How to Get Your Proofreading Business Online and Start Making Money

How to Get Your Proofreading Business Online and Start Making Money.

So, you’ve bought the book, got the t-shirt and now you’re ready to put your new-found and hard-earned skills from The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course to good use.
 
Well stick around and you’ll discover how you how you can save a ton of time and money getting your proofreading business online, even if you’re an online newbie - and much faster than you think!

Throughout your journey, you’ll have no doubt pondered the following:
 

• Can I sell my skills as a proofreader?
• Can I create a proofreading business?
• Can I make money proofreading?

 
Well, in short, yes you can, and this short series of articles is where you’ll find everything you need to create, promote and have a successful online proofreading business.

Apart from the tips and ideas included in Mike’s No-Nonsense Proofreading Course (Chapter 9 ‘The Business of Proofreading’) and in his blog, you’ll discover every idea I can think of to help you on your way to becoming a self-employed (paid!) proofreader.
 
Because this is an important and wide-ranging topic, I’ll break it down into bite-sized chunks which we’ll explore in much greater detail in further posts, which hopefully you won’t find overwhelming.

But first things first…
 
Where to start…
 
Step 1. Sign up with every online freelance marketplace you can find.
 
Step 2. Create a website.
 
Step 3. Sign up with every appropriate social media channel.
 
Step 4. Write, post and blog like crazy!
 
Fair Warning! Step one will definitely help, but the real juice is in steps two, three and four!

OK, let’s cover step one because it won’t hurt.

Signing up with as many online freelance job sites as you can is a great first step and is probably the most cost-effective method of promoting yourself as a proofreader.

Doing so will give you some very important online exposure, but once that’s done then what? Well despite being a great first step, you’re likely to be one of many proofreaders trying to shine in what can often be a very crowded marketplace.

In the No-Nonsense Proofreading Course, Mike includes a comprehensive list of freelance marketing websites where you can register your proofreading business for free.

Whilst this first step may well be cost-effective and worthwhile, it’s unlikely to bring you paid work as a freelance proofreader in a hurry, so my advice for what it’s worth, is to get to Step 2 as soon as you can and set up your own website to promote your own online proofreading business.
 
If you’re tech and web savvy and have a website already, then you’ll already be familiar with the benefits of having your own website. However, if you’re new to creating and operating a website and are a little daunted at the prospect, then don’t worry, there are numerous low-cost or cost-free simple website-building solutions that are perfect for the online novice.

​The benefits of having your own website
 
The obvious benefit of having your own website is that you’re in complete control of how you communicate with your target audience to sell your products or proofreading services, and rather than hunting down paid proofreading opportunities, you’ll massively increase the chances of those proofreading jobs coming looking for you!

Your own website is where you can blog to your heart's content (content marketing), build your own list of subscribers (email marketing) and provide a shop window for your proofreading business (to actually make money proofreading).
 
In addition to showcasing your online proofreading business, having your own website provides you with the perfect destination to direct and refer all of your social media posts, and by including the same social media links on your site, make all of you content available to share onward. The perfect win-win.
 
So, how do you promote your online Proofreading Business?
 
It goes without saying that, regardless of the skills, the product(s) or the service you’re offering, unless your potential customers know about you, your path to success is likely to be a long and frustrating one.

With that in mind, we’ll focus on one of the most important elements of your new proofreading business: Marketing, or more specifically, digital marketing.
 
Like any business, unless it’s actively promoted, it’s likely to wither and die, so promoting your proofreading services regularly is key to your online success.

Over the next short series of articles, we’ll delve in and look at how and where you can promote your proofreading business.

Through your own Marketing Channels…
 

• Your Proofreading Business Website
• Your Proofreading Blog
• Your own Email Marketing

 
Organic Search Engines…
 

• Google
• YouTube
• Bing
• Yahoo

 
Social Media…
 

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

 
Write, post and blog like crazy!
 
Adding relevant content as often as you can to your website will keep it alive and relevant in the eyes of the search engines. This is called content marketing and getting this right will elevate your website up the organic search listings.

This article is content marketing and apart from being very effective for search engine optimization (SEO), it can also play a big part in your social media strategy, in that you can post snippets or tantalising hooks to attract visitors to your site.
 
So, to summarise; Yes, you can have a successful proofreading business, and creating and promoting your business online is key to achieving that.
 
Coming soon…

Step 1: Sign up with every online freelance marketplace you can find.
 
Bye for now.
Jeff