The Highlight Reel

Most obvious, in the realms of change, is the interface (in the majority of the suite). Tabs now indicate multiple files, and the menu bars are flat, uninteresting, but unobtrusive. It’s a clean design which is easy on the eyes, once you get used to it. Assuming you don’t disable it before it has a chance, the impact is noticeable.

There are also speed improvements across the board in CS4. Images render more efficiently, the applications open up faster than ever. The overall result is less wait time and more productivity. This certainly ranks as a major highlight in a world where new versions generally mean more bloat and slower processing (unless you upgrade your hardware as well).

The list of actual enhancements, additions, and changes for CS4 are quite extensive. Some applications, such as Premier Pro, bring a lot to the table. In comparison, not much was changed in Fireworks. Photoshop, at first glance, doesn’t seem to bring much new functionality to the table, but lists can be deceiving. The addition of fluid canvas rotation (shown above) will bring productivity increases to tablet users. The new Mask and Adjustment panel in Photoshop also make for smoother image manipulation.

In fact, combining Bridge and Photoshop, you can take advantage of a lot of the tools and capabilities mentioned in our Lightroom 2 review (minus some of the workflow advantages).

Adobe Flash changes and enhancements will be a contentious list for some, as it dynamically changes the application, making it more accessible to the masses. Inverse kinematics with the Bones tool, for example, will bring a new level of Flash presentations.

As Adobe’s recent Executive Summary (produced by Pfeiffer Consulting) suggests, Creative Suite 4 presents the strongest integration with the former Macromedia products to date. Dreamweaver, a prime example, can finally work with Adobe Photoshop Smart Objects, thus enhancing workflow for faster build time. Most of these integrations are behind the scenes, but it does present a more universal solution. The applications are finally starting to feel like they belong together, versus a mismatched set of tools which you find a way to combine for your tasks.

Room for Improvement

As mentioned previously, the majority of the applications in Creative Suite 4 have a universal look and feel. Some love it, some hate it, and thankfully, Adobe gives you the ability to disable some of it if you choose. It’s not quite universal, but obviously, Adobe is making headway. Again, if you have (or plan to purchase) CS4, be sure to give the new look a chance.

Again, while Pfeiffer’s report is accurate, it isn’t saying much, as the integration was sorely lacking compared to the related counterparts (GoLive versus Dreamweaver, for example). And even with the changes, the integration could still be more fluid, more intuitive, and less cumbersome, in some cases. This could go a long way in solidifying the usefulness of the entire suite.

It is the nature of software to have bugs here and there, and Creative Suite 4 is no exception. A couple of examples: Fireworks still doesn’t display .psd files correctly (as noted in our review of CS3 here. If you have Illustrator maximized and open a new file from your file system, Illustrator resizes the application. Dreamweaver, even with a new feature, has issues with WYSIWYG (as shown above in the before and after example). Head scratching issues, to be sure, but none leading to a complete breakdown of functionality.

Adobe has also been polling its user base for future releases. Asking what features they would like to see, and notifying removal of functionality where they can. While not everyone likes the changes that come with each version, it is nice to know Adobe is listening.

A Personal Fit

We took a little time to check with other freelancers on this review as to their thoughts on Creative Suite 4. Each expressed they felt one particular application provided great improvements to their workflow, but others were lacking. Interestingly enough, they generally weren’t talking about the same program within CS4.

For example, one CS4 user mentioned the feature requests they had put in (after seeing a screencast of a rival application) were put into Photoshop by Adobe. He purchased the upgrade, stating:

“There were also features across the Design Premium suite that enticed me to upgrade, but for Photoshop in particular these pretty much sold me on the upgrade. I use these new tools all the time, and they have sped up my workflow considerably as I knew they would.”

Obviously, this would not be the case for every freelancer. Each of us has our own needs, key features, and workflow that is important to us.

The Lowdown

Adobe Creative Suite 4 is quite the powerhouse of applications. Depending on your usage scenario, you may find a couple of key features to improve your productivity. If those enhancements can offset the cost for upgrading, then the answer is obvious: buy. Adobe improved upon Creative Suite 3 in many ways, but perhaps not enough for every existing user to get really excited about. If, however, you are still using applications from the Creative Suite 2 world or below, then the offering is well worth the price.

