Written by: Dominick at 10:20 pm on October 1, 2008
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I have spent the majority of my time on the Internet working as a freelancer. Just a few years ago, I was a freelance writer and editor primarily, but I also worked in the fields of freelance web design and graphic design occasionally. It took time to build up my portfolio, get a steady stream of jobs, and prove myself as a freelancer, but in time those things became a reality. This also made sure that I was successful monetarily. If you get the jobs, you’re going to make the money. It’s as simple as that.
Starting out as a freelancer isn’t easy. You won’t see instant results. You won’t be making a lot of money to start. Many have to keep traditional jobs until they start making an active, productive living by freelancing. This is difficult merely because freelancing is time consuming. In those early months, you’ll need to be doing all you can to build up your portfolio and that sometimes means making sacrifices monetarily.
I’ve worked with and competed for jobs with a wide variety of freelancers. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work for them. I also know what has worked and hasn’t worked in my own situation. From there, I’ve compiled a list of five mistakes I’ve seen many freelancers make.
1. Not Taking Low Pay/No Pay Jobs to start
If you’ve never written or designed anything for anyone other than yourself, you’re going to need to start getting a portfolio ready. One of the easiest ways for you to start out your business and bulk up your portfolio is to accept jobs. There are a variety of freelance websites, where you can bid on jobs and make money if you’re chosen for said job. This is the ideal type of place for a new freelancer to start out. However, you won’t be able to charge excessive amounts of money for your work. In fact, you might even have to take low paying jobs, in an attempt to stuff you portfolio. Of course, the positive thing about this is that you can almost always get a recommendation/testimonial from the clients you work with on these jobs.
I don’t often recommend taking no pay jobs. I do believe that, on rare occasions, no pay jobs have benefits. In these situations, they really aren’t no pay jobs. You can work with clients and even other freelancers. If you’re a writer, for your writing services, you can get links back to your website, credit for your work, or other services to promote yourself and your own freelance services. If you work with another freelancer, such as a website designer, consider having them design your website, in exchange for writing their web copy. There are many creative ways to get your name out there and fill your portfolio at the same time.
That being said, once you’ve become successful, you should raise your rates to reflect your experience. It doesn’t help anyone out if you’re offering services for less than they’re worth. While some companies choose to go with lower paying services, no matter what you charge, if your work is good then you’re going to find clients. I often had those same clients come back to me, having wasted money on a freelancer working for a nickel. Those freelancers did a poor job. I had to fix their mistakes and these clients were more than willing to pay my rates. Essentially, it just goes to show that you get what you pay for when hiring a freelancer.
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Don't hate me for wanting to be your own personal God! |
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Written by: Ashtyn at 2:07 pm on September 27, 2008
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 As a business professional of any kind there are certain things that you need to function in business both efficiently and comfortably. Productivity software is usually high on that list. As a blogger, I could never do my job without using software that makes my job faster, easier, and more organized. Many of the necessary programs on my list are Microsoft Office programs. The most common of those include Word, Outlook, and Excel. These are the programs that I absolutely cannot live without. While these programs are expensive, if you can afford them, they offer much bigger benefits than your average word processing software.
Word is one of those programs that are just universal in business and academics. In colleges across the country, the .doc format is the basis for all papers handed in for grading. Likewise, in business this is a format that is used with the assumption that most other business people will be using that program, too. In fact, at least in some form, it tends to be one of the first programs that people learn to use when they are learning the computer.
So, as you can imagine, when we were given the chance to review the 2007 version of Microsoft software, we jumped at the chance. I had heard of all of the great things that would be coming out in the 2007 version of Microsoft Office, but I tried to ignore the excitement value because I was just going on hype at that point. I had checked out a few screenshots and knew the basic specs, but I had not tested it out and that’s what is really important.
