How To Keep Up the Momentum During the Holidays

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been seeing it a lot lately. Fellow freelancers tweeting out that their calendars have opened up enough to allow for new business. I did it myself just last week.

Is it something in the air? Have our work cycles somehow become synced up? Are all of our regular clients just too damn busy stringing up twinkle lights and hanging stockings to bother with assigning out new work?

Part of it is the conclusion of another fiscal year. Large projects are ending. Annual budgets are drying up. Clients are holding back until 2012… fiddling with their editorial calendars… treading water until they feel safe spending money again.

Another part of it is Holiday Brain. Between all of those projects we just wrapped up, all of those pound cakes and soups we just made for Thanksgiving, and all of that holiday shopping we now have to do, we completely forgot about marketing ourselves. I mean, who has time to hustle when there are catnip candy canes and glittery tree ornaments to be bought!?

Unfortunately, considering how much money we tend to spend during the holiday season (buying a third ceramic Christmas tree was totally worth it), we need new income now more than ever.

So how can you make the holidays work for you? [Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing, productivity Tagged With: , , ,

Your Online Platform: A Checklist of Website Essentials

November 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

I'm in love with my website. Is that conceited?

Earlier this year, I blogged about whether or not an editor would judge you if you didn’t have some sort of online platform. (Short answer: Yes.)

Since then, several clients have asked me for help in overhauling their own professional sites.

Which can be difficult. A website is a very personal thing. There’s no one right way to do it. It’s up to you to surf the web and bookmark examples of websites you like, making notes on what works and what doesn’t, and drawing up wish lists of your must-have features.

It’s also up to you to figure out what message you’re trying to convey (unless, of course, you hire a branding consultant).

What I can do is provide freelancers with a handy checklist of the basics they should include on their professional site. [Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing Tagged With: , ,

The LinkedIn Lowdown: How To Pump Up Your Social Media Campaign

September 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

I'm quoted in here, yo.

I create content for online magazines. I blog here at Freelancedom. I spend way too much time on Twitter. I get all my news from whatever I happen to be subscribed to in Google Reader. I spend my days seated in front of this laptop and, when my phone rings, I get confused. Why didn’t they just text or email? I wonder. (God I’m a recluse.)

My husband, meanwhile, works full-time for SocialFlow, a social media startup that optimizes tweets. He has a web development business on the side. He’s always glued to his Droid, and he uses Foursquare even when we’re at the goddamn recycling center.

His best friend says we’re “so Web 2.0.”

Yet I avoid Facebook. I’m not as active on LinkedIn as I should be. And when Google+ launched, I wanted to flee the country (or at least my inbox). Am I missing marketing opportunities?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: book review, marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How To Put Together A Kick-Ass Press Kit

May 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

The following is an excerpt from Cinnamon McCann’s Self-Publishing in Stilettos.

In reading through my review copy, I felt that the step-by-step, how-to content was definitely valuable for anyone considering the self-publication route. But what I was most struck by was the section on press kits and press releases, as putting these together is something I feel many freelancers don’t know a lot about. And if you’re trying to promote an information product, a copywriting biz, or any other type of product or service, it can be an important skill to have.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: book review, marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Will An Editor Judge You If You Don’t Have An Online Platform?

May 6, 2011 By 4 Comments

Yes. She is quietly judging you.

 

As a writer, do you need to have a website or blog?

It’s a question I’m asked pretty regularly by coaching clients, blog readers, and other freelance writers.

My response? Well, I can’t speak for all editors out there but, during my time fielding intern and blogger applications, and freelance queries, I always did the same thing.

If a website, blog, or Twitter URL did not appear as part of the writer’s email signature, I immediately googled their name so as to find it myself.

And if I didn’t find it?

I immediately questioned the abilities of the writer.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Jenny Foss Reveals The Secret To Freelance Resume Success

April 4, 2011 By 2 Comments

Though this blog is all about freelancing, it’s become clear to me over the past eight years that freelancing doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition.

