I promised I’d take a day off every month to reflect on the events of the previous four weeks. I would use this day to think about what went right, what went wrong and how I handled the challenges that came my way. I would reexamine my list of goals and make adjustments as needed.

I’d then spend a few hours strategizing for the next month. And I’d cap off the day with a hike in the woods and a one-hour massage, after which I’d pick up my son from school and we’d go fishing or play some baseball.

When I first went solo, I made good on my promise. But then I got busy — very busy. And I stopped making time for my “Day of Reflection,” as I like to call it.

During a recent weekend backpacking trip, as I enjoyed the beauty of the Appalachian foothills, I realized how much I miss that Day of Reflection. For me, there’s great value in taking time to assess and make changes. And I love capping off the day with a relaxing massage and one-on-one time with my son.

No, it’s not the only reason I decided to become a freelancer. It’s just a nice perk I instituted way back then. A perk I’m proud to have added to my list of “company benefits” here at Gandia Communications Inc. And a perk that actually means something to me (as opposed to things like “pet insurance” or other ridiculous benefits my last employer offered).

That’s why I’ve recently gotten back into that habit…and why I’m going to stick to it this time.

Because it’s important to me. And because I can.

What about you? Have you made a similar mistake? What little perks did you promise you’d give yourself…but have since gotten away from?

What’s stopping you from getting back into those habits? How could you restructure your week or your business to make it happen again?

————

Ed Gandia is a co-founder of TheWealthyFreelancer.com and a co-creator of The “Launch Email” Technique: The Fastest Way to Attract Good-Paying Clients as a New Freelancer.

Photo courtesty of  Michael Haring via Flickr

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If you’ve been a freelancer for any length of time, you may have noticed there are a lot of job boards out there. From Craigslist to boards hosted by trade journals to bidding-style sites, there are clearly a lot of places for companies to post their need for freelancers.

Of course, if you’ve ever actually tried to find work on a job board, you’ve likely discovered:

1. Posters seem to only care about finding the lowest price.

2. Posts are disorganized, poorly written, and not thought through.

3. Posters demand experience that’s unnecessary for the job (like an MBA to write an article on the textile industry).

What if there was a way to skirt past all of these hassles and make the time you spend applying to jobs from job boards genuinely lucrative?

After all, when you need work quickly (say a job falls through at the last minute), there’s no better way to generate income than to “fish where the fish are.” Here are 5 tips to make job listings pay off:

1. Accept that it’s a numbers game. Landing work from job boards is (partly) a numbers game. That means applying to some jobs that might not be an absolutely perfect fit but that do sound interesting.

In other words, apply to those you’d rank as low as a “7 out of 10″ instead of focusing only on the cream of the crop. Expect to reply to at least 30 job postings to make the time worthwhile.

2. Don’t write like a robot. Use stories and the intrigue to *show* the client why they ought to hire you. Write each email individually for that spur-of-the-moment energy to come through. I know, it’s easier to copy and paste, but not only is that completely lame, it’s also a waste of your time.

Writing individual emails will only take about 15 minutes a piece, and will absolutely pay off in bigger and better jobs.

3. Pitch a bigger job right there in the email! This is part of the reason for writing each email personally. Most job posters are thinking too small. So, ratchet up what they’re looking for and show them a bigger vision of what they can have.

They want someone to write 3 blog postings a week? Offer to also map out a content strategy. They want a monthly newsletter? Offer to also hook them up with a designer.

4. Hint at your prices and process but don’t spell either out. Mention up front that you’re not the lowest-priced service provider. Something like, “I’m not the cheapest copywriter, but that’s not what you’re looking for anyway–you want someone who knows your industry and I’ve spent the last five years immersing myself in the latest news on telecom systems.”

When it comes to process, don’t go on at length about Step A and Step X. Just mention, “Clients often talk about how intuitive I am when we work together–they don’t have to give me gobs of information or stacks of corporate documents. Usually, a 15-minute phone call is all it takes for me to come up with 20 solid blog topics.”

5. Don’t obsess over any one “oar.” Building a bigger, more profitable business requires putting a bunch of oars in the water. Along the way, some of those oars will wind up at the bottom of the lake. Just keep your focus on adding oars, not on what any one oar is doing, because you just never know how any one contact opportunity will turn out. (I’ve had clients suddenly re-appear after a two-year hiatus and I’ve had clients hire me an hour after getting my email.)

