This is a review of How To Make Money on Elance, an information product for freelancers produced by Alexis Rodrigo. Sparkplugging has not been paid to write this review but did receive a free review copy of the product. There are no affiliate links in this review.

In How To Make Money on Elance, freelance writer and internet marketer Alexis Rodrigo shares what she learned from Trish Lambert (an Elance Premier Provider) about making money on Elance. It consists of an interview with Trish (in both audio and PDF format), a worksheet, and a mindmap to give you an overview of the material.

If you’re looking for solid advice to help you make the most of the time you spend on Elance, then you won’t be disappointed with this product.

It’s obvious that Trish (the interviewee) knows what she’s talking about when it comes to getting clients through Elance, and Alexis asks her just the right questions. At $27, it’s a worthwhile investment if you’re planning to spend a lot of your marketing time on Elance. There’s no “fluff” or “filler” – just solid, practical tips that you can apply immediately.

So I definitely recommend this product for those of you currently using (or planning to use) Elance. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you probably shouldn’t start bidding for jobs on Elance without the information contained in How To Make Money on Elance.

But if you’re serious about attracting high-paying clients, I don’t think Elance is the place to do it.

This is just my opinion. A lot of people have apparently made real money on Elance – but not me. I got my first two freelance writing jobs through Elance, so in that sense it was a good way for me to dip my toe in the water (and maybe it’s a good option for you if you’re a freelancing newbie). But I have found that I can attract higher-paying clients in far less time using other marketing methods, so for the most part I’ve given up on Elance.

There are some good jobs posted there, but they’re hidden amongst a slew of crappy jobs posted by people whose primary goal is to pay as little as possible (regardless of quality). It takes a lot of time and energy to sift through the junk, find worthwhile jobs, and then craft customized bids for those jobs, so you have to be sure it’s worth it.

My advice: if you’re using Elance, keep track of all the time you spend trying to get jobs in addition to the time you spend on the jobs. Then keep track of the money you make (net of Elance fees) and determine how much you’re actually making per hour. With that information in hand, you can make an educated decision about whether to continue spending time on Elance.

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. She blogs here and at The Breadwinner Mom. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

In today’s post, we’ll cover the most important step: adding content to your website.

Step 5: Create Content That Converts Leads Into Clients

As a freelancer, you will want to have at least the following pages on your website: (1) Homepage; (2) About; (3) Services; and (4) Contact Me. You may also want to add client testimonials, samples of your work, and other information that helps demonstrate your knowledge and skills. As you draft the content for your site, keep the following tips in mind:

Your Homepage

Before you write anything for your homepage, decide what the function of your homepage is going to be. Is it to get visitors to sign up for your e-newsletter? Is it to get visitors to call or e-mail you for a consultation? The most important thing is to decide on a next step that you want visitors to take, and then make that step the primary focus of your homepage.

Keep your homepage uncluttered, and make sure that visitors can easily find the answers to three questions: (1) what do you do? (2) why should they hire you to do it? and (3) how can they contact you? If people have to hunt for this information, they won’t. They’ll just move on to the next website.

Finally, don’t put a bunch of links to other websites on the homepage of your website. If you do, you’re just inviting visitors to leave your website. Why do that?

Your “About” page

The “About” page is often the hardest one to write. You have to talk about yourself, which is always difficult, and you have to promote yourself without coming across as unlikeable or egotistical. It’s not easy.

I think the most important thing to remember about your “About” page is that it’s not really about you. Yes, you have to provide information about your background and expertise, but think about this from your potential clients’ perspective. They want to know about you only so they can figure out whether you can help them. Don’t disappoint them; explain how your background qualifies you to meet your clients’ needs.

If you’re really having trouble writing your About page, consider getting some help. I know this may seem crazy to those of you who are writers, but even the best writers can run into trouble when they try to write about themselves.

Your “Services” page

Be specific about the services you offer. Potential clients may not have hired a writer/graphic designer/etc. before and they want to know what it will be like to work with you.

The big question freelancers have when it comes to their “Services” page is whether they should post prices. I think you have to decide what will work best for you. I post a range of prices so that potential clients have some idea what I charge. This helps me to pre-qualify leads (by culling out the people who can’t or won’t pay what I charge), and gives clients a little bit of guidance about pricing. You may decide that posting prices is a bad idea for your particular business, and that’s fine. Whatever works for you.

In General

All of the content on your site should be client-focused and serve a purpose. Don’t feel like you have to fill your site with hundreds of pages of content; just get your point across and encourage visitors to take the “next step” down the path towards becoming your client.

photo credit: dbdbrobot

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll share some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to

This week’s directive is to “spark an idea about purging,” which in my case is kind of like asking a toddler to spark an idea about patience and self-discipline. But hey – it’s “Spark an Idea Thursday,” so I’ll give it the old college try.

