Interview with a freelance writer
Donnerstag, 6.August 2009Considering the fact that the global economy is dipping each day, the industrial sector is the one that is hit maximum as far as getting business is concerned. This in turn is affecting their incomes. The employees are being laid-off and basically there is a job massacre. These people are now turning towards freelancing jobs, which are perhaps the best solution to this issue. But there are people who have chosen freelancing out of passion or because of the fact, they were too restricted to move out of the house. The category of “work from home moms” describes this best. Here is an interview of a freelancer who started this because of two main reasons.
How did you start freelancing?
Freelancing came to me by chance. I was earlier working in a 9 to 5 job, which demanded lots of tours to the sites. I was working as a technical writer with a firm that developed e-learning modules for a steel company. So, we had to go to the site of steel operations very frequently. This was a demanding job, more so because I was the team leader who was responsible for delivering the course in a timely manner. All this was taking toll on my health and I was feeling stressed. So I decided to quit and stay at house. Once I was browsing through the net and came across these wonderful websites where I could take up small jobs on contract and deliver them within a relaxed frame of time. All I had to do was become a member of the site and what’s more – the membership was free! At first I was wary, whether the work would actually convert into money. But, when after my initial assignment, I was paid I could trust the site genuinely. So that’s how I entered the world of freelancing – a world of limitless opportunities.
How long are you in this business?
I am in this business from past 3 years. This field has given me immense experience and I feel enriched each day. My general knowledge has increased and now I can talk about almost anything that is under the sky.
Have you had previous experience in writing?
Yes, I was a technical writer in an e-learning company. So that background suited me ideally. In technical writing we are more prone to writing things in a very orderly and logical fashion. But when I started taking up various jobs as a freelancer, I came to the conclusion that there are diverse writing styles that I had to adapt to. Letter writing, sales letter writing, press release writing, landing page writing, blog writing, article writing, web content writing etc are just a few styles that I have learnt and have managed to perfect them. Now my clients come back to me chiefly because of my writing style. My USP is extremely good research.
How did freelancing change your lifestyle?
Freelancing has changed my life to a great extent. After breaking that 9 to 5 regime, I feel more relaxed. I can do work from comforts of my house and also take care of small household things. I consider myself to be financially secure. Also, my communication has improved to a great deal as now I deal with a variety of clients from across the globe. When I was in the office job, I was limited to communicating with people from my country and my culture. But now things have changed drastically. I feel easy to communicate with people from various nationalities.
Another that I have learnt is that any business is based on honesty, integrity and openness. Working in an environment like the internet, is extremely good and important. For me customer satisfaction is very important. So I have amended my nature and have become more patient. I am dedicated to help my clients and this has also affected my lifestyle, whereby I feel more committed to any work that is given to me.
Where do you find most of your clients?
I am a member of 3 freelance websites – Getafreelancer.com, elance.com and odesk.com. So I find most of the clients on these sites only. However, out of these I have been luckiest with getafreelancer.com. This was the first site that I had joined and moved to others much later.
Frankly speaking I am not a member of any of those paid-up sites which ask you to pay a monthly sum compulsorily. I feel they simply con you. Once they have received the money they stop giving you any tips or ideas. Also even though they keep deducting their monthly fee, you actually seem to get into a negative balance because you may not enough projects to even cover your fee!
Has the financial crisis affected your business?
The financial crisis has not affected my business in a negative manner, rather, I have gained. In this global crisis, companies are laying-off their workers and giving their jobs on contracts. This seems to be a better strategy for them as they don’t have to pay regular salaries on monthly basis to the in-house employees. They just give a small amount to the freelancer who is remotely based. They don’t have to bother about his/her medical bill or any other compensation.
Therefore, this is the boom time for the freelancers and I have also been a part of this band wagon.
Do you work as a freelance writer full time?
Yes, I work as a writer on full time basis. Though in future I want to digress and move on to link building and SEO projects. This is because I want to learn more and these fields are more lucrative as they offer great money.
If somebody wants to hire you, where can he find you? Do you have a website?
I don’t have a website, but I have a blog coffeetabletalks-mk.blogspot.com. Whenever, I bid for a project, I do give address of that blog as a reference. This gives my clients an insight on the kind of work I have done in the past.
