Words on the Page

Creating Value and Loyalty in a Sucky Market

Posted on by lwidmer

Now that I’ve pounded it into the freelancing world’s collective brain that we deserve to be paid what we’re worth, maybe I should talk about how to give value and inspire client loyalty when everyone is bargain shopping. You’ve worked hard to build that list of clients. Why not help them increase their own brand…

Your Aching Image

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m about to try proving a point about your rates by taking you through France to get to New Jersey. Bear with me – it’s relevant. Somehow. Image and brand – in some cases, they’re the same thing. Don’t think so? Ask Michael Phelps right about now. And Miley Cyrus? Both her image and her…

What’s Your BATNA?

Posted on by lwidmer

Sometimes you’re going to have client issues that you’re just not going to be able to resolve. It sucks, but it’s life. I dealt with one recently that left me feeling unheard, unappreciated, and unwilling to continue with the status quo. Unfortunately, it was a situation that had been quite lucrative in the past. But…

Your Brand and Why You’re Killing Me Here

Posted on by lwidmer

Oh come on, you have a brand. You do. Didn’t know that, did you? Well, each time you interact with a client, you leave an impression. You also build a little more credibility in an industry or a niche, which helps define your future projects and clients. That’s what I want to talk to you…

Diversity

Posted on by lwidmer

Back when I was on staff, I remember my first intro to this new company. They did everything right – they blitzed the media, made personal contact, attended the conferences, spent money to build the brand, and secured some pretty impressive client business. A year later, they were sponsoring conferences and being quoted in various…

Your Monthly Assessment – January

Posted on by lwidmer

Oh, I know how you hate when you’re called out like this, but I figure since I’m doing my own monthly business assessment, why not include all of you? This month I set a small goal, expecting business to be slow (and missing a week because my mom came for a visit). I was right…

Here Comes the Shovel

Posted on by lwidmer

No, not for snow – for the high levels of crap job postings that are increasing in frequency and ridiculousness. A sampling from this week: “…editing about 95 website reviews; each review is about 125 words and consists of the review, site name, URL, as well as a brief summary. Many reviews will require rewriting…

Devon Ellington

I’m here because it’s like having morning coffee with a friend and colleague, a place to brainstorm, discuss ideas, and maybe come away viewing the world a little differently.

And thanks for the link love!

Angie Ledbetter

I have my blog link in my email sig line, and do some of the things mentioned in your post, mostly b/c I'm a yappy friendly southerner vs. actively promoting my blog.

I visit here because I like your honest about freelancing and your sharing of tips & linkage. No idea how I found you…probably following someone's blog roll or from when you commented elsewhere. Oh, to be able to defrag my brain!

Georganna Hancock M.S.

*rushes to comment*

“…I have begun Twittering my latest posts, which have already begun to bring in some new faces.”

This is exactly the kind of confirmation I have been waiting for prior to investing time and effort exploring the possibility of using Twitter. Thanks for being my crash test dummy.

Even last night at a San Diego Bloggers MeetUp, as I listened to young mommy-bloggers enthusiastically endorse the latest shiny toy in the social media arsenal, I still didn’t get it. One of them did mention using Twitter to promote your blog, but I worried that it would just turn out to be another time sink.

*sighs, trudges off to Twitter*

Georganna Hancock M.S.

Whoops! Sorry, I forgot to contribute something possibly useful, and that is that I use the Writer’s Digest forum for cross-fertilizations with my blog. I know that works, and I can share there more and more often than I can/do in my blog.

You’re so right about tackling tech selectively. No sense in wasting energy on fruitless efforts, but you don’t know until you try, sometimes.

Lori

For you, Devon, anytime. :))

Angie, I was thinking I found you via Entrecard, but my brain’s in need of rebooting itself!

Georganna, a week into my experiment with Twitter and I’m not sure I get it yet, but I’m not as confused. And it’s not proving to be a huge time sink – yet. I see the potential for abuse on my part, though.

Do you mean you post links to your blog content on WD forums? If so, excellent idea!

Georganna Hancock M.S.

Oh, yeah! I’ve tried using “teasers”, but don’t know their effects. Sometimes I just copy the whole post, other times I write about the subject and mention the post with a link.

Sometimes I reference or use material from the forum in my blog, and then let people at the forum know. That’s most effective–people love to read about themselves!

Kirk Petersen

Chum… isn’t that what you throw in the water to make the fish excited? Anyway, thanks for the shout-out. 🙂

I used to have my blog in my email signature — I started the blog at a time when I had no current clients. I would delete the blog from my sig when I sent email to potential clients. I style myself as a red state voter in a deep blue state, and I’m leery of calling attention to my blog with prospective clients. (Yes, I know they’ll find it if they Google me.)

Then I got an actual client, my email volume went up, and I started forgetting to delete the blog address. So I took it out of my sig.

This may be an excess of caution — anybody who freaks out at my mainstream views is someone I don’t want to work for anyway. I’m considering going to the opposite extreme and integrating my blog with my marketing site — the blog gets a heck of a lot more traffic than my marketing site, and it showcases the writing skills I’m trying to sell.

Lori, you sometimes post about what I think of as stupid client tricks — ever have a client take offense at your blog?

Kimberly Ben

I primarily rely on Twitter and a link in my signature. What i like about this blog is the very useful information delivered in a straightforward style.

Willie

I read your blog because i feel like reading. Hehehe

khaye

My blog is linked to my other sites and I read you because I learn from you.

Lori

Kirk, to date no client has taken offense. In general I don’t blog about current or past clients – only those who never quite made the cut. And I’m careful to give some fairly general descriptions that wouldn’t embarrass them. Those I blog about are those I don’t work for, and even then, you have to keep their privacy in mind.

Like you, I don’t put my blog in my email sig, and for the same reason. I have my website addy, which has a link to this blog. I’ve worked with people on the opposite side of my political views. They’ve never known because to me, the job is to make them happy, not to insert my own opinion.

Willie, I’m glad you feel like reading. 🙂

khaye, I love your blog. Your insights are thought-provoking.

Kimberly, thanks. I thoroughly enjoy your blog for exactly that reason. 🙂

Lori

You’ll never be fish scraps, Kirk. 🙂

Melissa Donovan

Great post Lori, and I have to say, you brought a blush to my cheeks.

One thing that I constantly see bloggers fail to do (especially newbies) is engage in the community, especially with comment reciprocation.

I understand that bigwigs like Problogger, Copyblogger, and Dooce couldn’t possibly reciprocate all those comments – but many smaller bloggers are missing a huge opportunity to connect with other bloggers and build (or retain) a readership.

Anyway, that’s my two cents 😉 Thanks again!