Before testing it out I did know that at least eight specific versions of the software would be available for purchase. These bundles include Microsoft Office Basic, Home & Student, Standard, Small Business, Professional, Ultimate, Professional Plus, and Professional Enterprise. This review is on Microsoft Office Professional. Professional includes Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. After using them for a bit to test everything out, I can honestly say that it would be hard to live without these programs, especially for business, and they are worth the few hundred dollars that Microsoft is charging for them.
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Written by: Susie at 6:42 pm on May 23, 2008
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Hey Everyone, here are today’s newest job leads. Not too many low paying jobs are in this batch, but there is plenty of unspecified or DOE (dependent on experience) listings. There are also some $10 and up gigs available. As always, I’ve tried to add everything from blogging and work-at-home style jobs to some nicely paying regional gigs. Good Luck and happy job hunting!
$10 and Higher
Telecommute
Freelance Internet Researcher
$20 per Project ($10 an hour)
SEO Article Writer
$10 per Article
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I'm the last American hero...also known as Dominick & Ashtyn's gopher! |
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Written by: Susie at 5:10 pm on May 21, 2008
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Written by: Susie at 8:30 pm on May 16, 2008
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Hey Folks! We have a variety of jobs leads today that are available in numerous big cities and plenty of online ops, too! Some popular options in this bunch include technical writing, copywriting, and blogging. So, if you’re looking for a new gig you have a good chance that it might be somewhere here in this stack! Good luck and we certainly hope you find what you’re looking for.
I apologize for tossing three days into one post, but I didn’t have a chance to get these out to you the last two days. Hopefully you can all forgive me, as skipping days will be a rare occurrence.
$10 and Higher
Telecommute
Technology Web Writer Needed - MS Office Guru
$10 per article
Article Writing
$10 per article
First Person Essay Contest
$1000 Prize
Colorado Travel Articles
$50-$200 per story
ESL Editor/Writer
$16 per hour
Stand Up Comedy Writers
$1000-for 10 minute addition
Regional
Multipurpose Assistant Needed in Austin, TX
$12 per hour to start
Boston News Reporter
$40 per story
Tech Writer - Norwood, MA
$80,000
Freelance Blog Editor - Harvard Business
$50 per hour
Mid-Level Copywriter - Chicago
Up to $60,000 per year
Administrative Tech Writer - Addison, TX
$70,000-$100,000
Regional Content Director Examiner.com - Denver
$75,00-$80,000
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I'm the last American hero...also known as Dominick & Ashtyn's gopher! |
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Written by: Susie at 10:24 am on May 12, 2008
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Written by: Susie at 7:47 pm on May 11, 2008
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Written by: Susie at 11:50 pm on May 10, 2008
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Written by: Ashtyn at 8:24 pm on May 9, 2008
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So, the guy that sent in his writing request has decided to raise his pay scale. Granted, it’s not much, but I’m starting to think I am a fool for not snatching this client up!
Title:10 Dentesty articles for 15 USD
Description: I need the density articles (250-550) words
choose topics from the following or any other subject but must be related to density and i can also provide you with research links.
Examples:
any treatment or type of procedure
any dental related materials or instruments
any dentistry related news
any dental equipment
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Written by: Ashtyn at 4:42 am on May 8, 2008
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After years of being a freelance writer, I’ve heard and seen some pretty crazy things. A lot of those things tend to do with pricing and payments. It’s amazing how people think they can make a successful business by paying an English speaking writer ten cents (an article, not word). However, I just usually walk away from most of them. I have my rates posted on some of the sites where people contact me and if people are unable to pay attention to them, then I just ignore the bids.
This one though…this one just takes the cake. It is by far the most laughable offer I have ever received. The sad thing is that I am sure someone will end up doing it, further allowing these cheapskates to assume that it’s okay to charge writers the little money that they do.
If you need a laugh feel free to check this out:
Title:10 India Traveling Articles of 300 words in 24 Hours for 10 USD
Hi!
i need ten articles written but that should be the quality work and the dead line is 24 hours!
Articles are fairly simple and most research links will be provided. Word count should be about 150 to 300 except for any long articles but these should be under 500 as far as possible. A template that you will need to use will be sent.
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