Freelancefolder

Freelancing Close to Home

Posted May 12, 2011 in Getting Clients, Marketing

Recently we’ve talked about the importance of global freelancing. While it is important to keep the potential international marketplace in mind, local freelancing is still an option.

In this post, I’ll talk about some of the advantages of freelancing close to home. I’ll also share a few tips that you can use to find local gigs. Finally, I’ll invite you to share your own tips for finding freelance work close to home.
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Using Quora to Boost a Freelancing Career

Posted May 5, 2011 in Marketing, Social Media

It isn’t much, but already Quora is making a splash in the freelancing world. The new kid on the block, it is a simple to use questions application still in the early stages, and for the most part a secret to all but those on the lookout for new websites and products. But it is growing rather quickly, with ever-expanding categories and more users ready to make it more popular than ever.

So, what is Quora? It is a social networking site based on questions, similar to Yahoo Answers or Ask.com. It works by allowing users to post and answer questions on anything from food to start ups, for the purpose of organizing a major knowledge database. Unlike other sites, it is based more on the ability to easily search out past questions, rather than post duplicates for endless dead pages. So far, it is also nicely devoid of the overwhelming spam of other databases.
But what does it mean for freelancers?

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How to Really Use Your Blog to Find Freelancing Jobs

Posted May 2, 2011 in Marketing, Social Media

An important part of my marketing strategy is my freelance writing blog. It serves as kind of an online home base for me. No matter what type of work I’m doing, wherever else I might be blogging, or how busy my workload is, I strive to keep my freelance writing blog updated with a new post every week.

As a result of my efforts, I’ve received a number of inquiries from prospective clients (several of whom eventually gave me repeat business). I think, with the right approach, you could do it too.

We’ve already explained some of the benefits of having a freelance blog as well as some of the challenges. So, we won’t go into detail about those here. Instead, we’ll focus on how to really use your blog to get freelancing jobs.

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How to Use a Facebook Fan Page to Promote Your Freelance Business

Posted April 25, 2011 in Marketing, Social Media

Facebook, with more than 500 million active users, presents an excellent marketing opportunity for freelancers. Assuming your target clients are active Facebook users, you can easily find new prospects in this social network.

I dare say, if you can’t or won’t create your own freelancing website–even though it’s now cheaper and easier than ever–then a Facebook page is the next best thing.
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How the Global Economy Has Changed How We Freelance

Posted April 20, 2011 in Marketing

Have you thought about how the global economy is affecting your freelancing business? If you haven’t, maybe you should.

While the most of us were working hard at building our expertise and our freelance businesses, something changed forever in the freelance marketplace during the last ten or fifteen years.

Fueled by technology, the freelance marketplace became a whole lot bigger (or the world became a lot smaller, however you choose to look at it).

We’re in a global economy, but many freelancers are still living (and working) as though we are not. In this post, we’ll discuss the rise of the global economy and explain how it affects your freelancing business.

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How to Make Your Freelancing Website More “Cutting Edge”

Posted April 19, 2011 in Marketing

Do you ever get the feeling that, because you’re a freelancer, much is expected of you?

For example, because we’re freelancers and not regular employees, most people expect us to be unconventional, bold, independent, and creative. The words “cool” and “hip” may even be appropriate to describe most freelancers.

In the same vein, freelancers’ websites–being representations of ourselves online–are also expected to be du jour (current) and on the cutting edge.

To be on the cutting edge means to be on the forefront, to be a leader.

It’s a good idea for freelancers’ websites to be on the cutting edge, because it creates trust. A website that looks like it’s on the forefront of writing, web design, programming–whatever your freelancing field is–shows that you’re someone who knows what you’re doing. In other words, you’re to be trusted and hired.

So if you’re a writer, then your website better be a sharp communication tool. Of course, the writing needs to be impeccable, clear, engaging, and bursting with personality. But it also needs to look good as well, uncluttered, navigable, and seductive for the reader to stay.

If you’re a designer, then your website better be a feast on the eyes, visually standing out above common websites. And yet without sacrificing content and substance.

If you’re a programmer, then every link and feature on your site better be working perfectly… and so on. These are the top expectations from websites of freelancers in specific fields. However, there are certain features that every freelancer’s site needs to have, in order to be considered “cutting edge.”
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Secrets to Online Selling

Posted April 14, 2011 in Getting Started, Marketing

Every day someone wakes up and decides I will make money by selling stuff online. And every day someone quits the process saying that it is just too tough. Many of those who sell goods and services online are freelancers.

The truth is that selling online is just as easy or difficult as selling in the real world. If you are a lousy salesperson in the real world, there is a good chance that you will remain a lousy salesperson in the virtual world.

It is easier to set up a website as compared to setting up a real physical store and that is the only reason that people get deluded into believing that it is easy to sell online. All the other skills that you need to sell in a physical store are still needed even if they are in a somewhat modified form. That is why if you are selling anything you need to have the attitude of a salesman. It does not matter if you are selling online or offline.

Here are some secrets about selling goods and services online for freelancers.

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The Shy Freelancer’s Guide for Face-to-Face Networking

Posted April 8, 2011 in Marketing

Networking is the cornerstone of any successful freelance business. It’s one of the most effective ways to meet potential new clients and form relationships that will evolve into new business.

People tend to do business with people they know and like, and they’re much more likely to use your services if they’ve met you a few times and have connected with you previously. But, what do you do if you’re a bit shy and aren’t comfortable walking into an event full of strangers and talking about yourself?

Over the years, I’ve developed a method of getting myself to go to networking events. I may be outgoing and fun around people I know, but a room full of strangers freezes me in my tracks! Here are a few tips to making these meetings less painful for networking-challenged freelancers.

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6 Great Ways to Use Email Marketing to Find More Work

Posted March 31, 2011 in How-To, Marketing

The revolution of telecommuting has created an entire new breed of worker: the techno-freelancer. If you’re a computer-enabled pro that falls under this umbrella (and who doesn’t nowadays) you’re no doubt familiar with the challenge of finding new opportunities, making decent money, and standing out in an ocean of your freelancer peers.

But even though social media and blogging are reliable and cheap promotional tools that seem tailor-made for the freelance business, email marketing has been unfairly been pegged as an old and ineffective medium for padding your portfolio.

If you’re not sure how an email newsletter fits into your marketing scheme, invite both frequent and infrequent clients to your mailing list, create a template, and put the types of content listed in this post into your monthly updates. You will see for yourself how email marketing can help you find freelancing work.

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