How to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career: April 2005

Thursday, April 28, 2005

How to Market Effectively With Limited Funds

Marketing is the bane of every freelancer’s existence. Why? Because we usually don't know how to go about it and, most importantly, we don't know how/where to allocate funds around it.

I've learned over the years to think small in terms of advertising. This eliminates a lot of the frustration associated with where, when and how to allocate marketing dollars, for the following four reasons:

1) Limits Your Markets: If you only have a certain amount of money, this automatically limits the outlets you can target in which to advertise. So, instead of thinking nationally, you begin to think locally -- as in, the local penny saver, flyers, article writing, link swapping, etc.

Remember the high-flying 90s when companies were burning through tens of millions of venture capital dollars? What if they had been forced to think small on a limited budget? Maybe Pets.com would still be around, eh?

A 1999 article on Salon.com reminds us, "It's undeniably fun to ridicule all the defunct online-shopping sites with stupid business plans that, in retrospect, never had a chance of making money. Sites like Garden.com, Miadora.com, Toysmart, Eve.com and Violet.com, which spent tens of millions without making a dime, are only a handful of the 130-odd dot-coms that closed their doors this year."

Post Continued Below ****************************************************************************
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2) Think Creatively: My mother in her infinite wisdom used to say, "Learn how to make do with what you have and you will never be unhappy." Boy, is this ever true when it comes to marketing on a freelance budget. Never are you more creative than when you are forced to think outside of the box. Limited funds allow you to be as creative as you want. Why? Because you literally have nothing to lose ... and a LOT to gain.

What you can do today: Brainstorm -- don't discount anything. Write all of your ideas down, leave them for a couple of days and come back to them with a fresh eye. The "good" ones will pop out at you -- and it'll usually be the ones you thought were the craziest of all. In case you didn't know, being broke can be FUN!

3) Focus: Limited funds force you to focus like never before. With each advertising effort you will hone in the message you want to send.

Advertising Tip: Don't try to sell all of your services at once. In your advertising, highlight one or two of your most effective services (ie, the ones MOST clients can use) and invite potential clients to visit your website or ask for a brochure/catalog to see the full range of services you offer.

Remember, we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages each day. So, focusing on one or two central benefits that are easily remembered will exponentially increase your chance of converting potential clients into actual clients.

4) Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: Finally, marketing with limited funds forces you to choose methods that you can afford to repeat -- or at least it should.

The type of advertising you do is as important as how often you do it. As potential customers have to see your message 7 to 28 times before they will purchase, what good will it do to choose advertising that you can only afford to repeat once every six months? None!

Now, put your thinking cap on and get busy devising cheap ways to reach clients!

Now, what are you going to do TODAY to get where you want to be TOMORROW? Starter Tip: Come up with one marketing idea that you can implement almost immediately. It can be an ad in a penny saver, an email campaign, sending out 100 postcards -- whatever it is, just get busy on it!
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What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Monday, April 25, 2005

How Blogging Can Increase Your Freelance Income

Blogging can increase your freelance income. How/why? In the following three ways:

1) Habit Forming: If you are a creative professional, keeping a blog forces you to be involved with your business on a regular basis – ie, develop a habit.

Success in almost anything – eg, exercise, education, building wealth – requires a series of consistent steps over a period of time.

If you ask almost any successful person to what they attributed their success, I’d be willing to bet that almost 100% would peg persistence (habit) as one of the top three things.

2) Personality: Most bloggers let some of their personality through. The web can be so impersonal. Your blog personalizes your business – inviting clients into your world, giving them a better idea about who you are, how you operate, what makes your company tick.

It’s human nature to do business with someone you know – or at least, feel like you know – than a complete stranger. Tip: If you are so inclined, use a photo to further personalize your blog.

3) Credibility: Blogs can be excellent venues to announce awards, media attention, your latest gig, etc. All of this builds your credibility.

Blogs are much more personal than a media page (although having one of these in conjunction with your blog is not a bad idea). And, it allows you to expound upon, for example, your acceptance speech, how/why you were nominated, what happened at the awards dinner, etc.

