10 Game-changing Tips from the World's Top Freelancers

Entrepreneurs are in a constant battle to manage time, clients, and business. What separates the best business owners from the status quo?

 

Adrian Try explores advice from some of the world's most successful freelancers in his article, Secret Sauce: 10 Game-changing Tips from the World's Top Freelancers.

The article is posted on Freelance Switch. It's a great read with very helpful, practical advice.

Three blogs I love.

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for new ideas, new insight, and new things to read. For those of you in business for yourselves, it's important to have an excellent grasp of marketing and writing in general.

I want to share three blogs I love to read. There's always good information and helpful advice. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

1. Seth Godin's Blog: Seth Godin is a marketing guru and author of great books like Purple Cow and Permission Marketing. His posts are usually short, but very insightful and interesting.

2. CopyBlogger: Brought to you by Brian Clark, a new media writer and entrepreneur and offers tons of great advice about marketing online.

3. Made to Stick Blog: Perhaps you've read the book Made to Stick? If you haven't, I highly recommend the work by Chip and Dan Heath. The blog, like the book, explores why some ideas stick around, go viral, and basically change the way the world works. If you want your marketing or business ideas to make an impression, you should read this blog.

I know this is a very small sampling of the potential blogs you could read. I'm interested to hear what blogs you enjoy: do you have any "must reads"? Let me know, I'm excited to explore new blogs!

Should solopreneurs work when they're sick?

I must confess: today, I'm not feeling up to par. Dizzy spells, flu-like symptoms, and total lack of mental clarity. Yet, here's my blog post. I'm attempting to be productive. I apologize if I become non-sensical.

My question is this: should I be working at all? Do my clients suffer when I work on their projects in this less-than optimal state? 

As a solo-preneur, time is money. (Cliche? Yes, but totally true.)

There is my true dilemma: how do I balance the need to maintain my livelihood (money) with my sickness that could impact the work I do for my clients (standards)?

Does anyone have a solution to this quandary? I'm stumped.

Say thank you! (Clients love it.)

These days, it seems like basic manners are overlooked. 

However, one of the easiest ways to be remembered by your clients (and just to show you appreciate them) is to say thank you. 

To help you make an impression, I've included a quick list of the ways I show appreciation to my clients.

1. Simple thank you card/letter.

For some reason, a hand-written note goes a long way. With all the communication that happens via email, it's refreshing to see someone's scribble. I especially love the thank-you cards from the following places:

www.gartnerstudios.com: Gartner Studios is based in my hometown (Stillwater, MN) so I have to list them here. They offer a great line of thank-you cards, plus many eco-friendly varieties. Many of Gartner's cards are available at Target.

www.nightowlpapergoods.com: I love the letterpress thank-you options. But, I especially enjoy the wooden cards Night Owl makes. You can customize by adding your own message or logo. These cards make an impression every time and they're good for the environment.

www.pinklovesbrown.com: Pink Loves Brown offers great trendy, modern everyday cards. I think their periodic table of elements theme thank-you cards are great.

2. Send some tasty treats.

Sometimes, instead of sending a card, I send an edible or drinkable thank-you. Here are some of my favorite options:

www.cherylandco.com: Cheryl & Co. offers award-winning cookies, brownies, and other deserts. I know first-hand that they are delicious. If your client has a sweet tooth, you can't go wrong with this thank-you. You can send a great assortment for under $30.

www.personalwine.com: My friend, Angela from 13thirtyone Design sends out personalized bottles of wine in appreciation of her clients. I love this idea: not only are you saying thank you, but you can create your own wine label and remind your customers of you.

www.ediblearrangements.com: Ok, ok. So, sending a fruit basket seems kind of corny. Until you get one. And eat the whole thing in one sitting. Fruit is a good alternative for those folks who can't eat sweets or don't drink alcohol. 

3. Books.

Alright. Maybe it's because I'm a writer that I love reading so much. Or maybe I just like escapism. Who knows. But, I love sending gift certificates or books to my clients. Especially if I know they had one in mind. 

www.barnesandnoble.com: You can order gift certificates and send them right online. 

www.amazon.com: If you're not quite sure about the whole book-lover thing, an Amazon gift card covers just about anything.

www.storyopolis.com: If your client has younger children, it's shows a little extra thought and consideration by getting something for the kids. A basket of books goes a long way. These baskets are on the expensive-side for a client gift ($125-300). However, loyal clients are hard to come by and worth the investment.

While this list of thank-yous is not exhaustive by any means, I hope it gets your brain churning and reminds you to show your clients that you care. I know you'll find that a little consideration goes a long way.

Want to Succeed? Be Relevant in Business.

Last week, Ashton Kutcher reached 1 million followers on Twitter. 

I’m sure you’re wondering why this is a big deal. The beauty of Twitter is that it allows users to find out what’s going on in the world right now. People follow Ashton Kutcher because he updates his posts constantly. His followers know what he’s up to at any given moment. He’s relevant.