Job boards can be a fantastic source of quality gigs (honest!). They’re a sign that a company is in the market for what you do and are often both a great way to get your foot in the door and also a way to score lucrative, engaging projects. It simply takes a systematic approach and a willingness to do more than read a few posts and bemoan that “no one’s paying anything on these job boards.” Get in there, get engaging, and start lining up work!

–

Jessica Albon is a freelance copywriter and WordPress designer in North Carolina. She shares six other ways (complete with easy-to-follow scripts) to land more lucrative projects in her recent teleclass: Emergency Client Attraction.

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I’m not sure if Dianna realized it at the time, but the idea she communicated in her message is so powerful and relevant to freelancers today, I felt compelled to write a post to elaborate on it.

Essentially, Dianna suggested that if you want to truly succeed as a freelancer—if you want to consistently have the clients, projects, income and lifestyle you want (which is essentially how we define “wealthy freelancing”), you need to reach outside of your freelancer circles.

Here’s what she suggested:

“If you want to be successful, meaning you make more than enough money to meet your financial obligations, take a few weeks off every year, save money, etc etc., then you need to hang out with other successful people OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY.

“This means that if you’re a writer, don’t hang out with writers. Hang out with complementary professionals — i.e. hugely successful Web marketers or bookkeepers or designers or business owners. You’ll not only get some really good ideas, you’ll see how and why others have become successful. You’ll learn to think the way they do. Even better, these people, who aren’t your competitors, will refer work to you.”

Why do I think this idea is so powerful? Because most of the best ideas in ANY business don’t come from watching competitors. They don’t come from incremental improvements in an existing process or technique within your business.

Massive, quantum leaps in performance almost always come from adapting ideas other businesses outside of your own industry are using successfully.

It’s taking an idea you learned from your local grocery store and applying a modified version of that to your own freelance business. Or one you picked up while reading about a regional toy retailer in Entrepreneur magazine.

In fact, if you go back in history to some of the greatest scientific achievements, you’ll find that they were inspired by an event or observation outside of the lab, out there in the real world.

For us freelancers, the key is to keep and open mind. And when we see a successful strategy in another business, ask ourselves, “How could a similar strategy help me get more clients, land better projects, serve my clients better, have more time off, increase my income, help my spouse quit his/her job, or pursue a long-held passion?”

Just the other night, I had dinner with a client who’s a hugely successful businessman. Fascinating story, this guy. Founder and president of a multi-million-dollar company. Came from very humble beginnings and worked hard to get to where he is today.

I got GREAT value from hearing him tell his story and learning more about how he thinks and how he views the world. Not only because he thinks BIG, but because he provided me with a different perspective on marketing, human nature, business success and injecting passion into what you do every day.

As I drove home and pondered our three-and-a-half-hour discussion over a great dinner, it dawned on me that some of the most impactful conversations I’ve ever had have been with super-successful (in more ways than just material success, by the way) individuals outside of my industry/business.

That’s precisely what we strive for here at The Wealthy Freelancer — to provide you with great ideas, strategies and insights from both inside AND outside the freelance world. We hope we’re living up to that ideal.

What about you? What great ideas, tips or strategies have you learned from others outside of your industry? How have they helped your business or personal life?

———————–

Ed Gandia is co-founder of The Wealthy Freelancer and author of the popular e-book Stop Wishing and Start Earning: A Low-Risk Plan to Escape 9-5 and Launch a Profitable Copywriting Business.

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It’s a word that you should PAINT on your office wall, or at least print out in huge font and stick beside your computer screen.

The word is commitment.

Commitment comes before success. Before, not after. True in freelancing, true in life. You don’t get to half-a** your way into something worthwhile, holding yourself safely back from full commitment until you actually achieve that “success.” Uh uh. You have to commit first. Usually, it feels risky. Usually, it feels uncomfortable. (Hint: those are the feelings you should be paying attention to. The path to your success begins just outside your comfort zone.)

Here’s what Goethe says about commitment…

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

“Countless ideas and splendid plans” amount to nothing if you’re not committed. Here are some common challenges freelancers face, and the solutions to them. NOT the step-by-step, how-to solutions because we could fill a book with those (in fact, we did) but the fundamentals to those solutions: the commitment part that must come first…

Challenge: “My clients don’t pay well or take forever to pay.”

