• Melanie Brooks |
• Product Reviews
• | August 26th

Firepole Marketing Course

Online courses make me nervous. There, I’ve said it. They make me nervous because they are hard to do well, and, as a freelancer, I don’t like to waste my time (or my money) on information that doesn’t really help me.

But this marketing course by Firepole Marketing is different.

Their Audio Coaching Program is specifically designed for small businesses (which means freelancers) and entrepreneurs. Founders Danny Iny and Peter Vogopoulous speak the language of successful entrepreneurs, and have the credentials to back up their advice.

Continue Reading

• Thursday Bram |
• Ask FreelanceSwitch
• | August 25th

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at development work and domain names. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

Am starting out as an Indie PHP/RoR web developer, but really struggling to get work and now thinking twice about it . What are some of the known ways to get freelance work from a dev who is just starting out? I do have significant experience of about 3-4 years with pet projects/job experience and making websites for relatives and friends, e.t.c.

Because a lot of clients prefer to work with developers who have already built up a portfolio working for other clients, it can seem difficult to break in and get work without a good reputation of your own. There are a few strategies that can help you land some work and start building up a client base, though.

Continue Reading

• Skellie |
• Productivity
• | August 24th

A few times a month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of FreelanceSwitch. This article by Skellie was first published July 9th, 2008, yet is just as relevant and full of interesting information today.

Freelancers are more likely than most people to love Moleskine notebooks. We need to keep and manage our own schedules and to-dos. We’re creative, so we need a place to store and expand ideas. We need to take notes at meetings with clients–or at least look like we are. We need to appear productive and busy in coffee-shops–even when we aren’t.

Moleskine notebooks rank alongside the MacBook Pro, money and caffiene on our fictional list of ‘Most Beloved Freelancing Tools’. It’s a shame, then, that many Moleskine owners don’t realize the full potential of their little black book… much like many brain-owners don’t realize the full potential of their squishy salmon-colored companion.

Don’t be one of those people!

Inside this post you’ll find a goldmine of mini-hacks, recommendations, visual modifications, organizational systems, uncommon uses and creative tomfoolery, all for your Moleskine(s)! Continue Reading

• Kristen Fischer |
• Inspiration
• | August 24th

Credit: Elenathewise on Photodune.

“Breathe and reboot.”

I say this to myself a lot; heck, today it was my status message on Facebook. It’s one of my mantras…when something has me really irritated, frustrated, stressed, or angry. I know better than to let those emotions overcome me. Okay, sometimes they win out–I’m an Italian from New Jersey–whaddaya want?

Most of the time, I know to breathe and reboot. Why? Because I don’t want to let one pesky letdown ruin my entire day–or my perspective on life.

When I thought about it, this concept is greatly useful for freelancers. We’re juggling a multitude of tasks and dealing with all sorts of people, so it’s likely that something (maybe more somethings) will disrupt your happiness during the day. What to do? Breathe and reboot.

Continue Reading

• Danny Iny |
• The Business of Freelancing
• | August 23rd

Credit: Pressmaster on Photodune

“Should I work alone, or find a partner?”

There are some compelling reasons to find a partner: a complimentary skill-set, and an extra pair of eyes and hands, not to mention that it isn’t nearly as much fun to work alone.

On the other hand, there are some fairly compelling reasons NOT to find a partner: they get half of your business, you won’t always see eye to eye, and let’s face it, things can get messy.

So… what should you do? Is partnering a good idea?

I’ve been down both roads; I’ve started and run businesses on my own, and I’ve done it with partners. Of the businesses that did involve other people, some of those partnerships worked out, and some… well, not so much.

Let’s take a close look at the perils, pitfalls, and possibilities of partnering in this guide. We’ll extract from my experience and shed light on when to partner and when not to.

Continue Reading

• Sean Hodge |
• Finding Work
• | August 22nd

Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community.

Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in Full Time Developer, WordPress Plugin Development, Online Community Development and more!

To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!

Continue Reading

• N.C. Winters |
• Freelance Freedom
• | August 22nd

Continue Reading

• David Appleyard |
• General
• | August 22nd

It’s Envato’s 5th birthday and we’re ready to celebrate! With another year comes another Bundle, and this year’s Bundle is bigger and better than ever with over $500 ($507 in fact) worth of awesome files all for only $20!

With the recent public launch of Envato’s stock photography marketplace PhotoDune, we’ve been able to include even more great files. Our team have handpicked picked some super cool stuff from around the marketplaces and have worked tirelessly to cram them into our 5th Birthday Bundle. See the full list of files on the Birthday Bundle page!

Read on for a quick look through what’s inside this year…

Continue Reading

• Sean Hodge |
• Switchoff
• | August 21st

7 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Freelance Reputation

Honest freelancers keep their word to get work done on time. They value their reputation and their strong work ethic pays dividends. An enthusiastic customer recommendation about a freelancer’s performance can bring a number of new offers and better income.

Nobody’s Perfect: Why We All Need A Margin For Error

A jam-packed day feels extremely efficient until it all unravels. The fatal flaw of productivity is the presumption that we can plan ahead without budgeting for the unexpected. It turns out that flexibility is a competitive advantage.

Straightforward SEO for Webdesigners

Dreaded by many Webdesigners, SEO often seems like a headache better left to coders or marketing analysts, but there’s no reason for standing around on the sidelines. In this quick tutorial we’ll build a simple HTML template whilst laying down some best practices which can influence your site’s SEO right from the word go.

Continue Reading

• Sean Hodge |
• Inspiration
• | August 20th

View engaging conference lectures, interesting how to discussions, and high quality freelance advice via video here on FreelanceSwitch.

This week we look at Strange Business: Corporate Creativity That Doesn’t Suck by Aaron With Editor in Chief Groupon Inc. In this video Aaron discusses the strange uncomfortable social experiments they perform in their marketing. Bucking all normal marketing rules, Groupon can’t resist executing its silliest, darkest, dumbest, and most pointless impulses on a grand scale. By launching one incredibly expensive joke after another with no clear tie to revenue, they believe they are creating more engagement.

Continue Reading

• Christian Arno |
• Freelance Writing
• | August 19th

Credit: Yuri Arcurs on Photodune

Recently here on Freelance Switch, Thursday Bram discussed whether freelancers should be making use of the trend towards global outsourcing, to free up their writing and project management time by employing virtual assistants overseas to manage menial tasks.

Today, I’d like to expand upon that theme, and talk about how freelancers, especially copywriters, could be turning their personal cottage industry into an international enterprise, by teaming up with translators to go global.

The web is becoming an increasingly multilingual place. The growth in internet accessibility worldwide means that, in the near future, English will no longer be the ‘lingua franca’ of the web.

Web surfers prefer to browse the web in their native language – and this means that if you want to reach an international audience, you need to go multilingual.

Continue Reading

• Thursday Bram |
• General
• | August 18th

Credit: Lifeonwhite on Photodune

A bad review, whether it’s posted on a portfolio site, or just shared by word of mouth, can ruin your whole day. It’s easy to dwell on it, turning everything over and over again in your mind. But as a freelancer, how concerned should you really be about bad reviews?

For a hotel or a restaurant, one bad review can decimate the number of customers that come in. People routinely look at reviews for where they’re going to stay or eat, making reviews crucial to business.

Freelancers don’t have quite the same situation, but it is necessary to pay attention to reviews of your services.

Continue Reading