Freelancefolder

5 Ways to Instantly Become a Better Writer

Posted June 15, 2009 in How-To, Writing 32 Rockin' Comments »

Writing has always been an important skill in our culture, and the rise of the internet, email, and social media have made it even more important. Buyers are selecting sellers based on website copy, and many business deals are now made entirely through email. Being a good writer on Facebook or Twitter is like being the cool kid back in high school.

From writing on Facebook or Twitter, to writing articles for your business, you need to be able to express yourself clearly and effectively using the written word — your success depends on it. Becoming an excellent writer takes a long time, but there are some things you can do right away to see immediate gains.

Here are 5 things you can do to improve your writing instantly:

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How To Make Potential Customers Pick You Over ‘The Other Guys’

Posted June 9, 2009 in Business, How-To, Marketing 30 Rockin' Comments »

Worldwide, individuals and companies are tightening their belts. They are approaching new purchases cautiously — in many cases delaying, or even avoiding, new expenses.

Consumers and business buyers alike are looking to get maximum value for their dollar. The burning question at the back of every buyer’s mind is:

Why should I buy something from you instead of from your competition?

It’s more important now than ever to differentiate your freelancing business from other freelancing businesses. Differentiating your business is the key to winning clients from competitors.

To do this, you must first discover what sets your freelancing business apart from similar businesses. Once you discover what’s unique about your freelancing business you must express that information clearly and frequently to your customers and prospective customers.

In this post we’ll try to help you with both points.

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Hit a Plateau? 4 Ways to Improve Your Skills

Posted June 8, 2009 in How-To 21 Rockin' Comments »

As freelancers, we’re often only limited by our imagination, so it can be difficult to see whether we are progressing in our given field. Sure, we can produce some great logo designs or write an article, but we were able to do that a few months ago as well. In order to stand out in a sea of talent, it’s often the case that you need to take your skills to the “next level,” something far easier said than done.

Today I want to look at plateaus in terms of ability, and four tried and tested methods to help you get through them. The journey of mastery is an on-going process, but there are lots of ways to improve our talents along the way.

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3 Ways To Get Clients From Twitter

Posted May 26, 2009 in How-To, Marketing, News 35 Rockin' Comments »

Twitter is quickly becoming the new online powerhouse for networking, and along with that growth comes a significant opportunity for freelancers to find new clients. For those of you who are very new to twitter, I recommend checking out our previous overview of twitter for freelancers before continuing, as it will probably explain a lot.

In the early days, most freelancers used twitter as an online playground or chat area. It was great to blow off some steam, and worked really well for things like making new friends. There weren’t too many potential clients on twitter at this point.

Recently though, twitter has become populated by just about everyone (a subset of everyone, at least) — including a huge number of potential new clients. Not only are there possible clients on twitter, but many times they are such good leads that they’re even ASKING for the work. How can you tap into this resource? It’s actually pretty easy…

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12 Practical Ways To Become More Creative

Posted May 20, 2009 in How-To, Inspiration 19 Rockin' Comments »

Creativity is quickly becoming the next currency in the business and design world. There are millions of places to outsource non-creative work, and it’s only the truly creative people who are not afraid of being replaced or outdated.

Despite what many think, creativity is not decided at birth — and there are a few very simple and logical ways that you can become more creative simply by practicing and using certain methods.

Here are a few of those methods, along with some tools that can help boost your natural abilities. Put these to use and watch your work become more creative.

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Creating an Elevator Speech: How Looking In The Mirror Can Help Your Business

Posted May 11, 2009 in Business, How-To, Marketing 21 Rockin' Comments »

One of the most effective ways to get new clients is through face-to-face contact. Those in your existing social circle and new acquaintances can both lead you to new clients — as long as you can describe your freelancing business to them quickly and accurately.

Experts recommend that small business owners should have an elevator speech ready for social occasions. An elevator speech is a short talk about your freelancing business that can be given in the time that it takes an elevator to reach its destination (usually 30 seconds to a minute).

The timeframe for an elevator speech is short because, in many social situations, a minute is about all the time that you’ll have to talk to an acquaintance before you lose that person’s attention or need to move on. If you can’t communicate your freelance business story in that timeframe, then you’ve missed out on an opportunity. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen.

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What to Do When You Can’t Deliver (A Template For Emergencies)

Posted May 6, 2009 in Business, How-To 21 Rockin' Comments »

We’ve dealt with the topic of not meeting a deadline on FreelanceFolder before. The general rule concerning them is simple: if at all possible, make the promised deadline. Your client is counting on your and your professional reputation is at stake.

That being said, eventually there is bound to come a time as a freelancer when you just can’t deliver as promised.

For me, the only time that I can really remember missing a deadline in a major way was a few years ago when my mother died. For you, the cause of a missed deadline may be something else that is beyond your control. The truth is, even with the very best planning sometimes things go drastically wrong.

In this post we’ll go over one way to help alleviate the situation and help you maintain your client relationships.

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How To Successfully Work With People Long Distance

Posted April 30, 2009 in Business, How-To 48 Rockin' Comments »

As a freelancer and as a web-worker, one of the biggest challenges that I face nearly every day is that of working with people who I’ve never met face to face. Although a few clients contact me by telephone, most prefer to deal with me through e-mail (which is actually my preference too).

Since experts say that nonverbal communication accounts for well over half of how we interact with people, working through the Internet can sometimes seem a bit like playing a game of golf blindfolded.

I have to admit that when I read an e-mail from a client I sometimes wonder about his or her state of mind when they wrote it. Since I have no visual cues to go on, it can be easy to let my imagination wander as to the client’s state of mind.

Here are some of the things that I wonder about:

• Do those choppy sentences mean the client is angry, or just in a hurry?
• Is that client’s compliment to me sincere, or is she being sarcastic?
• Is this client being totally honest and upfront with me?

Without seeing a client’s face or reading his or her body language, it can be pretty hard to know if you’re getting the full message. A telephone call can reveal the client’s tone of voice, but you still miss out on seeing their body language. (There are webcams and other tools that can help with this, but it’s nearly impossible to find a client who will use them.)

While it can be a challenge to deal with clients over long-distance, it is certainly possible to do successfully. In this article we’ll look at some ways to make it work.

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5 Ways To Get More Done By Not Doing

Posted April 29, 2009 in How-To, Productivity 20 Rockin' Comments »

Freelancers and web workers are always searching for ways to become more productive. What works for one person may not work for everyone else, so it’s a constant struggle to find productivity tips that fit with your personality.

That’s where this article might just come in handy. It seems like the topic of productivity is always associated with doing something, so to break that monotony of becoming productive by doing things, let’s take a look at some of the things that can help you get more done by actually eliminating stuff to do.

Most people call it the elimination approach, but I refer to it as “the ditching approach.” Let’s go ahead and see how we can get more done by not doing stuff.

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