Solution: Commit to finding better clients by spending more time marketing your business. Do more of what works. Or do something new. If you’ve never sent sales letters out before, try it. If there’s a business networking event or trade show where potential clients might be, assemble some materials and go there. Ask your friends, colleagues, past employers and any decent clients for whom you may have worked for referrals.

Challenge: “A client called me for a project and I never heard back.”

Solution: Commit to establishing a ‘lead nurturing’ system. That’s just a fancy way of saying you need to stay in touch with prospects. Send out a regular newsletter. Look for interesting articles that are relevant to your prospects and mail or email them. Include a personal note. Send a “case study” which shows how you solved a problem for a client. Write a short special report. Record a podcast. Interview an expert in the industry, have it transcribed, and send it out. Do a variety of things.

Challenge: “I mailed out a bunch of sales letters / made some cold calls / sent emails / wrote articles and nothing happened.”

Solution: Commit to following up. Make more phone calls, send more emails, write more articles and sales letters. Send post cards. Send Starbucks gift certificates and an invitation to meet for coffee. Try things.

Goethe’s poem continues by the way, and ultimately finishes in a very famous piece of prose. Here’s what comes after the lines, “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too…”

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.

I find those words very inspiring, but you don’t have to be a Goethe to inspire someone with your words. If you’ve done something in your freelance business that demonstrates your commitment to its success, please take a few minutes to share a story or two with us here, and inspire your fellow freelancers to greatness. (And if you haven’t done something… Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.)

~ Pete Savage, Co-editor

(image courtesy of lee.stevens)

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Just a quick post to let you know I’m being interviewed tomorrow on BlogTalkRadio’s Wild Woman Network: Conversations with Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators.

• Topic: Tips and advice on life as a freelancer, with a peek at some great stuff from the forthcoming TWF book (yes, book!), The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets for a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle.
• When: Tuesday, Oct 27 2009, 2pm EST
• Where: Click here to listen live online OR Dial in (347) 202-0660

For more information on the show, click here. (At that page, you can even set a reminder so you don’t miss the interview.)

Hope to see you there!

Pete

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There’s a general attitude in many freelance associations, meetings, conferences and blogs that’s becoming increasingly popular. It’s what I call the “starving artist” mentality.

Basically, it’s the general feeling that good-paying work is hard to come by. That it’s a struggle to make a good living as a freelancer as companies lay off employees and hire freelancers (without paying them benefits). That clients beat you down on price, expect you to bend over backward and then take forever to pay you.

That it’s a “war” out there, and you need to do everything you can to survive.

There’s a reason why we like to engage in these conversations. We create a bond with someone when we talk about a struggle we share. Especially if there’s a lot of emotion around the issue.

But guess what? If you engage in these discussions, they will absolutely KILL your performance!

And your income.

They will lead you to even more situations where you’ll be forced to work for peanuts. They will help attract even more terrible clients. Which will make you even more miserable. And so the endless cycle goes.

Here’s a fact I’ve learned the hard way. You get what you think about most of the time. If you talk and think about the struggle, you’ll get struggle. If you engage in discussions about lousy clients that don’t appreciate quality work, you’ll get more lousy clients.

I don’t know why that is. And frankly, I don’t care why it works. I just know it does. Just like I know my cell phone works and my MacBook is running fine (yet I have no idea what’s going on under the hood). So I’m mindful of what think about, what I talk about with others and what I feed my mind.

And I stay the heck away from people who want to get down in the mud and talk trash. You should too.

I know, I know. Those “let me tell you about this clients that screwed me over” rants can be cathartic. But engaging in them is like having a big fat slice of triple-chocolate cheesecake. It tastes wonderful. But you feel like crap an hour later.

What do you think? Am I crazy, or do the conversations you have with others affect you at a deeper level?

And isn’t it better to spend time thinking about how to improve your situation rather than waste valuable time complaining about it?

(Photo courtesy of Zazzle)

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Despite my 17 years as a freelancer, I receive calls and e-mails like the following at least once a month:

“We really love your work. And we have a great opportunity for you at our exciting new media venture.”

Translation:

“We’re launching a new Web site/magazine/start-up and we’d love to have you do some consulting work for us. For free.”