The Good

• Stronger integration
• Significant discount vs individual purchase
• Increased functionality
• Speed increases across all applications

The Bad

• Still some head-scratching bugs
• For the money, most users won’t see a significant increase from CS3
• Integration still could be better
• Interface still lacks consistency

Price

Adobe Creative Suite 4 is available here ranging from $999-$2,499.00 US (retail) or upgrade from $499-$799 (Design Web to Master Collection) US. Student editions are even further discounted.

There aren’t many that are written specifically for freelancers, though, but I’ve read quite a few of the small business books based on the idea that freelancing is just another kind of small business. But when it comes to marketing, freelancing isn’t entirely identical to any other type of small business.

1. Starting Freelancers Tend To Bootstrap

Many small business owners take out loans or have other sources of money that enable them to put money into marketing from the day they open their doors. While some freelancers have savings or some sort of capital to get them started, they’re far more likely to start with little more than a computer. That means that freelancers usually take a different approach to marketing. Where a widget store will purchase a significant amount of advertising right off the bat, a freelancer will be more likely to focus on networking, content marketing and other techniques with lower costs but higher time commitments.

2. Freelancers Don’t Want To Work More Hours

A small business selling a product wants to move more units of that product, and its marketing is planned with that goal in mind. But a freelancer is looking more at quality over quantity: there is a limit to the number of hours a freelancer can really work in a day. Instead of trying to work a 24-hour day, most freelancers find it more realistic to focus on landing projects at higher rates. These very different goals are not always reachable with identical marketing efforts: a store may just need to reach more people to increase its income, while a freelancer might focus on reaching the right people.

3. Freelancers Delegate Less

While I don’t have numbers at hand, most freelancers don’t seem to plan to hire an employee or bring in a consultant as a matter of course. In contrast, many small business owners seem to have hiring help to take over the day-to-day duties of their businesses as a central goal. That means that marketing typically happens only after any paying work on hand gets done � it still gets done, but it isn’t always a priority. Freelancers have to pick and choose marketing projects that will fit into an existing schedule. It’s certainly not impossible, but a freelancer’s approach to marketing still looks quite different from a small business owner’s. None of these three issues are universal, of course, but they do mean that following a small business’ guide to marketing isn’t going to be the easiest approach for most freelancers.

Marketing From a Freelance Point of View

Marketing books can provide a freelancer with a starting point, but they shouldn’t be taken as gospel. Instead, it makes sense to pick and choose marketing tactics that will work not only with your budget, but also the time you have available and your goals in terms of work. Will an ad let you reach a prospective client who you actually want to work with? What about writing a blog? Not every approach is going to help you move your business forward � some work only when a brute force approach is taken, throwing time and money at a marketing campaign to create a result.

Don’t stop reading marketing books, blogs and other resources, though. You never know when you’ll find an idea that really works with the freelance business you’ve built.

With many new rules in the game, it’s important for freelancers to stay on top of resume-writing trends so they can compete in the marketplace. Because even though you’re a creative freelance, you have to compete with other people and corporations. You have to speak their language. When full-timers get hired, they need resumes. Resumes can be required of freelancers, too. And even if they’re not, it’s good to have one at your disposal.

Even if you’re not looking for full-time employment, a well-written resume shows clients that you take your career seriously and you don’t think you are above using the most basic of career tools.

Here are some tips to help your resume stand out when it comes to wording and spreading the word about what you have to offer!

Use Keywords

Today’s resumes rely on keywords to show up in search engines, so you’ll want to make sure yours reflects the right keyword phrases even if you only post your resume to your site. I keep an updated resume on most of the major job boards because you never know who will find you and need your services. While I do get approached for full-time work that I’m not looking for, I’ve also gotten freelance work off major job sites. Good keywords are important no matter where your resume goes—but if it goes online, make sure to include keywords.