Even corporate America is jumping on the blog bandwagon – see links below for more on this subject. Do you think it’s because they have nothing better to do? No. They know it’s another way to connect with customers – and add to their bottom line.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/81/blog.html http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/81/blog_weinberger.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/81/blog_vh1.html

So, take a page from the book of the big boys and blog away!****************************************************************************
What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

A Multitude of Ways to Make Money Writing

Today's post is is by guest contributor, John Colanzi

Writing has traditionally been considered a solitary craft. You wrote you article or book in seclusion. You submitted it to an editor or publisher and prayed it would be published. Along comes the Internet and the monster's out of the cage.

You now have the ability to self publish your work. You can throw up a Blog, hook up to an RSS feed and syndicate your writing. You can form online communities with other writers. Readers can give immediate feedback on your work. You can promote your work in the virtual book stores such as Amazon. The Internet has become a writer's paradise.

With the advent of the Internet, you no longer are limited as a writer. With a little research you can become a writer/publisher. Think of the possibilities. Every word you write can travel the globe in the blink of an eye.

Why would you want to be a publisher?
* You can make money before your book is even written. Before the Internet, writers had to find ways to support themselves while working on their novels or stories. Now if you've got a book that will take any length of time to complete, you can still make money by joining affiliate programs for books by other authors.

* You can start an online newsletter. What an advantage you have over writers of the past. With your newsletter, your readers get to know you and your work. You have a waiting audience for the day your book is released.

* You can start your own Blog. You can plug your Blog into an RSS feed and your work can be accessed on the entire network.

* You can start your own affiliate program. Sites such as Clickbank take the hassle out of having an affiliate program. They process the orders and pay commissions to your affiliates. It's a turnkey system for under $50. Your affiliates are an army of salesmen ready to promote your work around the globe. They can reach more markets than you could on your own. It's leverage in action.

* You can build a theme oriented site drawing readers and writers from around the world. It's like having your own Disneyland for writers.

* You can set up your own autoresponder course geared to your market, educating and selling on autopilot.

* You can create free ebooks. Take a few of your chapters and create the book as a preview. You're giving readers enough information to decide whether they want to buy your book.
You can also add links to your website, Blog and other books in the free book.

* You can write for online newsletters in your target market. As an ezine writer there are times I've had an article circulated to millions of readers in a single week.

* You can allow webmasters to host your articles on their site. Imagine thousands of websites promoting your work. Think it can't happen. Think again.

Without even realizing it was happening, my articles are published on 4000 websites at any given time. Most of those articles are there for the duration. Imagine what you could accomplish if you put some effort into self promotion.

I've just scratched the surface of the possibilities. The difference between being a writer or a writer/publisher is just a shift in mindset. If you're willing to get out of your comfort zone, the skies the limit. There's a cartoon that illustrates the mindset of a winner.

There's a little boy throwing the football with his father. His father looks at him and says, "Son, with a little practice, you can be making the big money they're paying professional football players."

The little boy smiles and looks at his father and says, "Dad, I don't want to be a football player. I want to be the man who can afford to pay all those salaries."
From the mouth of babes.

It's in your hands. Do you want to stay in your comfort zone and limit your possibilities, or do you want to expand your thinking and build a publishing empire? In the immortal words of Shakespeare, "Why, then the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open."

Is the world your oyster? If not maybe it's time you expanded your thinking.

Wishing You Success,
John Colanzi
http://www.thesimplesystem.net

About the Author: Copyright (c) John Colanzi: John has been writing on the Internet for 5 years and has a special gift for you. Sign up for your complementary e-Course "How To Build Your Business With Free Advertising" at http:www.thesimplesystem.net/cashflow.html jcolanzi@johncolanzi.com
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What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Monday, April 18, 2005

FAQs: How to Start a Freelance Editorial Business

Today's post consists of questions sent in by a reader who is in the process of starting a proofreading and copyediting firm.

