Comments on: Knowing When to Switch

By: EP

EP — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:50:56 +0000

I don't get it. How is an earthquake even possible on the east coast?!?

As for the marketing, I unfortunately can't say that if it's happened in the past I can assume it will happen again. I wish I could assume that, though.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:47:18 +0000

Oh – I forgot to note that there's a reason locals were afraid a building might collapse. This summer, in a town just west of us an old masonry building (probably from late 1800s or early 1900s) collapsed into a pile of rubble. No quake, no landslides, no tornado. It just caved in. Luckily, it was empty at the time.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:43:05 +0000

The quake was felt as far west as Illinois, too. In my town, a couple of taller, older buildings were evacuated because they were swaying and shaking just enough to worry that they might be collapsing. They only found out after the fact that is was from the Virginia quake. While my LA friends scoff at a 5.8 (or even the smaller quake we had in Illinois in 2010), a geologist was on TV last night explaining how the different kinds of plates and geology on the east coast (or midwest) means smaller quakes can feel stronger and span greater areas than the same size quake would on the west coast. Fascinating stuff.

One of my clients has two or three times a year when they tend to assign the bulk of freelance work. Luckily the editors tend to reach out to their most reliable writers before they're ready to assign. But I still keep in touch here and there - checking editorial guidelines is a great way to track when they might need extra writers for special reports.

Another client tends to have a summer slow down, but I still keep in touch to let her know I'm available should business pick up sooner than expected.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:07:09 +0000

Kim, I suspected you'd felt it! Seems if you were living anywhere along the east coast, it was noticeable. Heard reports from folks in Cambridge, Mass. and my own sister in Parma, Ohio.

Tracking is not my strong suit either, but it's helped me figure out why this is working now but not then, etc.

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:01:43 +0000

Believe it or not the effects of that earthquake were felt as far away as Atlanta,GA. One of the things my husband is originally from Los Angeles, and one of the things he likes about living in the southeast is there are no earthquakes - or WERE no earthquakes...

I do switch up my marketing pretty regularly, but it's just something I automatically do. I haven't analyzed or monitored my results carefully enough to pinpoint when to use one method over another. That's probably a flaw on my end.