FreelanceFolder » Tools/Resources

35 Books All Freelance Web Developers Should Read

Amber Weinberg — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:30:29 +0000

If you follow me on Goodreads, you know that I absolutely love to read. I’ve always been a big reader, but since I’ve become a freelance I’ve made sure to read even more than usual, in the field of business, development and the web in general.

Reading is essential to any developer’s improvement. While blogs and magazines are great to read for a quick update, nothing replaces a good informative book. Even though web development isn’t the most interesting topic to read about, I’ve been able to find a lot of interesting and informative books over the years that have helped me to improve both my dev and business skills.

Books That I Liked

Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel
A great business book on how to use social media to connect with your users, improve your business image and repair customer relations.
Digging Into WordPress by Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr
This book is a must-have for any WordPress fan. Without being overly technical and with a ton of great humor, Chris explains WordPress from the basic setup to some great advanced functions. The actual printed book is really pricey, but well worth it!.
The Smashing Book by Smashing Magazine
Printing issues aside, The Smashing Book contains several great articles on a wide range of web topics, from design, to development to usability practices.
10 Steps To Powerful Self Promotion For Creatives by Alex Mathers
A great eBook all about marketing for creative types. It covers several topics on how to setup your social media profiles, how to market yourself online and off and how to approach advertising.
The Designer’s Guide To Marketing & Pricing By Ilise Benun
Another great book for any designer or developer, The Designer’s Guide contains a ton of informative and helpful forms for the beginning or rebranding freelancer.
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Marketing genius Seth Godin goes into great detail in this short book about how to stand out from every other business and get noticed.
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
Learn how to become visible on the web by using social media and marketing principles from Chris Brogan.
Rework by 37signals
A must have book for any developer, Rework is one of the best business books I’ve read. It’s geared towards app developers, but will work for any business or freelancer and contains lots of great unconventional wisdom and funny swearing.
Advanced CSS by Joseph Lewis
It’s tough to find a good coding book if you already have a lot of experience in the development world, but Advanced CSS contained a lot of great information on microformats, mobile development, CSS3 and more. A bit dry in some parts, but a recommended read nonetheless.
Linchpin by Seth Godin
Seth’s newest book, Linchpin touches on the subject that we’ve been trained all of our lives from kindergarten on to blend in and be a busy worker bee. Linchpin explains the importance of sticking out and being indispensable in today’s tough market.
Getting Real by 37signals
Similar to Rework, Getting Real was their first book for app developers. While somewhat similar in content, Getting Real is a bit more technical. Plus, it’s free to read online!
WordPress & Ajax by Ronald Huereca
This eBook goes into depth about using Ajax and WordPress together. Easy to read and contains several great examples, including using Ajax in plugins and functions.
41 Questions To Ask Before You Start A Web Project by Justin Davis
I know Justin personally and he’s an awesome UX expert. His new eBook is a quick read and contains several sections of questions for beginning web projects. Mostly geared to business, but would make a great potential client questionnaire for any freelancer.
HTML5 For Web Designers by Jeremy Keith
The book from A List Apart, HTML5 For Web Designers is a must-read for any front-end dev. Only 85 pages long, but chock full of great information. The chapters on the history of HTML and the W3C are my favorites.
Beginning iPhone 3 Development by Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche
If you’ve been interested in iPhone development, start with this book. Even if you have no Objective C experience, the chapters are easy to understand and the apps are fun to build.

Books I’ve Yet to Read

I’ve purchased several of these books and the rest are all on my wish list. According to several of our readers, all of these books are must-reads, so I can’t wait to get to them!

Your Books

What are some of the awesome web development or business books you’ve read?

Share your favorites in the comments.

Image by Dennis from Atlanta

Over 50 Free SEO Tools and Much, Much More about Using SEO Techniques

Laura Spencer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:30:10 +0000

SEO tools are something that every freelancer with a website or blog can use. A proper understanding of SEO techniques can provide greater exposure for your business by increasing the traffic to your website.

In this post, I’ll touch on some of the basics about SEO (or search engine optimization), share a few basic techniques, and provide a list of over 50 free tools that you can use to analyze how well your freelance website is doing in the search results.

What is SEO?

For those of you who are not familiar with SEO, the term stands for search engine optimization. It refers to statistics and tools that you can use to analyze how a website indexed by the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, and others.

Ranking well in the search results can be important for a business because most people turn to the search engines when they are looking for a product or service. However, few people look at the results that appear after the first few pages. This means that if you are a freelance web designer and your web design site appears on page ten of the search engine results, prospective clients using a search tool are less likely to find your website than if your web design site appears on page one of the search engine results.

The matter is made even more complex by the fact that many search engines, such as Google for example, have recently started to personalize their search results to the individual user. For more details on this change, Danny Sullivan discusses personalized search engine results in detail at Search Engine Land.

In fact, search engines frequently tweak and update the algorithms that they use to determine search results. They do this so often that a whole field of SEO specialists has formed. Those who are really serious about getting the best search engine results or about understanding how their website is currently doing in the search engines should consult a specialist. (Personally, I’m not a SEO specialist, but I do think that most freelancers can benefit from using a few basic SEO techniques).

There are two areas that most freelancers will want to think about when considering SEO for their freelancing website–their website design and their content.

