible blogs are up-to-date, easy to access, and offers a multitude of ideas on different subjects.

Blogs answer the dilemma of entrepreneurs when it comes to not having enough time but needing to stay on top of their game. You can read a blog post in between breaks, during your commute, or when you’re relaxing at home.

Top Freelance Blogs for Business Owners

Stay inspired, be on-the-know, and pick up tips from experts to help you better your brand. Here are the 23 best freelance blogs every business owner should follow:

1. Neil Patel Blog

Neil Patel has definitely made a name for himself in the digital marketing industry. He claims his blog to be an all-in-one SEO tool and offers tools for backlinking, A/B Testing, and SEO analysis. To prove the efficiency of these tools, the blog displays its traffic statistics in its early days along with data showing its massive growth over time.

If you want to learn how to grow your website traffic, this is a great blog to bookmark. Apart from tips on getting more website visitors, the blog also discusses marketing trends and ways to get content ideas. You can listen to Marketing School, Patel’s podcast where he interviews entrepreneurs and confers about their strategies for success.

2. Wistia

Videos have become a powerful marketing tool – and Wistia knows just how you can leverage them to your advantage. Wistia offers services for creating video series, educational content, and marketing techniques. They also help business owners grow their brand through the use of video and its power to make business more social.

Subscribing to the blog gives you access to a pack of resources. You can read about the company’s Marketing Playbook, be inspired by Wistia customers’ success stories, and learn from the hordes of how-to articles that range from video creation to social ads.

3. Think with Google

Want to turn your online influence into foot traffic? Sign up to Google My Business and work on your local SEO. Need efficient tools for better workflow? Google has a suite of tools that you can use for free. With such inextricable hand in business today, it’s only fitting to check out Think with Google.

Think with Google offers comprehensive resources including plenty of tutorials and website diagnostic tools. It publishes global market insights and has a host of in-depth reading materials on business and marketing.

4. Digiday

Digiday is a multifaceted platform that serves as a marketing toolbox, learning resource, and industry magazine all in one. The blog is packed with insightful articles on retail, marketing, and modern-day consumers. You can also listen to Digiday podcasts that feature guests such as New York Times Style Editor Choire Sicha and Pinterest Chief Marketing Officer Andréa Mallard.

Digiday also hosts events where attendees can participate in panel discussions, attend forums, and network with investors and industry leaders. The platform recognizes frontrunners and provides awards in multiple categories including Fashion, Content Marketing, and Retail. If you’re looking to add a feather in your cap, it’s worth looking into Digiday Awards.

5. 20four7VA

A company providing virtual staffing solutions, 20four7VA has become an expert when it comes to managing and expanding business online. 20four7VA shares this know-how through weekly blog posts. Search for your topics of interest by scanning newly posted articles or filter by categories like Client Tips, eCommerce, and Marketing Tips.

You can also sign up to the company’s mailing list and receive updates on your preferred content. Need to expand your team? Get a list of the tops VAs for hire straight to your Inbox. Want first dibs on exclusive client offers or industry news? Sign up to the company’s mailing list, so you don’t miss any of this important info.

6. Litmus

Litmus is a marketing and business solutions company that claims to practice what it teaches. It offers services on campaign management, improved email messaging, and technology integrations. Litmus is a place for entrepreneurs, marketing specialists, agencies, and creatives.

If you’re a business owner, you can find different types of business assistance and resources here. If you’re creative, you can start a career path through Litmus and help companies and marketers from all over the world put together powerful campaigns. The blog displays open positions including remote jobs.

7. Sales Hacker

Improve sales cycles, develop better negotiation skills, or find an effective way to track your sales and performance. These are just a few of the things that you can do in Sales Hacker. The blog is a wealth of learning resources – whether you prefer to read, watch a video, or listen to podcasts.

Sales Hacker gives you access to free e-books that touches on topics like work-life balance and increasing revenues. You can also find downloadable workflow templates that you can share with your team.

8. ConvertKit

A platform that proudly claims to teach everyone how to make a living online, ConvertKit should be bookmarked by every entrepreneur. The blog regularly publishes articles about email marketing, landing pages, and social media advertising.

One of the best features of the blog is that it displays blog articles in grids that displays titles, categories, and approximate reading time. This helps readers scan and pick topics quicker.

9. Manta

One of the biggest digital resources for small businesses, Manta offers services, products, and learning opportunities in one convenient platform. The blog conveniently displays points of interests in 6 major categories: Home Improvement, Retail, Personal Care, Real Estate, Business, and Digital Marketing.

You can browse the rich archives of Manta for instructional materials, legal advice, buying or selling tips, and industry news.

10. The Penny Hoarder

Established in 2010, The Penny Hoarder is now a leading finance website. As its name suggests, the blog is a comprehensive resource for budgeting and debt management. Today, the Penny Hoarder has expanded to help business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and freelancers find gigs or create multiple sources of income.

Browse the website to find reports about small business taxes, tips on where and how to find side hustles, and inspirational stories about how regular folks found income sources in creative and simple ways.

11. The Self-Employed

Being your own boss is liberating and nerve-wracking at the same time. The Self-Employed appreciates this fact. It’s a platform that helps entrepreneurs and freelancers optimize their independence instead of being overwhelmed by it.

