Winning new business!

Book of the week: Focus – The Power of Targeted Thinking

Freelancers need focus; without a boss to keep you in line and being outside a traditional workflow it can be hard to know where to focus your efforts. Combine this with the pace of modern life and it’s easy to get swamped and to feel that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Not only is there a lot of work there are constant distractions, tweets, bleeps and pings pulling us away from our true goals and aspirations.

Focus: The Power of Targeted Thinking attempts to give the solution to all these feelings of confusion and distraction.

Review: Portfolio To Go — iPad app for freelance photographers & artists

Michael Rose | Technology

Portfolio To Go is a fantastic iPad app for artists and photographers who use Flickr.com to showcase their photographs online.

Lovingly created by Brighton-based freelance developer Nick Kuh, easily allows freelance photographers, graphic designers and artists to present their portfolio offline to clients — perfect for use with a wifi iPad.

Just sync and go.

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Freelance Stories – Basecamp’s Jason Fried

Michael Rose | Lifestyle & Time out

We’re big fans of Jason Fried, creator of Basecamp and co-author of Rework. His Get Real column for Inc.com is a must-read for freelancers interested in freelancing, small business advice, for stories of struggle and success.

His first column for Inc.com, Driven to Distraction, is Fried’s fascinating tale of how he built 37Signals from his solo freelancing business.

Book of the week: Working 5-to-9

Ed Hopson | Getting a Job

I have always been interested in running a project/small business outside of my 9 to 5 full-time job. Something that I can grow in my spare time and that has the potential to grow and then become my main source of income! Talking with friends, I was given a copy of Emma Jone‘s Working 5 to 9 – How to start a successful business in your spare time — Great timing!

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Compare broadband options for working at home

Michael Rose | Technology,Working From Home

If you occasionally work from home then getting a decent broadband connection can really help you get your work done effectively.

Thanks to modern-day technology, working from home is no longer a second-rate way of staying in touch with clients and colleagues and broadband has become a vital lifeline for many home workers, allowing them to email or browse the web in comfort while also being able to send and receive large files with ease.

If you’re not up to speed with Broadband at home Chris Marling of Broadband Genie gives you a a few things to consider.

Charge for your time by adding appointments to your website

Michael Rose | Technology

PROBLEM: You have limited, often fragmented time to meet clients and contacts. You might have a free spot for two hours this afternoon, time between finishing one project and starting the next, and it’d be great to generate some new business in that slot — if only people knew you were free to talk.

Setster solves this problem beautifully — perfect for consultants or small businesses.

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Need to get a quote to a client ASAP? You need Quote Robot

Michael Rose | Technology

If you need to quote for a job and want to get a slick proposal back to the client before the end of the day then Quote Robot is your fantastic, futuristic, proposal-producing pal!

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Winning new business! 6 Simple Rules for Success

Darren Fell | Getting a Job

Winning new business the easy and fun way. By following 6 simple rules you can build the freelance life you always dreamed of. Lucky you! You could be getting yourself shed-loads of new business starting from today.

You may to want to earn good money, have long holidays and be your own boss….but all you have to do is win new business. That’s the bit where most freelancers get the heebie-geebies. But I promise you can do it and you’ll get good at it!

Create a publishing empire from your home

Emma Jones | Guides

Do you have content you would like to share with an interested audience of existing and potential customers? It’s never been so easy to package your content in a stylish way, and distribute it in a cost-effective way.

Enter the age of home publishing with Emma Jones.

Three conversation tips for getting what you want

Dianne Bown-Wilson | Training

Courageous conversations: How to say what you mean and get what you want. As a freelancer without a secretary the buck stops (and starts) with you. If you are a designer, developer or a gentle creative type you may not have the hard-nosed confidence and business clout you need to succeed.

Freelance advisor Dianne Bown-Wilson gives some simple confidence boosting tips.

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Using Google AdWords to find new clients and customers – part 3

Rob Watson | Guides,Technology

Part three of our guide to Google AdWords for beginners:

Yesterday Rob explained how to set up your first Google AdWords campaign. Today he looks at some of the best practices you should follow.

Using Google AdWords to find new clients and customers – part 2

Rob Watson | Guides,Technology

Part two of our guide to Google AdWords for beginners:

Yesterday Rob explained the basics of GoogleAdwords. Today he looks at setting up your first AdWords campaign and some of the most common mistakes in setting up.

Use Google AdWords to find new clients and customers

Rob Watson | Guides,Technology

Whatever it is that you (or your clients) do, you can always find new customers over the internet – even if you’re a niche business or you only work in a specific area or region. In this 3-part guide to AdWords Marketing Manager Rob Watson tells us how to increase our clicks

Freelance Training: How to improve your Sales hit rate

Hannah Keep | Training

It is competitive out there, the freelancing market is growing every day and now more than ever it is important that we make the most out of every opportunity. So how can we improve the quality of our client interaction?

Let’s look at a simple sales formula for calls/meetings to get us started…

Better Business Cards

Michael Rose | Resources

Build Better Business Cards, with 25% off from Moo.com.

Starting today we’re looking for the most impressive, creative or cunning uses for business cards.

Got a great idea, or a card you’re already particularly proud of? Show us what you’ve got and the best will win a complete set of cards.

Freelance Event: Design Portfolio Clinic

Michael Rose | Events

How do you present your work? What do agencies look for in a portfolio? Wouldn’t it be great if you could sit with a few digital media agencies and ask them what they thought of your work and what you could do to improve?

What you need is the i-design 09 Portfolio Clinic!

Freelance Training

Hannah Keep | Training

As freelancers we know you have absolute passion and pride in your skill set. We know it takes a lot of confidence to break out on your own. We also know that it takes more than just talent to succeed in this tough and competitive economic climate.

How well you sell, market and manage your product, product YOU, is critical. If the thought of cold calling brings you out in a cold sweat or the thought of creating a business strategy gives you a headache then we’re here to help with soft skills and freelancer focused training and coaching.

Freelance Business: 3 ways to source new work

Emma Jones | Getting a Job

Freelance Advisor and Home Business diva Emma Jones explains why now is a perfect time to spruce up your business development and pursue opportunities that will mean new work from existing customers and new work from new customers.

Here’s three things you can do to keep the contracts coming in…

Podcast #14: Why we get Employed – the Company Perspective

Andy White | Podcast

Andy White talks to Drew Griffiths of Mosaic about why companies hire freelancers and what they look for.

Podcast #14: Why we get Employed - the Company Perspective [ 12:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Podcast #13: Why we get Employed – the Recruitment Consultancy Perspective

Andy White | Podcast

Andy White talks to Emma Brierley, Director of Xchange Team, about her book, Talent on Tap: Getting the best from Freelancers, Interims and Consultants, and gain some interesting insights into why freelancers get employed from the agency perspective.

Podcast #13: Why we get Employed - the Recruitment Consultancy Perspective [ 28:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Marketing yourself: 7 steps to creating the right impression

Emma Jones | Getting a Job

Whether it is networking, meetings, clients or conferences, marketing yourself is an essential skill for any freelancer or contractor. Freelance Advisor and author Emma Jones offers seven quick tips to help you shine Starting on the right foot: 7 steps to creating the right impression You only get one chance to create a first impression. [...]

Freelance Advice: Marketing yourself for free

Darren Fell | Getting a Job

Freelance Advisor founder Darren Fell is a successful entrepreneur and all over the first page of results when you Google his name. We asked him to share the secrets of his success and he responded with this guide to marketing yourself. Marketing yourself for free, a guide. The big question running through everybody’s mind when [...]

Freelance Designer’s Guide: Choosing the right printing method for your clients

Andrew Walker | Getting a Job

Whether it is business cards, promotional posters or flyers for a club night there are many printing options and quality and colours will vary greatly. Print adviser and consultant Andrew Walker guides can help you decide where to get your printing done. Choosing the right printing method for your client Digital vs Litho Printing The [...]

Create a professional welcome while working from home

Emma Jones | Working From Home

Freelance Advisor and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up’ Emma Jones offers us the first in a new series of pieces for our Working from Home section. Here she takes a looks at what freelancers with a home office can do to create a professional image for clients and a great first impression for customers [...]

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Marketing yourself as a freelance designer: Six simple tips for your CV and portfolio

Michael Rose | Getting a Job

The death of the CV? Are curriculum vitae a thing of the past? Guest blogger Greg Coley, Creative Director of the integrated agency VGroup, gives an insider’s view on what freelance designers can do to get noticed. Marketing yourself as a freelance designer So you’re a budding young designer straight out of university, a middleweight, [...]

Compelling Content: Brainstorming your ideal reader or customer

Kath Burke | Getting a Job

Compelling Content – Part 2 Brainstorming: Your ideal reader or customer A two-part series from freelance copywriter Kath Burke. In part one, Kath explained how you can understand why people buy you. Part two explores how to use brainstorming as an exercise in focusing on the content that really matters before you put pen to [...]

Write web copy your customers will love reading

Kath Burke | Getting a Job

Create compelling content your clients will crave In this 2-part series freelance copywriter and content consultant Kath Burke says the secret of writing great web marketing copy is in the preparation. Before you put pen to paper, you need to explore your clients’ deeper concerns and needs. Ah. If only you could magic up the [...]

Freelance Advisor Recommends: i-design 08 Portfolio Clinic

Michael Rose | Getting a Job

If you’re a freelance designer or programmer then attending the i-design 08 Portfolio Clinic Wednesday 17 September in London is a no brainer. First it’s FREE and secondly if you’re currently looking for work or to expand your future client base then you’ll be able to meet 15 of the capital’s most respected and successful [...]

Casual Networking for freelancers and contractors

Paul Silver | Getting a Job

Freelance Adviser, Paul Silver, on casual networking events for freelancers and contractors. Making contacts, finding work, pitching, passing business cards, sharing skills and advice… and having a drink, or four.

Pitch Yourself into the Freelance Market – Part 3

Bill Faust | Resources

In part one and part two we looked at the marketing process and what you are actually employed for, e.g. the way you think respectively. Today we look at how to identify the unique features of product, you. Understanding the product – You, Your Abilities, Competencies & Transferable Assets Many of us realise that every [...]

Pitch Yourself into the Freelance Market – Part 2

Bill Faust | Resources

In Part One of this series, Bill Faust talks about how important it is to understand basic marketing principles in learning how to Pitch Yourself. The question he asks now is do we know why we are employed? Deciphering the needs of the buyer Most of us think it is because of our experience, this [...]

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Pitch yourself into the Freelance Market

Bill Faust | Resources

In this series, Bill Faust, author of Pitch Yourself, shares insights gained from over 30-years of industry experience. He discusses key factors for effective self-marketing, understanding what self-marketing means, reading your future employers’ desires and defining clearly what you, the product, have to offer.

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Personal Branding for freelancers

Andy White | Getting a Job

What’s personal branding all about? Is it important? What does it mean? Where do I start? Do I really need a strong identity or even a logo for my freelancing business? Is it really necessary to make ME stand out from the competition? Expert, Al Welsh, has had years of experience within some of London’s [...]

How to build a credible website

Kath Burke | Getting a Job

You can think of your website as the modern-day equivalent of the Victorian calling card. Before your prospective client decides whether you’re worth talking to, they’ll have a good nose around your site. And they might be asking themselves: How professional is this organisation? Do they have the products or expertise I’m looking for? Will [...]

One.. Two.. Three.. SELL!

Darren Fell | Getting a Job

I was asked by Phil Green of the MD Hub 100 to present to a MD Hub 250 group about how I took Pure360.com from no customers at all to hundreds. As I thought the following presentation may be useful to all at Freelance Advisor. It shows the early days and a few photo’s of [...]

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