Freelancefolder

Open Thread: How Can We Improve FreelanceFolder?

Posted March 31, 2009 in News, Open Thread 15 Rockin' Comments »

So, it’s been a while since we’ve asked this question — but the time has come for us to make some improvements to the site and content, and we need your help to figure out what we should focus on.

Earlier this year we launched a redesign, and I think we made a lot of awesome changes, but there are also a lot of things we definitely still need to improve. Over the next month or so we’re planning on launching a refresh of the current design that makes some little improvements over the current iteration. If you have any suggestions or input for this refresh it would be a huge help to us and hopefully make the site better for everyone.

We’ve also been putting a lot of effort into producing some of the best freelance content on the web, but again we still need to make some improvements. Content is one area where you can have a huge impact, and your recommendations and thoughts can directly change what gets published.

So, what do you think? How can we improve the site?

How can we enhance the design to make things easier to find, and make the site more usable?

What type of content should we cover, what is most useful to you? Do you have any feedback about the articles we’ve been publishing lately?

Do you have any other thoughts, big or small, that you want us to know about?

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Redesign Your Portfolio Site: 4 Tips To Make It Better And Get More Business

Posted March 30, 2009 in Business, How-To, Web Design 20 Rockin' Comments »

If you’re thinking about redesigning your portfolio site, it’s probably for some pretty good reasons.

Maybe you’re not getting enough business out of it, maybe you want to add more features but you can’t because of a restricting layout, or maybe you’re just tired of the current design.

No matter the reasons, there are some basic steps and guidelines you should follow when redesigning a portfolio site. These four tips will help you make the most out of it:

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How To Know When A Project Is Complete (And Avoid Overworking)

Posted March 26, 2009 in How-To, Lifestyle 40 Rockin' Comments »

When is a project done? Do you really know how to tell when you should stop working?

New freelancers often ask me nervously how many times they should check over their work. My own commitment is to look at a project at least three times before turning it in.

However, caution can be overdone. Many freelancers are guilty of overdoing their projects without really intending to. If you tend to be a perfectionist (like I am) it is really easy to overdo it. Rechecking over your work usually means redoing, and redoing it, and redoing it. . .all in the hopes of “perfecting” it.

Sometimes a minimalist approach is really the best answer.

I think that there is an awful lot of overwriting, over programming, and over designing going on in the freelancing world. Overwork happens because freelancers tend to be quality-driven (and in general, that’s a good thing).

However, sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. Unfortunately, all of this extra work takes a lot of time. It can cost the freelancer in terms of lost opportunities. It could even cause the freelancer to miss deadlines.

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25 free Mac Apps for freelancers

Posted March 26, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

25 Free Mac Apps for freelancers
Free Mac apps that can help make a freelancer’s life easier.

7 Productivity Tools I Couldn’t Live Without

Posted March 25, 2009 in Productivity, Tools/Resources 44 Rockin' Comments »

There are only so many hours in a day, so as freelancers it is wise for us to use the time we do have effectively. From keyboard shortcuts to limiting outside distractions, we all have our own ways of speeding up the work involved in certain tasks.

Personally, my day can consist of a number of different tasks including web development, logo design, research, reporting and quite often…writing. While I love what I do and appreciate the opportunity to work from home, there are just some tools that I would find it hard to live without.

I use all the following tools on a daily basis, some less than others (you’ll see why) but they all have their place in my ‘work from home toolkit‘.

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11+ Tips You Can Follow to Increase Site Traffic

Posted March 23, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

Yet Another 11+ Tips you can Follow to Increase Traffic
Everyone wants more traffic, more visitors and more subscribers. Here are some useful tips to increase your blog traffic.

20 Freelance Stereotypes: From personal to work life

Posted March 23, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

20 Freelance Stereotypes: From Personal to Work
I know you’ve heard at least 5 of these stereotypes. If you haven’t, please let me know because you are a rare breed.

15 Beautiful Typography Inspired Websites

Posted March 23, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

15 Beautiful Typography Inspired Websites
There are a lot of designs lately experimenting with large type, and with the right choice of font, contrast and whitespace they look great. Check these out.

How To Handle Monumental Screw Ups When They DO Happen

Posted March 23, 2009 in Business, How-To 18 Rockin' Comments »

In a previous post on FreelanceFolder, Jon Phillips discussed steps you can take to avoid major problems before they happen. But, what do you do when they do happen?

Because let’s face it… problems WILL happen.

How you handle those situations can either make or break your relationship with that client. A poorly handled problem can cause you to loose the client and possibly more through word of mouth.

However, handling those problems with the coolness and professionalism of an airline pilot can actually improve your relationship with the client.

Below is a process I’ve come up with to help with those situations. While it won’t help in all situations, it’s been tried, tested, and works very well in most.

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