I’ve been having an exchange with a Kontera rep about implementing their ads on this and other sites I own. As you might already know I’m not a huge fan of Google’s Adsense network, although we still use them here minimally. While I plan to keep advertisements to a minimum on this site, other than promoting my own products and affiliate products I test and
I recently received an interesting reader question from Jazmin of Capital Web Writing. Her question was about whether or not it would be appropriate for her hubby to accompany her to a conference, especially given his unique quirks. She gave me permission to share the email and my thoughts here. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the topic as well. Here’s the email: I
Cold calling is a great way to land new clients, while spreading the word about the services that you offer. The main issue with this way of marketing is that you are going to get turned down more times than not. With this in mind, you need to have a good follow-up strategy in place. In other words, one call is not often usually enough
I had a really strange few days this past week. I’ve taken on some new work, streamlined my current projects so I can take most weekends off and started to jot down ideas for the book I’ve been trying to write for a while. I should have been ecstatic, but instead I found it particularly difficult to get – and stay – motivated. I don’t
As freelance writers, we all share a secret, unspoken code of ethics. It’s not enough for me that this code of ethics remains secret and unspoken though—I want to publish it and speaketh it. So here goes. 1. I am the Lord thy Client. Thou shalt not have strange clients before me. None of your clients wants to hear about your other clients. None of
Back in April, I promised to tell you about retirement options available for freelance writers. I’m three months late, but better late than never right? I have to admit, thinking about retirement savings is not the most interesting topic. In fact, it can be boring. But I’ll do boring if it means I get to spend my 50+ years enjoying the world’s beaches. Let me
When starting as a freelance writer, it’s difficult to turn down work. You’re a rookie in the industry who’s trying to make a living writing and the simplest way to do that seems to be to take on as much work as you possibly can. There comes a point, though, when you physically can’t take on anymore work and you need to start turning projects
During the past year there has been a lot of talk about how female freelance writers are discriminated against. It is said that clients are more likely to argue with us about rates than our male counterparts, that clients expect us to work much cheaper, they treat us differently and it’s harder for us to get gigs. As someone equipped with a vagina and a
Yesterday I got a searing headache. Headaches aren’t usual for me and this one had a cause that was very easily identifiable and I should have known better. It wasn’t lack of water or lack of sleep (for once.) The IRS hasn’t called lately and the scale isn’t too horrifying for the week. The cause of this particular headache was my children. The worst part?
As you know, marketing your services as a freelance writer is important – there is no two ways about it. Although it is good that you are spending time on marketing, it is essential that you stay as organized as possible. There are several reasons for this: 1. When you are organized it is simple to see what is and isn’t working. Are you having
I’m naturally a bit of a reclusive person. I enjoy working with others and socialising with groups of friends, but I tend to find that if I can do something by myself rather than with others, I generally will. Since being a freelance writer, however, one of the most important points I’ve learnt is that networking with other writers is key to developing your writing
Good morning my little fiends, how are you today? Well, however you were doing, you’re about to get doing better (huh?) because I’ve decided that it’s high time for all of us to come out of the hellfire and acknowledge just how much like Satan we freelance writers are. Yes, we freelance writers have much in common with that red horned, fork-tailed devil. Don’t act
Well. What I’m about to tell you is one of the most important things you will ever learn in terms of writing for print. Ready? Here goes: Follow the guidelines. Sound deceptively simple? Seem like common sense advice? Guess what? In terms of the magazine editors I know, this is the most common complaint. Writers don’t follow the guidelines. Those that do—they will get more
Can you believe we’re already half-way through 2010? Wow! And you know what that means, right? It’s time to look back on the goals and resolutions we set for our freelance writing businesses, blogs, etc. and see how we’re coming along. Maybe we’ve met some of our goals already. Perhaps it’s time to let some go because we’ve made other goals along the way. And
I’ve been a freelance writer for a few years now, but it wasn’t until January this year when I actually started to make a real go of making my hobby-come-part-time-job into a full time career. Before 2010, to all intents and purposes I’d been playing at freelance writing. I had a few regular clients, kept in with the right crowds and applied for a few