My hopeful client will then explain that his or her company is poised to be the next Google. All this is meant to butter me up for their next line:

“It will be great exposure for you.”

No one ever bought groceries with exposure. The 20.9 million Americans working as consultants, freelancers, and small-business owners do not keep a roof overhead by getting paid in exposure, or “PIE,” as I call it.

But writers aren’t the only ones who routinely get asked to donate their time to clients lacking outsourcing budgets. Professional organizers, business consultants, life coaches, and all other manner of self-employed professionals get offered platefuls of PIE, too.

Sometimes you’ll convince yourself that a slice of PIE couldn’t possibly hurt your bottom line. But usually these gigs are as empty as the calories at your favorite bakery.

Before we discuss all the bogus PIE gigs out there, let’s consider when giving it up for free can work in your favor:

• You have no clients. If you have no client testimonials to speak of, you may have to do a short-term freebie or three to prove that you’re experienced. Freebies are also a great way for seasoned independents to test drive — and get feedback on — any new services they’d like to offer.
• Your dream gig has shallow pockets. Some low- or no-pay jobs really are worth their weight in PIE. For example, giving a talk at a highly publicized conference can land you new clients and paid speaking gigs.
• You’re donating your services to a worthy cause. Think high-profile auctions and fundraisers; the more PIE potential, the better. Although you’re doing the job gratis, send the client a short contract clearly stating what you will and won’t do.

On the other hand, if you’re offered any of the following payment schemes, I suggest you run for the nearest exit:

• Payment on spec. In the business world, it’s a bad idea to do work for any client who insists that you do the bulk of the project before they decide whether they like your work enough to pay for it. When it comes to spec work, just say no.
• Elaborate revenue models that would baffle even your C.P.A. While some attorneys, venture capitalists, and application developers have the means to work for revenue shares, getting paid if and when a company becomes profitable is not a financial option for most independent professionals.
• Credit for your work — and nothing more. Receiving credit for your work is hardly a substitute for getting paid. Besides, you should always get credit for a job well done.

When you agree to work free, you reinforce people’s misguided ideas that the self-employed are independently wealthy hobbyists. Don’t degrade your profession by letting a cheap client take advantage of you.

~

Michelle Goodman is author of My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube, both published by Seal Press. Visit her blog at www.anti9to5guide.com. 

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So you work feverishly to find work. But prospects and clients sense the desperation in your voice (you think you’re hiding it, but they can still sense it). That only works to repel clients. Which makes you even more anxious. And so the vicious cycle goes.

What’s the solution to conundrum? Spend 10% of your work time every week on a high-impact marketing activity. Schedule that time as if it was for a client project. Schedule it every week without fail. And you’ll rarely encounter dry patches in your business.

Why 10%

Because I’ve never seen anyone else give freelancers a straight answer on this issue. And because 10% is sensible enough that anyone can do it.

If you have more time, do more. And if you have zero work and a pile of bills coming up, spend ALL of your time marketing your business. Treat prospecting as your full-time job until you get some work coming in.

But if you’re very busy and you freelance full time (say, 40 hours or so a week), then four hours a week is still doable.

Heck, even if you were absolutely slammed, you can still squeeze in four hours a week just by waking up an hour earlier Monday through Friday. Not a morning person? Then put in one more hour every evening.

And don’t just do whatever marketing activity feels right at the time. Have a plan so you don’t have to make decisions on the fly. Finally, focus your efforts on marketing activities that yield results — not just the activities you love to do.

The benefits of this “10% rule” compound very quickly. Steady effort yields steady results. This evens out your workload, eliminating much of the peaks and valleys we often experience as freelancers. And even when you’re slammed, getting leads you can’t pursue is good for your self-confidence, which helps you keep your fees where they should be (and even raise them in some cases).

What do you think: Is 10% a reasonable effort level? How do you make the time to market your business? Have you found it hard to develop such a habit? Why or why not?

——————

Ed Gandia is co-founder of The Wealthy Freelancer and author of the popular e-book Stop Wishing and Start Earning: A Low-Risk Plan to Escape 9-5 and Launch a Profitable Copywriting Business.

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We’d like to know what it is, and we’ll give you a free special report for helping us out!…

The three of us (Ed Gandia, Steve Slaunwhite and Pete Savage) are putting together a special report that answers your most burning questions about building and sustaining a successful freelance practice.