SEO in Your Website Design

There are some strategies you can use when you design your freelancing website to make sure that it is search engine friendly. We’ve covered a few of these strategies before in our post, 10 SEO Techniques All Top Web Sites Should Use, but in case you missed that post here those points are again:

Pay attention to the title tag
Make use of the description and keyword meta tags
Include alt attributes on images
Use title attributes and descriptive text on links
Create a sitemap
Publish content that is relevant to your site’s purpose
Link out and receive links in from reputable sites
Use social media
Don’t use Adobe Flash or splash pages

A change to our original advice is that the Google and Yahoo search engines apparently no longer use the keyword meta tag. However, thinking through the process of what search terms (key words) might apply to your site is not a bad idea. It’s also important to remember that other search engines may still use the keyword meta tag.

SEO in Your Content

If you’re a freelance writer, you’ve probably been contacted at least once by a client or would-be client who has asked you to pack a piece of web content with an exact phrase, or phrases. The request can make for very awkward wording and, in a worst case scenario, make the content virtually unreadable.

The phrases or words that search engine users are likely to search for are referred to as keywords. The reason that a writer may be asked to repeat a certain word in an article or blog post is because the client may be hoping to achieve a certain key word density. Keyword density refers to the number of times that a keyword appears on a page. Theoretically, if a keyword or keyword phrase is used just enough times, the page in which it appears will rank higher in the search results. That is why some clients request web content that is packed with certain words or phrases. Using your keywords in the title of your page and in internal headings will also help your page range better for that phrase.

However, using a keyword excessively in web content is known as keyword stuffing. Those who use keyword stuffing mistakenly think that they are improving their rankings in the search engines. Actually, the practice can harm your search engine rankings. Even worse, keyword stuffing can frustrate your readers and cause them to mistakenly believe that your site is a spam site.

Many SEO specialists are now also recommending that content be optimized for something that they are calling social SEO. Social SEO simply means that your content is written with social media sites (such as Facebook and Twitter) in mind. It’s important to consider social media sites because more and more users are using these sites to discover content. If your freelance business blog ranks well in social media, it makes it that much easier for your clients to find you.

A Few More Words About SEO

Once again, it’s important to remember that search engines are constantly changing and evolving to meet the needs of their users. Google, and other search engines, update their search algorithms regularly in order to improve the quality of the information that their engine returns.

Search engine optimization techniques that worked well a decade ago may not work well today. Likewise, search engine optimization techniques that work well today may not work well in a decade.

Over 50 Free SEO Tools

Now that we’ve discussed SEO theory, it’s time to share some free SEO tools. Keep in mind that most of the organizations that offer free SEO tools also offer paid SEO services. Some of these tools may represent trial offers, so read the fine print before downloading any tool.

As I stated earlier, if you are serious about using SEO for your freelance business website or blog it is not a bad idea to get a consultation from one of these companies. If you decide to get some help with SEO, remember that not all companies have the same level of expertise, so make your selection carefully.

Here is the list of over 50 free SEO tools by source (in alphabetical order by the site where they are found):

PR Search

Link Popularity Checker–Shows inbound links for Google, Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista, Allintheweb & HotBot.
MSN Position Search–MSN Search for up to 15 keywords on one domain.
Page Rank Search–Google search results with PAGE RANK bar and inbound links.
Yahoo Rank Position–Shows Yahoo rank position, number of entries indexed.
Google Rank Position–Shows Google rank position, PAGE RANK, number of entries indexed, DMOZ and Google Dir status.

SEOBench

Google vs Yahoo Graph–Graphically shows the top 50 in Google and Yahoo linked.
Keyword Density Analysis–Determines density of one, two, and three word phrases.
Multi Datacenter PageRank Checker–Checks page rank values across all Google data centers.

SEO Book (You must register to use these tools.)

Rank Checker–Checks the rank of your site on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
SEO Toolbar–Allows you to view SEO data as you browse.
SEO for Firefox–Adds SEO information to Google and Yahoo search results
Myriad Search–Meta search that examines Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask Jeeves.

SEOMoz (You must be logged in to use these tools.)

Open Site Explorer–View site’s analytics on custom API.
Linkscape–Professional inlink tool.
SEO Toolbar for Firefox–Linkscape as a toolbar for Firefox.
Term Target–Examines a specific page to see which keywords are used.
Popular Searches–View the most popular sources for a specific date on a number of well-known sites including Technorati, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Yahoo Buzz, Google Hot Trends, eBay Pulse, AOL Hot searches, Lycos, Ask, and Amazon.
Trifecta–Provides an estimate of the importance of a page, blog, or domain.
Term Extractor–Analyzes a page and shows keywords.
GeoTargeting Detection–Checks to see if your website is set up for geo targeting searches.
SEO Toolbox–Includes many free SEO tools.

SEO Toolset

SEMToolBarTM–Downloadable toolbar lets you view SEO information as your browse.
Search Engine Optimization/KSP Tool–Provides Google and Yahoo search engine statistics for specified keywords.
Check Server–Looks for issues that prevent your site from being crawled by the search engines.
View Page Source–Shows the source code of a URL.

WebConfs

Domain Age Tool–Determines the age of the domains entered.
Domain Stats Tool–Enter domain and find out domain age, number of pages indexed, and number of backlinks.
HTTP/HTTPS Header Check–Lets you examine the HTTP headers from the web server after you request a URL.
Search Engine Friendly Redirect-Enter URL–Checks your redirect to see how SE friendly it is.
Website Keyword Suggestions–Provides keyword suggestions along and keyword traffic estimates for the entered website.
Backlink Anchor Text Analyzer–Blacklink analyzer that shows URL and anchor text.
Check Yahoo Page Rank–Allows you to check the Yahoo WebRank of up to five URLs at a time.
URL Rewriting Tool-Creates Mod–Rewrites rules to convert dynamic URLs to static looking URLs.
Search Engine Spider Simulator–Displays page content minus code.
Similar Page Checker–Compares pages for similar content.