The thing is, I could really benefit from some purging:

• I have a basement filled with plastic tubs, each of which contains an incredible assortment of papers, mementos, and miscellaneous items from various stages of my life. Why? Because I find it impossible to throw stuff like that out. Instead of throwing stuff out, I buy more plastic tubs so I can keep all of my crap totally organized. Ridiculous, right?
• I have a “to do” list for this week that could never be completed in a single week. Why? Because I find it impossible to admit that I’m not going to get to everything. Up until 5:55 pm on Friday, I hold out hope that I will somehow miraculously finish everything on the list. At approximately 5:56, I give up and transfer the tasks I didn’t complete to the following week’s list (and repeat this process weekly).
• I have about 10 different ideas for books I want to write. If you follow this blog you know that I really want to get a book published, but the first step is to pick one single idea – which means giving up (at least temporarily) on the other nine. You have no idea how difficult this is for me.

I know that if I could just get better at this whole “purging” thing, I would be more focused.

My life would be less cluttered. I would probably be more productive and achieve more of my goals. So why is it so hard?

As you can probably tell, I don’t have any brilliant ideas about purging, except to underscore its importance. Have any of you struggled with this issue the way I do? Have you figured out any solutions that you’d be willing to share?

I’m all ears.

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

Now it’s time to talk about how to make your site look good (without spending a fortune).

Step 4: Select a theme and then customize it.

Whether you’re working with Wordpress or Squarespace (the two platforms I recommended earlier in this series), you’ll need to select a “theme” (called a “template” in Squarespace) for your website. The theme you choose will determine the basic look of your site.

Selecting a Theme in Wordpress:

If you’ve created a self-hosted Wordpress blog, you can select a theme by logging in to the admin area of your site, clicking on “Appearance,” and then clicking on “Add New Themes.” This will allow you to choose from a variety of free themes. There’s nothing wrong with using a free theme, especially if you find one you really like – just make sure you add some customization to make your website unique.

There are also premium (read: not free) themes available elsewhere on the web. There are a lot of them (do a Google search for “premium Wordpress themes” and you’ll see what I mean). The premium theme that I use on my site is Thesis, which I highly recommend. I selected Thesis (and subsequently became a Thesis affiliate) because it is exceptionally flexible, easy to use, and well-supported. If you choose a premium theme, you should follow the installation instructions from the theme designer instead of using the “Add New Themes” button.

Selecting a Theme (Template) in Squarespace:

If you’re using Squarespace, go to your website and then log in. Click on the paintbrush in the upper right-hand corner and you’ll see the Appearance Editor pop up on the bottom half of your screen. You’ll see a button that says “Switch Templates” on the lower left-hand corner of the Appearance Editor. From there, just select the Template you’d like to use. Once you select a template, you can use the Appearance Editor to change the colors, fonts, column sizes, and other design elements of your site.

Customizing Your Site

Once you’ve selected a theme or template, you’re almost done – but not quite. If you stop now, you’ll have a site that looks pretty basic (and possibly very similar to a lot of other sites out there). You don’t have to spend tons of money on a web designer, but if you’re willing to spend just a little bit it will make a big difference.

For my site, I hired a designer (Jamie Varon of Shatterboxx Media) to customize the stylesheet, the header image, and my subscription button. I was really happy with it turned out, but you may not even need to go that far. At the very least, I recommend that you get a custom-designed header image. You can find very inexpensive designers on Elance, but be careful to review samples of their work before committing. Alternatively, find a website you like and ask who designed it. You may end up paying more, but you’ll probably be very happy with the results.

So that’s it for now. If you run into problems or have any questions, share them in the comments and I’ll see if I can help!

Up next: Step 5 (Content and Copywriting)

photo credit: Paul Keleher

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

This week’s “Spark an Idea Thursday” theme is about “something you want so bad you can taste it.” The idea is to share “something from deep inside that you have a huge will to accomplish – and what you’re doing to prepare for it!”

So here goes: I want to write a book and get it published.

Wow – that’s a really scary thing to say out loud. Am I the only one who finds it scary to tell other people about personal goals and dreams?

Bookstores and libraries have always been my favorite places. As a kid, I used to beg my mom to drop me off at the library and just leave me there for a few hours. I would wander through the shelves, picking up anything that interested me and reading it for as long as I stayed interested. It was fairly common for me to end up sitting on the floor in the middle of two giant stacks of books, wondering how I was going to pick 8 or 10 books to check out when there were so many to pick from.

I’m still like that. The only difference is that back then, I just assumed that I’d have a few books of my own on the shelves by this point in my life. And now I wander through the bookstore wondering how much longer it will be until that happens.

What am I doing to make sure I achieve this goal?

Well, I’ve spent a lot of time coming up with book ideas, learning how to write a nonfiction book proposal, and researching literary agents. I’ve ghostwritten books for other people, so I know I am capable of writing a book, and I continue to learn about the process of getting published.

