Freelancefolder

9 Plugins Your Clients Will Love For Their WordPress Website

Posted March 10, 2010 in Tools/Resources, Web Design 64 Rockin' Comments »

There are countless blog posts with lists of plugins for WordPress, including some great lists here on Freelance Folder, but this post focuses on plugins that will make your clients’ experience in WordPress more enjoyable, easier to navigate, rich with important statistics and completely branded to match their website. For freelance web designers or WordPress consultants, taking a small amount of extra time to set up these plugins can boost the professional appearance of WordPress installations you provide for your clients, strengthen their confidence in you and score high marks as you impress them with their own personal WordPress experience.

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Are Open Source Apps Always Better?

Posted March 5, 2010 in Tools/Resources 62 Rockin' Comments »

Everyone loves free stuff, myself included. But thinking of “free” always reminds me of my mother’s cliched saying, “Nothing in life is free.” Well, what about software?

As freelancers, no matter how much money we make, we’re always budget-conscience. Unfortunately, in this day and age of technology, we can no longer get by with just a copy of Microsoft Windows and Notepad. We need software–and lots of it.

I counted over 18 applications that I use daily and that that doesn’t even include the 20+ apps on my iPhone. So, it’s probably safe to say these are all free apps, right? Wrong.

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Eighteen More Helpful Twitter Applications for Freelancers

Posted February 24, 2010 in Social Media, Tools/Resources 36 Rockin' Comments »

Most freelancers agree that Twitter is a fun and useful social media tool that can help you network with peers and potential clients.

Twitter applications can help a freelancer to get even more benefits from Twitter.

Last summer we took a look at 15 Useful Twitter Tools for web workers. This post examines 18 more Twitter apps that freelancers might find useful and briefly explains what each one does.

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100+ RSS Feeds for the Reading List of the Well-Rounded Freelancer

Posted February 22, 2010 in Tools/Resources 41 Rockin' Comments »

I am an RSS feed nut. I subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds and the list is growing all the time. If I come across a blog or a site that appears to have interesting resources that are relevant for me, I subscribe to their feed without hesitation. Every morning I open up my Google Reader with a cup of coffee just like I used to do with my daily newspaper, only now the latest headlines are from my chosen sources and related specifically to my interests.

For freelancers, RSS feeds can be a great way to stay on top of the latest news and developments in your specific area of expertise. They can be utilized to continue your education, strengthen your skills and keep you on the forefront in your line of business. However, many people stop at only reading the feeds of their specific genre, rather than branching out and gathering knowledge in a number of other areas that, should you choose to learn about them, could broaden your capabilities and increase your offerings as a freelancer.

This post will look at a more elaborate approach to using RSS feeds in an effort to expand your understanding and knowledge in ways that can contribute to the growth of your freelance business. The idea is that you can never learn too much, and RSS feeds can be a valuable tool in the ongoing education of the well-rounded freelancer.

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8 Great Apps that Every Freelance Developer Needs

Posted February 18, 2010 in Tools/Resources, Web Design 65 Rockin' Comments »

Every freelancer has certain apps they use in their day-to-day business operations. Developers, especially, have to keep a tool belt full of useful apps that touch multiple areas in development, design, client management and billing.

It’s important not to let your apps rule your working life. If it’s not quick enough, crashes all the time and is too pricey, perhaps you should think about switching to something else.

I’ve tried lots of different apps over the course of my freelancing career, but have only found a few that really speed up my workflow, are inexpensive and intuitive. What are these great apps?

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10+ Tips For Using Twitter To Grow Your Freelance Business

Posted February 10, 2010 in How-To, Social Media, Tools/Resources 62 Rockin' Comments »

Like it or not, social media is here to stay — at least for a while. More importantly, if you are not using the various social media tools that are available to grow your freelance business, you are missing out on a prime opportunity. The audience is global, the tools are almost all free and, with proper time management, the return on your investment could be phenomenal.

I have heard from numerous peers of their struggles to grasp the reigns of the wild stallion that is social media marketing, but I have had measurable success learning how to utilize Twitter in ways that have increased my clientele, enlarged my network of connections, and strengthened my standing as a member of the freelance and design community. In fact, without Twitter I would not be writing for Freelance Folder!

In this post I will share some basic transferable principles I have discovered that could help you not only get your feet wet with Twitter, but quite possibly could open doors you thought were locked to you and your freelance business.

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10 Free Project Management Applications

Posted February 8, 2010 in Productivity, Tools/Resources 73 Rockin' Comments »

How do you make sure that you get all of your work done on time?

As freelancers, we wear many different hats. In addition to performing our freelancing specialty for the client, we’re also the sales staff, the manager, the support team, and the accountant all rolled into one person.

For many freelancers the project planning tasks that go along with freelancing may seem kind of overwhelming (especially if they’ve never done any project planning). Other freelancers may find that they need to provide the same kind of project plans to their clients that would have been required of them in the corporate world.

Either way, project planning can be a lot of extra work for a freelancer. The project planning task is difficult to handle without good tools to work with.

In this post, I list some project management tools that are either freeware or open source.

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The Smashing Book Review…Win a Copy!

Posted January 25, 2010 in Getting Started, Tools/Resources 240 Rockin' Comments »

Pretty much everyone in our field has heard of The Smashing Book from Smashing Magazine. Published in 2009 with 313 pages, The Smashing Book offers a collection of modern design, usability, coding and best practices in the web world.

The book had plenty of information to offer that I didn’t know about and, although I didn’t agree with all of it, it was well worth the price. I’d like to share my review of the contents and book itself and give you, loyal readers, a chance to win one of five copies for yourself!

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An (Unofficial) Client Rating Scale

Posted January 18, 2010 in Managing Clients, Tools/Resources 25 Rockin' Comments »

As a freelancer, I have witnessed many different relationships that my peers and I have with our clients. Some clients we love, while others we rant endlessly about. Some freelancers badmouth their most difficult clients, while others only sing the praises of their favorites. But, we all know that without clients we would not be able to support our freelance businesses. Therefore, we must learn to work with, manage, communicate with and do our best to keep our clients coming back for more.

Still, it is worthwhile to sometimes step back and take a look at things from a different perspective in order to determine the best ways to proceed and progress. So, I have come up with The (Unofficial) Client Rating Scale to help us all evaluate and categorize our clients from 1 to 5. While hopefully somewhat humorous and irreverent, this scale should still be helpful in identifying your “keeper” clients and those that perhaps your business may be better without. Try rating each of your clients based on the following criteria and see how you fare.

Disclaimer: Any representation of actual clients in existence and/or their behavior is purely coincidental. No clients were harmed during the creation of this rating scale.

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