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Postcards from SXSW

Deb Ng — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:22:51 +0000

I’ve been trying to write a SXSW post for several days now. This has honestly been the first chance I’ve had to sit down at my laptop and write, read emails, post a few leads and handle other obligations. It’s been a busy, but extremely rewarding weekend.

Warning: Long Post Ahead

In the early 90’s I worked for a music and tattoo publication that sent photographers and journalists to the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas each year. It looked like a fun time and I was rather envious. The conference has grown to include film and interactive portions, but the music event was always the most attended…until 2010. Now, attendance for SXSWi, also dubbed “Spring Break for Geeks” has surpassed the music portion by 40%.

My mission for SXSW this year was simple; talk to folks about my book. (Did you know I’m writing a book?) I don’t mean that my purpose for this conference was to get a book deal, but I want to pick the brains of some of my author friends to discuss the publishing process and get tips and opinions. This information isn’t only for me, either. I will be blogging about my experience writing and trying to get a book published for those members of the FWJ community who would also like to go this route. As you will see by the bottom of this post, I more than accomplished my mission.

So here it goes…

I had a much longer post written up (though this one’s getting a bit wordy) but erased it as I’m sure you don’t want to read about every single person I spoke with. So I’m bringing you some highlights. I hope I didn’t leave out anything or anyone important. I also hope I don’t look like some creepy name dropper for naming my friends. Feel free to slap me around if that’s the case.

As is always the case at SXSW, I learn more and meet more people in the hallways of the conference halls than in sessions. However, this is the first “Southby” where I wasn’t working for someone else. I didn’t have to spend the day in a booth and was able to do my own thing. I have to tell you, it’s much nicer to go to a conference as an attendee than an exhibitor. Booth work can be fun, but being there on behalf of me is much more rewarding.

The People

I met some of the Freelance Writing Jobs community including FWJ blogger and long time Twitter friend Andy Hayes and FWJ contributor Thursday Bram. It was such a treat to spend time with the people who make this community what it is. I tried to plan a meetup but it wasn’t to be. Still, I spent time chatting with all and hope to spend more time with them all today. I was flattered by how many people at SXSW read our blog network. It’s humbling and an honor to meet readers and hear feedback.

My very good friend Chris Garrett has proven to be my conference buddy and we’ve shared many meals, sat side by side at various sessions and found quiet corners to chat at loud and crowded parties. I think if I was to put together a conference survival toolkit, Chris would be the number one entry. Patrick O’Keefe, Brandon Eley, Liz Strauss, Darren Rowse and Becky McCray are also regular, friendly faces and I always make sure to attend their sessions and make personal time for them all. They’re my friends, my dinner companions and my mentors and I’m a much better person for knowing them all.

I was so happy to meet up with my friend Keith Burtis who has a smile for everyone for he meets and is the best person to brainstorm with for social media projects. I also got to finally spend some time with Brian Clark and Sonia Simone. I’m fans of both and felt all starry-eyed in their presence. I just hope I didn’t make an ass of myself. I met both briefly at BlogWorld, but I enjoyed chatting with them in Austin at an informal, quiet party. One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting Men with Pens’ Taylor Lindstrom who is a smart, funny and very insightful. She’s a great conversationalist and hope she won’t be a stranger. I was disappointed to learn I was in the same room as Naomi Dunford from IttyBiz and didn’t even know it. I felt bad because she was one of the people who I was most interested in meeting and had I know I would have made a point to introduce myself. I feel like an ass for totally not recognizing her. (As you can see, there are lots of examples of my assery in this post.)

The Places

I am so not a party person. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than standing in a room so crowded you can’t move, let alone hold a drink, while shouting in the ear of someone who can’t hear you but nods as if he knows exactly what you’re saying. Most nights we opted for dinner with friends. I ate enough BBQ to last for a while. With my apologies to Mr. Ng, Austin has provided me with some of the best BBQ I’ve eaten yet. If you’re ever in town check out Stubbs and the IronWorks or take a cab to Ruby’s gas station where you’ll leave with very clean hands.

My friends and colleagues on the BlogWorld and New Media Expo team (and I) took Chris Garrett out for his very first taste of barbecue and he seemed to enjoy the “Big plate of meat.” I regret to inform you, however, that Mr. Garrett is not a member of the clean plate club.

We did attend a couple of parties though, the Wiley Publisher’s party where I ran into Jason Falls, David Berkowitz, Thursday Bram and several others. We also attended the SOBCon party hosted by dear friend Liz Strauss and a new good friend, Terry Starbuck. More friends were in attendance including Lucretia Pruitt, the aforementioned Andy Hayes, Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan and so many others. It sounds like I’m doing a bunch of name dropping, making me look like an ass yet again, so I’ll stop at this point. I learned once again I missed Naomi. My apologies, Naomi. I really did want to shake your hand.

Both parties weren’t too loud or crowded to talk. Tonight’s Demand Studios party looks as it’ll be a lively event and I look forward to meeting up with the DS team. Finally. SXSW is so big, I haven’t seen any DS-ers since I got here.

The Book

So the book? Remember? My mission for this trip? The book publishing process is so overwhelming, I don’t want to wait until I’m finished writing before shopping it around, though. So I came to SXSW with a plan in mind. I would talk to my author friends (we discussed doing this beforehand so they weren’t waylaid) and pick their brains and ask their recommendations. Patrick O’Keefe, author of Managing Online Forums, Chris Garrett co-author of ProBlogger, Brandon Eley author of Online Marketing Inside and Out and Lisa Sabin Wilson author of WordPress for Dummies and BuddyPress for Dummies offered insight, tips for finding agents, publishing houses, self publishing, royalties and so much more. Patrick is especially a gold mine of information. Thanks to all of the above for your patience and generous sharing of information.