You can fit keywords into your profile and in the professional experience section of the document, but consider a core competencies section as well to work in common phrases. In my resume, I’ve got a few areas of expertise centered and separated with bullets just after my objective. You can list up to about 15 core competencies on your resume. Just remember when you use keywords that they shouldn’t be repeated more than once or twice. So if you mention that you’re a graphic designer in your objective, you may not want to repeat that in your competencies. Some sample core competencies that creative freelancers may use are:

• Infrastructure Design
• IT Security
• Web Development
• Marketing Copywriting
• Product Marketing
• Public Relations
• System Design
• SEO Copywriting
• Media Relations
• Internet Marketing
• Brand Development
• E-Commerce
• Technical Writing
• Sales Promotions

Remember, the goal is to sprinkle in a few keywords that describe your aptitudes but not to overdo it. You’ve seen bad copywriting on websites that are laden with repeat phrases—you don’t want your resume to sound the same. Need more ideas on good keywords in your industry? Do a search for resumes from people with similar job titles to yours. Remember that just because you may be a graphic designer, you can still find good competencies under resumes for website developers, for example, too.

Begin Phrases With an Action Verb

Nowadays, it’s common to include a paragraph with a few sentences detailing your job duties, and then to use bullets to pull out accomplishments. The days of phrases such as “Responsible for designing print and Web marketing collateral,” are long gone. Instead, you can liven up your resume with a sentence such as “Originated print and Web marketing collateral.” Start every sentence with a new action verb, and try not to repeat those action verbs. Here are some sample action verbs that I think will help creative freelancers:

• Designed
• Revitalized
• Innovated
• Restored
• Documented
• Leveraged
• Accelerated
• Spearheaded
• Partnered
• Responded
• Assembled
• Derived
• Collaborated
• Boosted
• Restructured
• Moderated
• Edited
• Upgraded

Bulletize Accomplishments

It’s important to use bullets to pull out results-based accomplishments, and those should start with strong action verbs as well. That means that after you sum up your duties at each job you’ve held, highlight things you did that went above and beyond what was asked of you. If you designed a website that drew an additional 10,000 viewers per month, you could bulletize the accomplishment like this: “Boosted website visitors by 10,000 monthly,” or something to that effect. It’s important to not only list what you are good at, but to show what the results have been of your work.

Include Technical Proficiencies

As a resume writer, I get clients that have a laundry list of technical proficiencies. Try to highlight only those that wouldn’t be expected of you to know. For example, many people know how to use word processing software such as Microsoft Word. So for writers, it’s vital to go above and beyond that. Do you know how to use Quark or WordPress? List those. For more technical creative freelancers, try to skip the basic programs and platforms and highlight those that show you’ve taken extra time to learn.

Send Your Resume into Cyberspace

Once you’ve got a resume that includes top-notch wording and is proofread, it’s time to market it. Here is where many freelancers don’t think they need to do much else. Just having a resume does show clients that you are professional and have a well-rounded background. But you have the potential to get more work if you get that resume out there. Post your resume to job boards. You never know where a lead will come from. I’ve had many companies say that they were looking to hire a full-time candidate but saw from my resume that they can save costs by hiring a contractor. I’ve also met with clients where it was almost like a job interview, so it was good to have a resume to hand over. Poof—instant clients.

When you inquire about a creative project, include your resume as an attachment just as something extra that a potential client can refer to. So many freelancers never take the time to speak corporate, but they want the top corporate freelance gigs. For example, a company may be considering an in-house copywriter, but by showing them my resume, they may see that I am just as qualified as other candidates for the job and have a solid background that includes corporate experience. It’s hard to get that across without a resume, so it’s good to have one.

I know a resume sounds like a major pain to write, but I promise you that by having one, you appear more professional and be able to easily highlight your skills. You never know when a freelance gig requires a resume…and it’s nice to have one ready and done to fire off.

Freelance Folder’s Glen Allsopp writes about narrowing your focus as a freelancer and earning more from it.

Here’s an interesting series of blog posts from a laid-off IT guy about his adventure in freelancing and enterpreneurship while looking for a job.