In fact, my own career has taken on a variety of slash career permutations. I’ve done freelance writing and editing while working full-time in the book publishing industry. I’ve juggled part-time permalance gigs with freelance projects and internships. And now I’m a full-time freelance sex writing, funeral singing career coach to word nerds.

I love having that variety, but doing so many things has made it difficult to build one, cohesive platform.

Which is why I approached Jenny Foss — founder of her own recruiting agency, resume guru, job search consultant, and author of To Whom It May Concern: Or, How To Stop Sucking at Your Job Search – and asked her to give my resume a major overhaul.

After she created a resume for me that made me want to make out with myself, it occurred to me that she might have more insight to share in terms of creating a cohesive marketing platform as a freelancer.

So I put on mascara and interviewed Jenny (also known as @JobJenny) via Skype video chat.

You’re welcome.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing, words of wisdom Tagged With: , , , , ,

How To Throw An Event That Rocks The House

November 24, 2010 By 6 Comments

A Dramatic Reenactment of the Entrance to Word Nerd Networking

Last week, about 75 people crammed themselves into a small back room at the Galway Hooker for an event I’d planned with the fantabulous Marian Schembari.

Needless to say, I was shocked. It was my very first foray into event planning, and I had assumed we’d be lucky if even five people bought tickets.

But apparently, we had hit upon a real need amongst word nerdy types.

In the end, the event was a success. People raved to me about the great conversations they’d had, and the connections they’d made. They even asked me when the next event was taking place! (To which I began laughing maniacally because I was having a nervous breakdown… you’ll soon see why…)

Still — as I assume happens with most events of this sort — not everything went smoothly.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing, networking Tagged With: , , , ,

10 Ways To Prove Experience… Without Any

August 25, 2010 By 4 Comments

press passSeveral months ago,  I asked for your burning, publishing-related questions. In response, Alisa Bowman — a fellow blogger — mentioned that she was constantly being asked how to prove credibility and experience when just starting out:

“You need experience and contacts in order to get assignments and jobs, but how do you do that when you are right out of school?”

It’s a good question, especially considering that — when at a loss for how to move forward — many college grads consider just staying in school and pursuing a graduate degree.

I’m of the mind, however, that getting your Masters degree isn’t a necessity. Rather, I think it’s better to dive right in, instead of spending countless hours (and dollars) in a classroom environment.

So how do you prove your credibility when you don’t have a lick of experience?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

How To Market The Crap Out Of Yourself

August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I recently watched a video by very talented lady Marie Forleo, in which she touted the importance of marketing above all other things — even more important than product.

Say what?

Come on. It makes perfect sense. As Forleo pointed out, you can have the most high-quality product in the world but, unless people know about it, your business is sunk.

Many of us dread marketing as a necessary evil. I know I did. I wanted nothing more than to just practice my art. But recently, I found myself in the middle of some great brainstorming sessions, and I also had a blast writing up my marketing plan. And now? I’m eager to finally put that plan into action.

Have you written up a marketing plan yet? Why not!? Even if you’re not launching a fancy-pants career coaching practice or consulting business, your freelance business could still benefit. And it’s not scary at all! I swear!

Here. I’ll walk you through it.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: marketing, preparation Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bring In New Projects Without Lifting a Finger

July 29, 2010 By 22 Comments

Things have been awesomer than usual lately, and that’s a relief.

Because 2009 was a rough one.

This time last year, it seemed that — no matter how desperately I looked — it was impossible to find paying work.

But then, at the end of 2009, shortly after I had started a new part-time job at YourTango, Ian Kerner contacted me about co-writing an ebook with him for his new Good In Bed web project. Several months later, I was contacted by someone at AOL’s Patch about copy editing. The other month, an editor at The Frisky asked me if I’d be interested in writing a regular sex column for them. And then, the other week, someone at Psych Central e-mailed me, asking if I would be interested in writing for their site, as one of their editors had seen my LoveMom piece on depression, and had been impressed.

I’m not trying to gloat (though sometimes I like to point at my husband and say neener-neener). I’m just sayin’… it’s totally possible to bring in new projects without lifting a finger. How?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income, marketing, networking, productivity Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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