Category Archives: Business

Business, Freelance Forecast survey

Freelance Forecast 2011 Survey

A few years ago, I created the Freelance Forecast survey and sent it to freelancing friends and clients as a way to get a sense of the business climate and best practices to attract and retain clients. Last year, thanks to Freelance-Zone.com and countless others in the blogosphere, the survey expanded to several hundred respondents. (You can download pdfs of the previous results here: 2009 survey | 2010 survey)

To participate in the 2011 survey:

Simply go to DoctorFreelance.com, type your email address in the box in the right-hand column, and click “Subscribe”. You’ll receive an automated email with a confirmation link. Please note:

  • Addresses are solely used for sending out the initial survey and sending out the results afterward; they will not be sold or otherwise distributed to anyone.
  • All survey information is kept 100% confidential and is published only in the aggregate.
  • You will receive a link to the survey on or around December 1, and the survey will close on December 31.
  • In January, you will receive a link to download a pdf containing this year’s results.
  • All participants will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate to a vendor of their choice.

3 ways you can help:

  1. Most important, if each freelancer can encourage one or two clients, editors or other purchasers of freelance services to participate, those insights will help us all improve our business skills — and to attract and retain clients. (And yes, make more money.) And it will help clients understand how they can work better with us as freelancers.
  2. Make suggestions on questions you’d like to see asked in the comments here or email me at jake (at) BoomvangCreative (dot) com.
  3. Sharing the link to this page via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or your other social media of choice, of course!

Thanks in advance for your participation!

Jake Poinier
DoctorFreelance.com
BoomvangCreative.com
@DrFreelance

advice, blogging, Marketing yourself

Battle of the Freelance Advice Videos

By Joe Wallace

Normally, I’m the one bringing the snark or praise on a particular issue related to freelancing. But I think YOUR feedback is an important part of staying on top of the issues, how relevant they are, and whether a particular freelance topic is worth pursuing, discussing, etc. And I am definitely interested in your opinions on today’s topic–freelance advice videos.

I did some searching to see if there’s anything of actual use to freelancers on video in terms of advice or practical information. Here are a few things I found–you can click on them and watch right here.

My question is–which video do you think has the most credibility, and why? Is video a good way to communicate freelance advice? How do the creators of these vids succeed or fail? They are all short, and have different aesthetics and production values.

What do you think of their work?

Video one:

Compare the efforts of that video with THIS one…what do you think?

Here’s our third and final example:


Continue reading Battle of the Freelance Advice Videos →

advice, Business, Marketing yourself, Sales

How to use personality tests

Can knowing your "type" help freelancers gain and retain more clients?
Can knowing your "type" help freelancers gain and retain more clients?

By Jake Poinier

If you’ve spent any time in the corporate world, you’ve probably taken DiSC or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality tests. Ironically enough, taking a Myers-Briggs at my last corporate job hastened my departure: In an “aha” moment, I realized that my type, ENTP (click the link for details on what makes me tick), was diametrically opposed to my boss’s type. I’d been plotting my escape for nearly a year, but the test confirmed what I suspected in my head about how we saw the world so differently. It also indicated that my personality would be good for entrepreneurship and therefore freelancing. I left about a month later.

Personality tests are not a crystal ball by any means, but they can help you understand a bit more about your strengths and weaknesses, and how you react under stress. For a freelancer, that can make them a powerful tool.

More important, if you do a little bit of research on the other types, you can start identifying what types your prospective freelance clients and current clients are. That, of course, enables you to modify how you treat those clients as individuals.

One of the things I learned during my two-year stint as a sales manager for a custom-magazine publishing company was how different each of the clients were that came from the different salespeople:

  • Tim’s were hard-driving, number-crunching folks who wouldn’t believe anything unless they saw it in a spreadsheet. (Conversely, if you were good at spreadsheets, you could make them believe almost anything.) You had to get right to the point, or they’d cut you off. It took a lot to win them over, but were very loyal once you did.
  • Frank’s sales were usually very personable and easygoing. They were the most pleasant to work with, but also had trouble with deadlines and weren’t very detail oriented. You had to shmooze them into compliance.
  • Bill’s sales were best described as aloof. They weren’t as driven as Tim’s, nor as friendly as Frank’s. They were not terribly loyal, because they were never very dedicated in the first place. Anytime Bill made a sale, I knew they weren’t in for the long haul.

The personality tests probably won’t tell you anything that you don’t know (or at least suspected) about yourself. But having an understanding of what motivates or irritates a client is essential to creating a lasting bond.

Have you taken one of these personality tests or something else? Do you use personality-oriented techniques in the sales process? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Contributing blogger Jake Poinier runs Boomvang Creative Group, a Phoenix-based editorial services firm. He also blogs about freelancing at DoctorFreelance.com — most recently about freelance ghostwriting rates.

Business, featured, freelance money, Marketing yourself

Guest Blogger Wanted: Fiction Writing and Editing

Fiction writers wantedFreelance-Zone.com needs a guest blog post or two from an experienced writer and/or editor of fiction. We’ve covered a wide range of topics here, but fiction is one of those areas that doesn’t get the love it deserves, so we’re looking to branch out a bit.