Writing a Good SEO Article
Dienstag, 28.Juli 2009A good SEO article must fulfil three criteria – give information to the reader, gain good ranking, and increase the backlinks. Simply writing out content to fill your website is not a good practice. Always write good SEO articles by complying with the standards and rules of SEO writing.
There are certain guidelines to write a good SEO article:
1. Primarily, it must provide the correct and relevant information to the reader. It must be in unison with the topic of the article and must be based on facts.
2. Keep an eye on your word count. Do not give a very lengthy write-up.
3. Concentrate on the topic and provide only the required information. So always choose focussed topics for writing, rather than choosing general topics. General topics can evoke disinterest in the readers. If they feel that the information is useful and to the point, the probability of getting backlinks and traffic to your site is more.
4. Always pay attention to the use of the keywords in the article. It must be moderately used. For the sake of ranking, do not overuse it. Use it tactically and where required, so that it doesn’t sound monotonous to the reader.
5. Keyword selection also is an important process in writing a good SEO article. You have to carefully research before choosing the right keyword. This can enhance the visibility of your article on the net. There are keyword research tools available on the net, which can help you in the process.
6. Knowing your audience is an important factor. If you are writing for a topic centred on a blog or a website, stay close to the domain. Never write on contrasting or varied domains. Well, you can add some creativity by linking different topics to your focussed topic. This can attract new readers. Always target readers first and then the search engines.
7. The perfect method to write a good SEO article is by first structuring a good copy with relevant information and then tweaking it to meet the SEO techniques such as keyword insertion and density, titles, tags, and the like. After the first draft, try to make your write-up a bit intriguing and catchy. Add attractive and to-the-point headings. If your title is rich in the relevant keywords, you are sure to get more visitors.
8. You must have heard that in SEO writing, content is the king. If your content is not good enough, your article can get pushed off by the search engines and readers. Concentrate more on improving your content and writing quality stuff. This is an important step in writing a good SEO article. Choose the information to be added and omitted, diligently. Structure your writings to make them more informative and compelling. Choice of words relevant to the domain, technology, or business also is required.
9. Try to follow the ethical SEO techniques to get good and long lasting visitors. If you use unethical practises, you can be banned by the search engines! Avoid using black hat techniques.
10. Meta tags on each page play and important role in a good SEO article. These tags must have a short title and a detailed relevant description.
Follow some basic writing tips for polishing your article. Check if your article has a flow in it. One point must lead to the next. The reader must not feel a jerk when reading the next point. The flow must be continuous. Take your time to write. Do not hurry and mess it up. Write relaxed. And don’t worry if it doesn’t come well in the first round. You can do a second good draft! Re-read your article and restructure it. Rephrase sentences in better ways. Edit and proofread it. Check for mistakes and errors. If required re-edit it. By following these tips, your quality of writing will definitely increase. So you can go ahead and start writing, well!
Making Clients Pay Your Price Quote
Mittwoch, 22.Juli 2009If you are a freelancer, be it any field, you will have to handle your clients by self always. It can be in matters of the price quote, quality of work, delivery date, and anything else related to the project. Quoting a price for the service you offer and making the client agree to it is hard at times. It becomes the more difficult when the client is new in the business and don’t know the various aspects of the service you provide. You may be an experienced professional in the domain and your services may not be like the others. In these situations, the clients may not quote a budget in the first instance, instead ask you to quote one.
If you feel that the business is really tempting, there are certain ways to convince your client to pay you more than what they agree for. You can reduce some additional services you provide in your usual work and simply just cater specifically to their needs alone and work for a lower price suiting you. Or instead of the overall estimate, you can go for an hourly pay. But before opting for this, work out a rough estimate of the time required to complete the work.
Never lose your professional ethics and go for a bargain. Tell them what your services are and stay fixed to your quote. If the client is really interested in quality work, they will fall in for your professional attitude and work. But you must be sure that your quote is realistic and in balance with the other service providers in the industry. Otherwise you can be sidelined as too expensive and they may seek new professionals.
If the client is not willing to pay you your price, spend a little more time with them. Show them a few of your works. Tell them how it has impacted the client’s business and the positive reviews received for the work. Give them time to browse through your work, see every aspect of it, and understand for themselves why you are expensive! By this they will have an opportunity to understand that you are not simply fluffing about your work. But you are indeed worth the price they pay.