A great piece for web designers looking to streamline their workflow is 27 Must-Have Starter Kits For Web Designers.

There has been an influx of freelancers in the field lately due to widespread lay-offs. Have you thought about how your day job skills might translate into a sole proprietorship business?

MSN Money has a piece on making freelancing successful from a financial perspective, providing tips on how to cut expenditures while you get the business off the ground.

Here’s an interesting short piece on how Juliet Ulman, a book editor, successfully made the transition from working as an employee to working for herself.

Freelance Folder has a post titled 8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road that those of you considering location-independent lifestyles may enjoy.

James Chartrand of Men with Pens discusses the swipe file, how it can save you time and help you build a better team.

If you’ve written or read an interesting article or come across a website that deals with topics relevant to freelancers, head on over to our tip line and let us know. Please be considerate and do not spam or promote products as the focus of each Linkswitch is on content.

In our regular Linkswitch piece we bring you interesting freelancing links from around the web. While we’ve published many Linkswitches before, we’ve started the numbering system today so that things are more organized from here on out.

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only freelancer who is expected to offer telepathy as a form of client communication, either. Actually becoming telepathic isn’t particularly likely, but there are a few ways to get a better idea of what a client is actually thinking.

1. Ask every question you can think of

Every client has different needs — and it seems like the clients who expect us to read their minds always have a few out-of-the-ordinary requirements. That means asking every question you can think of will pay off: if you can get the answers that will tell you what your client is thinking, you’ve eliminated the guesswork. Even questions that seem like they should have obvious answers can have surprising answers.

There’s one question in particular that I’ve found crucial — asking a client what his goals for a project are can provide an immense amount of information, especially if you’re working with a client who isn’t quite sure on the details of what he wants yet. Goals are often the key to knowing whether the design or copy you have in mind will actually be what your client wants. If a client comes to you asking for a website and offering no other information, for instance, it’s easy to assume that the client wants something that provides his customers a way to find him online. It takes more of a leap to automatically assume that a client wants to sell products through this new website. Knowing that information in advance will make the design process much easier.

2. Ask for work examples that the client likes

I’ve had clients who weren’t happy with a project simply because it didn’t look like a website operated by someone else in the industry — a website I wasn’t even aware of. Simply knowing what those clients really liked ahead of time would have lead me to take a very different approach to the project, rather than having to try to graft a few elements on to my design at the last minute. It doesn’t have to be much, either: a website or two can be enough to give you insight in to what your client likes. I also make a point of asking exactly what the client likes about a particular design or piece of copy.

You do have to be a little cautious of how closely you follow an example your client sends you. I’ve actually had a client ask me to copy a site pretty much intact and just swap in their information. Trying to explain that you can’t do that — especially after you’ve specifically asked for examples that the client likes — can be difficult. But making a point of explaining that having an identical website, brochure, or other project won’t actually help a client set himself apart from the competition seems to do the trick.

3. Provide extra drafts or mock-ups

If you’re still uncertain about exactly where your client wants you take a project, it can make sense to create a mock-up or draft earlier in the process than you might otherwise. On a blogging project I did recently for a client, I wrote up a list of a month’s worth of titles, with a short description of what each post would include. The time spent writing those descriptions was minimal — but wound up saving me a whole lot of trouble and grief down the road, because the concept my client had of what her blog should include was very different than what I had understood from our discussions.

It can slow down a project a little bit when you add in extra drafts or mock-ups: it’s very tempting to just get in there and get the project done, rather than offering a client lots of opportunities for revisions. But offering at least one chance for the client to review what you’re working on early in the process can reduce the number of times you hand a project over to a client only to hear complaints that they hadn’t gotten what they wanted.

As freelancers, it’s easy to get excited about a new gig and want to automatically accept it, but you should set some boundaries to make sure you don’t get wrapped up in your client’s drama—or get yourself into a tizzy!

See if it’s a real “rush.” Some clients want to give you an hour or a day to complete something but don’t consider that a rush. Other clients will come to you stating that they have a “rush job.” My best piece of advice if the client doesn’t specify the job to be a “rush project” is to determine on your own if it’s a rush. That is, get the full scope of what’s entailed and ask the client for the deadline. (If they don’t have one, it’s likely not a rush, just something they want done promptly.)

