Freelancefolder

2008-02-17 – Sunday Links Folder And Some News

Posted February 17, 2008 in Uncategorized 10 Rockin' Comments »

Hey everyone, I hope you had a really productive week! It’s time for another ‘links folder‘ post, please take a minute to read these posts. You never know, you might learn a thing or two.

oDesk and the oConomy

Talking about learning something new, the folks at oDesk recently launched the oConomy, which gives data from the oDesk network on hourly wages, jobs, certification tests, etc… It summarizes trends based over $22.5 million of work completed on oDesk. Lots of very useful data. Check it out! :)

[Click Here to Read More...]

Christine O’Kelly, I’m Talking To You!

Posted February 15, 2008 in Business 10 Rockin' Comments »

Christine, I have a confession to make. I got a copy of your eBook (How I Built a Profitable Freelance Business for Under $50 … And How You Can Too!) and read it through it. I thought it was great, even though I wasn’t technically a freelancer – I just wanted to pull out tips to make my current web business better. And it did.

But then the nagging thought kept popping up … could I really build a freelancing business quickly and easily without pouring tons of time/effort into websites, logos, etc? Was I leaving cash on the table by not selling some other services I was good at? Was I limiting myself by focusing only on what I considered my “core” business? Could I really charge what I thought was worth for services that I did on the side? Could I possibly link to any more of your posts? I’ll stop now. [Click Here to Read More...]

The Art of Getting Freelance Work Using Forums

Posted February 14, 2008 in Marketing 25 Rockin' Comments »

Are you one of those freelancers who bid on low paying gigs and yet don’t get accepted? Or do you simply find it difficult to find work? If you are guilty conscious of one of the above two, then read on, I will be guiding you on how to use effectively use forums to get freelance gigs. I find it’s a more personal approach than using job boards. Without further ado, let me take you to the art of getting freelance work using forums.

Finding The Right Forums

First and foremost you should choose the forums in which you want to sell your service. You can sell your services in any forum provided you don’t spam. Since there are many forums out there, you have to be careful and chose the ones that have a lot of members, that are related to your niche and that lets you put links in your signature. Also the forum should be very active. [Click Here to Read More...]

5 Reasons Why You Must Reinvest

Posted February 12, 2008 in Business, Marketing 14 Rockin' Comments »

As a freelancer it is a daunting prospect to reinvest my hard earned cash back into my business. However, it is also vital to my success. Reinvesting profits is an aggressive and intimidating form of marketing, yet it is highly effective.

I will illustrate this point using my analogy of two freelance web designers: Sally and John.

Both Sally and John launch their websites at the same time, and both see an initial trickle of traffic and revenue. Sally wisely reinvests every penny she earns back into promoting and marketing her business. She researches paid advertising for her niche and begins a campaign. As a result of the advertising Sally receives 2 leads for website redesigns. She collects 50% deposit from both clients and begins work on their designs.

She considers how the leads never would have arisen if it wasn’t for her clever advertising, and she now has enough money from the deposits to repeat the campaign on a larger scale. John received initial revenue similar to Sally and was equally delighted. He takes his girlfriend out to celebrate his newfound earning abilities and they enjoy a relaxed dinner at a moderately priced restaurant. Come the end of the night most of John’s revenue has been spent, but he is happy and feeling content in the security of his newfound earning potential. [Click Here to Read More...]

Turn Your Process into a Supercharged Sales and Branding Tool

Posted February 11, 2008 in Marketing 5 Rockin' Comments »

Your client: “That sounds great! How do we get started? What are the steps?”

You: “Uh… well, first we, no–wait, first, we…”

Has the above ever happened to you? Your initial meeting with a prospective client was going so well until you made her believe that you had no clear idea of what your own process involves. Which is too bad, because of course you know the steps. But you’re living inside those steps, they are as natural to you as breathing. You just haven’t really considered how to convey that to your clients — and go way beyond it.

This really happened to me. Once. I recovered quickly, saying, “I have a roadmap that I send to all my clients. I’ll provide that to you along with the invoice, OK?” And then I wrote it all out immediately afterwards and sent it, vowing to never get caught short like that again. [Click Here to Read More...]

2008-02-09 Saturday Links Folder

Posted February 9, 2008 in Uncategorized 4 Rockin' Comments »

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week, a very productive week :)
Take a minute to check out these posts, I found them very interesting and thought I’d share them with you. Never know you might learn a thing or two.

Here we go:

• Creating The Perfect Portfolio
• Putting Together A Portable Office That You Can Take With You Anywhere You Go
• Freelancers: Track your time
• 3 Reasons the Internet is Better for Business
• 17 Tips & Tricks for Being Organized, Staying Sane, and Getting Things Done
• Five Tips for a Successful Freelance Writing Career
• 8 Tips for Writing Sucessfully in Front of the Small Screen
• The Top 10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business
• Leadership Hats: The Sombrero
• Ask These Questions to Make Sure Your Boss Won’t Suck
• 10 Effective Productivity Tips for Writers

[Click Here to Read More...]

How I’m Getting Organized

Posted February 7, 2008 in Productivity, Tools/Resources 8 Rockin' Comments »

I’m not sure whether you feel the same way about mess in your office but I definitely needed to create a more balanced environment to work Zen like without too many distractions. With the huge influx of work I’ve had in the last 3 month or so I amassed a never ending amount of information that is clogging up my inbox and my hard drive.

I figured that it would be better to deal with this now before it becomes unmanageable. Therefore I spent the last couple of days starting to become more organized. Admittedly I’m still buried amongst wads of paper, a house full of clutter and what not, but at least my laptop is looking better every day.

The ideal situation would be to have a totally free hard disk with only the minimal amount of information. After reading the Zen To Done ebook by Leo Babauta I know once and for all that this is the way I want to go to keep control of my growing empire. (Sounds good eh :-) ) [Click Here to Read More...]

25 Ways To Become An Effective Freelancer

Posted February 7, 2008 in Business, How-To 29 Rockin' Comments »

The meaning of Effective and Freelancer respectively according to dictionary.com:

“Producing the intended or expected result”

“A person who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them”

So an effective freelancer would be “A person who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them producing the intended or expected results.”

Of course, there are no long term commitments as you are not obligated to work for anybody for any amount of time unless you choose to. One reason you chose to go the ‘for hire‘ route is to become your own boss (among other reasons). But although there are no long term commitments, establishing a long term relationship should be close to the top of the list of priorities. [Click Here to Read More...]

Interview With David Airey – Graphic Designer And Blogger

Posted February 5, 2008 in Uncategorized 20 Rockin' Comments »

Hi everyone, I recently had the pleasure to interview David Airey, I’ve known David for some time now, almost a year now I think. He is someone I highly respect, and he’s a very talented designer. He recently launched a new blog which we talk about in the interview. Hope you enjoy it! :)

[Click Here to Read More...]