Archive for the ‘Freelance’ Category

Credit: Www.CourtneyCarmody.com/@Flickr

You’ve got to love the old clichés. A picture’s worth 1000 words – but, in many cases, talk is cheap.  There are many reasons to have an image on your blog posts.  It will help catch the reader’s eye, to hook them into reading the post, but it can also provide some valuable SEO juice to help your post be found when someone is searching for content that you’ve written about.

For many bloggers, it’s not uncommon to just use Google image search and find an image that you like to represent your post.  If your blog is for personal use only, this practice is fairly common and it’s unlikely someone will come after you for showing their picture to your 50 readers.  But for many of us, the blog is a vehicle to help us promote our business, and if you use protected images you are violating the copyright.  Stanford.edu has some great information on copyright and fair use.

Stock photography sites are a great place to find pictures, and they can usually be found for a dollar or two.  The nice thing about buying stock photos is that they are usually royalty-free, which means you only have to pay once to use the image.

Another way that you can find images to use legally on your website is to explore the public domain or creative commons.  Here are a few sites that you can use to find free images for your next blog post:

morgueFile. If you’ve ever wondered where good pics go when they die, you’ll be happy with this site.  A website by creatives for creatives.  I like this site for their massive images and good selection, but I love it for the ability to crop and post directly from their site.

Stock.XCHNG. Another great site with excellent content.  394642 photos online right now, in a variety of searchable categories.

Google Images. Yes, I know this doesn’t look quite right.  But this image search engine lets you filter by license type. If you click on the “advanced search” link, you can change the usage rights to find images that you can use.  I choose “labeled for commercial reuse with modification.”

No matter where you find your image, it’s probably best to check to see if the license allows you to use it in the way that you want.  A few seconds of checking beforehand can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

If you want to see if your personal images are being used anywhere, there are some tools that you can use to find them.  TinEye and GazoPa are two popular reverse image search tools.

A great image can help your blog be read, be found, and be remembered – but it’s not worth stealing someone else’s creative efforts to enhance your own.

Photo credit: Www.CourtneyCarmody.com/ on flickr

FreelanceSwitch

Freelancing online seems to be all the rage, but making connections in our own cities might provide projects that are bigger, more high profile, and lead to more consistent work.

Landing local jobs might take a different strategy than landing projects online, one that is more about being seen in person and making real life connections.

6 Steps to Landing a Job in Your Hometown

Business Cards Matter. You have to have a printed business card. Everywhere I go people ask me for my card and although it would be great to just give them my Twitter handle they need it in print. Not to mention that folks with brick and mortar businesses like to know that you are serious about your work and aren’t just some guy working out of your spare bedroom. Have cards printed that have all of your pertinent information – name, phone, email, website, Facebook page, and Twitter name – and hand them to everyone you meet.

It is Who You Know. If you want to land a project in your town it does matter who you connect with, but making those connections can be easy. Join local civic groups (Junior League, Rotary or a nonprofit that you care about) and get involved. Sure, you are busy, but your goal is to land a project in your community and one way to do that is to get involved with your community by volunteering your time doing something outside of your field. Garden, help with a literacy project, steer a committee, coach basketball – do whatever you are good at or are passionate about. Your community will see you participating and have further trust in your ability to contribute towards the greater good.

Network Like Nuts. Joining professional organizations allow you to connect with potential partners who can either pass work your way, build projects together, or consult directly with them.

Rachel Franco of RAF-Communications a freelance copywriter in Atlanta explains, “I have definitely made some good connections with potential partners like graphic designers, marketing consultants, and PR consultants. For example, at a Freelance Forum meeting, I met a graphic designer who, after the meeting, invited me to submit a proposal to a potential client of hers. With one web designer I formed a relationship with through my individual networking efforts, she has referred a couple of clients my way.”

Do a Freebie. Normally, I steer people away from doing free projects (who would ask a doctor to provide free medical services?), but with most freelancers we offer services that we can do a once a year free project. Pick yours and when you do it make sure that your business is listed as the contributor, sponsor, or is acknowledged in some way. I designed the library card for our county and when they were first printed and handed out a press release and picture were submitted to the paper. That simple deed has gone to grow my business in my community more than I could imagine.

Set Your Target. Are there businesses that you would like to help? Do they need your services? Do you dream of working for them? Set your targets and make appointments with the owners. Most businesses are more than happy to talk to a freelance provider about what they offer. Don’t be shy about what you do, if you have been watching them for some time you know what kinds of things that they need. Present how you can help them, how they can save money by hiring a freelancer, and what services you offer. This is your chance to share your expertise and boost their productivity.

Start Small. Sometimes getting started in your hometown can be difficult because they either have someone who provides your service, they don’t understand what you could do to help them grow, or they don’t feel comfortable hiring a freelancer. Approach a business with one small project in mind, something you can do in your sleep, but will prove that you are great at what you do. After you finish your first small project you can approach them about growing their business with you. It is easier to get more business after doing a great job on something tiny than taking on huge projects that go terribly wrong. Start small to win big!

Working in your own city can help you grow your freelance business in ways that you didn’t think possible. You have to commit to being part of your business community, network often, and set clear boundaries about what you will do for free. All of that is nothing compared to the satisfaction of knowing that you have developed deep roots in the city that you love.

FreelanceSwitch

I did my first trip as a traveling freelancer in June and July, spending 35 days traveling around Spain and Portugal.  The traveling part was great but the freelancing part was much, much harder than I thought.  I had read plenty of articles about freelancing while traveling but being on the road is a whole different thing.  And so I’ve put together some resources for the traveling freelancer.  This first article is about finding places to live that feel like home, mostly spending less than one would at hotels.

