Freelancing
The following posts are hopefully related to "Freelancing" in some way.
Saturday, January 26, 2008, 5:39pm
oDesk is Probably Not Worth Your Time (As a Freelancer)
I’ve received a few emails asking whether or not I use freelancing websites like oDesk to find additional work when things are slow. I replied “no” for a few reasons, but the main one being that online websites like oDesk are not really geared towards the typical freelance designer or developer.
For example, do a search of available jobs with the keyword “wordpress”; as of this morning, there were 103 active projects. A few were PSD-to-theme services, but many were full redesigns of existing layouts or completely new WordPress-powered websites. (more…)
Tags: Freelancing, odesk
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 9:12pm
Why Checking Email Twice A Day Doesn’t Work (For Me)
Like it or not, part of my job as a freelancer and marketing consultant is to solve problems and answer client questions usually sent to me via email. During the average day, I’ll get between 20-30 emails that I actually HAVE to respond to in some capacity. Frankly, I don’t have the luxury of checking email only twice a day, and I don’t think I’m less productive because of it.
Why would I want to save all of it for later?
As a client, I expect fairly prompt service and a quick turnaround time, which is why I like to respond to issues as soon as possible for my own clients. Unless you are a CEO or you have some other bigwig position, I’m not sure you can get away with pushing a response to an issue off until it’s more convenient for you. (more…)
Tags: email, entrepreneur, Freelancing, productivity
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Monday, January 21, 2008, 1:04pm
Talking to Your Clients About Money
Home Biz Notes points to a post by The Golden Pencil describing the way people discuss money - or really the way people DON’T talk about money.
I think this topic relates to all kinds of freelancers. Here’s a snippet:
As Anne says, especially if you don’t have a business background, it’s quite common to think that money seems to be somehow associated with greed. In fact it’s your earned income, just like employees get a wage. You have expenditure, running costs, charges and profit.
You can extend this idea to a discussion of money and payment with clients. Money can be an uncomfortable subject for new freelancers, especially after unforeseen problems or design revisions make a “liar” out of the initial estimate. While clarity is certainly important in preventing discrepancies, composure is just as critical in a difficult situation. (more…)
Tags: communication, Freelancing, money
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Saturday, January 19, 2008, 10:39am
As a Follow Up to My Last Post
…I can safely say I’ve secured more freelancing work through blogging than I have through any other method, even more than local, offline word-of-mouth marketing. I think blogging, combined with services like tumblr and Twitter and Facebook, is a great way to connect with others if - and here’s the kicker - you use these services with a purpose.
Many people are too afraid or embarrassed to ask friends or colleagues for help in their work or in their startup, but why? I’ve asked friends if they knew business owners looking for a website and more often than not it works out well for everyone involved. If it’s an awkwardness or an ego thing, you’ll get over it pretty quickly when that new client asks for a $3,500 website redesign.
The people you connect with through your blog can make a big difference in your success. Though I still feel blogging strictly for money is a poor use of your time, if you write with a purpose you’ll be successful in many other ways.
Tags: Blogging, Freelancing, linkedin, tips
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Sunday, January 13, 2008, 4:01pm
A Discussion on “Premium” WordPress Themes
There’s a nice discussion at the Weblog Tools Collection website about selling WordPress themes and what is really meant by the word “premium”. Although I haven’t purchased a WordPress theme, I can see a few reasons why someone would.
A Concept Or Piece of Code is Intriguing to You
Occasionally I see a blog and wonder how they accomplished a certain look or feature. If it’s really small, sometimes I’ll take a look at the underlying code and implement my own variation for a personal project, but most times the code is so unique to the site that for me to use it would feel like stealing. In these cases, I’ve always asked permission to use the code and often reciprocate with a donation. The same concept can be applied to WordPress themes if they do something cool or unique. (more…)
Tags: Blogging, customer service, Freelancing, wordpress
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