But I think the time has come to take the next step. It’s time to get this party started.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to:

• select one book idea from my list;
• write a book proposal based on that idea;
• create a list of literary agents to contact;
• write a query letter; and
• send the query letter to the agents on my list.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress – and if you happen to notice a lot of time passing with no status updates, feel free to remind me of this post! Hopefully a little accountability will help me bridge the gap between “wanting” and “doing.”

How about you? What do you want “so bad you can taste it?” Share in the comments so we can help one another achieve our goals (and so I’m not the only one with her hopes and dreams hanging out there for all to see!)

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll share some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to

This week’s “Spark an Idea Thursday” theme is about “being a lifetime learner,” a topic which is very close to my heart. Keeping your heart and mind open to new things, being interested in the world around you, and learning something new every day are (at least for me) the keys to a happy life.

When it comes to being an entrepreneur, continuing to learn new things isn’t really a choice – it’s a necessity.

If you just plod along doing what you’ve always done, and fail to adapt to the changing world around you, you will fall behind your competitors. But what’s even more important is the joy and vitality that come from learning something you didn’t know before. My late grandfather, Hy Perry, taught me that by example (thanks, Grandpop).

When I was very young, he found ways to make learning fun for me. I remember him creating little handmade “awards,” with gold stars and little drawings, and giving them to me as I learned the alphabet, numbers, and (eventually) reading. I still have those little scraps of paper and treasure them more than any of the “real” awards that came later.

My grandfather never stopped learning new things, and as a result, he was one of the most vibrant individuals I have ever met. At an age when most of his peers had stopped trying to “keep up” with new technology, he mastered it. He was using the internet, e-mail, and new software applications before most people my age. He taught the other seniors in his retirement community how to use their computers to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren. He agreed fully (and so do I) with Eleanor Roosevelt’s sentiment that “when you stop learning you stop living in any vital and meaningful sense.”

So the next time you have the chance to learn something new, embrace it. Don’t worry if you don’t catch on right away. When it comes to learning, the process is the point. Enjoy it.

Recommended Reading: You Learn by Living, by Eleanor Roosevelt

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

I shared my own story here yesterday about not being paid by a client but my friend’s story is a little bit different because the client pulled the job prior to it being completed. My friend worked a few hours on these graphics, trying to bring the client’s vision to life, but the client decided to go with another designer. Certainly, that is the client’s perogative but should the first designer get paid, even if it wasn’t what the client wanted in the job?

Absolutely yes.

It’s certainly unfortunate that the communication broke down between my friend and her client but once she sat down to begin working, the time clock began. And that’s not just for those who work at home. Advertising agencies and lawyers immediately come to mind as those who keep timesheets and bill by the hour. No matter if you’re on a phone call with the client or actually designing, time spent on the project should be billed.

In fairness, I don’t know the exact details of my friend’s plight. Maybe she didn’t ask enough questions, maybe the client was vague about what she wanted the final project to convey. No matter the reason, this type of thing happens everyday to freelancers and you need to have a plan of how to avoid this situation.

1. Use simple contracts for each project. Contracts don’t have to be long or jammed with legal jargon to be effective. Write down all the aspects of the job as you understand them along with deadlines, client expectations, and payment policies. Be sure your client initials the section about being charged for any work that is done, even if they change freelancers midway through a job.

2. Ask questions. Getting a clear explaination from the client about what the final product should convey is difficult if you’re sitting face to face in a conference room and can become more challenging when conducting business online. Ask as many questions as necessary to clearly understand the project and make sure your client is available if additional information is needed.

3. Determine how many rounds of changes are included in your price. Very often designers will limit the number of changes per project to avoid having a fickle client changing his mind every minute. This is especially important if you’re charging a flat project fee rather than an hourly rate. Even if you’re charging hourly, keep your client informed how much additional money these changes will cost.

4. Be willing to share your timesheets. If a client is complaining that something is taking too long to complete, have a hard copy of your timesheet ready to show and be willing to answer any questions. Keep accurate notes on each timesheet entry so the client can clearly see which aspect of the project you worked on and when. I highly recommend Freshbooks for their timesheet and report capabilities.

Without a doubt, some clients will need more hand holding than others, some will be super picky, and some will still balk about not knowing your policies even though you have a signed contract. Use those clients to learn important lessons and be more prepared to handle future client projects.

photo credit by shadphotos

Last summer I was doing some writing work for a client who I really liked and he asked if I had time to do a writing assignment for a friend of his. This was easy – 5 blog posts – so I said yes.

All freelancers reading this, PLEASE learn from my mistake!

Being the trusting soul that I am, I did not require payment up front nor did I even think to ask for half payment upfront. I was more focused on doing the job and getting that extra $100 into my bank account that it never crossed my mind. Afterall, I had never had issues with clients and non payment before so why would it start with this client?

Foolish attitude!