Webmaster Toolkit

Keyword Research Tool–Tool returns similar keywords found in the meta keywords of sites searched by your choice of nine search engines.
Link Appeal-Enter UR–Rates for link appeal.
Link Popularity Checker-Enter URL–Displays backlinks on five search engines.
Search Engine Position Checker-Enter URL/Keyword–Displays top 50 for nine search engines.
HTML Header View–Shows HTTP headers the web server is sending.
Web Page Analyzer-Enter URL/Keyword–Checks copy for optimization.

WebSeoAnalytics

WebSEOAnalysis–Comprehensive website analysis. (Exclusive)
Keyword Battle–Shows how your site ranks for a particular list of keywords (Exclusive)
Keyword Analyzer–Allows you to determine the percentage of keywords in a particular page.
Duplicate Content–Lets you compare content between two URLs.
HTML Validation–Determines whether a list of URLs are valid according to W3C standards.
PageRank Check–Lets you check your site’s page rank.
Multi DC PageRank–Lets you check your site’s page rank across multiple data centers.
Indexed Pages–Shows which pages on your site are indexed in Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Link Popularity–Shows the number of incoming links to a URL.
Reputation Tracker–Tracks recent social media mentions of your site.
Domain Info–Provides the current status of your domain name.
Site Submitter–Allows you to submit your site to major search engines and directories and includes recent traffic statistics.

What About You?

We’ve provided some basic information about search engine optimization. We’ve shared some SEO techniques. We’ve also listed some free SEO tools for you to explore.

Do you use search engine optimization for your freelance website or blog? What tips do you have? What are your favorite tools?

Share your answers in the comments.

How to Beef Up Your Freelancing Skills

Lexirodrigo — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:30:14 +0000

When you became a freelancer, you also became your very own human resource director.

That means you’re responsible for your own professional growth and development. Take this responsibility seriously, because this is what keeps you in-demand and able to charge higher than your competitors do.

However, keep in mind that you need to continually improve two areas of skills:

The specialized skills in your particular field, whether it’s writing, designing, programming, photography or anything else.
Your entrepreneurial skills–the skills you need to run your freelancing business, manage your finances, and market your services.

Even if you’re just starting out and have limited resources to invest, it’s possible to beef up your skills. The Internet, in particular, provides many opportunities for you to keep updated in your field, as well as in small business management.

What is essential is your investment of time and effort to continually improve your skills.

Below are some free and paid ways you can build up your skills to become a more successful freelancer:

6 Free Opportunities to Help You Build Your Skills

Here are six free opportunities to beef up your skills:

Blogs. You’re already reading Freelance Folder, which means you get a good daily dose of high-quality advice on becoming a profitable freelancer. Aside from Freelance Folder, you should also regularly read blogs in your industry, and a couple of other blogs on small business or home business management. You can use Alltop.com to find and keep track the best blogs on any topic.
Email Newsletters. Email newsletters are another good way to get free training on almost any subject you can think of. Many of your favorite bloggers probably already offer a newsletter.
Free Teleseminars and Webinars. Many subject experts also give free teleseminars and webinars. Oftentimes, they use these to pitch their products or services. If you can’t afford them, then resist the temptation to buy those! But, good quality virtual seminars will give you plenty of actionable advice even if you don’t buy the product/service being promoted.
Library Books. Let’s not forget the basics! Books are a great way to learn, and if your budget is limited, then take advantage of your local library. Or, feel free to borrow from your friends–just make sure you give them back!
Internship, Apprenticeship, On-the-Job Training. Some experts provide unpaid internship programs in exchange for the chance to mentor with them. Keep on the lookout for these opportunities. Or, if you know somebody you’d love to learn from, offer your services as an unpaid apprentice.
Online Forums. Free online forums are another way to get free knowledge, information, and advice. Forum members are usually willing to answer your questions and point you to additional learning resources. Freelance Folder offers just such a free forum for its readers.

6 Paid Opportunities to Help You Build Your Skills

To get some types of training, you may need to make an investment. Here are six paid opportunities for beefing up your freelancing skills:

Books & Magazines. I’m a compulsive book collector, so of course, I’m going to tell you that books are a good investment. When you find gems that will serve you for life, buy yourself a copy. A subscription to an industry magazine can also be a worthwhile investment.
University/College Courses. You don’t have to be a full-time student to enroll in many of the courses available in your local college or university. Check out what’s available and see if there’s any course that could significantly improve your skill set.
Live Training. A more economical alternative to formal university/college courses are live training events organized by professional organizations. You get the benefit of live interaction with your trainer, but at a limited time.
Home Study Courses. If you can’t afford to attend a live training course, especially if the one you’re interested in is far from your home, then a home study course is the next best thing. You don’t get live interaction with your teacher and “classmates,” but you get to proceed at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home office.
E-coaching. An e-coaching program gives you more interaction with your teacher, usually in the form of teleseminars, phone coaching, and email consultation. However, this is usually more time-structured than a home study course, so you will have to work within the program schedule.
Mastermind Groups. A good mastermind group is another good investment in your professional growth. In fact, in Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says that a mastermind group is essential for business success. Find a group of people with similar goals as you. There should be a healthy mix of people who are farther ahead than you, as well as people who are a little behind you (and therefore, whom you can help). The best mastermind groups can be expensive. However, if you participate actively and take action, a good mastermind group is an excellent investment.

A Rule of Thumb

Make up your mind to spend a few hours a week and a certain percentage of your income on your continuing education. This should be a part of your regular budget. It’s a non-negotiable.

And don’t worry, this is a tax-deductible business expense (please double-check to see if this is true for where you live).