On Saturday night, Chris G., the BlogWorld team and I went to dinner and followed it up by attending a party thrown by Wiley Publishers for their authors. Thanks to an introduction by Chris and Rick Calvert, I was able to pitch my book to a rep from Wiley. It wasn’t a hard sell at all. We discussed the book and the intended audience. I don’t know if anything will come of it, but it was a positive step in the right direction. The next morning I ran into the Wiley rep. in our hotel lobby and she told me mine was one of two books she’s pitching when she gets back to work. OK so maybe I’m walking on air a bit.

So the book writing process has begun. I don’t know if this publishing thing will work out or not, but I plan on blogging about my entire experience, the good, the bad and the ugly, so stay tuned.

Finally, the end….

Today is my last day at SXSW. I’m working in my room for a couple of hours before heading to the convention center one last time. I’m tired. Really tired. I hope I got all the typos and incoherent ramblings removed from this post. If not, please forgive me.

Though SXSW is huge and crowded, it has proven to be an important learning experience. For some it’s about the parties. For me it’s about reconnecting with very good friends, making new friends and doing as much as I can to further my career. My mission was accomplished and I’m returning home tired but inspired.

Edited to Add: Yay! I finally got to spend time with Naomi and we enjoyed a little girl talk. I think I have a crush. I will also have some major news to share very soon.

Looking forward to SXSWi 2011…

Full disclosure: I want to thank Demand Studios for their sponsorship and helping to defray the cost of my trip. Part of my agreement with DS is to blog about my SXSW experience, but I do that anyway. I do appreciate the support and faith Demands Studios puts in me for these trips and especially appreciate their generosity for making it all possible.

Freelance Writing Communities: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Join

Deb Ng — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:42:08 +0000

Many of us belong to at least one freelance writing community. We enjoy the camaraderie and look forward to sharing tips and asking questions. I credit much of my success to social networks and freelance writing communities. Thanks to the generosity of other freelancers I received tips on leads, referrals and there were even times when clients directly approached me after reading my contributions on writing forums and blog posts.

10 Tips for Choosing a Freelance Writing Community

Not all freelance writing communities are alike, however. Today, I’d like to offer some tips for choosing a community that best fits your vision.

Before signing up, consider these questions.

1. Do you have to pay to join this freelance writing community?

Because a freelance writing community requires a fee to join, doesn’t make it spammy or scammy. Most paying communities exist in order to deter spammers and ensure all members of the community are serious about freelance writing. Freelance writers in most paying communities are putting out the money because they want to learn and succeed and consider the mentoring to be a worthwhile investment.

Before investing in a community, learn as much as possible about it beforehand.

Do you know other successful freelancers who are members?
Does the community have a good reputation?
What do you get with your membership?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with free writing communities either. Not everyone wants to spend $100 per year to chat with other freelance writers. Plenty of free social networks and communities host discussions for serious writers. Make the choice that works best for you, and see which community’s mission, policies and members agree best with your vision.

2. How old are the Discussions?

If you’re going to participate in a community, be sure it’s worthy of your participation. If there are very few conversations happening and many discussions haven’t been commented on in months, you’ll probably want to find a livelier group. You’ll want to find a network with discussions that are updated daily with a variety of responses. One or two “ITAs” or noncommittal responses aren’t enough motivation to join a community. Look for lively discussions presenting all sides and points of view.

3. How does the community respond to questions and comments?

How does the community on a whole respond to the different conversations? Are they patient with their responses, even in disagreement? Do they tend to leave out newbies? Is it cliquish? A good freelance writing forum encourages conversation from all members, whether they agree or disagree. A good freelance writing community doesn’t have a “pile on” mentality towards those who don’t agree with the most popular members, nor does it allow members to be disrespectful or rude towards other members. By all means look for a spirited group, but they should be respectful in their rebuttal.

4. Are they covering a variety of topics?

The best writing communities cover topics of interest to all freelance writers, niches, genres and experience levels. There should be topics of interest to everyone and not a select few. Choosing a discussion forum that’s too “nichey” might mean you’re not going to learn about all aspects of the freelance writing business. Make sure to choose a community that serves all your needs. If you’re a beginner, you want to be sure there are more experienced writers to answer your questions. If you’re an experienced writer, you may want to share with others on your level in addition to mentoring newbies. The best forums run the gamut and talk about freelancing on the web, with corporate clients, book writing and so much more.

5. Is there a genuine interest in freelance writing success?

Do the owners and community members truly care about your freelance writing success? If the forum topics are mostly commiseration and community members are reluctant to share tips and ideas, they may not be what you’re looking for. The best communities are made up members who are genuinely happy to see each other succeed and don’t mind sharing their paths to success.

6. How will networking with this freelance writing community help you with your career?

In writing this post I’m assuming you’re scouting out a freelance writing community to help with your career, and also, so you can learn and share with other freelance writers. If this is the case, think about how each community can help you. Some writing communities take the subject matter seriously, while for others it’s a coffee shop atmosphere so they can break of the solitude of working from home. If there’s more coffee talk than career talk, you’ll have to decide if it’s the place for you.

7. Is there a clear comment policy?

Without a comment policy writing forums, blogs and other social networks can become virtual free-for-alls. No one likes censorship but if the members spend more time fighting with each other and launching personal attacks on those who don’t agree, it doesn’t make for productive atmosphere. Make sure a clear comment policy is in place. Usually the worse offenders claim it’s censorship not to allow all points of view but that’s not true at all. Most writing communities allow all sides of the story as long as they’re respectful and don’t attack other members.

8. Do they post job leads?

If you’re joining a community to land more gigs and learn more about the business, consider whether or not the members or administrators post leads to freelance writing jobs each day, or on a regular basis. If you’re not looking for work, you’ll want to look for a community that isn’t necessarily focused on gigs but rather sharing other tips for success. For most writers, whether or not a freelance writing community posts leads isn’t a deal breaker, but whether or not they’re included might be a way for you to narrow down writing communities.

9. Does the freelance writing community cater only to beginners (or veterans?)

Some freelance writing communities are clearly for beginners, while others are only for vets. There’s nothing wrong with having an exclusive community. Keep in mind that if only beginners are offering advice to beginners, they may not necessarily be offering tips to break out of the beginner patterns. Groups that are only for established freelance writers might offer better guidance, but might also be too advanced for those just entering the business. A solution for new writers might be to first find a community catering to all writers and narrowing the focus once they receive more experience.