After I completed the 5 blog posts (which fortunately did NOT take that much time) I heard from the client that she loved them. I was thrilled that she was happy because I was hoping for a regular gig. So I went along and sent my handy dandy PayPal invoice.

Weeks went by and I received no payment. After sending some friendly inquiring emails, I got the standard response, “Oh, I missed seeing the invoice.” Then I heard, “The company doesn’t have a credit card; can we send you a check?” Figuring this would be the only way to get my money, I agreed and sent her my mailing address.

Needless to say (and I’m sure you’ve probably guessed by now) I’m STILL waiting for that check.

Lesson learned.

Here are some tips so you can avoid this exact situation. You work too hard to be stiffed!

1. Develop a payment policy and stick with it! Paypal is the easiest way for freelancers to accept online payments but you can’t force someone to pay that invoice. Many freelancers require half payment upfront before any work is started and then bill for the remaining 50% upon completion of the job. If a client is willing to give some payment upfront, they are most likely serious business people.

2. Discuss this payment policy with each client. Just as important as having a policy is making sure ALL your clients KNOW about the policy and agree to it. Don’t just put it somewhere on your website and “assume” that your clients will see it. Tell the clients about the policy either in your contact email or phone call, direct them to the page on your website to read, and have them sign a payment agreement before you start the job.

3. Consider charging a late payment fee. While it’s unlikely to receive payment within 24 hours of sending an invoice, freelancers shouldn’t have to wait longer than 10 days to receive payment. Sometimes a late fee will be a percentage of the total bill or it could be a flat dollar amount. Again, let your clients know about this ahead of time and send followup emails prior to charging the late fee. This might be the incentive they need to get the invoice paid.

4. Develop a collections plan if no payment is received. So, what’s your plan to get paid if your client disappears? You can register a PayPal grievance but that only works if your client has a PayPal account (mine did not). You can also pursue payment through small claims court or, if the amount is substantial, you can hire a contingency fee-based collections attorney.

No one likes to think of doing work with unscrupulous clients but sometimes things like this do happen. Thinking of these problems and solutions when you BEGIN your business can only help you in the future.

photo image by bertop

Step 3: Decide whether you want to publish a blog and where it should go.

In my last post, I listed three options for setting up your site: using a hosted service (which I recommended against), creating a self-hosted site using Wordpress, or using Squarespace to create and publish your site. Whichever option you chose, you will now need to make your first big decisions about the structure of your site.

In this post, we’ll go through the first two big decisions you need to make. To learn how to implement your decisions on a technical level, I recommend that you review Getting Started With Wordpress or the Squarespace Manual (depending on which service you chose). If there’s enough interest from people in the comments, I would also be happy to run a free webinar demonstrating how to do basic setup stuff in Wordpress and/or Squarespace.

Note: If you are creating a self-hosted site with Wordpress, you’ll need to install Wordpress on your site before you do anything else. Luckily, most of the hosting providers out there (including the three I mentioned in my last post – Reliable Webs, Bluehost, and Godaddy) will install Wordpress for you. You can either go into your control panel and navigate your way to the “install Wordpress” button, or just call your hosting provider and ask them to install Wordpress.

Now on to those “big decisions” I was telling you about.

1. Will your website have a blog?

The first decision you need to make is whether you want to have a blog on your website. You don’t have to. I emphasize that because if you’re not going to have the time to update your blog regularly, you probably shouldn’t publish a blog at all. A stale blog is much worse than no blog.

At the same time, a blog is a fabulous way to establish your expertise. If you have the time and writing ability to update your blog at least weekly, go for it. Just make sure that your blog is geared towards your prospective clients, rather than other people who do what you do.

2. Will your blog be on the homepage of your website?

Your blog doesn’t necessarily have to appear on the homepage of your site. Since the primary goal of your site as a freelancer is to sell your services, you may want to create a simple homepage that quickly tells visitors (1) what you do; (2) why they should hire you; and (3) how to contact you.

On the other hand, if your blog posts are well-written and provide information that would be useful for potential clients, you may want to keep it front and center.

Not sure what to do? Start looking at your competitors’ websites. See what you like and don’t like. Take the time to figure out what format would best show off your talent and abilities.

What’s next?

Between now and the next post, think about whether you want to publish a blog on your site, and if so, whether you want it to go on the home page. Once you make that decision, you can begin setting up the basic framework of your site. Starting next week, we’ll cover (1) the other pages you must have on your website; (2) how to customize the look of your site without spending a fortune; and (3) how to write web content that helps you get more clients.

Please share your questions and/or suggestions in the comments! The more direction you give me, the more useful these posts will be.

photo credit: tj scenes

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll share some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to

This week’s challenge is to “spark an idea about following your gut.” Here’s my brilliant idea: follow your gut. Even if it leads you astray (and it usually doesn’t), at least you won’t feel like you betrayed yourself.