Sometimes a promising client may agree that your works are superb and you are the one in demand, but may disagree with the dealing stating that the rate is too high for them. If you feel that the client is one probable of gaining you more good businesses, don’t turn down the offer. Take some time and think about it. You may be capable of doing some adjustments in your service. Lower your rate a bit. Be sure that you don’t go in completely with their offer. Maintain a stand that you are lowering it for the client’s sake. Discuss the work with the client and work out a schedule such that you do not spend time more than required, for this one project. That saved hours can be spend on other profitable projects.
There is another possible way of getting your clients agree to your rate. Apart from the regular services you provide for the mentioned quote, add in one or two more. For example, if you are a web designer and the client wants a website for their new product, make a combo deal for them. Offer to design the logo along with the website. Convince them on how is it profitable for them to make you design the logo than going for a new designer who may charge extra. Clubbing offers and services always work. But you must be good enough in the extra services you provide as well. Extending the services is also good at times. You can extend the service by signing up a contract for a period or so.
There are certain tips to add the professionalism to your services so that clients will not reject you for your expensive rate. Be an expert in what you do. Instead of doing too many things, concentrate on that one or two things you do. This can make your work highly sought after. Keep improving your skills by advancing with the technology and attending workshops in your field. Maintain some high profile clients in client list. This will automatically increase your market value. Follow professional ethics and guidelines in the work you do. If you follow these things in your profession, clients will certain agree to pay you what you charge. And always keep your rates offered to a specific client confidential. Never disclose rate matters to other clients.
You can also use a psychological approach to make your client pay the reasonable amount you demand. Never get into an argument with a client or get irritated when they say you are expensive. Stay calm. If you get irritated, you are spoiling the business. Give your best behaviour to them. Rather than talking strictly on the business lines, try to be a bit casual. Speak about the trends and advancements in the field and get a bit friendly. Finally make your quote. They would not be able to deny you.
Give them good ideas and tell them the different ways in which the idea can be expressed. But do not give them too much of detail. The client must get the idea clearly across that you are definitely capable of doing the job and has lots of ideas. This will make the client feel that paying a bit more than the budget is indeed worth. Sometimes, instead of saying a round figure in the first go, split the charges in your invoice. Tell them what each sub-service would cost them and make them understand the importance of each unit. If the client does not require a particular sub-service, just remove it. But in this method, identify those sub-services which are the most important and charge them accordingly. This way you can charge the client directly for each single work you do to complete the project.
Freelancing Guide For Beginners
Mittwoch, 15.Juli 2009Working as a freelancer is synonymous to working independently within the realms of your own house with your own set of working hours. As a freelancer, you are your own boss wherein you get to decide your own income and the quantity of work that you would like to undertake. There is no physical presence of a boss figure doting over your work after every hour. Freelancing is the best available option to make some extra money apart from your salary.
Here are some of the steps that would help you establish yourself as a potential freelancer:
Primarily, it is imperative to decide on what service would like to freelance. There is a wide range of options like copywriting, creative writing, sales, marketing, photography etc. You have to analyze your best skills and choose an appropriate stream. You may work using your own name or work under the name of your business enterprise. There is no need for registering a license to work as a freelancer.
Then decide ways to promote yourself to potential clients across the world. This is one of the most important steps as the market you are about to make your foray into is immensely competitive. You need to make sure that you make your presence felt among the crowd of many established freelancers. Build a credible portfolio that contains records of your best work. Mention names of few references on which your prospective employers can confirm back your skills. Leave your contact details and business address for enabling further communications with your client. Many freelancers build their own websites to maintain records of their previous work and timely update them with their latest assignments.
Many freelance job websites help buyers to post their projects for outsourcing. Many prospective freelancers who are looking for part-time job opportunities visit these websites. As a freelancer, you are given independence of choosing your own desirable project, which you think precisely, matches your expertise. Prepare a list of such freelance job websites and register with them. You will be required to create your portfolio with site and enter your qualifications. Now, it is very important to build an impressive portfolio informing your employment details and best of your work samples. While registration with most of these sites is free, a few sites might charge a nominal amount. Some of the most popular freelance job websites to look for are craigslist.com, elance.com, guru.com, rentacoder.com.
Then, decide on the amount of money you would like to draw. The rule is simple. The amount of figure you want to fetch is directly proportional to the quantity of work you would be required to undertake. Make sure that you agree on the quantity of work that leaves you enough time for yourself as well. Follow all the deadlines to cast a good impression on your employer so that he may consider you again for his future endeavors.