We’re going to invest a lot of time and energy answering a select number of these questions, so when the report is published this fall, it will not be free. However, YOU can get a free copy simply by submitting your most burning question right here on this blog…

Everyone who submits a question will receive a complimentary copy of that report as a “thank-you” for their input.

Pretty good deal, yeah?

The only “catch” here is that there is a very short time window in which we’ll be accepting questions. That’s because we want get started on creating this report quickly… as in next week!

How to Submit Your Question:

Just use the comments field below to enter your question, by Wednesday, September 30 at 8pm (EST). The only rule… you can only enter ONE question. Please make it single and specific question.

OR if you’d prefer, send us your question privately via email to ask@thewealthyfreelancer.com.

Here’s are two examples of a valid question:

Q: After sending a sales letter to prospects, what’s the best way to follow up?

Q: What should I do when a client asks me to give them a price over the phone?

Our objective with this report is to provide answers to questions in as much detail as possible, but in such a way that thousands of freelancers can put our recommendations into practice. Therefore, it’s not necessary for you to provide any background about your own circumstances in the comments below. (You certainly may if you like, just please know that it will be your question, and not your specific circumstances, that we will be focusing on as we prepare the answers for the report.)

Okay! Questions are officially being accepted… NOW! Let’s hear from you by Wednesday, September 30 at 8pm (EST).

To your success,

~ Ed, Steve, and Pete

P.S. You can email your question to ask@thewealthyfreelancer.com. OR enter your question in the comments field below. If you use the comments field, please make sure you put your accurate email address in the appropriate field – it’s the only way well be able to send you your free report when it’s published this fall.

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But ask us to PHONE a prospect and pitch our services… and we cringe.

We’re not alone. Just about every independent professional I’ve ever met hates the idea of making prospecting calls.

Consider this email I received from Jack B. just a few weeks ago.

“Hey Steve. I read your blog and was hoping you could help me with a problem. You see, I’m an experienced copywriter — and know how to do that job well. But when it’s time to call on prospective clients, I have a mental block. I’m a writer; not a salesperson. And I just feel uncomfortable calling someone on the phone and blowing my own horn. Can you help?”

Well, before I tell you how I answered Jack’s question, let me share with you my thoughts on cold calling.

It’s NOT the best way to promote your business.

Why?

First of all, cold calling doesn’t position you as an in- demand professional. (Think about it. If you were in- demand, why would you need to make prospecting calls?)

Secondly, it can be a very tough grind. After an hour or two of cold calling, you’re going to feel mentally exhausted.

(By the way, if you disagree with me, please share your opinion in the comments section below ! I want to hear from you!)

However, cold calling does have its advantages.

The technique is, by far, the fastest and least expensive way to promote your services.

You could pick up the phone right now, make calls to a list of prospects, generate some interest, and perhaps even get a new client. All within just a few hours.

You certainly can’t say that about direct mail, networking or other forms of self-promotion.

In fact, I know many freelance professionals who make prospecting calls regularly as part of their self-marketing plan — and do very well.

So it may not be the best way to promote your business, but it is a GOOD way — if done correctly.

So how do you make an effective cold call?

Here’s how I replied to Jack’s email.

“Hi Jack. You say you’re not a salesperson. Well, that’s true. You’re not. So don’t even try to be one. Don’t phone prospects and try to sell yourself. Instead, simply call and politely — and confidently — introduce your services. Say something like this:

“‘Hi. I’m an experienced copywriter specializing in ________ . I just wanted to give you a quick call to introduce my services. If you or a colleague need any copywriting help, I’m available — at least until my schedule is full. Would it be okay to send you an email with more information on my services?’

“Jack, I’m sure you can say the above, or something like it, in a conversational way that doesn’t make you sound or feel like a pesky salesperson. A good number of the prospects you call will agree to receive your information by email. As for the rest, I can assure you that 95% will be friendly and polite.”

Well, that’s the advice I gave to Jack. No need to read from a hard-sell script. Just introduce yourself and your services. It’s painless — and you’ll end up making more and better cold calls. You’ll chat with some prospects, generate some interest and eventually (or immediately) get a new client.

Cold calling works. If you do it right.

______________________

Steve Slaunwhite is the co-editor of The Wealthy Freelancer. His latest book is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Web-Based Business.

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