In my experience, when you follow your gut, things work out. Here’s one example.

At the beginning of my senior year in college, I began waitressing at an “upscale casual” Italian restaurant. It was a decent job, and I was making good money (for a college student). I worked there for a few months – never late, never calling in sick, never upsetting a customer. Basically, I was a model employee. And then one day, just before I was about to leave for work, my boyfriend (of 2 years) and I had a fight and broke up. This was the guy I thought I was going to marry. I was devastated, but I still got in the car and drove to work.

I did my best to put on a happy face and get through my shift, but it didn’t work. I started crying and couldn’t stop. I went to my manager and told her I was going to have to leave. I explained exactly what happened and apologized profusely. I was in tears and could barely keep from crumpling to the ground.

This was her response: “If you walk out of here right now, don’t bother coming back.”

My brain told me to suck it up, stop crying, and just get through the shift (a very logical approach). My gut, on the other hand, said “[bleep] this job and this [bleeping] manager. Get the [bleep] out of here right now and don’t [bleeping] look back!”

So I did. I threw my apron on the floor and walked out.

I got a new job that was closer to my apartment and paid better. My new boss appreciated my hard work and promoted me after only two months. That job introduced me to sales and management, which turned out to be key skills for me in later positions.

And my old restaurant manager? She got fired a couple of months after I left for (1) treating employees poorly, and (2) doing drugs on the job. The restaurant closed down a couple of months later.

Sometimes, your gut just knows things your brain doesn’t. Listen to it.

What do you think, readers? Can you recall a time when you followed your gut and it worked out well (or not so well)? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

Step 2 – Choose a web host and purchase a hosting package.

Two basic options: Hosted blog service or self-hosted.

There are two basic ways to publish a blog-based website: (1) use a hosted blog service, such as www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com; or (2) use a self-hosted blog. What’s the difference? The main thing you need to know is that with a hosted blog service, you have a lot less control over your website. Different services have different rules about what you can and cannot do, and you should review those rules carefully if you’re considering using a hosted service.

If you really want your site to look professional and business-like, I recommend against using a service such as Blogger or Wordpress.com. They may be easier to set up (and free), but you’re sacrificing the ability to completely customize your site.

Note: Wordpress.com is a hosted blog service; Wordpress.org offers Wordpress blog software for free download, which you can then install on your self-hosted blog.

Setting up a self-hosted website.

If you’ve decided to take the plunge and set up a self-hosted website, congratulations! You’re on your way. I think you’ve made a good decision. Now it’s time to choose a hosting company.

There are literally hundreds of web hosts to choose from, and there’s no way I could list them all. Here are 3 web hosting companies that I believe to be reliable and user-friendly. I’m an affiliate of ReliableWebs, but not the other two:

1. ReliableWebs

2. Bluehost

3. GoDaddy

All three of these companies will install Wordpress for you (one less thing to worry about). I recommend that you visit their websites, read about their offerings and pricing, and select the one that you think will work best for you.

You could also choose another company – I’m just trying to keep things simple. The important thing is just to select a company and purchase a basic hosting package (it should be less than $10/month).

One other option: Squarespace.

Just in case any of you are freaking out or feeling overwhelmed by the idea of a self-hosted site, I want to mention one other option: Squarespace. Squarespace is a hosted blog service, but it gives you far more control over your website than services like Blogger or Wordpress.com. It has a lot of built-in options that make it easy to get your site up and running, and the learning curve is much shorter than with a self-hosted blog.

Unlike Blogger or Wordpress.com, Squarespace isn’t free. After the 14-day free trial, you’ll have to pay $14/month for the version allowing custom domain names (meaning you can post your website to your own domain name, instead of on a domain name such as www.yourname.squarespace.com). But if you’ve ruled out self-hosted blogs because you think they’re beyond your technical ability, I strongly recommend Squarespace over the other hosted services. I built my first website (The Breadwinner Mom) with Squarespace and have been happy with it so far.

I put together this extremely brief video to show you what it’s like to set up a new site with Squarespace. It’s my first foray into the world of video so please let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement. Hope you find it useful.

(note to the curious: I don’t work for Squarespace and I don’t benefit financially if you use Squarespace. I just think it’s a good option for people who don’t have the time or inclination to learn about self-hosted blogs)

photo credit: KristianD

COMING FRIDAY: Step 3 – To Blog Or Not To Blog?

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

In light of that goal, I’ve put together a “Build Your Own Freelancing Website” series that I hope you will find helpful.

Each post in the series will cover one step in the process of building your own website, and I’ll be available to answer your questions about that step in the comments.

Please keep in mind that “building a website” is a huge topic and there’s no way I can cover everything. Maybe it’s better that way, since I got the impression that many of you are suffering from information overload on the subject of websites.

So we’re going to keep it simple. My plan is to just take you through the steps I followed to create my site. If that sounds good to you, read on!

