On this page, you will find business tools and educational resources I have used over the last few years that have helped me grow and progress as a freelance writer, content creator and entrepreneur. I only include businesses and products I have used personally and share my honest opinion.
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The Wordling by Natasha Khullar Relph
In January 2014, I came across an India-based international journalist who caught my attention with her writing, and I signed up for her newly launched course “30 days – 30 queries”. The e-course was delivered entirely via email and was a catalyst in my freelance writing career. For 30 days, Natasha taught me (and the other participants) how to break down in bite-size steps the entire process of creating and sending queries. On top of that, she made it fun and, dare I say, satisfying.
It was only a few months after taking this course that I landed my first assignment for CNN Travel which truly changed my freelance writing career. In essence, it changed my entire mindset about freelance writing and what I wanted this career to look like for me. I have been following Natasha ever since and gained valuable insights and practical advice. For several years, her newsletter was the only one I would read consistently because it inspired me and kept pushing me forward.
Natasha is an award-winning freelance journalist, author, and creative entrepreneur, currently based in the UK. Her bylines include The New York Times, TIME CNN, BBC, ABC News, Ms. Marie Claire, Vogue, and more. She has created numerous e-courses, books, and resources with immense value for writers who want to make money from their craft, whether that is freelancing or writing books.
Natasha is also the founder of The Wordling, a weekly business newsletter for journalists, authors, and content creators. If you are serious about this business and inspired by her work, you can have full access to her courses and resources by becoming a member of The Wordling Plus. I highly recommend you do. The Wordling Plus membership gives you access to 20+ courses and high-value trainings to help you make a full-time income doing what you love.
Sign up here for The Wordling Plus
Marie Forleo – B-School
The greatest value-for-money investment I have made towards my education about business is registering for B-School. It was only a few months since the first time I discovered Marie Forleo and her work online but her presence and free content were so valuable that I knew I wanted a seat in her signature B-School program. And I did make it happen even though at the time it felt scary, risky and quite expensive.
The value I have gained from the basic modules and the extra material is immense – plus I have lifetime access to B-School which I find brilliant. The direct access to charismatic mentors throughout the live program is also invaluable.
If having your own business is a dream of yours and you just don’t know where to start, this is an online experience that will inspire you in so many ways. It can also be your companion year after year as you grow your business or even change direction.
Marie Forleo is one of the women I follow consistently for inspiration and I appreciate her unique personality and how passionate she is about her work.
What exactly is B-School?
Here is the short story, directly from Marie Forleo’s official website:
“B-School is the gold-standard online training experience for entrepreneurs and values-driven creatives who want to build a meaningful, profitable business.
Whether you’re just starting out or taking an existing company to new heights, our step-by-step training gives you all the tools and support you need to fast-track your growth — saving you years of expensive trial and error.
We’ve helped over 80,000 entrepreneurs across 650+ industries and 171 countries and territories build their dream businesses and create lasting financial freedom. We’d be honored to help you too. 💕”
Check out Marie Forleo’s website here and MarieTV here.
Sign Up here for the Free Dream Business Bootcamp – happening Tuesday, 6th – Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th February 2024
Sign up Here for the Free Webinar From Scratch Millionaire: Get The 3-Part Playbook to Build a Profitable Business — FAST. (next live sessions on Thursday, February 15th at 11am AND 2pm Eastern U.S. time)
If the timing is right and you feel you need the guidance and resources to delve deeper into creating a meaningful and profitable business, then…
Sign up for B-School here – Don’t miss out, doors close February 22nd!
Curious to see what it looks like?
Still have questions? Check out the
P.S. Even if you are not sure about joining B-School this year, you don’t want to miss the Free Dream Business Bootcamp – Marie Forleo offers so much value in every single workshop she does, free or paid for.
Christina Galbato – The Blogger Bootcamp
I launched my blog in 2017, and it has been such an important learning and growth process. After several years of trying to figure out everything on my own, I decided to invest in a course and signed up for The Blogger Bootcamp. This course has tons of valuable content for beginners and experienced bloggers, and I would highly recommend it if you are feeling stuck and need help. The modules are very well-organised and include everything from setting up a new blog to concrete ways of negotiating brand collaborations so that your blogging journey is not an expensive hobby but a way to earn an income for you and your family. In one of the modules, you get insights on how to monetize and create passive income from your blog, and this module alone was worth my investment. I will tell you why: even though I am a seasoned travel writer with articles published in international media, this module gave me the confidence boost I needed at that time to pursue and successfully complete two major cooperations with one tourism board and one luxury hotel within a month of completing the course.