Hostels have been the traditional option for long-haul travelers because of their low price and sociable atmosphere but they’re not known as the most secure places for gear and usually don’t offer the most peaceful of spots for sleeping and working.  They also don’t feel much like home . When the traveler’s on the move for a long time, he starts getting homesick.  There are some options worth looking into where you can find real, welcoming homes as well as potentially friendly hosts who will give you tips and share insider knowledge of their cities.

Renting other people’s rooms and homes

AirBnB is one of several sites where hosts post short-term and vacation rentals, from couches in their living rooms to full mansions – prices vary from a few dollars to more than $ 1,000 per night.

When you rent someone else’s place you can negotiate the price and check out time.  You can also cook if you like to without having to use the often gross pots and utensils of a hostel.  If you’re renting a room in someone’s place it can take a bit of time to get used to the idea but you can get some great advice about the city you’re visiting that you might never get otherwise.

But there are downsides to renting from an individual as opposed to a company. Often, you have no idea who the owner is and whether they’re trustworthy for your needs.  In addition, you never have the same guarantees a hotel might give you–though in some countries hotels aren’t any more reliable than a lady with a spare room.  In my experience, a person with a spare room isn’t any less reliable than a four star hotel in Portugal in guaranteeing that you’ll have wi-fi in your room.

Other room and home rental sites

Crashpadder. Easy to navigate, includes a map of listings with your results.  Listings are mostly for anglophone countries.

Roomorama. Lots of listings for full apartments.  Limited number of cities.

Homelidays. Full home rentals around the world.

iStopOver. A portal of rentals for vacationers, travelers over 50 and special events such as the World Cup.  A bit impersonal.  Also lists B&B’s.

Pros of Home Rental

• Guests get to meet some local folks
• Guests potentially have a room of their own for less than a hotel room’s price
• Price is negotiable
• The site keeps the guest’s credit card or Paypal information and payment isn’t processed till 24 hours after the guest’s arrival time. If the guest arrives at his host’s home and the place is not as described (i.e. the “private bedroom” is actually a hammock in the garage) the guest has 24 hours to report this to AirBnB and cancel the reservation so that his credit card won’t be charged.

Cons of Home Rental

• You always need a plan B in case you arrive at a place that’s not what you expected.
• Many times, bed & breakfast businesses are also using the site to post their rooms, which defeats the purpose of such listings.
• On many sites, anyone can leave a review for a host, even if the reviewer was never a guest but is a friend or relative.
• Reviews often aren’t available.
• AirBnB charges as much as a 6% fee on top of the rental asking price.

Tips

• Never book a listing that doesn’t have photos.  Look for listings that have at least 3 or 4 photos, including that of your presumed sleeping space.
• Speak with the host on the phone, preferably through video call, before booking.
• Don’t ever do transactions outside of the site!  If a host wants to finish a transaction via email or phone don’t even book with that person. Though the site doesn’t take much responsibility for what happens to its users and it charges a percentage off transactions, going outside the site raises safety issues for both host and guest.
• Never, ever give your credit card information or pay a host in cash under ANY circumstances!  You’ll already have given your credit card number to the site, there’s no need for a host to ask for it again.
• Don’t leave your valuables lying around.
• Under all circumstances, trust your instincts.  If something’s telling you something’s not right then it probably isn’t.

In the continuation of this list of resources I’ll go into a little more adventurous experiences with Couchsurfing and WWOOFing.

If you’ve used any site of this sort please let us know about your experiences and share some tips in the comments.  Your tips can help the next traveler embarking on his or her journey!

Photo credit: Foxtongue on flickr.

FreelanceSwitch

Imagine it: you’ve been given the chance to look into the future and bring back one tool that will help you be the Best. Freelancer.

Read more:
Having Fun: Imagine the Perfect Freelancer’s Tool

One of the benefits that many freelancers with families cite is the ability to stay home with the kids: you can save a fortune on daycare if you have kids just by working from home and not sending the kids elsewhere.

Read this article:
Child Care Options for Freelancers

Here at Envato we’re pretty famous for building a lot of successful blogs, like this one! We’ve done quite a few now, so last year I decided other people might find our techniques and systems useful. Today I’m really happy to announce my new book How to Build a Successful Blog Business which is a step by step guide to doing what we do, and it comes packed with case studies for our blogs including FreelanceSwitch! The book covers everything from picking a niche to hiring staff, monetizing to building traffic.

Continue reading here:
Behind the Scenes of FreelanceSwitch with Collis!

Trolling the archives of FreelanceSwitch is a great thing to do if you’re trying to avoid doing actual work.  So because you’re a super busy freelancer, I’ve taken the time – hours and hours, just for you –  to grab a few of the more, shall we say “interesting” posts and gems from the crypts. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Guide to Freelancing 10 awesome steps to reframe how you look at your freelancing career.  Also very useful if you think your head might explode if you are forced to watch anything else Twilight related. The Six People You Meet In Freelance Internet Writing Hell Any post with a reference to a Commodore Vic 20 is going to get my vote.  Unless it’s up against a TRS-80…

See the original post:
Gems of the FreelanceSwitch Archives

Sometimes, you’ve gotta be that “in your face” type of freelancer. By that, I mean client follow-up…

Go here to see the original:
Client Follow-Up: Getting Your “Duck-Ins” in a Row

Have you ever had one of those days where everything was going wrong?  You missed a deadline, you lost a good client, an oft-promised cheque still hasn’t arrived, final notice on your cable bill came today, the client isn’t buying into the concept, your spouse is upset, your dog has fleas, and to top it all off – you just dropped your bread, and it landed butter side down.  Worst Monday ever. Here are 5 tips to help you blow off some steam before you climb up to the bell tower…

Read more here:
Five Easy Ways to Safely Vent

See the rest here:
Freelance Freedom #166: Designer Drama