Question: I am starting my own Proofreading and Copyediting Company… I've designed a biz card, a flyer, a post card, a brochure, a 2-pg. info sheet, my stationery and envelope. I will get a website once I get a few clients.

I have set up a biz banking account, an email address and a PayPal account. I am ready to start seeking clients! Only problem is I'm not sure where to start first. Here are my questions:

Answers

1. First of all, who did your website? I love it! Do you think I need to get my website immediately?

Laura, I did my website using FrontPage – a simple software to use and it allows me control, ie, I don’t have to pay someone to update it (I update daily).

As for getting a website right away, as you’re a proofreader/copy editor, I would say no, it’s not absolutely necessary. BUT, as competition is so fierce, it reflects negatively on you as a business person -- and you may lose clients.

I always tell freelancers/small business owners to ask themselves this question, “Would you go into business without a telephone?” I think websites have progressed to this point. I rarely, if ever, do business with companies that don’t have websites. Why?

My thinking is, how seriously can you take your business if you don’t have a basic website. Further, I always do research on the web first, and then make a purchasing decision. So, if you're not on the web, 9 times out of 10, I won't even know you exist. Some studies show that as up to 86% of clients who go on to make a purchase from an online vendor have researched the company on the web first. That's a lot of potential business to be missing out on.

Finally, having a website can also be a timesaver because you can put basic info like your rates, hours of operations, services you provide, etc. up. This answers a lot of initial questions prospective clients might have.

NOTE: A website doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. A two or three page site will work just fine – as long as it is professional and informative. Don't let not having a website stop you from getting started. Just get one as soon as you can – and put the address on EVERY piece of marketing material you have – ALWAYS.

2. Is there an inexpensive way to get lists of schools/colleges? And who would I contact at the schools (besides the newsletter editor) once I got the list?

I do a lot of research on the Internet – that’s how I reach out to most of my clients. You might want to Google a certain area for “colleges and universities.” You can purchase lists from a mailing list company. http://infousa.com/ and http://mip.usadata.com/ are two that I’ve used in the past. Again, read up on mailing list companies and what to expect when you use them before purchasing. There are a lot of scammers out there in this field.

NOTE: The best type of mailing list is the one you build yourself. This is more time-consuming by far, but well worth it in the long run. Using a mailing list company though is good to get you started.

3. Is there an inexpensive way to get lists of businesses in my area? Joining the Chamber of Commerce is $200! That's steep and I'm not sure how beneficial that would be? Your thoughts? I'm going to check with the library.

See answer above. FYI, you’re probably going to spend more than $200 to purchase names from a mailing list company – and then you have to pay for putting your mailing together (even if it’s just copies at Kinkos) and the postage to mail it.

That’s why I like email marketing. It can be more effective than direct mail and is cheaper by far. Sign up with ConstantContact.com to send professional email campaigns. You can sign up for as little as $15/month. It’s free for 60 days or until you get 100 subscribers, whichever comes first.

Be careful not to spam people and put your name/contact info in the email. That way, prospects know that you’re contacting them with a legitimate business proposal, not some spammer sending out a mass email campaign.

4. I plan to start advertising in ezines that cater to writers. Is there an inexpensive way to get a list of newsletters that cater to writers?

I don’t know of a compiled list of this type of newsletter/ezine. Google terms like “writing ezines”, “writing newsletters”, “writing groups”, etc. and start contacting prospects that look promising to see if they accept advertising.

5. Would it be lucrative to contact publishing companies, or do they generally have in-house staff?

Many companies use the services of outside contractors; it’s hard to get a foot in the door because they have freelancers that they’ve been working with for years. However, it’s worth it over the long haul – even if it takes you a year (yes, I said year) to get your first assignment. Usually, once you get your foot in the door, more assignments will come your way from the same company because one editor tells someone in another department and then they call. Once established, a relationship usually lasts for years.

FYI, I typed "Publisher" and "copyediting test" into Google and several companies popped up who offer copyediting tests to independent contractors to become part of their pool.

