Freelancefolder

Open Thread: Who Would You Like Us to Interview Next?

Posted February 28, 2010 in Open Thread 23 Comments »

Freelancers can and do learn from each other. It’s often best to learn from someone else’s mistakes rather than make those mistakes yourself.

One of the things that makes the Freelance Folder community strong is how we all share ideas and information with each other. Each time I see a reader jump in with an answer to a question for another reader, it makes me proud to be a part of this community.

Another way to learn from each other is through reading the experiences of prominent freelancers who have achieved a measure of success.

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MarketMeTweet: Will It Help You Find Clients on Twitter?

Posted February 26, 2010 in Marketing, Social Media 38 Comments »

Lately, I’ve been playing around with MarketMeTweet, a new Twitter application for marketing and branding.

MarketMeTweet allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts to promote your business. You can send tweets, as well as get your replies and direct messages, retweet, and send messages to others. It works with PC, Mac, and Linux.

Will MarketMeTweet help you find clients on Twitter? The short answer is, “Yes, but….”

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New from MediaLoot: Incredibly Detailed Free Icon Set

Posted February 25, 2010 in News 11 Comments »

I know some of you might be getting tired of seeing MediaLoot announcements on FreelanceFolder, but a free icon set is way to useful to pass up, right?

With the launch just weeks away, these 30 free icons are some of the most impressive resources we’ll be releasing outside of the paid membership. The icons come packaged as 128px transparent PNG files, and should be really useful for just about anyone right out of the box.

Jump on over to MediaLoot to preview the full set →

Why I Failed at Freelancing

Posted February 25, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 74 Comments »

This time around, I have been a pretty successful freelancer if I do say so myself. My bills stay paid, my clients are happy and I’ve never been happier in a career.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at freelancing left me unhappy, in debt and desperate. I took several full-time jobs between my last attempt at freelancing and this one to teach me some valuable lessons and make my way out of debt.

I made many mistakes the first time around and, like any good freelancer, I learned from them and now I am a better, stronger worker. In this post, I’ll share some of the mistakes that caused me to fail as a freelancer the first time around.

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Eighteen More Helpful Twitter Applications for Freelancers

Posted February 24, 2010 in Social Media, Tools/Resources 36 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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Earn More Money by Growing Your Freelancing Business

Posted February 23, 2010 in Business, Productivity 52 Comments »

Do you need to earn more money?

At first, freelancers earn more money by taking on additional clients. However, there is a practical limit to how many clients a single freelancer, working alone, can handle. Eventually, a successful freelancer will be faced with more work than he or she can handle alone. That’s usually when the question of growing your freelance business comes up.

By growing the freelance business, I mean adding additional people to your business efforts so that you can handle additional work (and earn the additional income that goes along with it).

In this post, we’ll discuss the growth of your freelancing business. We’ll examine the best time for a freelancing business to grow and also take a look at several options for growth.

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

Posted February 22, 2010 in Tools/Resources 41 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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Deb Ng on Getting Started, Success, the Future, and More

Posted February 21, 2010 in Interviews 46 Comments »

If you’re involved with freelance writing at all, then you’ve probably heard of Deb Ng. Deb runs the very popular Freelance Writing Jobs blog network.

If you’re a freelance writer and you’re looking for work, Deb’s blog is definitely a site you want to explore. Deb’s also been a contributor at a number of other blogs (including this one) and has authored several eBooks.

It’s fun to look at a freelancing success story like Deb’s and admire her amazing accomplishments. But, how did Deb do it? What does it take to start with nothing and grow your own successful blog network?

In this post, Deb Ng has graciously agreed to share some of her tips and insights with us here at Freelance Folder. I’m sure that you’ll agree that freelancers of all kinds can learn from her story.

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Let’s Hear It for Our February Advertisers!

Posted February 20, 2010 in News 7 Comments »

Even as all eyes are focused on the Olympics, we want to take a few minutes to say “thank-you” to all of the advertisers who have helped us get to where we are today. FreelanceFolder continues to improve and grow, which is not possible without our advertisers and the gracious support they provide to this community.

So, if you can take a few minutes out of your day to browse some of these extraordinary companies, we would definitely recommend doing so. Many of our advertisers provide services integral to freelancing and, trust us, many of them can make your life a lot easier. Without further ado, here are our wonderful FreelanceFolder advertisers:

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