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Do you remember that episode of Gilligan’s Island when Gilligan discovered a bush on the island with seeds that make it possible to read minds?
No? Well, I do. And it was a disaster.
At first, it was an amusing trick. But pretty soon, when everyone knew what everyone else was really thinking about them, it got nasty. Even Mary Ann got pissed off.
Well, I think it’s for the best that we can’t read minds. Too much truth isn’t good for anyone.
But it would be nice if you could swallow just one little mind reading seed to get a taste of what some of your clients might be thinking about you.
Would you like to give that a try? Here we go …
CrowdSPRING cattle call: “Work for FREE, suckers!”
If you’re a designer, you’ve probably heard of CrowdSPRING. If you’re a writer, you’re going to hear of them soon.
They’ve been around since 2008 and have billed themselves as a way for freelance designers to access a worldwide market, and an affordable way for small and medium-sized businesses to get logos and graphic design quickly and affordably. Now they’re expanding into freelance writing services.
Sounds great, right? That depends on your point of view.
From the point of view of hobbyists, stay-at-home-moms, out-of-work creatives, students, and desperate freelancers, CrowdSPRING probably sounds like a pretty good idea. From the point of view of a professional, the idea is pernicious and borderline unethical.
What CrowdSPRING is really doing is sounding a freelance cattle. They’re automating the spec work concept. They want to convince you to work for free … and like it!
Here’s how it works.
11 quick ways to kickstart your slow freelance business
How long has it been since someone called with a paying project? A week? Two? Welcome to the life of freelance copywriting.
Unpredictable workflow goes with the territory. One week you’re scrambling to write all the sales letters, brochures, and web pages you’ve been hire for, the next you’re knocking around in your skanky old bathrobe waiting for the phone to ring.
Don’t worry about it. Even the very best freelancers go through times when business is slow. Depending on your reasons for freelancing, you might even consider these mini-vacations a perk.
Then again, if you’re like me, those occasional slow periods can also freak you out. Sure, I have plenty of money in the bank to tide me over, but I’m happier when I’m working. And frankly, so is my wife. She is no fan of that skanky old bathrobe.
So what can you do?
Down time gives you the ideal opportunity to do a little marketing. In fact, there are some quick and easy ways to kickstart your slow freelance business and generate paying copywriting projects.
Translating freelance “Client Speak” into plain English
Freelance copywriters face many challenges, especially when they just start out. One of those challenges is understanding the special language used by business clients, which I call “Client Speak.”
Client Speak shares many common traits with standard English, with one notable exception: All the words have a different meaning.
This may sound like it would cause confusion. But all it takes is a little experience, and you’ll be able to translate Client Speak all on your own.
Here are just a few examples of common phrases and their English translations.
“We’ve already invested a lot in this.”
Translation: We’ve wasted a pile of money on cheap writers and trying to do it ourselves. We’re screwed. I mean, totally screwed. Now we’re looking for someone with serious expertise to save our ass for dirt cheap.
Are you making this career-killing freelance mistake?
Freelancing is a seat-of-the pants operation. You can buy a dozen ebooks and attend every freelance seminar that comes along. But in the end, you have to figure out how to make it work for you.
And you’re going to make mistakes. Lots of mistakes.
Fortunately, most of those mistakes are little ones, such as buying the wrong printer or under-pricing a project.
But there’s one mistake you don’t want to make, because it’s a doozy. In fact, it can be a freelance career killer. Yes, you can recover from it if you discover it soon enough. But it’s better to avoid it altogether because of the misery it brings.
What is this deadly freelance mistake? It’s all about how you answer a simple question: As a freelance copywriter, do you sell a product or sell a service?
The wrong answer will lead you down a difficult career path. It will get you involved with the wrong clients, create the wrong kind of reputation, destroy your self-confidence, and crush your paycheck.
11 insider secrets for becoming a freelance pro
Most writers are trained to think in terms of putting in 40 hours a week and taking home a paycheck. But to succeed as a freelance copywriter, you must make a shift from the paycheck mentality to the professional mentality.
There’s a lot of information out there about freelancing, but not all of it is helpful for making a living as a freelance copywriter. Here are 11 “insider” secrets I’ve found that make the difference between the freelance hobbyist and the freelance professional.
1. Think like a professional. Whether you want to earn a little extra income on the side or go full-blown freelance, you should consider yourself in the same class as all other professionals, worthy of the same respect and income.
2. Ignore most of the advice from the freelance “industry.” Many magazines, books, and online sources give bad advice for those wanting to make money at freelancing. You must carefully weigh the advice you get, choosing to follow only what you know will further your business interests.
How I gave my freelance website a profitable makeover
Freelance Websites — Part 5
You’ve heard the saying about the cobbler having holes in his shoes, right? Likewise, business people are often the last to take their own marketing advice. And I’m as guilty as they come.
A few years ago, I dumped my dorky old website and created a new site from scratch. Yes, I did it all myself. I wanted to learn HTML and other Web stuff because I knew this would become more important in my line of work.
So I bought a book on HTML, sketched ideas for my site, created graphics, took photos, did a little Photoshop magic, and cranked out a new site. It was light-years ahead of my previous site and began generating business right away.
I found that it did its job so well, I no longer had to send out samples or answer a lot of questions when potential clients called me. They were pre-sold and ready to do business.
What a successful freelance website looks like
Freelance Websites — Part 4
A website is a reflection of the person who created it.
When you see a disorganized site, you can infer that the owner is disorganized. When you see a site that is loaded with useful, relevant, information, you can infer that the owner is concerned about the needs of clients.
For many people, the Web has become their face to the world. It is far more expressive and revealing than anyone could have imagined when it was being created years ago in a university as a way to share academic information.
Back then, it didn’t matter what you posted. Only a select group would see it. But about 15 years ago, when people began commercializing the Web and opening it up to the general public, everything changed.
What you post now can be seen by millions all over the world. You can get more exposure on a website than you can appearing on the evening news.
8 website elements that generate freelance business
Freelance Websites — Part 3
Different freelancers take different approaches to creating websites.
One will produce a huge site crammed with information, such as articles and checklists. Another will include lots of interactivity, such as polls or a blog. Another will want a site highlighting vast experience, showing impressive samples and results.
The diversity is good. Your site should fit your own specialty, personality, and the expectations of your prospective clients.
But the common thread running through all freelance sites is that they are (or should be) geared for generating work for your professional freelance practice. However, thinking “business” is usually the hardest part of freelancing for most people.
Are you making these 7 freelance website mistakes?
Freelance Websites — Part 2
We are in the middle of a publishing and communications revolution. There has never been a time when it was easier or cheaper to put your message in front of a large audience.
Add to this the connectivity and search capabilities provided by the Internet, and the possibilities for generating business for your freelance practice are staggering.
In a desk drawer, I have what remains of a box of floppy disks I purchased about 15 years ago. I have no use for them now, but they were vital back then. As a freelance copywriter, it was the only way for me to send digital files to clients. I would save a file to the disk, put the disk in an envelope, and mail it. Two or three days later, the client would receive the disk.
My fax machine and phone were a lot more important then too. I would fax documents daily during a project. And communicating with a client meant calling their office (this was before cell phones were nearly universal) and usually leaving a message on a “machine” if the line wasn’t busy (this was also before voice mail was popular).
