5 Tips to Ensure Maximum Performance When Working for Multiple Clients

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There seems to be two kinds of freelancers when it comes to the beginning to a career: those who are afraid to take on more than a single project at a time and those who jump in so deep that they are drowning in orders before they know what they are doing. Most commonly, it is the first type that we see. While freelancers have the ability to do more than one order at once, they are terrified of the risk or missing a deadline to take the chance.

But here is a secret that most freelancers who have been in the business for a while are aware of: You won’t reach full earning potential until you move past this fear, simply because you waste time that could be broken up among multiple orders trying to find one new project at a time.

If you are thinking of finally getting more than one client at a time, here are five tips to help you do so more smoothly. [Read more…]

GoDaddy A Good Place To Start A Website

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website
Being a freelance writer entails a lot of responsibility and discipline. It is a given that our primary role is to produce written work that satisfies our clients, but there are so many other peripheral activities that can take up our time. One of these activities is starting and maintaining a website of your own. If you are a seasoned freelance writer, you probably already have one up and running. If you are new to the business, however, it is imperative that you establish your online presence as soon as possible. This is especially true if you are targeting the online job market!

If you are just starting out, it can be easy to become overwhelmed at the thought of having to start your own website. Where do you begin?

Do not despair! There are a lot of resources that can point you in the right direction of how to build a website. These guides are very detailed, so even the newest of new freelance writers aiming to make a splash online will be able to do things practically on their own.

Here’s a quick checklist of what you need to pay attention to when starting your own website.

  • Choose a domain name. The domain name is closely tied to the identity of your website, so choose wisely. Here are some good tips on how to choose a good domain name. Keep in mind that these are only tips, and at the end of the day, you do not have to follow each of them if you have a strong argument. It’s not a one-size-fits-all thing anyway.
  • Register your domain name. Sure you have your domain name, but you have to stake your claim by registering it. This can be done via a domain name registrar such as NameCheap. Alternatively, you can go to the next point – web hosting.
  • Choose the best web hosting company you can find. You will be faced with many choices when it comes to this. There are the established names in the business, one of which is GoDaddy. This particular web host offers domain name registration as well, so you do not have to deal with different entities.
    Whatever you do, or whatever you choose, make sure that you have done at least a little bit of research. Compare services, offerings, and prices before signing on the dotted line.
  • Set up your website! I suggest using the free tools that your web hosting provider offers. Even if you have no experience, in most cases, web host providers have intuitive interfaces which include instructions on how to build your website. This should be enough to start with. Later on, when you have more experience, you can tweak and redesign to your heart’s content.

Let’s go back to the point: GoDaddy as a springboard for starting your website. You will probably hear some people offering contradictory opinions. They may have value, sure, but the thing about GoDaddy is that it makes things really easy for beginners. And, even if you are not a beginner but you do not want to spend much time on building your website at the outset, GoDaddy is a perfect place to start.

As I mentioned above, GoDaddy offers domain name registration on top of their web hosting packages. This is a matter of convenience and ease, really. It also has a very easy-to-use interface which will make your website-building endeavor less of an overwhelming idea. Last, GoDaddy usually has some good deals going on. If you are looking at more than one website, for example, the chances are you will be able to get a discount.

At the end of the day, I think that the one-stop-shop nature of GoDaddy’s services is excellent for freelance writers who are just embarking on this particular journey. Why not give a go?

Image via Daniel*1977

Build Your Arsenal to Better Promote Your Freelance Writing

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Man, it just isn’t easy to be a freelance writer sometimes. Sure, you have the ability to set your own hours and rates. You can work from literally anywhere with an Internet connection and you are your own boss. Plus, if you ever need to take time away you can do so. All in all, it is a good career choice, but it still has its difficulties. [Read more…]

Write and Be Merry- How to Make a Vocal Splash without Even Trying

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BOO!

OK so that’s all I got. That’s my splash. Spectacular wasn’t it?

Kidding.

Seriously though, all this labor and angst over finding your “voice” as a writer… does it really have to be so damn hard all the time? (Hint: OF COURSE IT DOESN’T.)

Sorry, was I shouting? Forgive me, it’s all the pent up passion y’know. Wreaks havoc with my social filters.

Anyhoo, you probably already know the usual tips to finding your writing voice and groove, like:

How Freelance Writers Can Save Money By Giving Money

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For many writers, math is not a strong suite. Creativity comes easy, but when it comes time to worry about taxes, writers often run the other way. The danger that goes along with freelance writing is the idea that you do not get a formal paycheck. While a traditional job will take care of the taxes for you, in general, freelance writing probably won’t. In other words, it’s in the hands of the writer to set money aside for taxes.

Now to make things even more complicated for those who despised math growing up: there are different types of taxes that you have to pay. Consider the two types of taxes all freelance writers should be saving up for before April hits: [Read more…]

Monitoring Your Online Reputation as a Freelance Writer

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Freelance writing is now one of the sources of income for many moms dads and others alike. As a freelance worker, they are free to serve as many clients as they can. They build reputation by submitting works on time and providing high-quality work. The reputation built will then result into new job offers or job referrals from satisfied clients and writers will have increased income.

As a writer, you can collect positive reviews from your satisfied clients. However, many potential clients today, go beyond profile reviews. They have now started to dig for more information about you. Below are the tools you can use to monitor your online reputation as a writer. [Read more…]

7 Effective Time Management Tips

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Managing your time effectively is very individual and so it’s impossible to tell a person which days and times they will be able to work most effectively.

