Freelancefolder

Why Freelancers Need Content Too

Posted February 13, 2012 in Getting Clients, Marketing

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If you’ve spent any amount of time online recently, you’ve probably noticed the flurry of posts about content. Nearly all of the posts point out that content is important for anyone doing business online.

Guess what? All those posts are right. (Well, mostly right.) Content IS very important if you want to do business online–and that includes most of us freelancers, too.

Of course, content is not the only thing that’s important to your freelancing business. But it’s still very important.

In this post, I’ll explain what content is and examine what freelancers should (and shouldn’t) be doing about creating online content.

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21 Times for a Freelancer to Say “No”

Posted February 10, 2012 in Managing Clients

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The ability to say “no” is vital to freelancers. While there are many good freelancing opportunities out there, there are also many bad gigs that every freelancer should turn down.

Sadly, I read about a freelancer trapped working for a bad client on social media nearly every day. But, we freelancers often accept jobs that we really shouldn’t take. We need to learn to say “no.”

In this post, I list twenty-one situations where a freelancer might need to say “no” to a prospective client. I also provide a sample response (as well as some discussion) for each situation. At the end of the post, add your own tips on how to say “no.”

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Super Easy Timesavers for Super Busy Freelancers

Posted February 8, 2012 in How-To, Productivity

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Like most freelancers, my time is important. I have to spend it wisely if I want to earn a profit.

Most days I face a challenging to-do list with more tasks on it than I could possibly accomplish. That’s why I make it my mission to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The alternative, working extra hours or missing a deadline, is just not acceptable.

Of course, a mountain of self-help books, blogs, videos, and other materials already exists to help us learn to manage our time more effectively. The trouble is, like most freelancers, I just don’t have enough time to go through all those resources.

In this post, I pulled together some of the quickest and easiest time save hacks that you should be able to use right away. If you’re looking for even more time saving tips, you can find some more here.

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David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”: Is It Relevant to Freelancers?

Posted February 6, 2012 in Productivity

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I first read “Getting Things Done” (GTD) by David Allen in 2007. Back then, I was working full-time in UNICEF, juggling my work responsibilities with a family.

Although I didn’t implement GTD completely, it did allow me to unclutter my entire work area (not just my desk). It allowed me to tame my overflowing email inbox. It allowed me to leave my files neatly organized for my successor.

GTD was written for corporate executives and office workers. Is it relevant and useful to freelancers as well?

If it’s any indication, I still find myself using some of the strategies I learned from GTD. When I’m in the middle of something and an idea or to-do pops into my head, I immediately write it down in my Moleskine notebook. I still file my reference materials the way I learned to do it from GTD. And when I’m overwhelmed, I sit down and ask myself, “What’s the next step?”

Because freelancers’ productivity has a direct correlation with their income, it’s essential for us to constantly find tools and systems that can help us get more quality work done, in less time, and with less stress. There’s plenty we can learn from “Getting Things Done” to help us achieve all that.

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