As freelance writers we sometimes don’t think of ourselves as master multi-taskers, but by the very nature of our business, we are. We are individuals focused on our career and business owners attempting to drum up business and satisfy customers. We are employees of our own business and we are people with families and the need for a rich, fulfilled life. This complicated relationship between
If the idea of an all-nighter fills you with excitement and gritty determination to see it through to morning with coffee, sugar and a big welcoming bed the moment the project is finally complete – you’re not a parent. Or at least you’re not the parent looking forward the 6 A.M. wake up call every morning of the week, every week of the year you’ve
Are you looking for a creative way to market your freelance writing services? Are you trying to stand out in the crowd? If so, you may want to create a free report as a way of increasing exposure and hopefully adding new clients. The number one benefit of a free report is that most people will take advantage if they know about it. After all,
It’s a joke on too many shows these days that the alien or the foreigner learns English by watching MTV or the equivalent. It might have been marginally funny the first time, but it’s way past time for that joke to be over, and the underlying message is actually rather dangerous for those who are trying to sound like professionals. It’s hard to learn real
Even though I’ve been doing most of my workouts indoors lately because of the heat and humidity Mother Nature’s been throwing our way here, one of my favorite workouts has always been walking (or hiking depending on where I am). When I don’t have someone with me to talk to while working out, I pop in some headphones before heading out the door. Oftentimes I
No matter if you’ve been writing 12 weeks or 12 years, there’ll be a time when when your freelance writing work dries up a little. For some writers, it’s a seasonal hazard. For others, it’s because of something they’ve done (having changed their prices or being out of the ‘loop’ for a while are two examples that come to mind). However, it’s likely that at
Okay, so we’re back. If you haven’t read part one of this series—do so. This part won’t make sense unless you read my Kim Kardashian Botox analogy. Okay it will, but I still like that damn story. The Rates of Other Writers So right now you should be honestly assessing your skill compared to other freelance writers in your niche, and assessing the quirks you
It takes money to make money, but should you spend your hard-earned money on a writing ebook/program/webinar that promises to make you oodles of money? I once spent money on one of those ebooks and I was completely satisfied with my purchase. I didn’t get rich – nor did I believe I would – but I used the strategy to create a web product that’s
A few weeks ago you voted on our very first All Freelance Writing Virtual Book club pick-of-the-month — Peter Bowerman’s award-winning book, The Well-Fed Writer. Today we kick off that book club discussion. The comments will remain open on this post for a week, and extended for one additional week if they’re still fairly active at that point. Below are ten questions (some from me, and
Since early 2010, I’ve been hired to create a lot of photo blog posts. I don’t know whether it’s something that other people are experiencing or that for some reason it’s just my workload that’s consisting of this type of work, but I really enjoy creating them. One of the most time consuming parts, however, is actually finding photos that can be used. I occasionally
I was going through some old New York Times Magazines a few weeks ago, and came across an article by financial guru Suze Orman. A lot of advisors in the financial industry don’t like Suze Orman. Sure, she has made some errors in advice and made some mistakes in her books, but in general her conservative approach to investing and insurance are dead on for
In our last installment, we established that all mothers tend to judge each other from time to time. Okay, you’re right – you don’t, but the rest of us at least recognize that the thoughts cross our minds from time to time. I think I might be worse than most because I deal with the product of poor home lives more than most adults (I
From time to time I run into this situation: my schedule becomes so full of projects that I barely have enough time to market my services. While it would be easy to let this slide for a few weeks (or even longer) I know that marketing is the key to long term success. For this reason, I always find time to send query letters, make
Last week I mentioned that I was moving away from more traditional construction DIY projects and focusing on those that could have an actual impact upon your freelance writing business. Starting with how to install a WordPress theme on your freelance writing blog last week, this week we’re going to take an introductory look into how to promote your freelance writing blog using 5 different
This week, after much thought and back and forth arguing with my other personalities, I bought a Kindle. Now, anyone who knows me knows that as much as I like computers, laptops, and televisions, I kinda hate technology. I hate GPS systems because I like to rely on my own little sense of direction; I hate cell phones because I don’t like being accessible at