If you need to decide if it is a rush job (to therefore charge a “rush fee”), you can do that by looking at your schedule to see if the project and its deadline will force you to hurry. If so, it’s okay to charge a rush fee. Make sure to include time for things like getting a signed contract or a deposit. Many freelancers sometimes waive these important must-haves in order to simply get the job. Then they simply get screwed.

Determine if you can make the deadline. You may want the job terribly but have other obligations in the way that you can’t rearrange. If you know in your heart that you are not sure if you can turn around the work by the client’s deadline, it is not fair to accept the job. I never take a rush job if I think I can’t complete it in time. I have to know that I can get it done, even if that includes a little overtime. I have to make sure I’m comfortable with the timeline, and I think all freelancers should do the same.

You don’t want to wind up fried—it’s not fair to yourself or the client. If you get too frazzled, the work will not be your best and you may not want to claim ownership of the project, not to mention the client will be ticked. Be fair to yourself and the client as to whether or not you can accept a rush project.

Set the “rush rules.” Let’s say that you’ve been told or have decided that the project is a “rush job.” Clients who come to you and know they’re pushing it will likely be more apt to pay a rush fee, while clients who just think they’re giving you a “tight deadline” may be more apt to put up a fight when you include a rush fee. I have found the best way to deal with these things is to establish open and honest communication with the client. If I think I can complete the project in the time allotted and want to accept the job, I let the client know all of my specifications and what I need from him or her to get the job done.

For example, if it is Monday and the client wants the content Friday and I know I can deliver it by then, I let them know if there will be a rush fee, how much it will be, and what time they can expect the first draft by Friday. I also let them know that I will need the deposit by the next day, for example, and the contract faxed back that evening. (I always try to get the contract first if I know the money will be naturally delayed in the mail.)

You do not always have to let the client know there is a rush fee—you can simply add it into the quote and have the client approve it. It is, of course, up to you based on how you do business, but many freelancers include rush (or pain-in-the-butt) fees in their quotes. If the client asks why the fee is higher than normal, I let them know that I’ve included a rush fee based on their imposed deadline. I have never had someone ask what the fee is for, but if they did I would simply tell them that the fee ensures that I will stay up all night if I have to in order to deliver their project on time. I do not think I would get many arguments.

Take time for project processing. It’s important to allot time for project processing, as in, getting a signed contract returned to you and a deposit if you require one. If you find about a project on Monday that is due Friday and it takes till Wednesday to get everything you need to start, you really only have two days to finish when you thought you had four or five. Let the client know that you can complete the project by the deadline provided that you have everything you need (background material, signed contract, deposit, etc.) by a specific day.

This is why it’s important to assess the full scope of the project. If you’re waiting on other people to give you material in order to start the project, that could delay the project and you could wind up causing tension between you and the client. When you set the rules, be sure to let the client know about everything you need in order to get started and deliver the project on deadline—including the red tape.

Say no. If you have to say no, it’s okay to say it. You are not obligated to complete a client’s every request. Just be sure to give them a prompt response. If I need time to decide if I can take a project, I simply ask them when they need to know by. This is basic common courtesy. Being open and honest—even if you have to turn down a project—will likely earn you trust and respect with a client, which can be beneficial for jobs in the future.

So you’ve taken the rush job. You’ve got everything you need to start and the only thing ahead of you is to complete the task and submit the work on time. Now that everything is set, there’s one more thing you’re likely to need: coffee.

Kristen Fischer is a copywriter and author who lives at the Jersey Shore. To learn more about her, visit www.kristenfischer.com.

So here’s what we want to know: how many of our readers are doing well despite it all, and how many of you are facing difficulties? Is the depressing and rather biased NY Times piece accurate or just another story written to sell? Cast your vote in the poll and then feel free to vent your economy frustrations in the comments.