Step 1: Choose and Reserve Your Domain Name.

The first thing you have to do is choose a domain name for your website. You can search for available domain names at Instant Domain Search, Go Daddy, 1 and 1, or elsewhere (there are a lot of services that sell domain names). In most cases your first choice for a domain name will be the name of your business, but you may find that someone else has already taken that name. What to do then?

You can use your own name (this is what I did), a name that describes what you do, or an abbreviated version of your business name. Whatever you do, just make sure that potential clients won’t accidentally end up on a competitor’s site when they’re looking for you.

If you’re having trouble finding a good domain name, try www.bustaname.com. You can enter a bunch of words that you would like to include, and it will give you a list of different options based on what’s available.

Once you find a domain name that you like AND that’s available, purchase it. It should cost you less than $10/year.

What else do you need to know about domain names? Please share your question(s) in the comments! To make sure you don’t miss a post in the series, subscribe to the Freelance Parent blog.

photo credit: KristianD

COMING WEDNESDAY: Step 2: Choose and Purchase a Web Hosting Service.

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll share some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to

This week’s “Spark an Idea Thursday” theme is about “homepreneur health.” I have to admit, this is not my area of expertise. But there are a few things I’ve learned about staying (mostly) healthy as a homepreneur, so here they are – my top 3 tips (ok, my only tips):

1. Don’t let the cat sit in your lap for too long. I love the fact that my cat wants to sit on my lap, and I love the fact that she can (since I work from home). But if she stays there for too long, my back pays the price. So after a few minutes, I send her off to her second most favorite place: my bed. It’s a tough life being my cat.

2. Don’t forget that there’s a world outside your house. When you work, sleep, eat, and hang out in the same place every day, it’s amazing how easy it is to completely lose touch with the outside world. From a mental health perspective, that’s not good. So get out of the house – take the dog for a walk, take your kid to the playground, whatever works for you. As long as it requires real clothes and actual shoes, it’s a good activity.

3. Keep healthy foods in the fridge. When you work this close to your kitchen all day, you’d better make sure your kitchen isn’t just a collection of sugar-loaded temptations. You need fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. You need water, not soda. I’m starting to sound like the school nurse so I’m going to stop now.

What else, fellow Freelance Parents? What have you learned about staying healthy? I obviously need your suggestions!

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, editor & communications consultant for businesses that need smart, impressive content. To learn more or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients,” visit her website at http://tracifeitlove.com.

This week’s “Spark an Idea” theme is about sharing something you’ve learned (either directly or by example) from another blogger that you really respect and enjoy. There are so many great bloggers that it was hard to choose one to write about – which led me to think maybe I should write about other bloggers more often (so I think I will!). For today’s post, I decided to go with someone who has taught me a lot in a very short period of time: Scott Stratten, known on Twitter as @unmarketing.

Yesterday, Scott posted a new video entry on his blog, in which he writes about five people he thinks you should follow on Twitter (check it out if you have time). In that spirit, here are the top five things I think freelancers can learn from him:

1. Be yourself. Watch a couple of Scott’s videos and you’ll feel like you know him. That’s because he doesn’t seem afraid to be exactly who he is. I think a lot of freelancers get so caught up in appearing “professional” that they end up being totally bland and forgettable. Remember, there are a lot of freelancers out there. If you want prospective clients to think of you the next time they have a project, you have to stand out somehow. You have to be memorable. So try to inject a little bit more of who you really are into your public persona (note: if “who you really are” is someone no one in his right mind would hire, you should probably keep that to yourself).

2. Make the most of your strengths. Scott is a speaker, and he’s great on camera. So his blog posts are in video form (rather than the more traditional written format). Great idea. Are you making the most of your strengths, or are you trying to do what everyone else seems to be doing? Don’t be afraid to be a little bit unconventional if it means you’ll be better able to show off your talent.

3. Promote others generously. In yesterday’s post, Scott shares what he likes about five people he met through Twitter. The point of the post is not to say how great he is, but to say how great others are. This is not only a nice thing to do, it’s good business. When it comes to freelancing, although competition for work can be fierce, there will be times when you’re just not the right person for a particular job. When that happens, recommend someone else who would be a better fit. Both the client and the other freelancer will appreciate your referral. Maybe next time the other freelancer comes across a project that would be perfect for you, she’ll pass your name along.

4. Be passionate about your work. In everything Scott does, you can feel the passion and enthusiasm. Are you passionate about your work? Isn’t that the whole point of freelancing – getting to do what you love on your own terms? If you’re feeling less than enthusiastic about your freelance work, maybe it’s time to reconsider your career path (for your sake!).

