99 Powerful Freelance Telecommuting Tips: Third Installment

April 14, 2008

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This is the third installment in our Guest Blogger Series from Nell Taliercio.

56. Educate yourself

As a freelancer, you already have some skills under your belt, but there’s always room for more. Check out online classes to further your knowledge in the field you’re freelancing in. If the money is a problem, consider checking out some free tutorials online about items that could relate to the field you’re in. For example, if you’re a writer, you could certainly brush up your skills on grammar and styles.

57. Use a variety of resources

The internet holds a lot of useful tools to help you in your freelancing career. You shouldn’t limit yourself to just online tools though. Newspapers, magazines, dictionaries, thesauruses and reference books are good tools to use in your freelancing business that can be used offline. What you could use will depend on the type of freelancing business you’re offering.

58. Never stop marketing yourself

Just because you’re a freelancer, it doesn’t mean that the work is going to all of a sudden show up in your inbox every morning that you turn on your computer. While that’s a nice scenario to think about, it isn’t reality. Always market yourself through article directories, blog communities, social networks and through the search engines.

59. Try offering surveys to your clients once in awhile

Surveys can help you determine what clients are looking for, especially those that are in your target market. The answers you get from you surveys can be useful in what services you offer in the future for your business. To get them interested in filling out the survey, just offer a discount on a future project or give them a gift certificate.

60. Start a newsletter to obtain clients

With the proper marketing techniques; you can get your newsletter to reach hordes of new people. The more they read in your newsletters, the more interested they’re going to become. It will take a bit to get them there, but you’ll benefit from the new client offers you receive.

61. Consider bartering with other freelancers to help you in your business

Sometimes business is so slow for you that you just need a little extra help. Maybe you need some good articles written or a better designed website. Try bartering with another freelancer and offer your services for theirs. Of course, the services will have to balance out, but a barter system can always be worked out if the two freelancers are willing. You may even have a colleague that could pass on your information to their clients, which you could reciprocate.

62. If you’re not podcasting, you should

Podcasting is another excellent way to market your business. Just choose a topic that relates to your freelancing business and isn’t already being done. Internet users love different types of media. Text is good, audio content is good and so is video. Podcasting happens to be the most popular type of audio content these days. If a potential client finds your podcast, they’ll find their way to your business.

63. Professionalism demands respect

You own a business, so you should always present professionalism no matter where you’re at. Respect for others is a number one priority. Freelancers sometimes forget this and start badmouthing other clients by name on various websites. Not only can it be slander, but it can also cost you other clients. If you share information about the clients you didn’t like, you may do the same for them. If you don’t like what a client is offering you for your services, simply say “no”.

64. Volunteer some of your services for good organizations and charities once in awhile

Not only will it make you feel good, but it also looks good for your business. It can give you credibility and gain you trust among those within your target market. The more trust you gain the more chances of getting new clients you have.

65. Join forums

This is another quick, easy and inexpensive way to market your freelancing business. You can provide a link to your business in your signature line of your profile which will show up in every post you make on that site. Follow the rules of the forum. Some may not allow those links in the signature line, so be respectful if they don’t.

66. Join local trade shows to drum up business

Sometimes you can gain new clients by going locally. Having a booth at a trade show can get you exposure to your local businesses. You can present your freelance business and show some samples of things you do to get them interested. Offer small gifts that have your website and contact information on them.

67. Find a good stress reliever

Every freelance career comes with the ugly thing called stress. Stress causes a lot of problems in our lives and our businesses are not immune to it. Plan some time, often, to relieve your stress and keep your minds focused for your personal lives and your business.

68. Learn to lose the word ‘procrastination’

Unfortunately, this is a huge problem with a lot of freelancers. Procrastination gives us a false sense of ‘I have plenty of time to get that done, so I’m going to play that game of computer solitaire now.’ That one game turns into another and another and another. Pretty soon you find yourself with a deadline looming over your shoulder and the project still waiting to be started. Start on your projects as soon as possible and try not to think about those procrastinating thoughts.

69. Schedule yourself

It’s not always going to be easy to do, but when you can, try to schedule yourself for the projects that you need to do for the day. This will help eliminate some of the time wasting activities you may do and could help you lose procrastination. Your time will then be used better.

70. Learn to separate business life from personal life

One of the hardest things freelancers sometimes face is that even though the ‘work day’ is done for them, they still find themselves thinking about work. Work should end at a certain time of the day and that’s it. You should focus on your personal/family lives after that.

71. Resumes are just as important for freelancers as regular employees

If you’re applying for job with a company that wants to hire a freelancer; you’re going to need a resume to send to them. If you have your own freelance business, a resume is still a good idea to use. Place it on your website to show your professionalism and give potential clients a quick and easy view of what skills and knowledge you have to offer.

72. Don’t wait until you need work to actually look for work

Getting work can take a long time, so don’t wait until you’re down to no work before you start to look for more. Even when it’s your busiest time, keep marketing your business. By the time you get people interested in hiring you, you may not be busy anymore. The work can then be picked up right away without a pause in your income flow.

73. Keep the lines of communication open with your clients

Let a client know how you’re coming with a project. Don’t leave them in the dark wondering about their project until the last day when they actually receive the work. By providing them with some updates along the way, you give them a little sense of peace knowing that the project is at least being worked on.

74. Don’t wait until the deadline day to let a client know that you weren’t able to complete their project

Technically; you should never tell them you can’t complete a project. Sometimes, though, emergencies in your personal lives come up and time to finish the project is extremely limited. When those emergencies happen, let the client know right away to see if they’re willing to wait or find someone else. Don’t be surprised if they aren’t too receptive to you saying you can’t finish their work. They really don’t care about your emergency problems; they only care about their work.

75. Be careful of outsourcing the work to others

A client pays you to complete their project, so they will be expecting the work you have shown you can do. If you choose to outsource to someone else to do the work, be sure they will provide top quality work to keep your good reputation as a freelancer. If they hand in sloppy work, you will have to redo the work before you send it to the client.

About the Guest Blogger: Nell Taliercio has been championing the cause of telecommuting moms for several years. She is a respected leader in the work at home community. Learn more about Nell by visiting the websites of The Answer Lady network.

Watch for the final installment of this Guest Blogger Series to arrive soon!

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk Biz eBook’sGuide to Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business - Step-by-step instructions, resources and inside information to start and profit from your own virtual assistant business from home.

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