However, there are patterns that you can look at and see if you’re the same as most other people when it comes to working. If you’re trying to work out a timetable in order to help yourself work as efficiently as possible, there are several things you should take into consideration and think about first of all. [Read more…]

Newest Free Mac Apps for Better Productivity

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We all have trouble focusing from time to time. With the massive time waster that is the Internet tempting us with endless pages of Lolcats, YouTube videos, social-networking sites and Netflix, it is practically turning us all into creatures with the attention span of a goldfish. When was the last time you actually got through a task without checking Facebook? Or sending a text? I bet you can’t even remember.

It is no surprise that an avalanche of free applications has been released by developers for the Mac that helps to combat the lack of productivity that sometimes occurs in our everyday lives. Whether the issue is that there isn’t enough time in a day to get it all done or you just don’t seem to know where the time is going, these apps can help. [Read more…]

Essential Tips for an Effective Freelance Writing Career

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One of the professions that the advent of the internet has truly radicalized is writing. The internet is a content based medium and, as such, it relies on writers to produce the materials that people will read. Web designers may produce web sites and technical guys can bring that web site online but without content, a visitor to a web site will have nothing to read and, will not come back after seeing an empty site.

If you are starting out a freelance writing career then you will be joining countless other people who have found career fulfillment writing for various web sites and portals. Each writer will have their own secrets to success but the following tips are some of the most essential you should definitely follow:

  • Set up a conducive work environment. You don’t necessarily need to have a dedicated home office (although it will help), but make sure that your workspace is a perfect place for working. It should be comfortable, quiet and equipped with all of the material and hardware you will need for your work. A conducive work environment is not just about space, remember it’s about the “environment”. This includes your family. They should be made aware that even though you are at home, you are working.
  • Research about marketing and other business skills. Freelance writing oftentimes mean that you have to look for projects. This means you should brush up on your business skills. Research on how to properly market yourself and communicating with companies and potential employers. Try to professionalize your service by having professional letterheads printed. Nothing says “pro” than official looking materials.
  • Show off your skills at all times. You are selling your ability to write, so make sure that all written materials that originate from you are of topnotch quality – and that includes your emails and all of your correspondences with potential clients. Nothing will kill chances of landing a project more than a poorly written email.
  • Be professional at all times. Professionalism should be followed in every aspect of your career. One of the most crucial displays of professionalism is by meeting deadlines. Consistently meeting the deadlines that has been set by your clients will ensure that you get more business from them in the future.
  • Be flexible. Expect that there will be clients that will ask for revisions, alterations or any kind of changes on your submitted articles. This is part of the job, do it with a smile on your face.

5 Design Tips For Creating A Tablet Friendly Website

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Tablet Browsing
2011 has been the year of the tablet as an increasing number of internet users (millions of people) have begun browsing the web on an iPad, iPad 2, Amazon Kindle Fire or various Google Android based Tablet devices. With the increase in tablet use one thing has become certain, website designers must be willing to create a website that is ready for tablet based user interfaces. Here are a few tips to get you started when designing a website that is both functional for a traditional browser and a tablet.
1. HTML5 Integration
Whether you want to admit it or not Adobe Flash has become a nuisance for tablet web designers. While Flash looks great when used on traditional devices and Google Android based systems it can’t be utilized on Apple devices and therefore your website won’t properly display many videos and other flash based elements. HTML5 integration on the other hand allows videos to play on most devices while providing a less resource heavy option that allows tablet users to save on battery life.
2. Use Adaptive CSS
Tablet users are no longer bound by a fixed resolution and therefore using fixed template sizes limits your ability to create a robust design for your users. In this situation you should consider using Adaptive CSS techniques. If you think of a tablet as a device of limitless output possibilities fluid design elements quickly make sense. One methodology used by professional designers these days is known as adaptive design methodology in which certain CSS and Javascript elements are only shown on browsers that can support them, using this method some users receive a more rich or “complete” environment while other users receive whatever their browser/device can support.
3. Friendly Navigation
When using a tablet many users find it cumbersome to click on small links when navigating a website, for this reason it is a smart idea to create larger than normal categories at the top of your website to ensure easy top level navigation. Another option is to offer finger swiping navigation capabilities to more easily browse through pages found on the website. The most popular example of finger swiping for navigation purposes comes from the Flipboard application which allows users to navigate through posts as if they are reading pages from a book. The idea behind friendly navigation on tablets is to offer easy access to sections with the press of a finger. My personal favorite method for front page navigation is to provide a thumbnail interface in which articles from the websites frontpage are ordered in thumbs which are easy to press because of their increased size over word based links.
4. Tweak Your Form Fields With CSS
This is one of the most overlooked areas of tablet website design I have found to date, while a simple contact form may look perfect on your website there’s a good chance once the forms fields are shrunk down on a tablet or mobile device they will look out of place. The easiest fix in this case is to reduce the number of fields used in web forms however when that is not possible wrapping your contact elements in CSS and designing them around your website design for tablets is a good way to ensure your forms stay fresh and ready for use.
5. Don’t Crowd Your Pages

That three column design that looks decent on your laptop is not exactly tablet friendly. Because your website will scale down on most tablet devices the moment a user loads your website which crams content between left and right sidebars they are already battling to find and zoom in on your content while it competes with other elements. In the case of developing a website that works for both a desktop user and a tablet user the “keep it simple stupid” method is a smart choice to make. As an added bonus when you scale down your sites output you reduce server load which in turn helps pages load faster, an important aspect for many tablet users who may not be connected to high speed internet options at all times.

Tablet devices have “dumbed down” the electronics industry by offering less robust (in some aspects) yet far more functional computing, therefore it only makes sense that the browsing experience on tablets should also be scaled down while implementing more functional design applications. While there are many web design standards you can use to create a useful and enjoyable tablet web browsing experience the options listed above should point you in the right direction to get started.

Do you have any favorite tablet design options you’d like to share with our readers?
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