UPDATE: We compiled a list of companies who continually seek freelancers. You can access the list by clicking here: http://www.InkwellEditorial.com/articles-careercenter/freelance-companies.htm.

6. In addition, I would also like to target websites...I see so many typos on all types of websites. Any suggestions on how I would approach them?

Yeah, the web is ripe with grammatical/spelling errors. It’s become the norm, I’m afraid (even IW.com is guilty of it!). As for approaching site owners, I’d suggest proofreading/copyediting a page and sending the corrected version to the site owner with a note – something to the effect of:

I know that as an entrepreneur you’re extremely busy and don’t have time to focus on the minutiae of grammar, editing, etc. Attached is the XX page on your site, which I edited for you. I provide copyediting and proofreading services to small business owners like you who have a multitude of tasks to perform day in and day out. This is my job, like XX is yours. To discuss my offer in detail, I can be reached at blah, blah, blah . . .

7. I've also thought about visiting coffee houses and other places that have poetry readings and other writer related events. And I've put my flyer up on a Whole Foods bulletin board. I'd like to find more of these...any idea how I can do that (besides the small listings in my phone book)?

Any community outlet that allows the posting of flyers is fair game. Simply talk to people – everyone, everywhere you go. Contact your local theatre group and find out where the “artsy” types hang out. Ask if they have an activities list/calendar of events so that you can see upcoming poetry readings, book signings, etc.

NEVER leave home without a card. As a matter of fact, make it your business to hand out X number every time you leave your house.

8. Eventually, I would like most of my business to come from the internet and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of my competitions great websites out there...and not sure where to begin due to the enormous size of the net!

Don’t get bogged down or overwhelmed by what everybody else is doing. I’m guilty of this too – it’s hard not to be sometimes. But, YOU have something to offer also. Focus on your dream and take it a step at a time.

One thing I heard Michelle Kwan, the ice skater say, comes to me. She was asked in an interview if she was worried about the other girls in the competition who had perfected some triple jump or other and whether or not her program would be effective enough.

She responded that she never enters a competition thinking about the other competitors. She said her competition was always with herself and that she just focused on doing her program to the best of her ability.

I thought this a marvelous response and a metaphor for life. Why? Because there will always be someone who is more talented, prettier, skinnier, richer, etc. However, the gifts YOU possess are just as important. So, forget what everyone else is doing and do what you can every day to the best of your ability with honesty and integrity.

If you do that, you will always be pleased with yourself and you know what – so will most people you encounter. And, when you “fail” (because you will sometimes), at least you can look yourself in the face, knowing that you did the best you could. And, that can NEVER be considered “failure,” just a learning opportunity.

9. Have I asked enough questions for now? :) Any suggestions on where and how I should start?

Yes, turn on your computer and put together a list of 100 prospects you want to contact. Get your initial sales letter, brochure, postcard, etc., ready to go.

One final word: Marketing has to become a habit. The easiest way to do this is to consistently contact at least X number of prospects a week (you decide how many works for you).

Some days you may contact none. Other days you may contact a 100. Whatever your number, don’t let the week end without making your quota. This way, you will always have some irons in the fire – and before you know it, you will be busier than a fire ant at a Sunday afternoon picnic!

Good luck!****************************************************************************
What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

How to Turn One Success into Many Clients!

Marketing-savvy freelancers know that as soon as you complete a project – especially if it is for a high-profile client – to add it to their portfolio. Marketing is really a herd mentality, eg, if everyone’s buying it, it must be good. So how do you turn the herd in your direction?

1) Update Your Marketing Material: As in, add it to your brochure, website, professional profile, etc. Many times, you get so busy that you forget to update your materials. But, your media/client page is just as important as your actual skill set.

So, when you complete a new project/work with a new client, be sure to add it to your marketing material as soon as you can.