10. What are the other freelance writers talking about?

The best way to learn about a freelance writing community is to read the posts to see what the other freelance writers are talking about. Do all the discussion topics interest you? Is the community positive? Everyone’s needs are different, assess yours and find the community working best for your situation.

There are different types of writing communities such as blogs, social networking groups and forums. Think about the kind of group you like best and which types with which you’re most likely to participate. There are so many helpful communities available to freelance writers, you should have no problems finding one to accept you with open arms.

What do you look for in a freelance writing community?

Contracting for Writers 101

Deb Ng — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:07:44 +0000

A guest post by John Hewitt

What is contracting?

Everyone knows what a regular job is. You show up every day (or telecommute if you are lucky) and you earn a regular paycheck. You work for the same company for years, or at least you expect to, and you get benefits such as paid holidays, vacations, retirement plans and even stock options if the company is particularly generous. Most writers also know what freelancing is. Freelancing is when you work independently for a number of clients. Most freelancing gigs are small or medium projects. You write an article, a blog post, a press release, a brochure, a white paper or whatever the client wants. Some projects are larger, such as a book. Some clients come to you again and again and form relationships. On the whole though, you are hired to create something specific. You work for multiple clients and in most cases you run your own small business, managing your own accounts and paying your own way.

Contracting is a combination of these two worlds. As a contractor, you are not a regular employee. Like an employee, you are expected to show up every day (or telecommute if you are lucky) and you earn a regular paycheck. Unlike an employee, you do not expect to work for the same company for very long. Most contracts last a year at most, while some last only a month or two. While it is possible to get some benefits (I’ll go into that later) you are probably just working for an hourly fee. While you are on that contract, however, you are expected to spend your time working for that company alone. You might take a small freelance project on the side, but for the length of the contract, you are expected to devote your regular work day to the company you work at.

Who hires contractors to write for them?

Companies hire contractors for one of two reasons. They either have a specific finite project in mind or they have more work than their current staff can handle but they do not want to commit to hiring a regular employee. The practice of hiring contractors is especially prevalent in the technical writing field. Many companies hire technical writers to document a current or soon to be released product. After that project is finished, they feel they no longer need the writer so they end the contract. It is less messy than hiring a full time writer and then laying them off because you lack new projects for them. Marketing writers and grant writers also work on contract in some cases and virtually all professional writing fields use contractors to some extent, but technical writing is the dominant field for writing contractors.

In the more literal sense though, most writing contractors are hired by contract agencies. These agencies act as middlemen between contractors and clients. There are thousands of contract agencies, but some major agencies are Yoh, Manpower, and Spherion. The contract agency screens candidates and recommends the best possible matches in the same way that employment agencies do. In most cases you will interview with both the agency and the employer in order to get the job. This sounds daunting, but because the position is contract rather than regular employment, some interviews are much less formal. I have been hired in a single day, over the phone, more than once.

Once you are hired, you actually work for the agency. Your paycheck, as well as any benefits you might have negotiated, comes from the agency and not the client. It is the agency that is responsible for billing the client for your services. For the most part, agencies don’t provide benefits such as holidays and insurance, but it depends on the agency. As the practice of contracting has grown, many of the larger agencies have expanded the benefits they offer, but benefits are still the exception rather than the rule.

It is also possible to work directly for a company as a contractor. In this case, you bill the client directly in much the same way that a freelancer would. The benefit of this is that you generally make more money, but the downside is that you must cover all of your own expenses including social security and tax payments.

Why contract?

Contracting is not for everyone. You don’t have as much security as a regular job, and you don’t have the freedom and options of a freelancer. Contracting can be highly lucrative though. In most cases you are paid more than a regular employee and you can count on that paycheck being there for the length of the contract. For me, contracting was not a deliberate decision. As a technical writer, I found that contract positions were more plentiful than regular positions, and that freelance technical writing clients were hard for me to find. Contracting was where the work was, so I kept contracting.

Another advantage to contracting is that it allows you to work for a company without feeling as if the success or failure of that company is an important issue to you. I have worked as a regular employee before and have been frustrated by poor management and bad corporate decisions. As one employer slowly ground itself into the ground, it became a weekly contest to predict which benefit would be cut next. As a contractor though, it is only your job to deliver the best possible work to your client. How they run their business is not your concern. This can be a comforting thought.

There are plenty of issues to discuss about the world of contracting, but I hope this has given you a general idea of what contracting is and whether or not you would like to try it.

______

John Hewitt is a technical writer who has worked as a contractor for several major tech companies including IBM, Motorola, and Intel. John also runs poewar.com, a web site for writers. He has just launched a new job center for writers at jobs.poewar.com.

Corporate Freelance Writing Jobs–Five Places to Find Them

Laura Spencer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:28 +0000

Many writers are interested in finding a corporate freelance writing job.

The advantages of a corporate freelance writing job are many:

Corporate freelance writing jobs tend to be long term.
Also, if you have a contract with a corporation, you can usually count on being paid.
Plus, let’s face it, it looks good to have a well-known corporation in your portfolio and on your writing resume.

Finding a corporate freelance writing job can seem daunting if you don’t know where to look. In this post, I share five places where you should focus your marketing efforts if your goal is to land a corporate freelance writing job.

1. Professional Societies

It was no coincidence that I listed a link to a professional society with each type of writing opportunity that I shared with you in an earlier post. In my experience, a professional society is one of the best places to look for a corporate freelance writing job. I found many of my technical writing contract and staff positions through contacts that I met in the Society for Technical Communication (STC). You can find freelance jobs through professional societies too.

A professional society can help you find a corporate freelance job in three ways:

Corporate contacts you meet (be sure to have your business card handy)
Professional job bank
Source of training to expand your writing skills

After you join, make sure to list your society membership on your writing resume (and include any training classes that you take). I had one client tell me that my membership in the STC told him that I was serious about writing.

