Experiences

Fascinating lack of understanding

There is a stunning lack of knowledge among freelance writers who write for content farms. Yes, I called them content farms because that is what they are. It is irrelevant what site you write for, they are all content farms. The “real” definition of a content farm is a site that invites writers to submit content for either upfront payments or ongoing revenue. Unless 100% of your revenue as a freelance writer is for private clients who request specific content for their sites, as I said back in March, chances are that you’re writing for a content farm. There is...

Are you tired of the belly-aching that goes on? Those who don’t read (or understand) the Terms of Service on various websites, annoyed because you thought you had gained all this traffic and lo and behold it is almost always spam? The “something for nothing” crowd? Do I have to keep going? You get the picture! Follow me! Terms of Service Matter! Whining doesn’t help Terms of Service violations irritate me. They irritate me because most of the time people have not bothered to read them. I am not talking about people who just casually pop onto a website to purchase a...

Until recently, I have avoided naming or calling out any specific business entities outside of doing reviews of specific writing sites which many of you have read, emailed me about and even pursued. Recently I did a “scam alert” post primarily because I was getting fed up to my eyeballs after receiving numerous emails in a week from this dishonest person. However, today I’m posting here because I want to offer thanks and kudos for a company that exceeded my expectations! Some of you may be aware that I’m a great believer in Private Label Rights articles. I don’t generally...

It is really easy to get going for the new year without setting up any definitive plans for the new year. After all, freelancing is all about having the freedom to pursue whatever work comes that is attractive. This might be a plan that will work out, but for most freelance writers, it is probably not the best plan in the world. Setting up firm writing plans have some positive effects on the way that a freelancer approaches what they do. Here are some of the reasons why writing plans matter. Writing plans matter for income Writing plans matter because if...

Freelance writing income you might be missing Part I

Thousands of freelance writing professionals may be letting money slip right through their fingers! Make no mistake about it, freelancing takes long hours, patience and persistence. However, if you are not taking advantage of many of the available opportunities available to you to increase your freelance writing income, you may be suffering from what I call ‘escaping income’. This is money that is to be earned regularly by taking part in some really simple things that you could be doing to make more money from your work! Here are just a few ways where you can make additional money...

It’s Saturday and if you are like most freelancers, you are probably working versus spending time with your family. There are some things that you have to be careful of – don’t burn yourself out. If you don’t take time to spend with friends and family, your freelancing could wind up being a source of additional stress. Taking time off is hard to do when you have customers who are clamoring for you to do work for them (ah the price we pay for being good at our work!) but that doesn’t mean you...

Let’s have some fun with this. Have you had one client that no matter what you could not make them happy? Have a client that just went over the top? Share your Freelancing nightmare tale here! My story: One of my first clients (before I knew much about freelancing) was a person who required me to stay ‘hooked up’ to Skype through the ‘shift’ I was working for him. He talked to me through meals, exercising and other ‘chores’. Richest part: This person was advertising for someone to help with ‘household and office tasks’ (including his laundry) and offering $17 per hour...

Building your freelancing network means so much more than adding new clients. In fact, you should have a network that encompasses a diverse group of clients, fellow freelancers, social networking contacts and others. While this may sound complex, it really is not that difficult to build a strong network of contacts when you are freelancing. Here are some of the opportunities that are available to you. 1. Forums – There are countless opportunities for freelancing professionals to get involved in forums. These forums can help you understand challenges that other freelancing professionals are facing as well as provide helpful and...

Maximize your freelancing earnings by using these smart sites.

Freelancing professionals are responsible for their own destiny. In many cases, things do not always work out the way they anticipate. Fortunately, there are a number of opportunities for the freelancing professional to get an edge up on their competition. This is often critical when establishing their freelancing rates. Promote quality If you are capable of providing consistently high quality work, it’s important when you are negotiating with a new client, that you emphasize this feature. Regardless of the type of freelancing assignment you are taking on, quality does matter. Most buyers are willing to pay a little bit more, if...

Ask anyone who freelances regularly, and more than likely you’ll discover that they find themselves wasting time in spite of themselves. Procrastination comes in many forms. Freelancers and anyone else who works at home, often find they have wasted time and then not even sure where it went. Managing procrastination One of the biggest challenges when freelancing, is making sure that you manage your time correctly. Not only will this have a direct impact on your earnings, it can also reflect in the quality of your work. The reason that procrastination can have a direct impact on your work, is that...

Negotiating additional work with clients

What is it about some clients that makes them think a freelance writer should work for peanuts, and take on responsibilities way beyond the scope of the assignment? Sad to say, but in most cases, it’s us. The freelance writers, who fail to stipulate the terms of our agreement properly before beginning work. We’re also often all too eager to please, and stretch the boundaries of what we will and won’t do just to keep the client happy. Your clients, understandably, want to keep their costs down. You, on the other hand need to maintain a livable working wage. Striking the...

While many people may consider working a second job, as many believe that they cannot fit a second job in to this schedule. Today, people are more busy than ever and finding extra time may be a significant challenge. However, with some minor changes you may actually be able to start a home-based business as a means of getting a second income. Much of this comes down to more effective use of time.Changes One of the best things you can do, is to track all of your time over a period of a week or more. Find out exactly what...

One of the advantages of freelancing is that you are no longer dealing with office politics. Or, are you? In fact, in the freelancing world, you may be dealing with more conflicts than you might have imagined. If you are active on message boards, forums, even social networks, the possibility of conflict exists. More than likely feelings erupt, things are said that are inappropriate and tempers flare. Chances are that you have faced some sort of conflict since you began freelancing (or if you are just getting started, you will). Conflicts can arise with people you do not even know,...

I have heard a lot of comments about various work at home opportunities through blogs that I’ve read, Yahoo Answers, and any other numbers of locations (including Helium) and many of them either (a) are negative about oDesk (more about this later) or (b) don’t refer to them at all as a source of potential work. First I’d like to address some of the negative things I have heard/read about oDesk. 1. My work is monitored – I am a freelancer because I don’t want someone monitoring my work Let’s start with this one first because this is the one that...

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Experiences

Fascinating lack of understanding

Kudos – Honest broker – thanks!

Writing plans matter

Freelance writing income you might be missing Part I

Freelancing Client Nightmares

Building your Freelancing Network

Maximizing Freelancing Earnings

Freelancing Business Models

Freelancing and Procrastination

Negotiating additional work with clients

Second Jobs – Finding the time

Freelancing – Conflicts Happen

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