Post Continued Below ****************************************************************************
Visit the InkwellEditorial.com job boards today!
http://www.InkwellEditorial.com/postjob.htm: Full-time listings. http://www.InkwellEditorial.com/freelance-jobs.htm: Freelance listings. ****************************************************************************

2) Advertise It: The next time you advertise, be sure to feature a list of your latest accomplishments. This is particularly important if it is a type of work you haven’t done before. Eg, you’re known for writing articles, but you just did a complete newsletter (including layout) for a client. Or, you’re known for building websites, but you just completed a logo design.

3) Get Testimonials: After making sure that your client is pleased with your work, ask for a testimonial -- then use it in your marketing material. It can be as little as one line. Be sure to get permission to use their name, title and company name (two out of these three is also acceptable).

If you do this consistently, before you know it, your marketing pieces will show a range of material from a variety of clients – all of which build your credibility – and leads to more assignments!
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What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Monday, April 11, 2005

How to be Patient While You Grow Your Freelance Biz

Growing a freelance business – or any business for that matter – takes time. Many freelancers get discouraged long before they give their business a chance to succeed. Following are three things you can practice to keep you patient while you grow your business.

1) Take Consistent Action: Many freelancers will do one mailing, make a few phone calls, or send out some emails and then sit back and wait to see what happens. Mistake. Why?

Rarely does one ad, a few phone calls or some emails garner business. It takes consistent action over a period of time to yield assignments. If you get in the habit of making a certain number of contacts a day, week, month, etc., before you know it, you will be consistently working.

2) Build a Secondary Stream of Income: For example, if your specialty is medical editing, go after general editing and copyediting assignments as well. Some other ideas for branching out includes giving medical editing/copyediting workshops (onllne and/or off); building medical editing/copyediting websites, etc.

Having a specialty is great. In fact, I highly recommend it; but building a secondary market is simply smart business. If that second stream piggybacks off your primary specialty, great. If not, that’s okay, but try to stay in the same genre, eg, don’t go out and open a dress shop and try to market the two together.

3) Set Goals: One sure way to harness patience is to set and monitor goals. If you are consistently meeting goals, it will keep you pumped to continue. If you’re not meeting goals, then you may need to revamp your marketing strategy.

Caution: Be sure to give your marketing time to work. Remember, a target has to see your ad 7 to 28 times, depending on which source you cite, before they will act. Beyond this, they have to be in the market for what you’re offering, your prices have to be within their budget, your skill set has to match, etc. In other words, a confluence of factors have to converge before a target will reach out to you. This takes time.

Observation: I’ve dispensed a lot of small business advice over the last 7 years, and the number one thing I’ve noticed that all small business owners (freelancers) have in common is impatience. This tends to be especially true for those who’ve been in business 5 years or less.

I had a great business mentor who said to me once: The first 3 years, you are just greasing the pipes. After that, business will not be “quite” so hard to come by. It will still be hard, but you won’t have to work nearly as hard for every sale. I always remember this when I get frustrated.

Probably the number one lesson I’ve learned as a small business owner is that marketing must become a constant. You can NEVER stop because as soon as you think you’ve got enough business, this contract falls through, that client goes bankrupt and a dependable, long-time client chooses another provider.

Before you know it, you are starved for business. However, if you market all the time – you keep new business flowing in and the dry spells come farther and farther apart.

In closing, all of the above keep you busy doing, instead of waiting. If you’re setting and monitoring goals, building a secondary stream of income and consistently marketing, you’ll barely notice when the phone is not ringing because you’ll be busy preparing for when it does!****************************************************************************
What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously. ****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming this month: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Your Freelance Website: When NOT to Trade Links

Barely a day goes by when I don't receive a link exchange request. This form of marketing can be effective if some guidelines are followed. FYI, I run two online businesses -- one product-oriented; the other service-oriented. I've found the following to be true for both types of businesses.

1) Paid Advertising: If the site requesting a link exchange doesn't engage in any form of paid advertising, I'd be hesitant to exchange links. Why?

Quite simply, you get what you pay for. If someone is serious about their business, then they spend money to maintain it. When I first published InkwellEditorial.com, I traded links with other sites freely. However, updating this page got to be a chore because many sites are simply abandoned after a while and a good many of the links would go dead -- which reflected poorly on my site.

