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Blogs that Grow Business

Posted on by lwidmer

The Great Social Networking Experiment (continued) I know you come here to listen to me moan about various woes, low-paying jobs, and my latest hangnail, don’t you? You don’t? Well, maybe you should tell me why you’re here. What compels you to stop by this site and honor me with your presence every day/week? I…

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Twitter-pated

Posted on by lwidmer

Just a few days into my Social Networking Experiment and the first SN application – Twitter. Some initial findings: – It does matter what Twitter “reader” you use – greatly. I had one that had small print, massed-together messages, and no appeal beyond turning it off. I now use Twhirl. Much more user-friendly. It’s helped…

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The Great (or not-so-boring-and-somewhat-interesting) Social Networking Experiment

Posted on by lwidmer

I did it for you guys. Really. Yesterday in one of my more fickle moves, I decided to explore some of these various social networking sites and tools and conduct my own experiment. I want to answer these questions: What’s available and how does it work? How are people using social networking gadgets and sites…

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Tenacity and the Word ‘No’

Posted on by lwidmer

I’ll give her credit – she’s tenacious. The editor of a magazine I worked with recently has once again contacted me to complete a story for her. That would be fine – only, I told her twice now that her publication doesn’t pay enough for me to justify the work involved, and that I had…

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Weird Client Tricks

Posted on by lwidmer

My girlfriend and I were sharing war stories over tea yesterday morning at the local Starbucks. She said she’d never had an instance where a client didn’t pay her. It would’ve bothered me more, but she’s a part-time freelancer and she works with a lot of local publications and clients – she has face time…

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The Real Reason Why I Don’t Twitter

Posted on by lwidmer

Raising my right hand, I’ll swear before this Internet community the truth – I, Lori, am a techno-holic. I sort of knew this all along, but it took Facebook to bring me to my knees and my senses. Recently I was “found” on Facebook by a high-school chum. Her contacting me piqued my interest in…

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Would You Settle For Less?

Posted on by lwidmer

Inauguration Day – a new beginning. Much like New Year’s and our penchant for resolutions, today’s a day where we ignore the harsh realities and try to find that silver lining among numerous clouds. I sit here hopeful, yet people being people, I know it won’t be long before the political maneuvering will hit full…

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Perspectives

Posted on by lwidmer

Last week our favorite Irreverent Freelancer Kathy Kehrli opened up about how she changed her ways, albeit briefly (for we love her irreverence too much to see it disappear). The result was her ability to secure two at-risk clients by simply stepping back and reassessing each situation. While I don’t advocate being a pushover, I…

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Everybody’s Working for the Weekend….

Posted on by lwidmer

Is the song stuck in your head now? Are you even old enough to remember Loverboy? Since I took the first part of this week off to host my mom, I’ll be pulling out the laptop this weekend to do some work. Fortunately, lots of work came in while she was here (and she was…

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Keeping Clients Happy When You’re (Officially) Not Around

Posted on by lwidmer

Despite being off much of this week due to my mom’s visit, clients are still calling and still needing work done. Mind you, I didn’t put an “away” message on my email or phone because I decided I’d check in every evening to see if there was anything critical. In one case, I’d already promised…

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  1. Kirk Petersen Avatar
    Kirk Petersen

    It depends on how slow business has been. Last time I went on vacation I said nothing in advance, if someone was offering billable work I wanted to find out about and decide whether to do it while on vacation. I did a couple of small things and begged off something that would have interfered.

    Your way makes perfect sense if you’re busy.

    Reply
  2. Eileen Coale Avatar
    Eileen Coale

    I put a “Vacation Alert” in my signature line for two weeks ahead of time. If I’m going somewhere without internet access and/or cell phone reception, I note that in the alert as well. Before I leave, I check in with all active clients to see if there’s anything they need before I head out of town. If technology permits, I’ll check email and phone messages once a day while I’m gone.

    Reply
  3. Lillie Ammann Avatar
    Lillie Ammann

    I have a small group of clients that I work for all the time. Often I get small e-mail projects daily. So whenever I expect to be gone, I send them an announcement a week or so ahead of time. Last week, I fell and was out of commission for several days. As soon as I could, I sent a message to my regular clients to let them know I wasn’t available.

    It would probably be less important if I did discrete projects for a wide range of clients. However, I do lots and lots of small projects for a few clients, and several just want me to handle anything that comes with their Web sites or promotional opportunities. So it’s important they know when they can’t depend on me.

    Reply
  4. Devon ellington Avatar
    Devon ellington

    All deadlines are cleared off at least a week before I leave — even if it means working extra hours.

    New deadlines are not scheduled for the first days I’m back, but for about a week out.

    Regular clients are told ahead of time, so that they can plan (much as you did).

    I also build in an extra couple of days in the “away” message. It goes up the day before I leave until the day after I return, to give me some breathing room.

    Reply
  5. Lori Avatar
    Lori

    I hear that, Devon! I usually need that first day to recover, regroup, and recommit to the job. 😉

    Lillie, those are the clients who need our communication. I’m glad you’re back “in commission” again. 🙂

    Eileen, the away message makes sense. I’ll have to start putting that on as you do. Much better to give them fair warning than to surprise them with absence!

    Kirk, that’s very true. If you’re busy, it helps to alert them. However, I use it also as a method of reminding clients I’m around and maybe getting them thinking about working on those projects again.

    Reply
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