Today I’m very happy to unveil the latest iteration of FreelanceSwitch which introduces a bucketload of new features including a directory of freelancers complete with search facilities, profile pages for users, unified logins for the forums and the rest of the site, a resource directory and of course a fresh design for the whole site.

Accounts, Profiles and the Freelance Directory

The biggest change in version 3 is that we’re introducing a much more robust user account system. Previously we used to have forum accounts and job board accounts. We’ve now merged the two into a single FreelanceSwitch account system.

There are two types of accounts:

Free Accounts …

If you sign up to a free FreelanceSwitch account you’ll be able to:

• Chat on the forums
• Create a basic Profile page with contact details, description, external URL and a couple of skills tags
• Appear in the Freelancer Directory

Paid Accounts …

For $7 a month you get to:

• Apply for jobs on the job board
• Additional Profile features including extra URLs, extra tags, testimonials and work samples
• Appear at the top of any searches of the Freelancer Directory and have more details shown with a larger profile image

What the Profile Pages look like

You can see a sample profile page that I’ve made for myself:

The New Design

The new design is an evolution of the previous look and retains many of the same elements, just repackaged with a bit of freshness.

Some things you might be interested to note are:

• The whole site from forums to job board to blog has the same unified design now
• We’re pulling in fresh jobs into the sidebar
• We’ve got a fairly unorthodox comment layout which emphasizes big text for readability
• We’re using sIFR to render out the FreelanceSwitch font in our headings. It means a slight lag in page loads, but it just looks so damn neat!
• We’ve added a welcome panel to the homepage to help clients use the site
• The site is designed so it looks like the old site … but newer!

Here’s a little look at how FreelanceSwitch has evolved over the years:

New Forum Skin

6 months ago we moved the forums over from Vanilla (which was having some problems) to BBPress – a neat forum app made by the same people who make WordPress.

Because it was done in response to a sudden crisis, we didn’t have time to skin the forums. I wanted to take a moment to thank all our community for putting up with the bare bones BBPress theme for half a year!!

It’s taken us a long time, but finally we’ve got a nice new outfit for you all. And we won’t be reverting to the birthday suit ever again!

Resource Directory

Some of our most popular posts here on FreelanceSwitch are posts listing useful web resources for freelancers. That’s why we’ve compiled a special resources directory of useful links to services and sites that freelancers can benefit from.

We’ll be adding to it over the coming weeks to get it really complete. If you have a suggestion, feel free to Submit a Resource.

The directory is built using a custom WordPress plugin which we’ll be making open source via Nettuts+ later this week!

Features, Features, Features

Along with all our other changes you’ll see a few new minor features and tweaks including:

• Subscribe to Comments via Email
• Search Jobs, Directory, Forums, Resources or Blog Posts from the header
• Recent Jobs in the blog sidebar
• A Press page
• A listing of all our fantastic contributors and authors
• Tweet This counter on posts
• Better author profiles on posts
• Related articles that doesn’t break!
• Threaded comments

And doubtless there are a few more features that I’ve forgotten all about!

What We’re Working On Now!

While the new site is up, we are actually still working on more features and upgrades. In particular we’ll be working to integrate the blog comments system with the new account system. We’ll also be adding a little user badge system so you can figure out who has complete profiles, who is a writer and more.

You can also look forward to more features and utilities in the Paid Account system as we work to increase the value you get for your hard earned cash.

Bugs, Fixes, Feedback

If you notice anything which doesn’t appear to be working as it should leave a comment below, or send us a ticket. Because of the complexity of the site structure and the fact that we’ve had a 24 hour shift getting the site launched, there’s bound to be a few teething issues but we’ll get them within the next couple of days!

The Freelancers Who Worked On This

As it always has been FreelanceSwitch has been put together by a team of freelancers. So I’d like to take a moment to say awesome job to:

Derek Herman who coded up all my Photoshop work, the guys from Instinct who built the Resource Directory plugin and Mathias Meyer who is not only a FreelanceSwitch writer, but also a very good Rails developer!

The site is a really tricky mix of WordPress, WP Plugins, BBPress and Ruby on Rails, and it’s taken a very talented and dedicated team of freelancers spread over four different countries to pull it off!