What’s on the iPod: Iceberg by We Invented Paris
This is one busy week. I’m trying to wrap up not one, but three projects before Friday.
That means getting my invoicing in order for this month and getting some leads in line for January work. At the moment, I do have some work coming in, and it may be enough. But I’d rather make sure.
November was a weird month — I had work (lots of it), but most of it hasn’t been invoiced. Projects I expected to have invoiced are in their final stages. I will be sending out two invoices this week, and one went out yesterday. They amount to my targeted earnings goal, so anything I earn in December is going to be gravy.
Too bad I can’t say the same for November. Here’s how it all played out:
Queries:
I sent two. One resulted in an immediate assignment. The other is still in limbo. Time to tap the editor’s shoulder, as it’s a time-sensitive topic.
LOIs:
I sent two dozen out, and I did receive some leads. Nothing concrete, but I suspect December isn’t the time to expect them to start new projects. Still, I intend to go back to them this month and get them talking.
Social media:
LinkedIn was my medium of choice, and I connected with a number of familiar faces this past month. From these, I hope to cultivate a few clients.
Job postings:
I found three very good matches that I applied to. I don’t put a lot of effort into this as the competition is ridiculously fierce and it’s way too easy for an application to never be seen. But, thanks to a friend’s alert, I applied for one that fit like a glove. No word yet, but I the site through which I was to apply made it impossible to apply. I’m sitting here waiting for membership approval three weeks later. Not a good sign. However, I bypassed them and went straight to the source. I may not be chosen because I didn’t follow protocol, but following proper channels was netting me nothing but frustration. And would I want to work with a client who’s that much of a stickler?
Referrals:
I had one referral from a local writer last week, but nothing yet has come of it. Could be vacation lag, but it could be that I wasn’t the right fit in the client’s mind.
Existing clients:
All of my work came from existing clients, some of whom I hadn’t worked with in a year or more. They kept me busy this past month.
New clients:
No new client work so far. I do have people interested, so I’m hoping the calendar turning over in December will trigger renewed interest.
Poetry:
I’ve redirected some of my time to poetry. It’s paid off — my first publication is in proof stage this month.
Bottom line:
Plenty of work in November, but that was the result of a doubling of marketing effort. Had projects finished sooner, I’d have surpassed my monthly target. As it is, December invoices have already met this month’s goal.
I’ve been looking at new marketing methods to help improve the results, but I’ve not yet landed on anything that feels right. I’ve seen a lot more freelance job postings that hold merit, so I’m giving job listings just a few more minutes of my time per week. Plus I’m seeing good success in going back to people whom I’ve already done a good job for. December is going to be a tough time to market, but I’m going to reach out with some email ideas and see what happens from there.
How was November for you?
Any surprises, good or bad?
Not surprisingly (since I was gone half the month of November), income was down. However, if I received the balance on a project I billed for in November, I would have met target.
I was pleasantly surprised at a client meeting while I was in San Diego to receive a couple new projects, one of which will carry over to January. I also heard from a San Diego friend who indicated her company may be able to use my services.
I have a final project for a long-time client to finish up in December. They have been aces in the projects department this year.
I received final payment on a project from a new client who indicates there will definitely be more in the future.
I heard from a former client who is at a new company who said she would definitely have projects for me in the new year. It's all good. 🙂
I got in some marketing before I left for San Diego, and did a bit more while there and there are some promising leads.
I also sent my holiday gifts before I left. Now, it's time to get the cards out.
This looks like a better closing to the year than is typical.
Sending your holiday gifts before you left for San Diego? Now that's just showing off, Cathy! 😉
That site STILL hasn't approved you, Lori? Maybe the company will appreciate the initiative you took in finding an alternate way to contact them, especially after seeing you are perfect for that gig.
My November was good, despite my being sick for the last two weeks (four days of which I was up in the North Woods with family). Like any good freelancer, I kept working despite this endless cold and coughing.
Queries: Sent two. Learned one was close, but the mag had covered too many people from that show already. Darn.
LOIs: Sent six. One reply. They said they don't often use freelancers, but they liked my experience and were forwarding my info and clips to their assigning editor.
Social Media: After I called and left a voice mail to follow up on an LOI from October or September, a Deputy Editor from the publication contacted me via LinkedIn and asked for clips to share with her colleagues. I send some just before Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed.
Job Postings: Replied to four, and received one rejection.
Referrals: Two former resume clients referred people to me. I wound up writing to new resumes and one cover letter. (Ideal fill-in work when you have no voice to do phone interviews!)
Existing Clients: Working on one article for Favorite Editor, turned in two local articles and three columns.
New Clients: The resumes, noted above.
Earnings: The big Variety check arrived a month before expected (yay!!!). Because of that, I brought in more than double my monthly goal. Woo-hoo!
Bottom Line: Being sick sucks. But it's no excuse for not sending more queries and LOIs. Oh, and coming back from four days away is hard. How do you frequent vacationers adapt?
Being sick does suck, Paula. I agree.
And no — they've not approved my profile yet. How long has it been now?
Cathy, it sounds like you'll finish strong, though. Glad to hear San Diego was fruitful for you.
Lori, I noticed that site had another insurance-related job listing. But it was $300 for a white paper. Yeah. Right. Didn't think it was worth forwarding to you.
Unless that white paper is 300 words, that's not happening!
Maybe it was dieting early and dropped a zero, Paula & Lori. 😉
ROFLMAO!
We need a New Year's resolution to reply to some insultingly low job listings by asking, "Did you misplace the decimal point?" Or, "You meant dollars, not cents, right?"
Love it, Paula!!