If a business owner is spending money to advertise, then they are more likely to be putting in all the necessary effort to grow their business -- hence, sites are less likely to simply disappear.

2) Length of Time in Business: One of the first pages I visit when I'm seriously considering purchasing from an online vendor is the "About Us" page. Here, you will usually find information about the company/owner and how long they have been in business.

If a site is just getting started, then they are trying to build their online presence. Hence, a link exchange is likely to benefit them rather than you. I encourage all freelancers to wait until a site has been online at least a year before linking. Most fly-by-nighters won't stick it out this long – especially in the editorial industry.

3) Look/Feel of Site: Many sites are simply unprofessional in appearance. If there are misspellings, out-of-date information, dead links, etc., I'd pass on exchanging links. Why?

My mother used to say the company you keep is a direct reflection of who you are. That line of thinking applies here. The sites you exchange links with form an impression in your clients' minds -- consciously or unconsciously. Make it a good one by associating with professional, well-presented businesses.

An obvious measure not discussed here is to make sure you trade links with complementary, not directly competing, businesses.

Happy linking!****************************************************************************
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Monday, April 04, 2005

Cut Your Fees to INCREASE Your Income

Cutting fees is an almost taboo topic when it comes to freelancing. BUT, there are times when it behooves you to do so – allowing you to increase your client roster in the long-term. Following are some guidelines I used when I was freelancing that almost always paid off over the long haul:

1) First-time clients: Here, I didn’t consider it cutting fees as much as hooking clients with a discount (I usually did 10-15% off the total price of the job).

How did you know if clients will be repeat customers, instead of one-time users? After a while, I developed a few questions that somewhat pre-qualified customers, eg: how often do you need this type of work done, do you have an in-house staff for your editorial needs, have you ever worked with a freelancer before, etc.

Post Continued Below
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2) Large jobs: If a job is large (and only you can determine what “large” means for your company), then I’d often offer a discount because having a huge chunk of money at one time is always a good thing when you are freelancing.

3) Repeat Customers: I call this the punch-a-card method. Meaning that if I did a certain number of jobs for a client (say 3), then they got a discount on the fourth job. This is a nice way to say thank you to clients for their repeat business. As it is a method that’s not widely used, this was always a real winner with my clients.

4) Nothing Else Going On: We all go through dry spells as freelancers – it goes with the territory. If an opportunity presented itself that was below my normal rate, if I had nothing else going on and could knock it out in a reasonable amount of time, I would take the project on.

I stayed away from projects that didn’t pay what I thought approached an industry standard – I believe that lowers the bar for all. But, for example, I charged $35/hour for copyediting/proofreading. If a proofreading job came up that paid $25/hour, I would accept that because I knew that that was a reasonable rate by industry standards.

Caution: When cutting fees, be careful as to how much. You don’t want customers to get used to paying so little that when you charge them your regular rate they are shocked.

Also, make sure clients know that this is a courtesy you extend to either thank them for patronizing your business, or an introductory rate so that they can feel confident in your skills.

Remember: Your goal is to keep the checks flowing, and that means not cutting off your nose to spite your face. Happy prospecting!
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What's your opinion, experience, comment, feedback? Click on "comments" to leave a reply, or the envelope graphic to email this article to a friend. You DO NOT need to be a subscriber to reply; you can also post anonymously.
****************************************************************************
Looking for freelance writing work, but don't know where to start or have the time to actively seek assignments? Coming in April: List of 1,000 Paying Markets to begin your search!
**********************************************************************************
Sample Listing: Home/Lifestyle Magazine. Seeks articles on interior design, shopping, entertaining, recipes, art and more. Pays $100-$500/article. The majority of our leads are little-known, industry-specific publications/firms that many freelancers don't target because they rarely advertise. We will only sell a limited number per year and the list will be updated/added to annually. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee!
****************************************************************************
May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: © 2005 InkwellEditorial.com: THE job and information portal for and about the editorial industry. Visit our informative, up-to-date editorial blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance career.