Have you ever dreamed about making a living by freelancing but just didn’t know where to start? If so, Freelance Superstar might be exactly what you are looking for.
The course was developed by former BloggingTips writer Monika Mundell and home business guru Gobala Krishnan. The course retails for $37. The course includes:
- Freelance Superstar Guide – A 67 page guide which introduces you to freelance writing, how to build your brand, setting your rates, managing your freelance business and much more.
- WordPress Themes – 5 WordPress templates to help you on your journey.
- Tutorial Videos – 31 tutorial videos which explain the technical side of freelancing.
Freelance Superstar Guide
The guide should be the first thing you read after purchasing this course. Like most guides, the beginning of the book explains the basics of freelancing and highlights of entering the world of freelancing.
It then gives advice on choosing your niche, building your brand and setting your rates. Later on it shows you the best way to manage your business, how you can establish yourself as a top writer and how you can compete against writers from countries who charge very little.
All in all I was pretty impressed with the eBook. In particular I found the dozens of reviews of good freelancing sites useful. For each freelancing site they tell you the pros and cons of finding work there.
WordPress Themes
There are 5 WordPress themes available for download. Unfortunately, just like the other packages sold by Gobala Krishnan, all of these themes are the same, they’re just available in different colours.
To be fair, they don’t seem to be marketing the themes as part of the course so it’s hard to criticize them for it. The theme is available in blue, green, orange, red violet and stripe blue. I uploaded the themes to my personal blog. As you can see from the screenshot below, the theme is ok but nothing special. There are certainly better themes available for free.
For me, the WordPress theme is a bonus rather than an important part of the course. However, it would have been good if they had instead developed a better theme or alternatively, listed 20 or so good designs which would be good for a freelancers personal blog.
Tutorial Videos
The videos are a great complement to the eBook. The book never gets too technical, which I think is a good thing. Instead, Monika and Gobala explain the basics of setting up a blog through a series of 3 modules. In total there are 31 videos in total.
Those who are finding it difficult start their first blog will find this section incredibly helpful.
- Module 1 – Web Marketing Introduction
- How to Register a Domain Name
- Getting Your Web Hosting from HostGator
- How to Change Your DNS in Godaddy
- How to Change Your DNS in NameCheap
- How to Install and Use FileZilla FTP Program
- A Brief Introduction to Using cPanel
- Installing WordPress Automatically Using cPanel
- Installing WordPress Manually Using FTP
- How To Clean Up A New WordPress Blog
- How to Change Your Permalinks Structure
- How to Customize Your WordPress Dashboard
- How to Create New Posts in WordPress
- How to Create New Pages in WordPress
- How to Use and Format Images in WordPress
- How To Install Plugins Automatically
- How to Upgrade and Delete Plugins Automatically
- How to Upload and Install Plugins Manually
- How to Upload and Install Themes Automatically
- How to Use WordPress Widgets in The Sidebar
- Using The Akismet Spam Plugin / Controlling Spam
- Getting and Using Gravatars for Your Blog
- How to Upgrade WordPress Using cPanel
- Upgrading WordPress Automatically Via The Dashboard
- How to Install and Set-up Windows Live Writer
- How to Use Windows Live Writer to Write Content
- Installing New Plugins in Windows Live Writer
- How to Create Backups for Your WordPress Blog
- How to Edit WordPress Theme CSS Styles
- How to Create a Static Front Page in WordPress
- Introduction to Getting a FeedBurner Account
- edirecting Your Default RSS Feed to Feedburner
Overview
The Freelance Superstar package was developed for those who want to make good money by writing for others. It does show you how to build a blog and how to market yourself through blogs but the course is more for those who want to freelance rather than those who want to build and develop their own blog.
The technical aspects of the course were written specifically for beginners however there is a lot of great content and advice for aspiring freelancers in the guide. I’ve never freelanced before nor have I read too many articles on the subject so I got a lot from the eBook.
I’d definitely recommend Freelance Superstar to anyone who is looking to establish themselves and blog for others.
Link: Freelance Superstar
Actually I don't like reading such long books….if ever I need help I search in Google and I am taken to a good knowledgeable site… Also helpers like you are available…
You can find information about pretty much anything on the web for free. However, this ebook collates a lot of information which is hard to find elsewhere. Not to mention the time it saves you from finding that information.
This is cool but somehow long tutorials might kill you motivation. That's from my experience. However, something beneficial is something worth for a learner to try =)
You're right Kevin. The Internet gives a lot for free but there's such a thing as information overload which can leave one feeling overwhelmed. I would consider this ebook since freelancing is where everyone is heading nowadays. The advice on how to compete against writers from countries who charge very little would be very handy. The headache is: Do you lower your rates to be considered or insist on your fee and bid yourself out of the market?
The biggest positive for me is that the advice is coming from someone who has been freelancing for years. Monika is a full time freelancer and worked for dozens of top blogs and websites. She has encountered the problems which all freelancers face.
I'm not suggesting others opinions aren't valid, but when I want to learn about a subject which I am not familiar with, I want to learn from someone who has a lot of experience in that field (and makes a living from it too).
As I said in the review, this book isn't the perfect book for regular bloggers. But anyone who is wants to start writing for a living should consider it.