5. Don’t be shy. This is perhaps the biggest lesson for me personally. As a writer, I’m most comfortable in front of my computer. But that doesn’t mean I should stay there. Freelancers have to find their own work, and that means putting ourselves out there. I’ve started to do this a little bit on Twitter and on my personal blog (The Breadwinner Mom), but I need to push myself a little harder to meet people in real life. When you’re a freelancer, you’ve got to market yourself, so you’ve got to push past the shyness. Maybe I’ll try to set an example by doing a video post at some point (oh my god that’s a really scary idea…maybe we’ll just pretend I didn’t say that).

On the other hand, if you either (a) don’t have a website or (b) you have a website, but it’s not quite right – I’d like to help.

I’ve learned a LOT about creating and managing websites over the past couple of years, and it would be great to share some of that knowledge with my fellow freelancers. In that spirit, I’m planning to do a series of posts for you about how to build a professional website that will get you more clients – with limited time and limited funds.

The thing is, I don’t want to bore you with stuff you already know, and I don’t want to skip ahead to advanced material if you’re still stuck at the beginning.

So I need to know a few things from you:

1. If you don’t have a website, why not? What’s stopping you?

2. What are your biggest questions about creating and/or managing a website for your business?

3. If you already have a website but you’re not happy with it, why not? What would you like to change or improve? Would you like a free review of your website with suggestions for improvement (this would be a public review so you’d have to be ok with that)?

4. What resources do you think you need in order to create or improve your business website?

5. Anything else you’d like to know?

You can provide your answers in the comments, or, if you want to respond privately, click here for my contact information.

Thanks in advance for your responses – I’m really looking forward to answering your questions and helping you build or improve your website!

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to

This week’s “Spark an Idea” theme is about creating a “wow!” experience. I love this topic because I believe it’s the foundation of a successful freelance business. And it’s fairly simple: to impress your clients and create a “wow!” experience, you have to deliver more than you promised to deliver.

This may seem unfair at first glance. Why should you have to provide more than the services the client paid for? Well…you don’t have to. You could just deliver exactly what you promised to deliver, and that’s totally fine. But don’t expect the client to be overly impressed.

The fact is that clients expect you to do what you said you would do.

That’s why they’re paying you. Think about it: if someone agrees to pay you $1200 for a project, and then pays you $1200, are you amazed? No – you’re glad they came through, you’re relieved they did what they said they would do, but you’re not thinking, “holy crap! this is the absolute best client ever!”

The same concept applies to your services. Do what you’re supposed to do and the client will be satisfied. Do more than what you’re supposed to do and the client will be thrilled. You want your clients to be thrilled – every single time. When they believe they’ve gotten more than they paid for, they will tell their friends. They will give you awesome testimonials for your marketing materials. These are priceless.

Remember: every project is a marketing opportunity.

Instead of viewing extra work as “unpaid labor,” think of it as an investment in your business. The time you spend on the client’s basic project is for the client’s benefit; the time you spend going above and beyond is actually for your benefit since it will ultimately grow your business.

If you commit to creating a “wow” experience for every client on every project, you will grow your client base. You will be able to charge more for your services. And you will eventually be able to turn down projects that don’t appeal to you. Isn’t that worth the extra effort?

• 5 Must-Have Qualities to Become a Top Freelancer
• The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Your Business on Twitter
• Who’s Your Ideal Client?
• Is The Customer Always Right?
• 16 Things You Can Do Yourself to Create Word-of-Mouth for Your Business

What have I missed? Any other posts you think should be on this list? Please share in the comments!

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog! If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

When you’re a work at home parent, you can often miss out on the recognition of a job well done. There aren’t any company newsletters touting your accomplishments and there aren’t any high five hand slaps when you announce landing a new client.

But that doesn’t mean you should keep your accomplishments to yourself. In fact, sharing your good news with family and friends can be motivating. Receiving that positive reinforcement will keep you plugging along so you can reach your next goal. Even those who are hearing about your successes will be motivated to take that first step or to continue their path because they have seen YOU become successful.

Finding people to support you in your business is vitally important, whether it be an offline group of friends or an online mastermind group. Heck, even tooting your own horn on Twitter will likely get you some positive feedback.

There’s nothing I love more than to visit the Mom Mastermind forums and find threads about the successes other members have found. After being a member for over two years I consider these women my friends but I can also learn something new or just marvel at how clever they can be.

Finding a life or a business coach who offers one-on-one coaching can also fulfill that need to be validated and they can give you action steps to keep you motivated. My life coach is my biggest cheerleader who can also “tell it like it is” to get me off the couch and back to working.

At the very least, come here and leave a comment about what you’ve accomplished this week. You don’t have to wait for something monumental to happen before you toot your horn. Take pride in the small things you accomplish because they will put you on the road to accomplishing bigger things

Here is Part Two of my interview with Jan:

6. What are the qualifications a successful Author’s Assistant has?

A successful virtual author’s assistant knows how to provide the 24 services (or can choose to specialize in just some of them), but beyond that, I think there is an attitude and mindset that makes people successful.  Authors don’t know what they don’t know, so the VAA is part teacher and part collaborator, plus providing the assistant services.

