From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
Hey there guys! The newspaper I freelance for (a daily in NYC) is looking for more proofreaders.
The work week is Sunday through Thursday. Day shifts are 1 p.m.-6 p.m., while night shifts are 6 p.m.-10:30/11 p.m. They’re looking for those interested in mostly night shifts.
If anyone is interested, please do e-mail me!
Now that you’re outside the cubicle — that cheerless box that you would futilely attempt to personalize with pithy buttons purchased at Newbury Comics and artsy postcards — perhaps it’s time to indulge in a desk that really reflects your personality.
My pretty pretty website.
After reading a post on website stickiness over at ProBlogger, I spent a good amount of time this past weekend implementing Darren’s tips, in order to make this blog more inviting to readers.
As I uploaded plugin after plugin, and asked my husband to make design tweak after design tweak (I may be his most demanding customer), it occurred to me that a first impression post was in order.
After all, despite our having the ability to wear bunny slippers and fuzzy pants for the bulk of the day, first impressions with prospective clients still count for a lot.
So…what did I learn from the changes I implemented?
Despite not being the most tech-savvy person around, I’ve been working this weekend to deal with some of my theme’s design quirks. With the magic of plugins, and my husband’s web design capabilities, I’ve managed to make some changes that I hope you’ll like.
After reading a ton of Twitter-happy posts over at ProBlogger, I went ahead and opened up my own account. After all, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger believes you can tweet your way to blogging success, while Jen A. Miller showed MediaBistro readers how to twitter in order to promote their books.
I still haven’t gotten the hang of tweeting regularly (or even knowing what’s worth tweeting), but I feel as if Twitter can be an invaluable marketing tool when used in a self-aware and targeted way.
Have any of you used your Twitter accounts to promote a blog or other business? Link to your Twitter profile in the comments!
Since I’ve started freelancing for a living, I’ve screwed myself over multiple times, mostly by undercharging clients.
It never fails. A new possible client asks for my rates, I panic, and then I proceed to sell myself short. I’m still learning, even as I get a firmer grip on market norms, which is why Laurie Lewis’s What To Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants is such a great resource to have on hand.
After the jump, my five favorite things about Ms. Lewis’s book:
As I’ve hopefully established by this point, I’m a full-time freelancer, earning the bulk of my income with blogging and proofreading. My husband, on the other hand, juggles both a full-time copywriting job and freelance web design.
Unsurprisingly, he’s the practical one in this set-up, while I’m the one who just loves taking risks with her career.
As two people who are both pursuing the freelance life — each in their own, special way — our day-to-day requires quite the balancing act.
I’ve always thought that the best part of going back to school was back-to-school shopping.
When I eventually left the classroom behind for the office, things barely changed.
Forget the office supply closet. I brought in my own office supplies, even going so far as to lug in my own, higher-quality three-hole punch.
Now that I have a home office, I feel that my office supplies have no bounds.
I attended my very first Jersey Bloggers meetup just last week, along with my husband, who was attending as part of the Metro NJ PHP Meetup Group, and the Northern NJ MySQL Meetup Group. The three groups apparently rendezvous every month at a local Panera Bread.
I was eager to meet bloggers closer to home. I’ve been attending MediaBistro cocktail parties for years now, and when I had met up with the NY Bloggers Meetup Group, I had met a lot of great people, and even scored a paying gig through one of my new acquaintances!
My NJ meetup, however, ended up being far different from what I had expected.
As Fridays are a cool-down sort of day, I thought I’d designate a weekly coffee break, during which we could discuss a specified topic. This week, I’d like to bring up the challenge of handling business during the holidays.
In the magazine biz, special issues always correspond with seasonal occurrences, resulting in back-to-school issues, or holiday gift guide issues. As a blogger, I have more flexibility in terms of content development (magazines tend to work three to six months in advance), and so take advantage of holidays and events in my various blogs.
For example, this past week, I actually blogged about seasonal content, given the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend.
On another blog, me and my fellow bloggers blogged about “green” products and happy hour possibilities all day long, in honor of St. Patrick’s day. Later that same month, I did a week’s worth of cupcake-related posts in honor of the Martha Stewart-designated Cupcake Week.
How have you guys tied in business with seasonal pleasure?