The blog can be easily navigated, thanks to its clean layout and display of major categories such as Start Ups, e-Commerce, Marketing, and Tech among others. One of the best blogs for freelancers, the Self-Employed is a great resource if you need clarifications on tax issues, require legal advice on business, or want funding tips and ideas.

12. I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Authored by bestselling writer Ramit Sethi, the blog I Will Teach You to Be Rich is developed from Sethi’s book of the same title. The blog is a clear description of its author’s mission. It provides in-depth content on how to use psychology and tried-and-tested systems to realize one’s ideal life.

Access free tools on how to build financial independence, find resources on personal development and discover ideas to help you create multiple income streams from this blog.

13. Mixergy

It’s not enough to keep on learning – you also need to learn from the best. Mixergy is a platform of leading entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. With this tool at your fingertips, you don’t have to leave anything up to chance when making important business decisions.

Mixergy offer over a thousand interviews and courses that you can watch and tackle at your own pace. Mixergy has programs to help aspiring entrepreneurs kick start their business, courses to help business owners automate processes and grow their company, and interviews of inspiring brand owners who overcame different challenges.

14. Seanwes

Self-employment can be taxing whether you’re a freelancer or business owner. Seanwes is a blog that you can turn to when you need support, advice, instructions, or just your daily dose of inspiration.

A platform that provides courses for creative professionals, Seanwes also produces articles and guides for starting a business, building clientele, creating a writing habit, starting a podcast, or coming up with one’s professional fee. Wherever you are on your career path, you can find helpful and insightful resources in Seanwes.

15. Making Sense of Cents

A brainchild of Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, Making Sense of Cents is a platform for business, personal finance, and lifestyle rolled in one convenient blog. Since its foundation in 2011, the blog has been featured in many credible websites such as Business Insider, The Huffington Post, and Forbes.

As a business owner, you need to know how to build a cost-reduction action plan with lasting gains. Making Sense of Cents has relevant resources to help people not just save money but also gain extra cash. It also teaches how to pay off debt, recommends money-saving life hacks, offers blogging courses, and features a Facebook group where people can share tips or seek answers to money issues.

16. Grow

If you want to gain financial savvy, Grow is a great website to follow. The blog publishes a mixture of How-to articles, interviews of money experts, and finance news.

Apart from these blog posts, Grow also features a Money 101. This in-depth program discusses financial planning essentials including saving, budgeting, credit debt management, investing, and the basics of real estate.

17. Careerfoundry

If you’re a designer, business owner, or both, Careerfoundry should be in your blog arsenal. This website is filled with helpful posts put together by creatives for creatives. If you’re just getting started, there are articles that offers tips and practical ideas on how you can hit the ground running. If you’re fresh out of school, there are also posts that give advice on where or how to get an internship and carve your career path.

Of course, if you want a more comprehensive learning opportunity, you can also find self-paced online courses in the CareerFoundry website. This includes introductory courses, advanced courses, and courses for shifting career paths.

18. Fizzle

Fizzle is a blog and a hub for business owners, bloggers, designers, and freelancers wanting to make the most out of self-employment. One of the best freelance blogs for creatives, it delivers articles on a wide variety of subjects ranging from design to entrepreneurship and staff management to tech.

Apart from these highly useful articles, Fizzle also produces guides and workbooks that helps people understand their audience, manage a brand online, or map out their customer’s journey.

19. Quuu

There’s no denying the huge influence of social media in business – and Quuu just knows how you can use this influence up to the hilt.

The blog teems with guides on how to work with influencers, content marketing pointers, and the hottest and most effective social media tools that marketers recommend.

20. Appcues

Onboarding new customers can be tricky – you need to handle it with care and strategy. Appcues knows how you can achieve such a feat. The blog helps you map out your client onboarding process, from brainstorming to delivery and establishing your own systems.

The blog also publishes case studies of real brands that have faced different kinds of challenges, as well as the strategies they used to come out the other side. Find out how you can improve retention rates or boost product adoption by following the Appcues blog.

21. Effortless HR

They say a company is only as good as the people behind it. Still, managing and collaborating with people is no easy feat. To help you get better in this side of the business, read the guides and follow the solutions mapped out in Effortless HR.

This blog posts technique on how to improve internal communications and practical info on staff compensation. Effortless HR also demystifies legal issues and streamlines the complexities of labour laws.

22. Close

Increase your revenues, motivate your sales team, and design the most fitting business models for your brand. Do all these and more with the solutions, tools, and resources that you can find from Close.

The blog also features products for different business processes, such as call automation, reporting, and customer relations management.

23. Influencive

Influencive is a platform that offers unconventional wisdom from influential minds. The blog teems with resources on how to gain a growth-oriented mindset. It also produces self-development programs and interviews with innovators and influential figures.

BONUS:

Small Business Administration

Small Business Administration or SBA may be at the bottom of the list – if it makes it at all – when considering blogs to follow. However, as America’s organization that helps people pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, SBA is a wealth of credible business news and practical information.

The SBA blog is full of reports and commentary from small business experts and even lists online courses to help people start or manage their business. Apart from these learning opportunities, the blog also gives people access to free business counselling from its partner firms like SCORE and Women’s Business Centers.

One of the surest ways to keep growing your business is to keep investing in yourself. Learn and be inspired by these freelance blogs that every business owner should follow.

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