While many VA’s accomplish what their clients ask them to, the VAA is often taking the lead in helping the author know what he or she needs, not just following a list of tasks.  There is a level of professionalism in the traditional book publishing industry that we teach VAA’s so that they can help their authors create a superior product, one just as well done as anything you would see in a bookstore.

So the really successful VAA takes initiative, likes variety, is good with both the big picture and details, is resourceful and doesn’t mind doing a lot of educating in the process.  If you really like books, this is a particularly gratifying job.  You get to see new books come out and most authors acknowledge the author’s assistant in the book itself which is especially fun.  It is wonderful to be a part of a tangible product – I have a bookshelf full of books I helped with and most VAA’s do, too.

7. How long is your training course? What topics are covered in the course?

The training course is self-paced and includes 37 short slidecast videos, where we take you through the web pages you will be working with.  It also includes 47 checklists, tools, planners and hundreds of links as resources.  When you register for the course you get the key to a password-protected web site that is the official headquarters for working VAA’s and those in training.

You can choose to take the course in a planned 30-day curriculum or take it subject-by-subject in any order you wish.  The 30-day structure is great for people brand new to virtual working, because it includes business set up information as well as the 24 services.  But for VA’s who might have a brand new client who needs something specific next week, they can go right to that item, learn it and use it, and come back to the other subjects as they have time.

We have had people finish the entire course in a long weekend when they were really motivated, but it takes an hour to two hours a day for 30 days, typically, so the participant can keep doing other work and learn this material at the same time.

8. When students finish the course, do they need any further training or are they ready to accept clients?

We have practice exercises throughout the course which simulate the experience of doing the actual tasks you will be performing with authors, so we think people are ready to go when they finish.  We also give sample language, emails, a proposal, an author’s assistant contract and many other tools to make the transition from learning to working as seamless as possible.

But, of course, we recognize that no matter how well prepared, most people are tentative when they take on something brand new.  It takes experience to have that really deep mastery of any subject, but we’ve done our best to use our experience to get them to that point as fast as possible.

I feel strongly that we best serve our clients when we work with them on what we know well and refer them to other experts when what they need is outside of our expertise and we talk a lot about what virtual author’s assistants should take on and when they should refer to someone else.  They don’t have to suddenly become book publishing experts to do this job, but after being trained they will know far more than the average person.

We think one of the biggest benefits of our training program is that it doesn’t end – ever.  We have a forum that VAA’s use to pose questions and challenges to publishing experts and their peer group.  We have live specialty classes where we help VAA’s keep up-to-date with the constantly changing book-publishing world.  And we never charge extra for any of these things.  Once you’ve taken the course, you have a place to learn, partner, collaborate and grow for the life of your business.

9. Do you teach students how to market themselves or where to find possible author clients?

Yes.  It was very important to us to get participants started right away working with authors.  Getting that all-important first client is the difference between having the confidence that you can do it and doubting it and perhaps subconsciously sending potential clients away.

We spend about 20% of the entire course work focused on marketing to authors.  We have actual marketing tools, including a video, articles, special reports and ebooks that are available to the VAA to give to authors to help them understand what a VAA does and how to work with them.

We built marketing into the 30-day curriculum, so that one of our goals is to have the VAA get his or her first client by the end of those 30 days.

We also put a lot of emphasis on selecting the right potential clients.  Not all authors make good clients.  Some are writing books as a hobby and may not have the budget for an assistant.  It is important for the VAA to know where to find good potential clients and we teach that as well as how to approach authors and how to set up a referral network that will keep the VAA stocked with clients.  We have a number of VAA’s who partner with other VAA’s so they can hand-off clients when they are too busy – yes, that actually happens!

Finally, we also have a directory of PVAA’s, the trained Professional Virtual Author’s Assistants who have completed the course. You can see that at www.AuthorsAssistants.com.  We market that heavily to writer’s groups.

10. What advice would you give to those who are struggling to make a living working from home?

It is really important to have a good set of marketable skills, have confidence in your ability to do great work for clients and get the word out.  What has really worked for me is to set up a referral network I can count on – other professionals working with authors who send their clients to me for what I uniquely do.

If you really work on setting up your own referral network, something we emphasize in the course, it will serve you well for a long time.  My author consulting business is 100% on referrals and has been for a long time.  My best source of referrals is my past clients, so doing great work for current clients is the best way you can assure yourself of future clients.  Marketing can be done in so many ways now – online, through social networking, by teaching webinars and teleclasses, in person at networking groups.  Pick what you like and what fits you and then really work it.  Persistence really does pay off!

Thank you so much, Jan, for sharing your experience and insight into the book publishing field and how VAs can develop some specialized skills for this author niche! For more information about Jan’s training program, visit VirtualAuthor’sAssistants.com