2. Agencies

Many corporations rely on staffing agencies to find short-term personnel for their projects. Knowing this, there is no reason why you shouldn’t sign up with one, or more, agencies. Your contacts in your professional society can help you learn which agencies specialize in providing companies with the type of writing that you do.

Be aware that agencies exist to prescreen candidates for corporations. You should expect that the agency to interview you and carefully check all of your references. Remember, their reputation is at stake if they send you to a corporation and you don’t work out.

3. Social Media Oriented Towards Professionals

Many corporate managers are just getting started on the popular social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn seems to have caught on more quickly with the corporate crowd. Your LinkedIn profile can also serve as sort of a mini-resume for those who look at your profile.

I tell freelancers who ask to maintain a presence on several major social media sites. Make sure, of course, that your profile on any social media site is professional. (In other words, don’t post anything online that you’d be embarrassed by if a client saw it.)

4. Your Phone Book

That’s right, I said your phone book. Your yellow pages will list all major corporations in your area. Many writers have found corporate freelance work by cold calling local companies. Use the following steps:

Cold call. Ask the receptionist for the person in charge of the area where you would like to work. (Technical Communications Department for technical writers, Marketing Communications Department for copywriters…) Even if there is no writing department in the corporation, the receptionist will often connect you to somebody or at least give you the name of a person who fulfills that function for their company.
If you are connected directly to someone in the company’s writing department, make a note of their name and introduce yourself. Briefly explain that you are a local independent writer and that you’d like to send an information packet. (Don’t push too hard or try to close a deal at this stage.)
Send the packet, which should contain (at a minimum) a cover letter, several samples of your very best work, and a brochure listing your services.
Follow up with the person you spoke to earlier. Ask if they received your materials and whether they have any questions. If you have a newsletter, or other periodic mailer, offer them a free subscription.

There is an art to cold calling, so don’t be dismayed if you don’t get results right away. The main goal of a campaign such as the one described above is to get your name in front of the corporation’s writing manager. Even if they don’t have a writing job when you talk to them, you will have succeeded if they file your information and pull it out when a project comes up.

5. Traditional Job Ads

Corporations sometimes place advertisements for freelance writing jobs in the same places that they would advertise for a permanent employee. This is especially true if the freelance work is long-term. So, don’t overlook the help wanted ads in your local newspaper or the online job sites such as Monster or Indeed.

Tip: try searching an online job database with and without using the words “freelance” and “contract.”

A Final Word About Corporate Freelance Writing Jobs

Finding a corporate freelance writing job is largely a matter of persistence and patience. The more persistent you are in applying the marketing efforts described in this post, the more successful you will be in finding corporate freelance writing jobs.

Also, when talking with corporate staff writers remember that your goal is not to replace a company’s in-house writing staff, but rather to come alongside them and help out when they are shorthanded.

Feedback Time

Have you worked on a freelance writing basis for a corporation? What method did you use to find a project?

oDesk: One Writer’s Experience and His Plea to Clients

Deb Ng — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:19:48 +0000

A guest post by Greg Minton

I was on the phone with a new client, and I couldn’t believe my luck. This software entrepreneur was clearly excited about working with me. He loved my style and indicated that our working relationship would be a long-term one. He was happy with my rate and excited about the suggestions I was making for his landing page.

But there was a problem.

He wanted to work through oDesk.

oDesk is an online bidding site similar to Elance. What sets oDesk apart is its time tracking software. This software doesn’t just track time. It also takes periodic screenshots of the freelancer’s screen, snaps webcam pictures of the freelancer, and keeps track of the freelancer’s typing rate.

I grudgingly agreed, since I had really enjoyed my interactions with this client so far.

My oDesk Experience

My client wasn’t worried about my work habits; he only wanted to work through oDesk because his marketing budget was in the oDesk escrow system. To get paid, I still had to work through the oDesk software, so I loaded up the software and started writing. He and I agreed on a set rate for the project, so we agreed that I’d just stop the clock when it reached that rate.

The first few times it took pictures and screenshots, I felt annoyed and noticed a shift in my behavior; I felt less relaxed than I usually do as I write. For example, I felt tense about shifting over to iTunes to skip a song or opening my calendar to double check an appointment.

This kind of tension while doing creative work is never a good thing.

The last straw was when I received an e-mail, switched over to check it, and started to read an e-mail from another client. At that moment, the screen flickered, indicating that oDesk was taking a screenshot. While this e-mail contained no sensitive information, the very idea that sensitive client information could potentially be compromised through oDesk was unacceptable to me.

The Fundamental Problem With oDesk

My situation with oDesk was fairly innocuous. I called my client to renegotiate a different payment method, and things worked out.

However, I learned from the oDesk experience and gleaned some potentially useful principles for both creative professionals and clients.

oDesk’s time tracking and monitoring software is increasing in popularity with clients, and this is not occurring in a vacuum. I see oDesk’s growing popularity (and its mere existence) as an effect of particular client paradigm, not the sole or primary cause.

1. oDesk implies a lack of trust.

Clients who insist on monitoring their freelancers’ work behavior send a very clear message to the freelance professional: “I don’t trust you.”

Why else would they want to watch their freelancers’ computer screens, treating them as though they are eight years old?

Successful business relationships are built at the relationship level, not at the contractual level. Yes, there is a necessary element of self-protection involved in any contractual relationship.

However, if a client-contractor relationship starts off from the standpoint of “I’m not so sure you’re going to do the work, so I’m going to stand over your back,” then the freelancer will have no reason to reciprocate trust.

2. oDesk ignores how freelancers actually work.

Freelance writers are creative professionals. We’re not producing widgets. I can understand a manager’s desire to supervise an assembly line of factory workers. Freelancers work differently, though. We need creative flow, and monitoring software just doesn’t allow this flow when it takes a picture every five minutes.