To become a successful freelancer, you have to get really good–both very good at what you do and a very good businessman.

In my case, I read books, enroll in home study courses and e-coaching programs, and am a member of three mastermind groups. I invest about 15% of my monthly income–sometimes much more. I plan to participate in live conferences and training next year, which will mean a bigger investment.

How About You?

How do you keep your “edge” sharp? How do you stay on top of your game? How much time and money do you invest to become one of the best in your industry, and to become a smart and astute entrepreneur?

Do share by posting a comment below.

Image by BdwayDiva1

The Freelancer’s iPhone

Tim Wasson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:30:25 +0000

Freelancers can never totally disconnect. We’ve got to be around for client emergencies, constantly keep up on social networking and email, and get some work done while away from the computer.

There’s no better portable tool for handling all these things than my beloved iPhone. I would sooner leave the house without pants than without my iPhone, and it’s become one of the most important tools in my arsenal for productivity and efficiency.

In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite iPhone apps that help to make my iPhone so important to my freelance work. I’ll give you the chance to share your favorite apps too.

My Favorite iPhone Apps

Below are the list of apps that I could not live without on my iPhone.

Billings –Amber mentioned Billings desktop in her article on apps that every freelancer needs. I also use Billings to keep track of clients and projects, and Billings Touch allows me to keep all my invoices, clients and more in my pocket, all the time. There’s also handy ways to track mileage, create and send invoices while on location, and more. While the app is free, if you want to be able to wirelessly synch to the desktop client, that functionality will set you back about $14.99.
1Password–As a web designer and developer, I have many, many passwords to keep track of. I just counted 14 separate GoDaddy logins that I maintain for my clients. I use the desktop version of 1Password to keep track of my various logins to various websites, and the iPhone version allows you to take all those logins with you to use at any computer or on the iPhone itself. The standard version is $6.99, or get the Pro version for 14.99.
Evernote–This is a free app, both the desktop and iPhone version, and has become an invaluable part of my workflow. You can take photo notes, typed notes or voice notes that are synced to your desktop wirelessly. If you’re as forgetful as I am, this app will change your life and make you much more efficient.
Dropbox–Similar to Evernote, this app is free on the desktop and iPhone and allows access to all those important files that you need. Although viewing files is limited to just images, PDFs and text documents, other types of documents can be emailed to contacts. It also allows uploading photos or movies to your Dropbox account to be accessed at your computer.
Analytics Lite–I have set up my Google Analytics account to track all my websites traffic. This free app will let me access that directly and see how much traffic I’m getting, where its coming from and more. While not as full-featured as the Analytics website itself, it gives great information for you to take with you on the go. I can also whip out my iPhone at client meetings and show them traffic and sample reports as a sales tool, to show them how valuable and important a website is.
Twitter for iPhone –Formally a paid app named Tweetie, Twitter bought the app and is now distributing it for free. I’ve tried nearly all the Twitter apps, and this one is the best, by far. Don’t cut off your social media marketing just because you’re away from the computer.
Calendar –I use MobileMe synching to wirelessly update my calendar on my computer and my iPhone, but even without the synching the calendar is invaluable for keeping track of meetings and deadlines. This is a free app on a stock iPhone.
Maps–This freebie app is installed on every iPhone. Use if it you get lost on your way to an important client meeting, or figure out how long it will take to get there. First impressions count, so be on time!

Need to find more iPhone apps? Here are 25 more.

What About You?

I know many freelancers rely on their iPhones to keep them in touch with the world while they’re away from the computer. What apps do you use to stay productive and efficient while away?

Do you use another type of smart phone such as the Droid? Feel free to share your favorite apps for that here as well.

Image by William Hook

11+ Computer Security Apps to Keep Your Freelancing Business Safe

Laura Spencer — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:30:38 +0000

As a freelance professional, you depend on your computer for your livelihood. More than any other kind of computer user, you need to make sure that that computer (and the information on it) is safe and secure.

Unfortunately, in the online world where most of us do our work there are a few threats to our livelihood. I’m talking about those threats that come in the form of computer viruses and malware, which we might download automatically from a site or through an email attachment.

If you’re working on a machine with an MS Windows or Vista operating system, that threat is particularly likely. Depending on how active you are online, it may not be a question of whether you’ll ever encounter computer malware, but rather, a question of when.

Fortunately, there is a wide variety of software available to protect your computer, and your livelihood. In this post, I list eleven of the most popular antivirus packages and provide a brief description of each. Many of these packages also include a free version, a trial version, or other free services. Although, to get maximum protection you’ll want to purchase a full application.

Eleven Computer Security Apps

Here are eleven companies (listed in alphabetical order) that offer computer security applications to help protect your computer.

AVAST–Avast provides an easy-to-use application that works well. Some reviewers report that it slows performance.
AVG–AVG is considered a good security option by most reviewers, although many report that the anti-phishing capabilities are weak. (Phishing applications are programs that try to capture your personal information) The company also offers free identity-theft recovery help.
ESET–ESET claims to be able to detect threats before other computer security packages. Includes the ESET Threat Center, which provides information about malware and other threats.
F-Secure–The F-Secure site offers free health check and online scanner tools. The company has been in business for twenty years.
G Data–Some reviewers complained about the amount of system resources that the G Data suite used. Although not well known the package is comparable to others on the market.
Kaspersky–The application from an industry leader is a full-featured security suite. Some reviewers complained that the package is difficult to use. The site offers a free antivirus scan.
McAfee–This well-known company does a good job of protecting your PC against the traditional types of malware. According to reviewers, it did not do quite as well with non-traditional, non-signature based malware.
Norton–This is a very highly regarded internet security company with a variety of programs.
Vipre–Their popular anti-malware package includes a firewall. The application uses a relatively small amount of RAM. However, some reviewers have commented that the protection against phishing schemes is weak.
Webroot–Webroot offers internet security or corporate security products. Some reviewers reported a system slowdown.
ZoneAlarm–Internet security package offers good basic features.

