How the 5 Ws of Journalism Can Help You Become a Better Freelancer
Posted April 26, 2012 in How-To, Managing Clients
Journalists and other professional writers use the Five Ws (and one H) to make sure that they get enough information to write a good article. However, freelancers can use the same principles to improve their freelancing skills.
Did you ever start working on a project, only to realize that you don’t actually have enough information to get the job done? If you’d considered the 5 Ws of journalism that I’ll introduce to you in this post, you might have been able to avoid that problem.
In this post, I’ll explain what the five Ws are and describe how you can apply them to your freelancing business.
At the end of the post, please share some questions that you ask clients before you start to work.
20+ CRM Tools for Freelancers
Posted April 24, 2012 in Managing Clients, Tools/Resources
How do you keep track of your business contacts?
You know that it’s important to build relationships with your clients and prospects, but to be honest; you have trouble keeping track of them.
What if there was a tool that could help jog your memory about your clients and contacts and keep track of your last contact? That would save you time and possibly help you get more projects, right?
Well, guess what? Such a tool exists (and it’s not a card file or paper address book). In this post, I’ll briefly explain what customer relationship management (CRM) software does and list over twenty CRM options for freelancers.
A Tale of Two Freelancers, Which One Are You?
Posted April 18, 2012 in Managing Clients, Marketing
It’s no secret that different freelancers favor different approaches to running their freelance businesses.
Each approach has its own unique challenges, drawbacks, and benefits.
In this post, I’ll be profiling two different approaches to freelancing and discussing the challenges, drawbacks, and benefits of each approach.
Don’t Be Fooled By These 6 Client Lies
Posted March 13, 2012 in Managing Clients
Is your client lying to you?
Sadly, not all freelance clients are on the up and up. Some clients are downright scammers, while others may just have a tendency to stretch the truth from time to time.
Unfortunately, even “little white lies” can have a serious impact on a freelancer who depends on client work and client payments to pay the bills.
In this post, I’ll list six common client lies and explain why clients sometimes tell them. If you hear any of these words coming out of your client’s mouth, tread cautiously.
10 Steps to a Client-Winning Mindset
Posted February 29, 2012 in Getting Clients, Managing Clients
We can read freelancing advice all day long, but the truth is that when you are a freelancer–your mindset is everything.
Your mindset determines the difference between reading advice and following advice. It’s the difference between doing a good job and doing a lousy job. And finally, your mindset can be the difference between quitting and persevering (and ultimately succeeding).
A bad attitude is a freelancer’s biggest obstacle and a good attitude is their biggest asset.
In this post, I’ll list ten steps to help you get a client-winning mindset for your freelancing business.
7 Common Objections Freelancers Face, Now Answered
Posted February 24, 2012 in Getting Clients, Managing Clients
Successfully handling client objections is an essential part of running a freelancing business. However, when faced with a prospect or client objection for the first time, many freelancers don’t know what to do. Even worse, they may take the objection personally.
Facing an objection from a prospective client doesn’t have to mean that you’ve lost their business. Instead, it can be the launching point for a discussion that leaves of both you feeling better about doing business with each other.
In this post, I’ll discuss seven common prospective client objections. I’ll also invite you to share client objections that you’ve faced and to explain how you’ve handled them.
21 Times for a Freelancer to Say “No”
Posted February 10, 2012 in Managing Clients
The ability to say “no” is vital to freelancers. While there are many good freelancing opportunities out there, there are also many bad gigs that every freelancer should turn down.
Sadly, I read about a freelancer trapped working for a bad client on social media nearly every day. But, we freelancers often accept jobs that we really shouldn’t take. We need to learn to say “no.”
In this post, I list twenty-one situations where a freelancer might need to say “no” to a prospective client. I also provide a sample response (as well as some discussion) for each situation. At the end of the post, add your own tips on how to say “no.”
Do You Make These 5 Common Negotiating Mistakes?
Posted January 16, 2012 in How-To, Managing Clients
Negotiations are key for successful freelancers. Nearly every project starts with negotiations (or if it doesn’t, it should). Freelancers who can’t negotiate a profitable deal are at risk for losing money, or even worse, going out of business.
So, it stands to reason that negotiating skills are also important. In this post, I identify five common negotiating mistakes that freelancers often make. Read the post to make certain that you’re not guilty of making any of these errors yourself.
7 Warning Signs That You Are About to Lose a Client
Posted January 9, 2012 in Managing Clients
Long-term clients are great for a freelancer’s bottom line. There’s nothing quite like knowing that you have a six-month or even a year contract for the foreseeable future.
It should come as no surprise, then, that losing a long-term client can be traumatic for a freelancer and devastating to a freelancing business. Losing a client that you were counting on for regular work can take many of us from feast to famine in no time.
In this post, I list some of the most common reasons why freelancers lose clients. You can use these reasons to help determine if you are about to lose a client. Also, I invite readers to share their own advice and experiences about losing (and retaining) clients.
Try searching "Getting Clients" or "Productivity"
Free Report
Sign up for our product discount list to get a free copy of Why Some Freelancers Thrive and Others Barely Survive. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Forum Discussions
- Want to sell Apple iPad 3 (Wi-Fi + 4G) 16GB : $450
May 24th, 2012 - 8:27 am - Apple iPhone 4S 16GB US$ 359/per unit --- sample
May 24th, 2012 - 8:26 am - Buy Now Apple iPad 3 (Wi-Fi + 4G) 32GB : $500
May 24th, 2012 - 8:25 am
Popular Articles
- SEO Techniques All Top Websites Should Use
- When a Client Can't Afford You: Why It's Still Better to Bid High
- How To Stop Scrambling For Clients And Get A Steady Stream Of Paying Gigs
- A Simple Way To Stop Clients From Rejecting Your Proposals
- 3 Reasons Your Rates Are Still Low (And How To Start Raising Them)