These days, I hear a lot of complaining: business is slow, the economy sucks, I don’t have customers, etc. While I realize we’re not in the best of financial times, I have a hard time swallowing the notion that my success is determined by the inner-workings of the stock market or on who gets an enormous government bail-out. 

We’re entrepreneurs, for crying out loud! We got into this business because ultimately, our success (or failure) rests on our shoulders. But, too often we underestimate ourselves. We forget our number one secret weapon:

Agility.

As entrepreneurs, our smallness works in our favor. We have the ability to immediately respond to our customers’ needs at little or no-cost. We can change directions and adjust to the climate of the times with ease if we’re aware enough to know what our customers want. Our agility allows us to be relevant.

If you want to succeed in business, you need to be relevant and give customers what they’re asking for. Here’s how:

Listen:

My Mom always said that I have two ears and one mouth for a reason: I should be doing twice the amount of listening as talking. If you want to find out what’s going on with your customers, you have to listen. What are your customers talking about? What are they writing about? 

When you listen, you’re in touch with your client base and you have information to improve your product or service.

To get your customers talking, ask them questions.

Do you need my product or service?

Do you want this service or product? 

Would you use it after you purchased it?

Would you tell your friends about it?

Does our communication show the clear benefit of using the service/product? 

How does our service/product solve your problem?

Once you start asking questions, listen to the answers. The answers carry power: they show you exactly how to reach your customers, what services they need, and how you can be relevant by solving their problems. 

Keep up on the current trends/ popular sentiment:

If you don’t keep a pulse on what’s happening in the world, you’ll fall behind in business. Your marketing won’t work. People won’t want what you’re selling.

One of the major problems with the American auto industry is that they weren’t keeping up with the times: they were offering big cars when people wanted to be eco-friendly. They didn’t stay in touch with their customers and lost market share. 

Now, I’m not recommending that you change your product or service offerings to adjust to every “in thing” or season. However, it is important to keep tabs on large trends and see how your business measures up. Are you offering what consumers want? Are you keeping up with the times?

To keep relevant, I like watching a few websites to see what’s going on in the world. Check these out, you may find them useful, too:

1. smallbiztrends.com: Business website with blog format. Great for small businesses

(thus, the domain name).

2. google.com/trends: A Google program that allows you to type in keywords to see 

how they’ve been performing in conducted searches. 

3. twitter.com: If you want to see what’s on the mind of millions of people, goto 

Twitter and see what people are talking about right now. It’s always enlightening.

Keeping up with what’s going on in the world helps you measure yourself. In addition, it allows you to see potential upcoming opportunities and areas where you can grow. By studying trends, you can stay on top of your clients’ needs.

Get out in the world.

As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to become wrapped up in our own little world, with our computer, in our own industry. If you want to remain relevant, step out of your shell and get out of your office.

When I’m stuck writing, I often go to a local coffee shop and chat it up with the regulars. It’s surprising how much insight you can get by having a good conversation. Plus, I usually run into one or two people I don’t exactly agree with, so it’s good to stretch my brain and try to understand other points of view.

In addition to just getting out, speak with people in industries not directly related to you. See how large trends or political decisions are effecting people in their line of work. This allows you to see similar problems from different points of view. 

Armed with fresh, new perspectives, re-visit your product or service. How does it address the concerns of the different people you’ve talked to? Analyze your marketing materials: are you communicating effectively?

When you step out of your comfort zone, you can view your product or service from the outside, like your customers do. 

In the end, it’s essential to offer a product or service that people want. Your offering needs to be relevant. When you listen, ask questions, keep up with trends, and leave your shell, you’ll gather the powerful information you need to provide solutions for your customers.

Looking for help!

On May 7, I'm going to be in a trade show for professional women. While most of the booth details are taken care of, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to display my writing work. 

I've considered putting my best pieces in a three-ring binder, but that's SO BORING.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd love your input and insight!

Internet marketing continues to amaze me.

I'm continually amazed at the power of internet marketing. In particular, article writing. 

Recently, I've been posting articles on several blogs and social networking sites that provide an article-publishing service. Just when I think the "hype" around a certain article dies down, it starts right up again when other websites, bloggers, and newsletters want to re-print. 

Internet marketing is an effort that builds on itself: it becomes magnified over time. As more people read your article, the potential for re-prints and link-backs increases. YAY. I love it.

For instance, an article I recently wrote for Freelance Switch was picked up by the Australian Businesswomen's Network. How cool!

One note of caution: take a careful look at writing contracts. Some sites pay you for your writing, with the expectation you won't repost the article in its entirety anywhere else without permission and a link back to the original article. 

Moral of the story? Write. Share your expertise with online readers. Not only will they appreciate it, but you'll love the cumulative marketing that happens online.

No offense, but your clients don't care about you. (In its entirety.)