Even If You Have a Mac…

While you may feel that your machine is relative secure (and it probably is), there’s still the possibility that you could unknowingly pass a virus along through an email. And, if there’s anything worse than getting a virus, it’s passing one along to a client or colleague.

Fortunately, there are a few internet security packages available for the Mac:

Intego–According to the reviewers, this package is very effective, although the reporting features could be better.
Norton–Reviewers loved this package.

It Happened to Me

A few weeks ago, I accidentally downloaded a computer virus through an email attachment. With my workload, the results could have been devastating.

Fortunately, my antivirus program caught it and neutralized it before any damage could be done. I was lucky.

Your Turn

Have you been impacted by a computer virus? What is your favorite internet security package?

Share your answers in the comments.

Image by Don Hankins

Ten Terrific Apps to Help You Keep Track of Your Time

Laura Spencer — Sun, 09 May 2010 12:30:19 +0000

Have you ever run out of time working on a project? Are you unsure of exactly how much time each project takes you?

If you answered “yes” to the questions above, then you understand my problem with time. In fact, understanding where the time went is the problem of most freelancers.

Earlier this year I began a quest to find a way to track my own time better. I’ve been using a spreadsheet for years, but I was ready for something better. I’m finally ready to share what I’ve learned.

Two Types of Time Tracking Programs

In my research, I discovered two types of time tracking programs:

Those that help you learn how your time is spent
Those that help you create invoices for your time

Since I always bill by the project and never by the hour, I was primarily interested in the first type of time management application. However, simply because there are so many of them, I’ve included some of the second type on the list as well.

(Note: Most of these are not free applications. In most cases, you will have to pay for the software. However, many of them offer trial periods or demo versions.)

Why It’s Important to Track Your Time

Did you think you were done with time tracking and timesheets when you became a freelancer?

Actually, there are several reasons why a successful freelancer should track his or her time:

It’s a well-known fact that most freelancers typically underestimate the amount of time required for a project. However, if you keep regular records of how long it takes you to do certain tasks your estimates will be more accurate, which generally means that you will earn more money.
Many freelancers have time consuming bad work habits that they are barely aware of. You may believe that you just spend a few moments a day on email or playing a computer game. In actuality, you may be wasting more time that you realize.
Tracking time helps you break projects down into smaller pieces. In doing so, you may be able to spot redundancies or tasks that it would be more efficient for you to outsource. Once again, time tracking can make your business more profitable.

10 Timesheet Apps

Here are ten time tracking tools to help you learn how you are spending your time:

Chrometa–This application tracks exactly what you do on your computer. If you stop working to check your email or get on Facebook ten times a day, this application will let you know. I have to admit I was impressed with this package. The impressive site includes a training video.
fanurio–The package uses a timer to help your track your time, but also offers a manual method for entering tasks. It seems to be another good alternative to help you manage your time. There are also invoicing features and you can even track the amount of income you have received.
Harvest–This is another package that includes invoicing. What I liked about this one was the flexibility in the methods for entering your time. You can enter information online, on your desktop, through your iPhone, or even through Twitter. I could see this as being very helpful for mobile freelancers.
iTimeSheet–This is an innovative and relatively new iPhone time tracking application. Your information can be exported to other applications such as Microsoft Excel. If you mostly work by phone and travel all of the time, this application might be particularly useful.
OnTheJob–This package describes itself as a “professional time tracking and invoicing application.” Extra information that you can track with this package includes expenses such as mileage. You can also track client information (including addresses) using this tool.
Qlockwork–This tool is an add-on to Microsoft Outlook. It automatically records your activities on your Outlook calendar. You can then use the information that Qlockwork provides for invoicing, filling out timesheets, or analyzing how you are spending your time.
Rachota Timetracker–This is simple time tracking tool that can be used on many different platforms. It will run on Linux or on a Mac. It also supports many different languages, so if English is not your first language you may be able to find a version for you. Version 2.0 is also open source software.
Responsive Time Logger Time Tracking Software–This family of time tracking software products has been around a long time. It is mainly for tracking billable time and expenses. Some versions of this software can also be used on mobile devices.
TimeWriter Time Tracking Software–This grid-based time tracking software is available in two versions: standard and PDA. Both versions allow you to work offline on a PDA. This software is also suitable for small businesses.
TraxTime–This time tracking software uses a punch clock metaphor. You can “punch in” and “out” of projects, as needed. You can also elaborate on entries with a text memo field. There is no limit to the number of projects that you can have.

What About You?

How do you keep track of how you are spending your time? Do you use a particular application or tool?

Share your answers in the comments.

Image by frield

Use Geolocation Services to Promote Your Freelance Business

Brian McDaniel — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:30:14 +0000

Geolocation is a hot topic in technology circles these days. Twitter has already added geotagging capability to tweets and Facebook plans to release a new location-based feature in late April. Google introduced Latitude in 2009, giving us all the ability to share our exact location with our friends at any given moment. Foursquare, Gowalla, and other location-based social networks are attracting new users at a rapid pace with no signs of slowing down, and “checking in” with these apps has become somewhat commonplace among the more technologically savvy (translate: geeks. I can say that because I guess I am one.)