As another example of oDesk ignoring how freelancers work, I organize large projects with notecards. I lay them out on my desk and organize the flow of the piece. This is clearly billable time, as it is time solely devoted to the client’s project. In this scenario, oDesk would snap pictures of iTunes and would show no keyboard typing.

oDesk ignores that there’s more to writing than typing into a Word document – most projects involve planning, preparation, and research.

3. oDesk can potentially harm confidential business relationships.

Most freelancers don’t just have one client. As of the time of writing this article, I have about six active projects, and two more in the pipeline. Sometimes, I open an e-mail from one client as I work on another clients’ project. What happens if oDesk snaps a picture of confidential business information? I absolutely refuse to compromise my clients’ confidential information for the sake of an untrusting client.

The issue isn’t fundamentally about oDesk. It’s about the way that clients view their freelancers – and how freelancers view themselves. oDesk’s rise in popularity is alarming, as it is an indication of an ever-increasing lack of trust towards freelance writers.

My plea to clients is this: If you don’t trust your freelance writer, ask for references. If you still don’t trust him, don’t hire him. Foster a relationship of trust from the very beginning, and you won’t have to keep tabs on your freelance writer.

Freelance Writing Marketing & Promotion: How Much Is Too Much?

Carson Brackney — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:58:22 +0000

Make time to market your services.

How many times have you read that bit of advice?

Well, it’s rock-solid. If you aren’t making a point of marketing yourself, the risk of falling into that ugly feast/famine cycle is exceedingly high. If you aren’t building marketing time into your schedule, it’s tough to move up the income ladder.

So, make time for promoting yourself.

But not too much time.

I’ve been working on redesigning my workflow lately in an effort to improve my efficiency, boost my bottom line, maintain something approximating sanity and to provide ample opportunity to catch a number of weekday afternoon Royals games this summer. Following some good advice, I’ve been more conscious of what I do every day and I’ve made a discovery: I spend too much time on the marketing and promotion side of things.

I know that many writers get good results by working through job listings, but I’ve responded to exactly two of those ads over the years I’ve been in the business. I secure client work via repeat clients, word of mouth and rainmaking. It keeps my busy. Maybe too busy. I’ve realized that I need to take my foot off the gas.

Yesterday, for instance, I saw a little Facebook status update from someone I’ve hired in the past to do some non-writing related work. I couldn’t resist dropping him a line about the project he mentioned and discussing a content creation option that might be of interest to him. We had a nice back-and-forth and it might lead to something.

Later, while doing some research on another project, I wandered into a fascinating website that was chock-full of great information. It also looked like it was put together in 1995 (sparkly animated GIFs and the whole works), even though the business is still updating it. I could immediately see how its over-long, rambling pages of almost-impossible-to-find text and images could be broken into individual pages and posts within a WordPress framework to produce a much better site. Some good organization, a lot of rewriting, a little new material, some keyword research, some basic SEO and a few other bits of “this and that” and they’d have something really effective instead of being discoverable only by those staring at a business card or finding it via a link on an almost equally obscure site.

So, I pitched them cold with an email. They responded this morning. Looks like another client.

I don’t keep stats on my rainmaking efforts. However, they produce clients more often than you might think. That’s great–until you find yourself looking at more work than you can handle without cutting other things out of your life.

There are at least four ways I might control the over-marketing problem. I can bump rates to control my workload. I can work on ways to better scale my business for increased growth by bringing in additional people and resources. I can be less aggressive in the rainmaking department. I can say “no” more often. I’m dabbling in all four, but I know this will be a tough nut to crack. Sometimes, I think I need a Twelve Step program on this front.

But fixing my personal issues isn’t really the point of this post. I think the whole over-promotion thing stems from a common fear experienced by many freelancers–what will happen next?

Even those of us who’ve been doing this for a long time have a hard time fighting that nagging feeling that we could wake up tomorrow with nothing profitable to do. The last few years have crushed the old idea of job security for just about everyone, but freelancers don’t just work with an economically ravaged safety net–we don’t have one at all.

We’ve all heard (or have survived) the famine side of the feast/famine cycle at least once and we don’t want to visit that territory again.

In an effort to build a more secure business, we’re always prospecting for work. Some of us do it even when we really don’t need to do so.

So, I’m wondering… Are you successfully managing a promotion addiction? If so, how? Do you consciously limit your business-building efforts or do you just “let ‘er rip” and then deal with the consequences?

The Freelance Writing Jobs Facebook Fan Group: Join the Conversation

Deb Ng — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:06:38 +0000

Freelance Writing Jobs

Are you a member of the Freelance Writing Jobs Facebook Fan group? If not, consider joining us. Each day we discuss topics of interest to freelance writers and bring you updates from the Freelance Writing Jobs network.

Even if you already subscribe to our feed to receive updates, the Facebook group is another place to meet other freelance writers and clients, and discuss relevant topics.

We’re over 1,000 members strong, won’t you consider joining us today?

Top 10 Freelance Writing Time Suck Tasks

Deb Ng — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:51:53 +0000

If you’re a newbie to freelance writing, you’re no doubt looking forward to getting down to the writing. I’m here to tell you most of running a successful freelance writing business has nothing to do with writing. We all spend a huge bulk of our day handling a bunch of time sucking tasks which doesn’t always make freelance writing seem like that attractive a career choice. Still, they’re necessary for success.

Here are my Top 10 Freelance Writing Time Suck Tasks.

1. Email

I’m sure I’m not the only blogger who receives hundreds of pieces of email each day. I enjoy answering questions from readers and nothing makes me happier than to find gig or advertising inquiries in my mailbox each day, but answering each and every piece of mail in a timely manner is next to impossible. It would take several hours at a time to respond to all the questions and comments coming in each day. Freelance writers who don’t blog also have to deal with email from clients, potential clients and others in their community. On Twitter, I asked freelance writers how much time they spend on email each day and most spend an average of an hour. Much of this is due to freelancers not wanting to deal with clients via phone or Skype. However, they would probably save more time with quick phone calls to clients rather than a bunch of back and forth emails.