I need to make a couple confessions: 

1. Most marketing pieces I receive end up in the trash.

2. I’m bored easily by most websites.

Maybe I’m a snob? It’s possible, but I don’t think so. I have a feeling that I’m not the only business person sick of reading glorified brag sheets.

Too often, in my opinion, us small business owners and solo-entrepreneurs become too self-involved. We forget that while, yes, we’re in business to make money and put food on the table, we’re ultimately providing a valuable service to our clients. 

The result? We start telling people how long we’ve been around. We boast about being the number one salesperson in the country. We name drop. Here’s the thing: potential clients are savvy consumers, and they don’t care. 

On the top of every prospect’s mind is one question: what can you do for me? 

Before they buy, customers want to know how they’re going to benefit from your product or service. They want to know what’s in it for them. If you tell them, you’ll be in business.

To cut through (the crap) and make an impression, you need to become an audience-focused marketer. Here’s how.

Take stock of your current material:

If your marketing brochure or website sounds like a resume, you’ve got a problem. When is the last time you wanted to read a resume? Umm...never. Too bad many small business owners feel like they have to prove themselves by listing their credentials, years experience, and awards. With marketing, you really only have a couple of seconds to gain your audience’s attention and make a point. Don’t use this time to bore people with factoids. Instead, share how you’re going to help them. How?

1. Focus on one person. 

Too often, we try to pack everything into a small marketing piece or on one page of our website. (We want to appeal to as many people as possible because then we’ll get more business, right?) Wrong. When you try to appeal to everyone, you really appeal to no one. When you craft your marketing pieces, try to imagine one person. This person must be your ideal client: they’ll love your product, get the most benefit from your service, and will tell all their friends about you. When you speak to one person instead of the masses, your marketing gets easier. Your approach changes automatically: instead of spewing a rehearsed pitch, trying to please everyone, the conversation becomes personal. Your marketing message becomes accurate. (It’s like playing pin the tail on the donkey without a blindfold.)

2. Tell stories and create images.

Instead of writing something dull like “We’ve been in this industry for 20 years,” use your marketing content to tell a story. Storytelling creates images in people’s minds. People relate to stories, and when you use a story to show people how you help, they’ll identify, create a mental picture, and seek out your assistance.

Stories don’t have to be super long case studies or go into great detail, they just have to get people to relate, and create an image in their mind. For instance, on my website I have a “Call me when” section on my contact page. One of my favorite call me when lines is: “Call me when your website has been under construction for longer than six months.” Is everyone going to relate to this sentence? No. However, those prospects who have not launched their website because they can’t write their content will. In their mind, a picture of their “Under Construction” page will pop up, and they’ll have the desire to take action. Those are the people I can help, and those are the people I want to call me.

Craft stories and create images for your business. When you do, you’ll have motivated customers knocking on your door. 

3. Features vs. Benefits.

Ahh yes, here we go with the features and benefits rule again. I won’t go into too much detail because I feel like I’m beating a dead horse (this topic has been discussed ad nauseam), but I’ll do a brief re-cap because I wouldn’t be considered a true professional otherwise. 

Features are about you. Benefits are about your clients. 

Example: Lawn Care Company

Feature: We’re the area’s best mowers.

Benefit: You’ll have the area’s best lawn.

To retain your prospect’s attention, you need to talk about benefits. To make a prospect a client, you need to listen and then talk about benefits they care about. If you want more on this subject, I highly recommend reading the article “Benefits Don’t Sell” by fellow Biznik member Paul Anderson. He does a brilliant job laying it out.

The lesson: stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your customers. How does your business help them? How will they benefit? Once you know, you can craft marketing messages that won’t end up in the trash.

Publish articles, make an impression.

I'm honored to be the feature article today on Biznik. My article "No Offense, But Your Customers Don't Care About You," was published prominently on Biznik's front page.

 I hope the article will get a positive response and help people. Here's the lesson: write articles for your ideal client and publish them online. Article writing is a great way to reach your audience, get some publicity, and have some internet fun.  (I don't know about you, but I'm obsessive about watching for comments!)

A little fun

Sometimes I need a break. To relax, and have a little fun, I play Word Challenge. Before you try, be warned: it's addictive!

As a freelance writer, this game is a great way to improve your vocabulary and have a little fun with words. Try it out when you have a little extra time. 

No offense, but your clients don't care about you.

If you want your marketing to work, quit talking about yourself. Clients don't care how long you've been in business, what kind of technology you use, or how big your product is. They care about themselves. Not in a selfish sort of way, either.

Clients want to know what you can do for them. How is your service or product going to make their lives better, easier, or happier. 

If your marketing centers around your company, you have problems. You're probably not reaching your clients effectively.

Re-frame your marketing: make sure it appeals to your clients' sense of self interest. Make sure it answers their question: "What's in this for me?" If it does that, it will work.