Freelancing is a great way of giving you exposure to a variety of other projects posted by a client. It is a good beginning to gaining a valuable experience in servicing a client, albeit at the comfort of your home.
Freelance and Unemployment
Dienstag, 7.Juli 2009With global recession and bad economies affecting people worldwide, being unemployed can be a very stressful concept to deal with. Well, there are ways to make money while you are unemployed to keep your bills paid. The most popular of these is Freelancing. Freelancing is one of the most popular ways that people are making money while they are unemployed, to-date. It involves various facets of profession. It, basically depends on your specialty area. Freelance jobs are open to people who can design web pages, do photography, be a telemarketer, writers, as well as a professional web coder among many others. However, there are some things that you have to take into consideration, if you want to become a freelance worker.
First, you will need to make sure you have money set aside till you begin to make an income. With freelancing, you can create an income within one week if you put a lot of time and effort into it. Another thing, which you should be aware of as far as the money issue, is concerned, is that some of the sites such as freelancehomewriters.com will ask you for a small start up fee. Alternatively, they take commissions on every income you make.
Yet another aspect that you should concentrate on is about creating a profile. A profile is samples of work that you have done, along with your strengths and qualifications that indicate that you are the right person for the job intended. People who offer jobs on contract to freelancers will ask for these samples to judge if you are the right person for their project. All the companies that are looking for freelancers ask for samples of your work in order to know your depth.
Another aspect of freelancing is that you need to consider where to locate the work. There are many sites available on the internet today – Scriptlance.com, guru.com, getafreelancer.com are some of the most popular freelance sites. With these sites, you will look for jobs in your field of freelance expertise and bid on them. Another site to check out for great freelance jobs is O-Desk. O-Desk is a great freelance site for those that are looking on the more professional side of the freelance spectrum. One thing to note though is you will need to take an entry test before you will be allowed to bid on any of the jobs that are available. Finally, one greater site for you to check out is Guru.com. This is a great freelance site, all you have to do is set up a profile and the companies that are looking for freelance work will search through those profiles to find the ones that will be able to give them professional work. This is just a small sample of the freelance companies that are mentioned over here. You can find others by typing in freelance into your favorite search engine.
You can make a great income with freelancing if you have the potential and a little time and energy.
Starting As A Freelance Writer
Donnerstag, 25.Juni 2009Becoming a freelance home writer can be a fun and challenging career. From personal experience, freelancing is a great way for someone to supplement his or her income or you can even make it full time. You do not need a lot of experience either. All you need to do is build a client base and from experience the happier, your clients are the better off you will be. There are other factors to consider though when starting your own home based freelance writing career.
Work ethic
Freelance writers work on deadlines. You must meet these deadlines but you must meet them ethically. You cannot just simply locate an article on the subject you are working on, copy, and paste it. This is both unethical and illegal. You must also be willing to work hard while following your ethics. If you are not willing to work hard then this will not be a career for you. You must also be willing to pitch in when your client needs you. If someone is unable to finish the work in time, offer to take it over. This will build your work ethic as a hardworking freelance writer.
Writing skills
You do not need a degree in writing to get a job as a freelance home writer, but you do need to have a basic knowledge of writing in a professional manner. The more professional your writing appears the better you look. You also need to either know how to spell well or have a good spell check program. When you turn an article in that has spelling errors it makes you look non-committed and it is unprofessional.
Find a mentor
A mentor that is already in the freelance home writing business will be able to offer you advice on how to get started and what you will need to do. From experience, your first mentor may even be your first client. They will assist you in being your best and improving your skills. If your mentor does happen to be your first client listen to their criticism and suggestions, they will help you in the long run.
Have samples
Having samples will help you land the jobs. The more professional appearance that your sample portrays the better chance you will get the job.
These are just a few things that you should do to get started with if you want to become a freelance home writer. The others will come to you as you go along. A great place to check out to start your career would be freelancehomewriters.com. This site offers several different sites inside their program that can help you get started with your freelance career.
No matter what the reason is that you wish to start your freelance home writing career – it is a great career to have. Where else can you go to work with a cup of coffee and in your pajamas? The advantage of working in your own hours is the greatest advantage. However, bear in mind that sometimes you have to work according to your client’s hours too!