Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career – Freelancing
Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career
Yuwanda Black
For the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too!, I asked ten questions of freelancers who were living their dream life. Following are some of their answers. They cover successful marketing techniques, how to get clients and more!
1. Why did you start freelancing Yuwanda Black, Writer, Editor, Small Business Columnist
My sister and I worked at the same company. We were freelancing on the side. Once we realized that we were making more as freelancers than as full-time employees, she quit and started Inkwell Editorial. Once the business was able to support two salaries, I joined her, which was one year later 1997.
2. How long have you been a full-time freelancer Eileen Coale: Marketing & Corporate Communications Writer
I dont work full time. On average, I work about 15 hours a week, sometimes a bit more. I work mornings until my youngest gets home from kindergarten, and sometimes Ill put in evenings and Saturdays as well. Sixty to 70% of my work hours are spent networking and marketing to get assignments. The remainder is spent writing. In another year or two, I expect that ratio to flip.
3. How many years of experience do you have Marcy L. Brown: Cataloging, Indexing & Information Management
I have five part-time years of indexing, but 10 years of library employment including cataloging, some indexing, and information management.
4. Do you specialize in a certain area, e.g., legal, medical, production If so, what Cathy Moore: Writer, Instructional & Marketing Copy
Instructional writing and marketing copy. I write appealing text for any readability level, including kids.
5. What specific marketing tips have you personally tried that worked Jennifer Lawler: Writer, Editor
I tried a direct mail letter to editors that included the type of editing I could do, a few companies I had worked for, and my business card printed in such a way that it could be popped right onto someones rolodex. This letter generated so much business for me that I never had to do another direct mail package.
6. How do you get most of your clients Katharine OMoore-Klopf: Editor, Copy Editor, Factchecker
When I first started freelancing, I got them mostly by word of mouth, and some were former employers. Now, I get them mostly by word of mouth and via my Web site.
7. Under what circumstances would you turn down work Jennifer Dirks: Journalist, Editor, Writer, Speaker
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Starting an On-Line Home Business – Affiliate Programs
Starting an On-Line Home Business
John Baker
When looking for a business on the internet you should consider a number of things. One thing is stability- with many scams on the internet you should look for a business that has been around a few years. Another is to see how many members they have. Is it free to join, or how much to join, before you invest to much time and money Also will they offer free support and training
Next, you will want to invest in your own website. There are many businesses that offer domain names, websites, and hosting accounts free, or for a small fee. Once you have your site up and running, you will want to submit your website to a search engine.
Then you will want to add link pages to your site, this will help your rank with the search-engines. This will take some time, but it is free. You will want to exchange links with at least 100 sites that are similar or related to your site. This will help you move up the search-engine page ranking, giving you more traffic, which equals more sign-ups and more sells. Most websites have - a link to us - or similar page making it fairly easy to do. Also articles like this, related to your business, will add content to your site. The search engines love content, thus sending visitors directly to your article pages. Those visitors may then visit the rest of your site that makes you money.
You may then want to sign-up with an affiliate program, like ClickBank or Commission Junction, so that you have more than one source of revenue. Be careful to balance the affiliate programs without taking away from your main initial business. Be patient. Youll work the hardest the first few months. Nothing great happens overnight! With some work, planning, and learning, you are on your way to success.
This article may be reprinted providing it is published in its entirety, including the authors bio and link to the URL below.
About The Author
The author, John Baker, is the editor/owner of best-home-business-ideas.net A website dedicated to making money and starting a home business. For more free info please visit: http://www.best-home-business-ideas.net
jbaker10@swfla.rr.com
Starting a Teen Book Study Group – Kids
Starting a Teen Book Study Group
Rachel Paxton
If youre looking for a way to connect with your teenage daughter this summer, consider starting a girls book study group with your daughter and her friends.
You may think that teens would not respond well to this idea, but think again...you just might be surprised.
First bounce the idea off your daughter and see what her thoughts are on the subject. If she shows any sign of interest, then brainstorm some possible book titles and/or topics. When my daughter and I started our group last summer, we had in mind to get some girls together from our churchs high school youth group. So we talked about some of the books that people were reading at the time.
Next my daughter started calling her friends and acquaintances to see who she could interest in the idea. Almost everyone she talked to was interested in coming and liked the idea, but many were already busy with other summer activities. We narrowed the list to around four or five who committed to reading the book and getting together to talk about it. We all gave input into which book we wanted to read, and ended up with "Whats So Amazing About Grace" a popular non-fiction book by Phillip Yancey.
I broke the book down into three- to four-chapter sections, and we decided to meet Wednesday evenings for six weeks. Overall, the study went very well, and it was very rewarding. We all have fond memories of it, and it was great to spend that quality time with my daughter.
If you think this is something you might be interested in doing, here are some tips I picked up along the way:
Dont take it personally if everyone doesnt come every week. Everyone has busy schedules and conflicts arise. Probably only one or two girls came every single week, even my daughter missed at least one. Youll find that conversations can greatly differ depending on the mix of girls, which is good!
Meet in a low-key, relaxed setting so everyone is comfortable and doesnt feel like theyre in a classroom. We took blankets to sit on down to a local park and had snacks every week.
Dont pressure yourself into having to "lead" the group. Youre not there to teach them, but only to facilitate the conversation. I found it helpful to choose a book that included group study questions. Some books have the questions in the back. This particular book had a companion study guide that had to be purchased separately. Just let the girls talk, and ask questions if there is a big lull in the conversation. Although you might be tempted to challenge "wrong" answers, let the girls challenge each other first and see what conclusions they come to. It is rare that youll have to intercede. Instead of challenging someone directly, ask them more questions to help them reach a another answer.
On the same note as the last point, dont feel you have to give advice or have all the right answers. Most teenagers love having someone, particularly adults, listen to their thoughts and feelings. They dont expect you to know everything, they just want you to listen. Youll find that the teens come from all different family backgrounds and dont always have other people to listen to them when they need to talk.
Encourage girls to come to the discussions even if they didnt do their reading for the week. Youll find that most are embarrassed if they didnt do their "homework" and dont want to show up. Encourage them to come even if they didnt read it, to encourage fellowship among the girls.
Dads can have book study groups with their teenage sons and their friends too! They may need to goof around some more and maybe burn off some energy before they get down to business some kind of outdoor activity, but teenage guys like to get together and learn from each other also.
A book study group is a great way to get to know some of your teenagers friends. Encourage them to also invite people they dont know very well...people from school or work who they want to get to know better. Its a great way to make that first step towards friendship and teaches them to reach out to others.
About The Author
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of Whats for Dinner, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.