So what does this have to do with your freelance business? Absolutely nothing, if you choose to ignore the next big step in online awareness and decide to relegate your business to the tried and true methods of marketing and self-promotion. I have only recently jumped on the bandwagon myself, but in doing so I have begun to recognize the potential for raising awareness and strengthening the branding of my business in my local community, as well as some simple search engine optimization (SEO) value they can provide. This post will examine a few of these services and how using them can contribute to your freelance business’s growth.

Start With Google Local Business Center

This is not something I had considered using, since I work from home and not in a legitimate ‘brick and mortar’ storefront, but after doing some research I realized that claiming my listing in Google’s Local Business Center (LBC) would create a lot of potential for discovery when someone searched for a designer in my local area. Think about it: how often do you use Google to look for a nearby business? Well, the LBC allows you to edit your listing as it appears on Google search pages and maps, and pretty extensively. I simply logged in and created my business listing, using my home as the mailing address. While some may say this is a security risk or providing too much information, the reality is that I have most of this information on my business cards and would provide it in a phone book listing, so it’s not anything that someone couldn’t find with a little research. I decided it was worthwhile to go ahead and provide the same information in my business listing, and now you can look up bkmacdaddy designs on Google maps!

Everything in the listing is editable, it’s free and it also provides some basic analytics. Once you set up your account you can see how many times users saw your business listing as a local search result, whether or not they clicked any of your links for more info or driving directions, and even if they clicked through to your website.

Another benefit of using LBC is that you can offer coupons on your map listing. This could be used to offer discounts to potential clients and attract local customers. You can also post about upcoming events or specials, so when someone clicks on your business they will see whatever is currently going on.

All of these tools can make your freelance business more accessible, discoverable and attractive to potential local clients in Google’s search engine and maps. Here are some of the main links to get you started:

Foursquare

When I set up my Foursquare account a few weeks ago it was with fear and trepidation of being sucked into yet another “latest social media craze.” I tried to stay away from using this service, especially when I kept seeing tweets about where people were, along with a link to Foursquare. I thought, “I sure don’t want everyone knowing everywhere I am all the time. Nor do I think they care. And what about security? Won’t burglars know when I’m not home by monitoring my Foursquare updates?” I still believe security is a legitimate issue, and therefore I am very careful with how and when I update.

With that said, I have begun to see some of the benefits these check-in games have. First of all, it is simple and not time-consuming at all to make a point of checking in at places whenever you are out and about. There is an app for almost any type of smart phone, and a few quick clicks gets you checked in. Next, you can choose to post your check-in on a variety of social networks (or none at all). This is where I see the potential rewards for a freelance business.

As you post a status update on Twitter or Facebook announcing your current location to the world, those who are near you may be made aware–especially if they have an account on Foursquare. This promotes real-life interaction and possible networking that otherwise may not have happened.

Another element is SEO. When you create your account, you are also creating a link back to your business’s website (if you have one). This is good for the search engines, plus when visitors check out your profile they will see your link and possibly visit your site.

Another thought is that every time you proclaim your latest check-in, you are sharing another part of who you are, which can be beneficial for those potential clients who want to work with genuine, personable people. It gives them insight and interest in who you are as a person, which puts a living breathing face on your business.

A couple personal benefits I have also discovered are:

I am more apt to get out of the house for a bit, rather than stay in front of my computer all day, if for no other reason than to check in somewhere.
There’s a bit of fun in the game aspect: you compete at your most-visited places to earn points, badges and become the “mayor” of a venue. Some venues even offer discounts or freebies to their mayor!

I am still very careful to not post too much information or especially when I am away for long periods of time. Recently I took a two-day trip out of town and checked in to a few places, but I simply made sure that no one else could see where I was when I checked in. This way I earned points without creating a security risk.

Gowalla

Gowalla is probably Foursquare’s main competitor, and I noticed enough of my contacts were using this service to justify connecting with them through it. The setup is very similar to Foursquare, and just like Foursquare you can import your friends from other social networks, selecting which ones to import or not along the way. Again, you are providing a lot of the same benefits for your business, but because different people prefer different services–and you’re already checking in anyway–it makes sense to broaden the spectrum of people you could reach through these Geolocation services.

Gowalla has a slightly different game element to it. There doesn’t appear to be as much of a competition as there is an earning of rewards. At each venue you can “pick up” items on your phone app and collect them, then possibly trade them at the next one for something else you prefer. For my purposes, this was not all that relevant, but it’s a cute addition to the use of the app.

All Together Now

One of the coolest things I’ve learned about this setup as described is that I was easily able to find my freelance business on the two check-in services, because they use information from Google Maps to locate venues. So I started checking in to my business on both of them every time I came home to work.

Instead of tweeting that I just got back home, I simply checked in to both services and let THEM post to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. This not only gained me points in both services, but it expanded the awareness of my freelance business on all four networks simultaneously! On top of that, it only took two check-ins before I became the Mayor of bkmacdaddy designs. It was a proud moment, and I don’t think it will be possible for anyone to oust me from my title (unless my wife starts using Foursquare.)

Your Thoughts?

It is very early on in my own usage for me to make a strong determination of the benefits, but I can definitely see the potential that using these services–and others as they arise and are deemed worthy of fitting into my schedule–can have for your freelance business with extended use. Perhaps I will write a follow-up post further down the road to let you know any definitive results.

Are you using any or all of these services already? If so, what benefits have you experienced for your business? Do you think this is worth doing for your freelance business? Do you know of other ways to use these or other Geolocation services for your freelance business? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

First and last images by Shutterstock

Twelve Cool Tools for Writers and Others

Laura Spencer — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:30:49 +0000

Are you looking for tools to help you write more efficiently and effectively?

We’ve written about resources for freelance writers before. But, that list is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the tools that are available to help writers (and other freelancers).