2. Bookkeeping

Ah, yes. The money. Keeping track of what goes in and what goes out isn’t a favorite task of freelancers but it’s certainly one of the most necessary. Whether we’re invoicing, receiving funds or balancing the books, we’d much rather view the bottom line than take all the steps to get there.

3. Phone Calls

Many freelancers don’t like client phone calls because they’re such a time suck. Sometimes, it seems as if our phones are ringing all day. Phone calls can actually create more time for us as we can ask and receive answers to so many questions at once rather than via several back and forth emails. My clients tell me they trust freelancers more when they can speak to them on the phone. They like hearing voices, they can tell from tone whether or not a freelancer is down with a project, and they can also tell if the freelancer is a true professional or someone just going through the motions. Save time by setting aside a certain hour of each day specifically to respond to client phone calls.. Both you and your clients will find it to be more expeditious than email.

4. Social Media/Social Networking

Social media can be a huge time suck mostly because it’s so much fun chatting with others online. Many freelance writers set aside a certain amount of time each day for social media but end up going over despite good intentions. Freelancers debate the necessity of social media. Those who use it often swear by its merits, the only down side is that it can be time consuming. Social media isn’t only tweeting links. It can involve forum conversations, commenting on blogs, friending on Facebook, reaching out via LinkedIn and so much more. Most freelancers don’t spend everyday on all the social networks, but many spend time on at least a couple of these sites each day.

5. Job Search

Whether you search the job boards, cold call clients or use other methods to find freelance writing jobs, chances are you spend more than a few minutes a day at it. Search for jobs involves several different steps including isolating desirable clients, sending queries and cover letters and making appointments to speak. Many freelancers take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours each day to look for work.

6. Organization of Online and Offline Files

Filing. The bane of our existence. Clips, contracts, letters, invoices and more require some sort of organization. Our online files also require everything in its place. Not being able to locate key details or files can cause us to waste even more time. Spending time each week to get all our affairs in order is a time suck, for sure. If you procrastinate about those things like I do and they pile up, it even takes more time. It’s a necessity though. It takes less time to organize both online and offline files than it does to hunt around for stuff later.

7. Customer Service

When clients aren’t happy or they need some extra guidance, we have to get on Skype or the phone and make the situation right. Customer service is an important part of freelance writing. If our clients aren’t happy, they won’t bring us their business or refer other business our way. Taking time to receive and respond to feedback bodes favorably but takes us away from our writing.

8. Taxes

Quarterly taxes are a quarterly time suck. Estimating and paying take time. Freelancers who can afford to do so hire accountants in order to save time and headaches. However, not every freelance writer can afford this. Quarterly tax filing can take anywhere from one to three hours to complete. Though it only happens once every few months, we feel it’s a big enough time suck to warrant a place on this list.

9. Scheduling and Planning

Managing client projects takes time. Many times there’s planning, scheduling the editorial calendar, arranging interviews, research and more. Whether you use a whiteboard, your outlook calendar, or a Filofax, it takes time to plan, schedule and juggle. Freelancers with more than one client generally take a day at the beginning of the week or month to schedule in all projects and tasks. Time suck.

10. Marketing & Promotion

How will clients know about you if you don’t market your business? Today’s freelancers have so many options. However, attending networking events, speaking at conferences, writing guest blog posts, and cold calling all take time. Many freelancers allot a portion of each day to marketing tasks because without them there would be no clients. The marketing thing isn’t only a sit down and talk online thing, either. Many marketing and promotion events require freelancers to leave the home to meet with others. Marketing and promotional event can steal an entire day (or more) from freelancers.

Now that you have my top 10 freelance writing time sucks, what are yours? What are some of the tasks taking up the most time, and what do you do to save time?

Four Types of Freelance Writing Sites We SHOULD Be Talking About

Deb Ng — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:37:59 +0000

The content site discussion is getting old. Some freelance writing bloggers see the merits, others don’t, and neither the twain shall meet. What strikes me about the content site debate is that we focus on one or two evil sites as if they’re the only problem. If we’re going to be discussing the best places for freelance writers to work and caution them against certain other opportunities, I personally feel that there are worse places and those are the ones we should be discussing.

When we debate content, we generally focus on two main issues; pay and poorly written content. When it comes to both of these, I don’t necessarily feel web content sites are the worst offenders. There are other types of freelance writing sites that flood the web with crappy writing and the pay is a lot less or not at all. Yet, most of the time when we see blog posts or articles about these other types of sites they’re along the lines of “the benefits of…”

Today, I’d like to explore some of these sites and discuss why (I feel) they’re bad idea. I’m really interested in your thoughts as well.

1. Article Directory Sites

Article submission sites are sites that pretty much accept any old article. They’re not listed on freelance writing jobs sites and we don’t discuss them as being a gig, because they’re not. They don’t pay writers and they don’t pretend to be anything but a place to submit writing. However, if we’re going to gripe about content sites not having high standards and flooding the web with bad content, it would behoove us to discuss article directory sites as well.

I never wrote for an article directory site for several reasons, the first is that they didn’t pay and the second is because I’ve seen so much truly bad writing coming from article directory sites that I didn’t want my name associated with them.

Here’s the thing, we hear from many people, even some freelance writers we know well, saying article directory sites are terrific marketing opportunities.

I don’t know about that…

I don’t think an article directory submission is any more terrific than having a bio at the bottom of a guest blog post, personal blog or even a content mill article. Lately all the content I see coming from article directory are marketed to sell products or drive traffic to a blog or website, which makes it all rather spammy. Moreover, more than half the content is poorly written, SEO articles. So how come we don’t see enough folks calling for higher standards on these sites?

Another issue with article directories is the same marketers are submitting the same articles on multiple sites, so the web is being inundated with the same “article” over and over. If the article isn’t well written, then we’re seeing the same really bad piece of writing more than once. Again, I don’t hear too many arguments about this in the “cheap” or “free” web content arguments.

