Open Thread: What Software Tool Could You Not Do Without?
Posted September 4, 2011 in Open Thread, Tools/Resources
Most freelancers rely on their software tools to get things done. I’m sure you’re no exception.
Whether it’s a tool that’s general to business usage (such as an accounting package) or something specific to your field (such as a graphic design package), I’m sure there’s one software tool that you absolutely couldn’t run your business without.
For me, I think that tool would probably be the Microsoft Office suite. Yes, I know there are alternatives (and I’ve tried a few of them), but it still seems that most clients want their files compatible with MS Office.
Our question for you is this:
The 10 Best Books for Freelancers about Social Media
Posted August 30, 2011 in Social Media, Tools/Resources
It has come to this.
No freelancer today can ignore social media (click here for a definition of social media). In fact, if you find your clients through offline marketing or advertising only, you may find yourself soon left behind by your competitors who use social media.
They’re increasing their exposure, building their authority, engaging with prospects and clients with lightning speed, learning about new niches or markets to explore, and widening their influence.
And your clients probably want you to support their own social media marketing efforts. They want, not just a brochure, but a web page as well. Or aside from logo design, they want website and email branding too
The point is, freelancers need to understand social media–what it is, how it works, and how to use it to promote, not just our own freelancing businesses, but our clients’ businesses as well.
In this post, I’ve compiled ten books on social media, which will help freelancers do exactly that.
None of these books, unfortunately, were written specifically for freelancers. However, if you consider freelancing work as a form of business (which it is!), then it would be easy to translate what these books teach to your freelancing.
I’ve included books that talk about social media in general, as well as a few that focus on specific social networking platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a satisfactory book on Twitter.
Finally, because social media changes so quickly, I’ve included only those books that were published from 2010 onwards. I give you the following reading list in no particular order.
Top 7 Collaboration Software Tools for Successful Freelancers
Posted August 12, 2011 in Tools/Resources
Freelancers are people who have first-hand knowledge about effective collaboration. Often they have to deal with remote teams. Freelancers may also have to deal with both location differences and time zone differences.
For successful communication and file sharing many freelancers use online services like Skype, email and ICQ. However, anyone who has used these tools knows that having too many active applications is not convenient and may cause your computer to become overloaded. As a result of an overloaded machine, you may have to stop all your project work for an undetermined period of time.
Let’s face it–having a common workspace with all the necessary collaboration and project management (PM) tools in one place is much easier and more effective! (You get a lot with less effort!)
Luckily, today business software is one of the most developed areas in the IT world and freelancers have quite a wide choice of collaboration tools available. I would like to share my own experience of using collaboration and PM software by reviewing seven solutions that meet all the requirements of most freelancers. All the applications have either open source code or are available at zero cost for at least a trial period.
Think Vitamin Membership Review–Great Way to Expand Your Web Knowledge
Posted July 26, 2011 in How-To, Tools/Resources
I’ve been investing a lot of my time lately on learning new things. I prefer to stay a front-end developer, but I’ve always wanted to play in different languages and keep up to date with design trends. Following long how-to books really isn’t my thing, as I usually end up falling asleep before the first chapter ends.
I’ve never been a big fan of video on the web either, since I’m never at my computer unless I’m working so I never have time to watch. However, upon learning that Think Vitamin created a new membership service, called Think Vitamin Membership, I was immediately interested.
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
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)