What follows is a list of twelve more helpful tools and resources. Whether you’re a writer, a blogger, or a freelancer who owns a website–you’re likely to find something on this list for you.

Twelve Cool Tools to Help You Work

While these resources aren’t all free, they do have the potential to help you write more effectively. They may help your freelance business in other ways as well. Here are some of my favorite tools:

Copyscape–Plagiarism is a serious problem. This tool lets you know if your online writing is being plagiarized. You can subscribe to the service for a monthly fee to protect all of your writing, or you can type in a single URL at the site for no cost to check on a specific document.
Dim Dim–This is a great alternative to meeting with clients face-to-face or purchasing an expensive bridge line. Share documents or URLs. You can subscribe for a low monthly fee and there is also a trial version available for you to try.
Dragon Naturally Speaking or its Mac cousin, MacSpeech Dictate–These speech recognition products let you dictate documents directly into your computer software rather than typing them. Prices for this start at around $100, so I haven’t tried this myself, but my trusted writer friends insist that this product is worthwhile and a timesaver, so it is on my wish list.
Netbook with WiFi subscription–Every freelancer needs to get out of the house sometimes. Fortunately, there are lots of WiFi hotspots around (especially if you live near an urban area). A netbook and WiFi subscription frees you from the confines of your office, which can lead to a boost in your productivity.
ScribD–The site is sort of like a giant online bookstore where you can preview books as well as upload your own documents. ScribD recently updated the site so that documents can be viewed from a mobile device as well. Great for self-publishers out there as well as researchers.
Scribe–This premium WordPress plug-in allows you to maximize your SEO efforts in blog posts and other online documents. I’ve had the good fortune to use this tool in my work for a client and I have to say I’m sold. This application is another addition to my wish list. The downside to this product right now is that it only works on certain platforms or with certain WordPress themes.
Skype–I’ve been using Skype a lot lately. It’s a great alternative for keeping in touch with clients and others who are not local to your freelancing business. I’ve even used Skype to make international calls. At the most basic level, Skype is free, but they also have paid options available.
MS Word Macros–I’ve been a fan of MS Word Macros for nearly a decade now, ever since seeing a demonstration by an expert. While you may not be a MS Word expert, it’s still possible to use MS Word Macros to save time on your most repetitive MS Word tasks. About.com has a tutorial that can help you get started.
Visual Thesaurus–If you’ve ever struggled to find just the right word, this cool tool may be perfect for you. Type in a word to see a visual graphic of related words. A sidebar shows the definitions for related nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. This is a subscription service (after a free trial), but the monthly subscription cost is low.
Web SEO Analytics Tools–A set of free tools to help you optimize your online documents for search engines. You can analyze a site, look for duplicate content, discover how many incoming links you have (and who the links are from), and much more. In all, there are a total of twelve helpful analytic tools here.
Wridea–Wridea is a free tool that encourages brainstorming and collaboration and brainstorming. If you work in a team or regularly share ideas with your clients. You can categorize ideas and choose whether your ideas should be private, shared only friends, or available to all Wridea users.
Xmarks–This customized bookmarking tool (originally called foxmarks) is an operating system add-on that you can use to sync your bookmarks and passwords. The latest version also has search capabilities. While there is no charge for the application, donations can be made.

What Helps You Write?

Did you find a tool to help you? Which one was it? Do you have another tool that you like? Share your favorite writing tools and applications with the Freelance Folder community.

Leave your answers in the comments.

Image by crespoluigi

15 Lesser Known Blog Resources for Writers & Other Freelancers

Laura Spencer — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:30:30 +0000

Reading blogs is one of the ways that we freelancers learn about how to be more efficient in our work. They also help us to learn new things and can be a source of inspiration. Blogs are a tremendous resource for freelancers because most of them are free.

We’ve listed a lot of helpful blogs at Freelance Folder in the past. Some of those posts listing blogs include:

Also, don’t miss our post, 100+ RSS Feeds for the Reading List of the Well-Rounded Freelancer.

All of the blogs we’ve listed in the past are tremendous resources. However, as I was looking through the lists of blogs I noticed that some of my regular reads were missing.

In this post, I remedy that by providing a list of blogs that are great resources for writers and other freelancers. While these blogs may not be as well-known as some of the blogs we’ve previously highlighted, I think you’ll agree that they are informative and worthwhile.

Blog Resources for Freelancers

Here is a list of some of my favorite blogs about freelancing and small business in general:

The Anti 9to5 Guide–A freelancing site geared towards women. (Sorry guys!) Actually, most of the advice here would work equally well for freelancers of either gender. The author is Michelle Goodman.
The Blog Herald–Keep up with the news about everything that has to with blogging including mobile blogging and microblogging. This is a multi-authored blog.
Life Dev–By its own description, this blog is for creative people. You’ll find a variety of miscellaneous topics here. While you may not agree with everything, the ideas here are indeed creative. The author is Glen Stansberry.
Location Independent–Although the posts here are infrequent, the topic of location independence is one that I am interested in learning more about. The authors are the location independent professionals Lea and Jonathon Woodward.
MyWifeQuitHerJob–The real life experiences of an online entrepreneur. Although the blogger runs an online wedding linens store, there are many parallels between his experiences and mine as a freelancer. The authors are Steve and Jennifer.
SmallBizTrends–Useful tips and news geared specifically to small business owners. And what is a freelancer if not a small business owner? This is a multi-authored site edited by entrepreneur Anita Campbell.
StartupNation–The posts here deal with trends and topics of interest to small business owners and, of course, freelancers. This site was founded by Rich and Jeff Sloan.
WebProNews–While not technically a blog, this news site specifically dedicated to eBusiness including social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Blog Resources for Freelance Writers

