Posts Tagged ‘ freelancing ’

March 2013: Goals attained and missed

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March 2013: Goals attained and missed

March was a strange month and while I think that most of my goals fell short of where they should have, it wasn’t all that bad. There are also some changes to my January goals which should be noted. Most specifically, I will never meet my Textbroker goals as I’ll only be doing select writing at that site. The bulk of the work I originally planned to do there will be done at Blogmutt instead.  In addition, the Skyword goals are shot to hell because frankly, there are not enough new articles to warrant setting any kind of goal there…

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Writing Site Updates: Media Piston

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Writing Site Updates: Media Piston

One of my most “popular” writing site reviews was the one I did on Media Piston. Admittedly I was fairly new to the site when I wrote it and to be honest, I’ve had sufficient amounts of work that I really have not spent much time on the site.  I was aware that as an oDesk contractor, I could sign into Media Piston with my oDesk login but never did it that way because this change seemed to occur after I signed up. After a couple of weeks, I discovered that oDesk users were confused about Media Piston as you…

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Mythbusters: I am my own boss

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Mythbusters: I am my own boss

Laughable! One of the reasons so many people claim to enjoy freelancing or working for themselves is the claim they like the idea of being their own boss. Make no mistake about it, while there is some measure of truth to this, you really are not your own boss.  Why? Simple!  Here’s some of the reasons you cannot claim to be your own boss. Deadline matters Let’s face it when a client offers you an assignment, you have a deadline. If you fail to meet the deadline you may not be paid for your work. When you are working under…

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An Update on Textbroker

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An Update on Textbroker

I have to admit that I’ve been a bit skeptical about Textbroker because too often, I feel that the ratings by the editors (or whoever does them) is far too subjective.  While I am well aware of my propensity to either over or under use commas, I feel that for the most part, my writing is good enough to pass most editors.  For the past several months, I’ve continued to work at TB even though I am squeamish about some of the rates. However, with that said, I am fairly confident that going into 2013, that TB will work well…

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Your Emergency is NOT My Problem

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Your Emergency is NOT My Problem

As most of you know I work nearly every single day and I am actually pretty receptive to handling “fire drills” provided that I have the time to deal with them efficiently. I seldom (if ever) turn down an assignment if I have a fair amount of time to respond to it.  But then there are morons like this one who seem to think that freelancers are sitting at their computers just waiting for clients to contact them. Yesterday (12/27) an email was sent to me at 3pm in the afternoon.  Now keep in mind this is someone who has…

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Year drawing to a close

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Year drawing to a close

Who would have thunk it? 2012 is drawing to a close and I’ve gotten around to reviewing what my plans were for 2012. While some of my plans came to fruition, it appears that they got somewhat thwarted around mid-year meaning I had to change course!  Last year at this time I was planning on starting my new website, No Scam Work at Home to help identify and call out scams. For several months, this worked out pretty well. The problem of course came in that my site was hacked around mid-year and I had to rethink what to do…

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The best way to market your company

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The best way to market your company

Marketing for growth One of the many challenges of owning a business is marketing. Without a successful marketing plan, chances are that your business will stagnate and over time, you will see a decline in sales. When sales begin declining, it may be too late to start a new marketing campaign to revive your business. That means that you must have a plan in place when you begin your business and one that is flexible over time. To determine your best options for marketing you must have some basic knowledge including: Your customer base – you need to know who…

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Twitter – How effective is it for marketing?

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Twitter – How effective is it for marketing?

Maximizing Twitter’s effectiveness Freelance writers, online marketing professionals and bloggers may be overlooking the potential for a great Twitter advertising campaign for their products or services. Learning how to use Twitter effectively is one of the most important steps that must be taken to get the most out of Twitter. While Twitter is free to use, it is important to understand that it is a tool that can be most effectively used when reaching out to an audience. Interaction and information are the two primary things that are required to be effective when using Twitter. The art of interaction It…

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How do you select great writing topics

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How do you select great writing topics

Defining your niche market For many writers, the biggest obstacle to writing is selecting a worthy topic. For some, this is a fairly straightforward process while others struggle to come up with the right ideas. There are some things that may determine how a writer prepares to create new work. Interest, political leanings and even educational levels may limit a writer’s ability to find work they want. Some writers have identified niche areas that work best for them. For example, a writer with a good grasp of law or medicine may focus on these topics exclusively. Oftentimes, education and life…

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Essential elements of a successful blog

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Essential elements of a successful blog

Never overlook the importance of small things It’s easy to set up a blog, and with the variety of social media sites that are available, it’s easier than ever to find a group of readers who are interested in your site. Of course setting up your blog well and getting readers is crucial to long-term blogging success, there are some things that can make or break your blog regardless of how many readers you may have. Here are some of the components that make up a successful blog. Interlocking pieces There are pieces that all work together that can help…

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How to create an effective social marketing plan

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How to create an effective social marketing plan

Common social media plan issues Frequently, social media specialists think that opening an account on popular social media sites and throwing a bunch of information into the feed is the best way to attract attention. Nothing could be further from the truth. Social media marketing requires a well thought out plan that provides solid information to followers, and offers relevant information while promoting. Social media marketing involves sending a positive message to potential customers. An effective social media plan can help improve credibility, increase sales and reach out to new customers. However, a poorly designed social media marketing plan can…

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Online Writing: Pleasure or practicality

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Online Writing: Pleasure or practicality

Motivation for writing Many of us envy those writers who write for the sheer joy of writing. While many writers are motivated by the sheer pleasure of writing and sharing knowledge, many more are motivated by the money they can earn writing. However, this does not mean that the person who is motivated by cold, hard cash does not take any pleasure in their writing, it merely means their motivation is different. Here’s how you can determine your final motivation for writing: If you could not earn money online from writing would you stop? Answering for myself only, I would…

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Small and home business tax planning

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Small and home business tax planning

Tax prep time Every year, thousands of small business owners rush to gather documents needed to complete a tax filing. As if the tax forms were not challenging enough, small business owners often spend hours gathering the documents needed to fill out tax forms.Getting started with small business tax planning at the beginning of the year can help make tax time far less stressful. Make tax time easier with these simple tips. Starting From Day One The best way to begin planning for tax filings is to start at the beginning of your fiscal year. Smart small business tax planning…

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The dangers of multi-tasking

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The dangers of multi-tasking

Too much work too little time We have nearly all done it. We take on one thing after another then try to get them all done, oftentimes with set deadlines. While some people boast about their multi-tasking skills, the problem is that if we are trying to do too many things at one time, something is bound to suffer. Some of the common problems with multi-tasking include: Stress levels increase – if we are trying to do too many things at once, chances are that we are putting ourselves under high levels of stress. While some people may work well…

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The basics of business blogging

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The basics of business blogging

Blogging as part of freelancing One of the many opportunities that freelance writers can take advantage of is blogging for money. Setting up a blog is easy, maintaining a blog and promoting it well is not as easy. Blogging can be fun and rewarding, but also requires a fair amount of dedication and work. Blogging as a way of earning money or even making a living can be a rewarding career choice. Even on those days when you find that you are not entirely sure how to approach your blog posts, there are always ways to come up with new…

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