Specifically we’re looking for an experienced fiction writer and/or editor who can write confidently on a variety of a topics related to the business of writing fiction. Wisdom about how to write fiction abounds, so we don’t need to re-invent the wheel. Instead, tell us how you make money doing it and what it takes to get there.

We like our guest bloggers to plug their current projects, link back to their blogs or resume pages, etc. so this is a good opportunity to blow your own horn as well as give sage advice…

If you’re interested, please drop us a line to editor (at) freelance-zone.com and be sure to let us know a bit of background including where you’ve published and what you’re up to now. We look forward to hearing from you!

advice, Business, Marketing yourself, Sales

A Sure-Fire Confidence Builder

1 Comment

Yes, you *can* cure presentation anxiety
Yes, you *can* cure presentation anxiety

By Jake Poinier

As a parent, your job is never done in correcting your kids’ use of the English language. I was reminded numerous times this morning as my high-school age son began a story with “George and me…” followed by my middle-school daughter injecting “like” into every other sentence. What I try to convey to them is that, while these are the types of things that help you not seem like a dork among peers, it’s not the way to impress teachers and (eventually) bosses.

With that thought, Joe’s post this week about being fearless triggered a memory for me on how we present ourselves as freelancers. As an entrepreneur who works with intellectual property, you are selling your skills — but you’re also selling yourself. And I can point to one single experience that was a sure-fire confidence builder far beyond all of the sales and marketing seminars I’ve ever attended.

I’m talking about Toastmasters.

I was required to attend a local chapter as a newbie salesperson back in the late ’90s. At first it seemed hopelessly contrived. The meetings are very structured, with different roles (timer, Jokemaster, emcee, etc.) assigned to each of the participants, and a very rigid timeline of what has to happen when. But even though my membership long ago lapsed, the lessons have stuck with me:

  • You get honest feedback on your presentation content and style. Having a third-party perspective on your speech patterns and gestures is an eye-opening, “do-I-really-do-that?” experience. With a little guidance and weekly practice, it’s amazing how fast you make progress and cure presentation anxiety. Bonus: If you say “um” and “ah” a lot, you’ll be cured of the habit.
  • You learn how to give honest feedback. Even when someone bombs, your job is to identify what they did well and help build on it. Yes, this is helpful when “guiding” your freelance clients to avoid or change something awful.
  • You learn how to be concise. Whether you’re telling a brief anecdote or giving a 5-minute speech, there’s a light box that signals yellow, green or red to tell you how you’re doing on time. Talking too much can be a deal killer.

Bottom line, if you have any fear about public speaking, your local Toastmasters chapter will help eradicate it in a fun, friendly, supportive environment. More important, you’ll feel far more confident presenting yourself in general, whether it’s making cold calls, pitching a new client, leading a writing seminar, or accepting a Nobel Prize in Literature.

What’s been your biggest confidence builder as you’ve started and grown your freelance business — workshop, club, personal guru? Please share in the comments!

When he’s not hanging around Freelance-Zone, contributing blogger Jake Poinier runs Boomvang Creative Group and offers freelancing advice under the pseudonym Dr. Freelance.

Business, editorial

Pro Invoicing With Billing Boss

Today we have a post from Billing Boss, an online invoicing system that is designed to streamline the process. Peter Liao, the Director of Product Management for the company was kind enough to share some of the facts with us so that writers can get a better idea of what this tool is all about: 

1. What is Billing Boss and why should freelance writers use it?

Billing Boss is an online invoicing tool that lets users create, send and manage their invoices. It helps them keep track of paid and unpaid invoices, outstanding invoices and record payments so that the user can have a centralized view of their incoming cash flow and outstanding balances. 

Users of Billing Boss are able have all their customer information in one place and, if they have a merchant account, they can process payments online in order to reduce collection time.

Billing Boss offers advanced features such as recurring invoices and quotes (for free) as part of the basic plan. Users are able to send unlimited invoices and quotes—to unlimited customers.

 2. How much does it cost?

Billing Boss is free. There are no hidden fees or charges after X number of invoices or users. 

3. What are some of the add-ons you can get if you upgrade?

Users of Billing Boss can use Sage Payment Solutions or PayPal Basic to get paid online for free. If the user has a Cybersource, Moneris, Authorize.net, E-xact or Beanstream merchant account, they can choose to upgrade to Payment Plus for $5.00 a month and use their existing merchant account to get paid.

billingboss-200x200

 4. How does Billing Boss make sure the information people input is secure?  

Billing Boss uses 256K military grade encryption to secure our data.

5. Where can freelance writers sign up for this?

Users can visit Billing Boss directly at www.billingboss.com to sign up.

Billing Boss is a new Freelance-Zone.com sponsor. We welcome them to these pages and invite you to check out their services. Freelance-Zone.com is selective about our clients and sponsors, learn more about our transparency policy and how we evaluate potential clients and advertisers.