Sign up here for The Blogger Bootcamp
Christina Galbato’s first online course was The Influencer Bootcamp and although I haven’t taken this course myself, it might be a better fit if you are looking to focus on that area at the moment by building an engaged Instagram audience and working with brands you love.
Sign up here for The Influencer Bootcamp
Christina Doukouziani – Make Video Academy (for Greek speakers only)
Την Χριστίνα άρχισα να την παρακολουθώ στο YouTube σχεδόν απ’όταν άρχισε το δικό της κανάλι και μου άρεσε πολύ η αμεσότητά της καθώς και το γεγονός ότι μου έδινε την αίσθηση ότι ήταν «το κορίτσι της διπλανής πόρτας». Το περιεχόμενό της ήταν πολύ ενδιαφέρον και μου άρεσε που ήταν παθιασμένη για το αντικείμενο για το οποίο μιλούσε, δηλαδή την παραγωγή περιεχομένου σε μορφή βίντεο. Το πρώτο της οnline course το οποίο και παρακολούθησα, με τίτλο “Μίλα με αυτοπεποίθηση στην κάμερα μέσα σε 30 ημέρες” είχε πολύ καλή δομή και σου έδινε την ώθηση να κάνεις τα πρώτα βήματα με την παραγωγή περιεχομένου σε βίντεο.
Πάντα μου αρέσει να «προκαλώ» τον εαυτό μου κυρίως στον τομέα της δημιουργικότητας κι έτσι τώρα ένας από τους μεγάλους μου στόχους είναι να δημιουργήσω το δικό μου κανάλι στο YouTube κάνοντας εκεί συνεντεύξεις και δημιουργώντας περιεχόμενο για οικογένειες που θέλουν να δημιουργήσουν έναν πιο ανθρώπινο ρυθμό για την οικογένειά τους, με συνειδητές επιλογές σε κάθε στάδιο. Το να αρχίσω πάλι από το μηδέν χωρίς καμία καθοδήγηση, όπως έκανα πριν κάποια χρόνια με το blog, μου φάνηκε βουνό (ίσως κι εσένα το ίδιο;). Γι’αυτό και αποφάσισα να επενδύσω στην εκπαίδευσή μου μ’ένα δεύτερο online course που δημιούργησε η Χριστίνα, το “YouTube Success | Η επιτυχημένη μέθοδος για να αναπτύξεις το επαγγελματικό σου κανάλι στο YouTube”. Έχω κάνει ήδη τα πρώτα βήματα για την δημιουργία του δικού μου καναλιού στο YouTube (θα σου πω περισσότερα φυσικά μόλις είναι έτοιμο!) και μπορώ να πω με βεβαιότητα ότι είναι μια από τις καλύτερες επενδύσεις που έχω κάνει. Η Χριστίνα μέσα από το online course που έχει δημιουργήσει είναι σαν να σε παίρνει από το χέρι και εξηγεί βήμα-βήμα τι χρειάζεται να κάνεις για να δημιουργήσεις το κανάλι σου όπως πρέπει. Αν σκέφτεσαι κι εσύ ότι θα ήθελες να δημιουργήσεις το δικό σου κανάλι στο YouTube, είτε για να προωθήσεις τις υπηρεσίες ή την επιχείρησή σου ή απλά για δημιουργικούς λόγους, σου συστήνω να γνωρίσεις τη Χριστίνα και τα online course που έχει δημιουργήσει.
Κάνε εγγραφή εδώ για το online course “YouTube Success | Η επιτυχημένη μέθοδος για να αναπτύξεις το επαγγελματικό σου κανάλι στο YouTube”
Κάνε εγγραφή εδώ για το online course “Μίλα με αυτοπεποίθηση στην κάμερα μέσα σε 30 ημέρες”
Mailchimp – Email Marketing
The number one lesson I have learned all these years by building my own freelance writing business is that your newsletter is one of the most important assets for your long-term success. For that, you need an email marketing service and the one I have been using during the last years is Mailchimp. I find the platform straightforward and easy to use and I am satisfied with their service overall. There are, of course, numerous email marketing providers out there nowadays, so do your own research and choose the one that meets your current needs. What matters the most is to start building your email list as soon as possible.
This page will be updated regularly to include more business tools and educational resources you might find helpful for your own journey!
Cover Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash