A new project came and delivered..

Client: Urbanimatic Designs
Requirement: Content for home page.

Got hold of a new project on twitter and it was a quicky! :) The client needed content for the home page of his website. His website is all about website templates, twitter backgrounds and YouTube backgrounds.

His creative brief: I need the content to be personal because most of my followers asked me a lot of time where they can donate me a buck or two for the information and resources i share on twitter so i decided to create this websites and instead of donations they will be able to buy cool twitter background.

The client had also provided enough information for me to start work.
I got the understanding that the client wished the home page to be his forum to talk one to one with his friends and therefore his requirement of a personal language was completely justified. With no heavy words and a simple conversational language I formulated the content and delivered what the client needed.

Clear, prompt and easy availability of the client made the project easy.

The website might not be running as of now but should be up in a day or two... Till then the quest for new projects goes on!

PS: The work on the IT project is also going on with couple of reviews and edits. Have been paid the first installment and all's well! :)

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My Tips, My Experience

I may not have had enough time yet as a freelance content writer but there are certain things that I have discovered and rather drilled in my head to keep in mind. Practical tips which have come my way from my very own experience. Tips which might not sound all that important but believe me when you are working in this field of creative writing and that too as a freelancer they can help you wade through real smooth!

1. You have to learn to say NO too! I can imagine that as a freelancer you might be at times wanting to grab any project which comes your way but believe you me, you have to say no at times too. Doing projects for free or on terms which are totally dictated by your client will not get you any good. You have to understand this. It might be difficult to turn down a project but you have to make the client understand your terms and conditions too!

2. This brings me to my next tip. Before you start freelancing as a content writer devote some time and chart down your price list and your terms and conditions. I understand that when yous tart off you cannot charge high but this does not stop you from charging a decent befitting amount too. You have to make the client realise that you have the talent hence he has approached you for his work.

3. Never under price. Never put your talent on the line just to grab a project by succumbing to the pressure of the client asking you to lower your price. If you feel that you are charging the right justified amount then stick to it. You would portray a strong stable personality this way.

4. Never compromise on the quality of work. As a freelance content writer it is your work which is your identity. By delivering low quality work you are harming your reputation. One of the most common reason for producing low quality work is lack of time owing to too many projects. Therefore limit the amount of work that you take on at a particular time.

5. Do not shy from networking. For a freelancer it is the word of mouth which brings in business. For this you need to network effectively. To start networking ensure that you have your portfolio ready. If possible have your website created too. You can now become a member of the various networking communities on the Internet and simply sell your talent.

6. Communicate. Keep in touch with all your good clients as they are the one's who can be your best advertisers to future customers.

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I take an advance payment of 50%- YES I DO

I need to settle this once and for all. I have gone tired explaining it out as to why I need to have an advance before I start working on my projects. The clients have responded back plain rude, confused or in some instances considering that I do not have the required competence YET to put forward this demand. Now that is a sure OUCH. Just for my personal satisfaction I wish to openly state that Yes, I demand an advance if you wish to utilize my content writing services. This statement is not something which I go on to make just from the back of my head. I have reasons and rationales to back the same. reasons which justify that my services are worth an advance. Seriously, I guess I should attach this blog post with every correspondence that I have with my future clients! :)

1. I charge an advance because I have no intentions of falling prey to clients who to start off have a bag full of principles with them but later on decide to polish off with my work without paying a dime for it. By this I by no means wish to categorize all clients as bad. In fact, over a period of time I have had the opportunity to get to know some of the best human beings with whom I worked on individual projects. But then the entire picture is not as rosy. This rule by me is also because of some clients who for some strange reason decide to halt the project mid way. If you wish me to do the project pro bono kindly ASK. I might just do it for free! It is in my interest that I desire an advance. This allows me to safeguard my work, effort and time that I have devoted towards the project which the client very coolly decides to abandon with.
   
2. An advance payment allows me to judge as to if the client is really serious about the project or just wishes to test waters as he might have previously done and succeeded in several other occasions. Sorry, I accept it that I am gullible and can fall into your trap if I do not have limits set for me in order to safe guard my own interest.
3. My line of work of creative writing works on trust. There are not many legal contracts and written agreements found here. With a thin line dividing profit and loss I wish to safe guard my income and profit by having a backing of an advance payment. Heck I am not the only one demanding an advance for my services, every respectable professional in what so ever field they work in have since years demanded the same towards providing their services. So am I. Accept it and please respect it.
   

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Niha Time!!

I suddenly realized that my blog had become more ohh ok ALL about my work and stuff and it was hugely missing the "I" factor! I mean it is fair that I blabber once in a while about my life too!! After all its my blog here people, so I get to decide what comes up here! :)

Today being a Sunday meant it was lots of leisure and rest and less or rather no work to do. Waking up late, having Subway sandwiches from breakfast and gulping down jars of cold coffee is completely in sync with Sunday! After all it is just the weekends that I get to enjoy when there is no work to do, no schedules to think about, no deadlines looming on my head....

Me and P went and booked a treadmill for our home!! Yayzzz so that means that we will really be sweating out all the big bucks that we spent on it today... yeah man, i mean that kinda money could have attest covered the air fares to an incredible resort far far far away.... oh ok i mean not allllll that far but yes decent far for sure! :) but then with finding time being an issue with P there was no way we were going to compromise with his health... so we are now proud owners of a brand new treadmill.. not exactly owners as the machine will actually be delivered tomorrow! ;) Till then we got to figure a place to keep it as our house as it is stuffed from corner to corner. It will be the study room / guest room/ PC room/ shoe room which now also have to work as the exercise room.. real I know too much burden on this one small space of walls but then that is what a standard two bedroom house has to offer!!

Ohhh great!! I have a realllll gooey, candyfloss romantic movie slated to start now on HBO!!! yeah I know.. but what to do I like these mushy flicks!! Typical me....

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LinkedIn Part II

While surfing the internet I came across this article by Guy Kawasaki as to how to use LinkedIn to help you with your search for jobs. Since it was in line with what I had discussed in my last blog post I thought it would be apt to post it here.

Do read it and see if it can help you too.. after all, it is all about spreading the word! :)

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Make LinkedIn Work For You!

I have personally seen that lately I have been using the Internet more for networking than for socializing. I remember times when for me sitting on the Internet meant checking mails, chatting on yahoo and of course downloading music.. strangely all of that has stopped now! I now have 4-5 email id's that checking all of them is something that I rarely do... Since my email accounts are configured on outlook therefore chatting on Gmail is something I no longer do ( yahoo messenger is seriously passe now!) and for downloading music, I have my husband! :) So yes, it is all about networking now! For that i have accounts on Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn.

I wished to keep my facebook account private as I believe that at times you wish to have your private sphere which has you and some of your real close friends to talk too and not something which the world has to watch and enjoy.. my thoughts.. need not be your's too!! :)

Of all these networking sites by far it is LinkedIn which comes across to be the most professional looking. From my experience so far and what I have learnt from people already there I thought of listing out some strict DONT's that you should keep in mind when you open your account on LinkedIn.

1. Understand the whole concept behind LinkedIn that this platform is your professional identity. Keeping this in mind be very sure what kind of information you put up there of yourself. Keep in mind that your current employers or even your prospective clients are going to read it. Keeping this in mind communicate forward a clean, professional image.
2. Be very honest when you write your summary. Refrain from bragging about yourself and at any cost do not lie facts.
   
3. I would advise you to refrain using LinkedIn the way you use twitter. Use the status message window in LinkedIn to showcase your professional updates rather than cracking a joke!
4. Do not sent invites to people with the sole aim of increasing the number of connections. To optimally use LinkedIn connect with like minded people who are from your field or interest. The same applies to joining various groups on LinkedIn.
   
5. PLEASE refrain from haggling others to provide you with a recommendation! It is a natural process.. If you do good work the other person will automatically feel compelled to write it up for you.
6. If you wish to use the Q and A section of LinkedIn be very sure what you wish to ask. Dont use it to simply post a question which would later on look silly and undesired.
   
7. I would advise you not to add many family contacts here on LinkedIn. There is facebook, orkut, twitter and several other networking platforms for you to connect with them. Limit LinkedIn for your professional contacts.
   

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An Interesting read

Came across this interesting article targetted towards freelancers and as to how to charge/ justify your charges to clients. I already abide by almost all of them but yes, it was a refresher to read it all again and remind myself that what I have as a talent of creative writing is something I should be proud of and cherish. I feel like attaching this blog post to all the clients who like "re negotiating" the price front.

Be proud of what you do and always work towards bettering it, that is the way forward!

Enjoy this interesting blog post.

Keep scribbling! :)

Ohh yes, the client too replied back... will be reviewing the documents on partnerex.com shortly. Has now asked me to work on a sumary for the business enabeler for www.partnerex.com. Lots of work here people!!

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