Here are some of my favorite blogs about freelance writing (even if you’re not a freelance writer, I think you’ll be able to relate to most of these blogs):

About Freelance Writing–The blog home of veteran freelance writer, Anne Wayman, her experience is invaluable. She also posts job listings.
All Freelance Writing–Blog contains good useful information, combined with some useful writing tools. This blog is managed by Jennifer Mattern.
Bob Bly–This blog from one of the best-known commercial copywriters provides helpful information for freelance copywriters and others. The author is, of course, Bob Bly.
Get Paid to Write Online–While geared towards writers, freelancers of all types will be able to relate to the posts here. Sharon Hurley Hall founded this blog.
PoeWar–Tips, information, job listings, and other resources for freelance writers. The author is John Hewitt.
The Urban Muse–Great information for freelance writers and others who may interact with them. This is the blog of Susan Johnston.
The Well-Fed Writer Blog–Very helpful information from a long-time freelance writer, Peter Bowerman.

How Reading Blogs Helped My Freelancing Business

I hope that you enjoy reading the blogs that I shared as much as I do.

I have to admit, I consider my favorite blogs to be my unofficial mentors. I’ve learned a lot from their authors, and probably saved myself from making a lot of mistakes too.

While smaller, lesser known blogs may not post as frequently as the well known sites I’ve found that many offer excellent information. They should not be overlooked as a freelancing resource.

Participating in blogs by commenting also helps you to become part of the larger network of freelancers online. Meeting and interacting with other freelancers will also help keep you from feeling too isolated.

What About You?

The blogs that I’ve listed here are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other excellent smaller blogs that are geared towards freelancers and freelance writers.

Has reading blogs helped your freelancing business? What are some of your favorite freelancing blogs?

Share your answers in the comments.

Image by arbron

9 Plugins Your Clients Will Love For Their WordPress Website

Brian McDaniel — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:30:29 +0000

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.

My Brand

An easy to use plugin that will create a custom login page, complete with backgrounds, font colors, login box color, and replacing the WordPress logo with your client’s. Right from their first login your client will see their own branding and know that their site is unique.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Branded Admin

This plugin gives you the ability to change the WordPress Administration section by adding a branded header and footer. All you do is install the plugin, then replace the header and footer images with your own. It removes the WordPress logo and allows your client’s logo to take its place.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Ozh Admin Drop Down Menu

This handy plugin takes the vertical sidebar navigation on the left and turns it into a much more accessible horizontal menu on top of your dashboard. The drop-down it creates gives your client one-click access to almost everything in the menu, which speeds up the workflow no matter what the task. With the standard admin menu, almost every click initiates a page load, but this menu eliminates that part of the process. Highly configurable, even down to color schemes, this is a huge plus for your clients’ administration.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Admin Menu Editor

With an easy-to-use drag and drop interface, this plugin enables your client to reorganize and edit any existing menu item. They can change the title, access rights, menu icon and so on. Menu items can be hidden and custom menus can be created. Great functionality that allows your client to personalize and customize their WordPress admin menu to fit their specific needs.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Google Analytics Dashboard

Save your clients the extra step of logging into Google Analytics by providing them with a snapshot of their statistics built right into the dashboard. This plugin does not put the tracking code into their pages (I recommend Ultimate Google Analytics for a simple way to do that), but it does link up to their GA account and bring the statistics into an easy to read dashboard element. Another time saver for your clients!

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Feed Stats for WordPress

If you are using a plugin to redirect your clients’ WordPress RSS feed to Feedburner (I recommend FD Feedburner Plugin) you can add this plugin to show their Feedburner statistics in the dashboard as well. Easy to install and set up, this will create a Feed Stats menu item under Dashboard that will show subscribers, clicks and views for the RSS feed.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

WordPress.com Stats

This is another statistics plugin that will show numbers related to posts themselves, such as pageviews, which posts and pages are the most popular, where traffic is coming from, and what people click on when they leave. It will also add a link to the dashboard which shows all stats on a single page. The plugin connects with a WordPress.com account, so your client must have one for this to work, but then all you have to do is add their API key to get it running.

Plugin on WordPress.org

Wibiya Toolbar

Those Facebook-like footer toolbars are showing up everywhere these days and there are varying opinions on their usage, but if your client likes them then this is a great solution. You have to sign up for a free account and configure it to work with your client’s social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook and others, then install this plugin and set it up. One of the things I like about this is that it enables visitors to share posts from the toolbar on any page, eliminating the need for additional plugins at the end of each post. It also allows visitors to interact with the client’s Facebook fan page and Twitter without ever leaving the site. For clients that appreciate this functionality, it is a great solution that frees up space on their site and encourages interactive participation.

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Technical Support for WordPress

This last plugin is one of my new favorites and will score points for you with your clients. If you’re a freelancer, a web design agency or a WordPress consultant, Technical Support for WordPress is a way to provide quality support to your clients. Installing the plugin will enhance your client’s Dashboard with a new widget for submitting support tickets directly to your e-mail. You can brand it with your logo and company information, customize subjects and email messages and your client will feel as though you are readily available to assist them every time they visit their dashboard. A brilliant addition to any WordPress site you build or install!

Plugin on WordPress.org
Plugin Homepage

Other Plugins?

There are literally thousands of WordPress plugins available and new ones being developed all the time, so you may know of others that I have missed. Please be sure to share your suggestions in the comments. I hope the plugins I’ve listed will enhance your clients’ experience and help to make you look like a superstar whenever you deliver their WordPress site to them.