Most people who use article directories are doing so to create links to blogs or websites, build up name and brand recognition and drive readers to a particular product or service. So we can argue that the purpose of the articles submitted to these sites isn’t necessarily to educate. Some folks who use article directory sites also hire writers to create content for them. Since the article directories don’t pay, many times the cheapest possible writers are hired, again flooding the Internet with questionable content. Not all article directory writing is bad, but I’m willing to bet there’s more bad than good.

I personally write off any article found on an article directory site as a marketing tool and don’t use them as resources or tools because I can’t count on the validity of the discussion.

2. Bidding Sites

I used to believe that bidding sites would lower the rates for all writers. I no longer believe this. I feel there will always be high payers and there will always be low payers and neither has to worry about the other. However, if we’re going to throw out the argument that web content sites are low paying and promote poor writing, we have to go after the bidding sites too.

Disclaimer: Not all bidding site gigs pay .50 cents per article, nor are all bidding site writers of the amateur variety, but there are enough bad to overshadow the good. (Just like content sites)

Here’s the thing: I didn’t last long with bidding sites. The reason I didn’t stick with them is because I couldn’t get work at a decent rate of pay. When I quoted my usual rate I was told I had some nerve bidding so high when I wasn’t even rated. When I showed these potential clients my resume and long list of writing credits, they said it had no bearing. I had to be rated at that website which means I have to start very, very low and work my way up. I didn’t last long.

Another thing about the bidding sites is that they are a true global market place. A bidder in America might think $50 is a decent starting bid (and good luck getting that one), while a bidder in India or Romania might think $1 or $2 is a decent starting bid. No matter what you bid, there’s always someone willing to go lower. Granted, there are clients who are willing to go higher, but I don’t see clients paying over $10 or $15 as being the norm. Most bidding site clients are looking for the lowest bid possible. Moreover, there are plenty of unrealistic expectations. For example, 100 articles needed in a two week period. A person bidding $2 a pop on 100 articles about anti-freeze isn’t going to put in a best effort. I’d like to submit that bidding sites are a major contributor to poor content on the web, yet I don’t see many people raising torches or pitchforks in front of these castles.

(We”ll be exploring a popular bidding site a little later this week).

3. Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is another way of getting something for nothing. It’s sort of like a big hippie commune of everyone working together to produce a product because of the good vibes. You might see crowdsourcing in action on Twitter or Facebook without even knowing it. Rather than head to the library or even the closest search engine, someone might research by asking questions on the social network and gathering the answers. The problem with this is, many of the responses are long on opinion and not always factually correct. (Don’t come after me, I said, “not always” which is different from “never.)

Crowdsourcing is more than research. There are plenty of people who don’t want to spend money to hire freelancers for design or writing projects and crowdsource instead. The problem here is that the idea of crowdsourcing takes front and center over utilizing qualified people for campaigns and projects. Yeah, I’m all about the social media love, but sometimes I think we take it to the extreme. Not everything has to be so Up with People.

Crowdsourcing can be sort of an open audition. Big corporations are crowdsourcing projects where hundreds of people compete and maybe one person will land a paying (or non-paying) contract. It can also be a call for ideas. For example a business may ask for slogan or design ideas and open up a forum for discussion. They don’t have to hire a team for the creativity and brainstorming process, because folks from all over are offering thoughts for free. Eventually the winning idea will have cost nothing but a little time and web hosting space. With so many people willing to give away their ideas, why not do away with freelancing altogether?

PLR or Private Label Rights Articles

PLR or Private Label Rights articles are inexpensive article packages sold to webmasters and ebook compilers to use as often as they like. This means the same set of ten or twenty articles about dogs can be sold to 25 different people and spun as many ways as possible to produce completely new articles. PLR writers will tell you this is a lucrative package – selling the same ten articles to $25 people for $60 a package but that’s not always the case. Also, since the purchasers now own the rights to spin the content as often as they like, PLR articles are responsible for putting the same bad content out many times over.

Now, like all of the above, not everyone who writes for these sites are hacks producing poor work for little money. My biggest problem is with the article spinning. Even if it’s the greatest writing in the world, do I want to see the same article posted over and over again on the web? Some webmasters only require enough changes for the writing to pass a CopyScape test. They’re looking for inexpensive content, not originality. If we’re going to discuss bland web writing, then why aren’t we talking more about PLR and article spinning?

Why am I talking about this?

I’m tired of the web content site debate. (I know I’m just as guilty as everyone else, but go with me until the end, please. I swear there’s a point to all this.)

Web content sites aren’t the only reason the web is polluted with garbage. Web content sites aren’t the only places that take advantage of writers. I’d like to submit that web content sites are a convenient scapegoat. There are other types of freelance writing sites that we should also discussing with our readers. There are plenty of places that use cheap, poorly written and even plagiarized content. There are plenty of places that don’t pay writers well at all. If we’re going to show anger, let’s give it where it’s deserved.

Lots of places take advantage of writers and cheap content.

Why don’t we talk about them?

10 Turnoffs Keeping Readers from My Blog

Deb Ng — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:30:01 +0000

Reader feedback is a blogger’s most important tool. By reading comments, emails and survey results pertaining to our blog, we’re receiving valuable information. Stats also provide a gold mine of information.

For the most part, the feedback received regarding the Freelance Writing Jobs blog network is extremely positive. However, that doesn’t mean the negative feedback we receive isn’t treated with the same respect. Every comment, every criticism and every stat is given the same consideration.

It’s from our regular survey and from reading feedback regarding this and other blogs that inspired today’s list. If you’re struggling with traffic or you can’t seem to get a regular community together, it may be folks are turned off by something at your blog. Maybe you can learn by some of my mistakes.

Here are some things blog turnoffs I learned over five years of blogging for and running Freelance Writing Jobs.

Disclosure: There are a lot of “I’s” in this post. I made it about me.That’s because I’m speaking about my experience as a blogger. I’m also sharing many personal anecdotes which I hope doesn’t turn into yet another turnoff. This blog has always been about sharing personal (rather than general) experiences.

I hope you’ll also share your experiences and let me know if you agree or disagree.

