With the start of June right around the corner, we’re nearly halfway through the year. Just one more month. When I realized how fast time was flying by, I went back to review some of my business goals and resolutions for 2012. I decided it was time for an early mid-year check-in. Why spend another month waiting when I can start improving things today? Basically,
I consider writing for a living to be a pretty sweet career opportunity. And if you’re reading this blog, I imagine you do too. But as great as freelance writing can be, it does have limits. You’re essentially charging people for your time, even if you don’t bill on an hourly basis. You can’t mass produce freelance work the same way you can with products.
There is no better feeling than being bogged down with multiple projects. Sure, this is going to bring stress to your life – but trust me, it feels good. Of course, there are issues involved with having this much work on your plate. Not only do you need to keep track of all your deadlines, but you don’t want to stop marketing your services. After
It’s not exactly old news – I believe Jenn even has an entire ebook on the concept – but the best marketing is the sort that brings your clients directly to your door with the minimal amount of effort on your part. Sounds lovely, right? I won’t lie to you and tell you it’s as easy as clicking a button or signing up with some
A few months ago, I read an intriguing article about how Target can figure out a woman is pregnant long before she ever tells her family or friends – by analyzing on her shopping habits. Who knew habits were so insightful? In the article, the author, Charles Duhigg, analyzed his own habits and noticed he had a habit of eating chocolate chip cookies every afternoon.
Very little hurts a freelance writing business as much as poor productivity. For example, if you feel too overwhelmed with client work, you might run out of time to seek out new clients (leading to a later lack of work). Or you might get so caught up in writing that you neglect important administrative duties. Or you might just work so many hours that you
There are many misconceptions surrounding cold calling, from the effectiveness to the best techniques and more. You don’t want to overlook this method of marketing your services because of a myth that was started by somebody you don’t even know. It Never Works Let me be the first one to tell you that this is a lie. Simply put, cold calling can help you drum
Guest posts are one of the hottest strategies for increasing online visibility. Like most marketing strategies, there are different opinions on how to do it right. I am not a fan of the do it this way, not that way mantra. You need to find what works for you. However, there are two sides to the guest post story – the side of the guest
I recently came across a fun writing toy and I’ve just spent the last hour playing around on it. It’s not earth-shattering, nor is it going to change the world, but it does illustrate a point rather nicely. Your voice is a secret writing weapon, so use it. Here’s the toy: https://www.codingrobots.com/iwl/ “I Write Like” is a website where you essentially paste a chunk of
When you are starting your freelance writing career, finding new clients always seems like a daunting task. How does a writer find new potential clients and how do we approach them once we do? Do we send them an e-mail or do we call them? Do we attach our CV’s or do we just concentrate on sending our best samples? I was always confused as
Today we have a few tips for “getting the goods” in print writing. Let’s begin with finding guidelines so you can craft a query… Getting The Guidelines When you are writing for print, the guidelines for the publication are the golden rule you need to follow. Problem is…not every magazine puts these on the web for you. So where do you find them? Here are
Last month, the Freelancer’s Union launched a neat website – WorldsLongestInvoice.com – which totals unpaid invoices from freelancers all over the world. The current total unpaid invoices is just a couple thousand dollars away from $16,000,000 and the site has only been live for a little more than week! Dozens of writers have added their names to the list. For example: Lanelle: $300 for Content
Starting out in freelance writing is an exciting time. Dreams of typing all day in a sunny coffee shop and nonchalantly telling people you write for a living are seductive. The alternative stereotype is also appealing to many: getting up at noon and working in your pyjamas, perhaps in bed. Surely this career is bordering on perfect. However starting out is also a time of
You wake up, get that cup of caffeine, go through your morning ritual, then work through your daily ritual of writing. Marketing? Yea, that doesn’t happen because you’re busy. Yet if you have fifteen minutes to play Facebook games, you have plenty of time to locate new clients and more projects. Just fifteen minutes – that’s less time than it takes to run to the