1. It has no defined purpose

Readers like to come to a blog and know what it’s about. They don’t want to have to search to see if there’s a theme and they don’t want to read a mishmash of ideas each day. They want to know a blog’s purpose. If it’s a personal blog, they expect varied thoughts. If there’s no indication of whether or not your blog is personal , or really what you’re going for, you’re going to lose some very confused readers. We can blog about anything we want. However, if your blog is just disorganized ramblings, it may not make it to the top of the rankings. I once had a blog that was supposed to be about the life of a work at home mom, but turned out to be anything but. It didn’t last long.

2. It doesn’t stay on topic

If your blog is about tomatoes but you spend too much time focusing on your two year old’s potty training, you’re going to lose some people. All bloggers go off topic now and again, and that’s kind of to be expected. When it happens on a regular basis your community might go to a competitor’s blog to learn all the stuff you’re not teaching. If you have trouble finding things to write about in your niche, it’s probably the wrong niche. If you write more about another topic, that’s probably the one you should be going for. All blogs have a niche. If you can’t stay true to your own, your readers won’t stick around.

3.It doesn’t teach

Sometimes blog posts hint at a point but never quite get to it. For example, if I’m going to write posts about freelance writing that talk about writing in a general way but never give you actual tips you can use, you really don’t have a reason to visit. If I wrote a post entitled “How to Land Your First Freelance Writing Job,” but gave a pep talk instead of actual practices to put into play, I’d be pandering to traffic, but I wouldn’t teach. My community would quickly realize that I didn’t have anything to offer. The people who come to this blog want me to help them to become successful freelance writers. They want to leave their office jobs and work at home full time. If I can’t share my methods, they’re going to call b.s. and move on.

4. It’s too negative

Rants are fun. They inspire discussion and bring in traffic. Ranty blog posts have dozens, if not hundreds of comments and everyone wants to weigh in. Who doesn’t love a good rant?

People who see them every day.

Hear me out on this one, I promise this won’t be another kumbaya. If you read this blog for the past few years you’ll know I’ve spoken out against places that offer residual income such as Examiner, Associated Content and eHow. You know that I think residual gigs are not my favorite way to earn an income and very few can make it work. However, my community didn’t appreciate my strong thoughts regarding this and I alienated many.

My community told me they don’t want my venom, they want me to share my tips. No one wants me to tell them I feel they’re making poor choices. So I stopped. I didn’t change my mind, instead I focused my passion on offering tips for success. Now, some of you might be thinking, “Why worry about those writers, they’re not who you’re speaking to anyway.” That’s where you’re wrong, they’re exactly who I’m reaching out to. This blog is for all freelance writers and if I can’t build a welcoming community for all, then I’m not achieving this blog’s goal. The negativity scared people away and that’s why I stopped.

5. It’s too positive

Too much positivity can also be a turnoff and I can speak from experience here too. After taking a vow of positivity this year, I received a flood of criticism. When you’re too positive people don’t feel you’re honestly presenting all sides of the issue. I totally get this. Being around a Perky Polly all day can get a little annoying. I’m not saying I’m going negative because I learned some very good lessons, but balance is always good. If I see something I don’t like, I’ll make it known but I’ll always try to be respectful about it. I don’t think that blogging is about being positive or negative, I think it’s about being human.

6. It’s misleading

Don’t you hate when a headline sucks you in but once you get to the blog post you realize it has no bearing on the headline? People don’t like to be misled. They want the drapes to match the carpet.

7. There’s no clear comment policy

Whenever I discuss a comment policy I receive cries of “censorship!” or “you don’t let people disagree!” Not true at all. I personally feel disagreement makes the world go ’round. However, I don’t believe in anarchy. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with a blogger as long as you’re respectful. When folks start attacking and cursing in the comments, I lose people. I hate “Oh you’re so wonderful and I agree” comments all the time. I enjoy lively discussion and I want comments with substance. “You’re a butthead and don’t know any better” isn’t a good rebuttal, though. If a blog’s comment section is a free for all with all sides hurtling insults, it keeps people away.

8. It’s sponsor driven

Whoa, Nellie. Just back the truck up. Where do I get off talking about sponsor driven blogs when I talk about my own sponsor every day?

Personally, I feel having an obvious sponsor kind of puts me in a perfect position to discuss it.

I can tell you from experience that having an prominent sponsor will turn some people off and drive them away. It can even cause rifts in the community. If you’re going to choose a sponsor make sure you really believe in said sponsor and it’s worth the loss in traffic. I make no bones about it, this blog is heavily monetized and until I can get more personal passive income projects off the ground, it’s going to be heavily monetized. Many other bloggers and community members don’t approve of or agree with this. Before you decide to heavily monetize your blog, remember what happened here.

9. It’s poorly written

I talk about my typos all the time, but a there’s more to a poorly written blog than typos. When words are constantly misspelled and sentences aren’t structured properly, folks notice. I’m called out all the time for not properly proofreading this blog. People notice. Trust me, they notice.

10. Every post is an attempt at link bait

I love writing lists. If you search around this blog, you’ll find tons of them. I don’t necessarily write them as linkbait, but more because I enjoy the list format and try to have a little fun with my writing. Because I make a lot of lists, I’ve been called out as a linkbait whore. I can totally see that. Now before I discuss why this is a turnoff, I want to say that I’m confused at why linkbait is such a terrible thing. I mean, don’t we want traffic and don’t we want other bloggers to link to us? I guess wanting it and being public about are two different things.

A blog’s community wants to feel intimate. They want to be like the small fan base that enjoyed a club band before landing a record contract and going Top 40. They want to feel as if we’re sharing tips and ideas, not looking for traffic and links. In all honesty, I do try and make every post here useful, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want others outside of this community to take notice, either.

Your thoughts?

I used to blog for me, but now I blog for the Freelance Writing Jobs community. Through their valuable feedback I know why they come here – and what keeps them away.

What does your community tell you? What are some of your blog turnoffs? Do you agree with the above?

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