17 Jan 10 Why Client’s Feedback Matters for a Freelance Writer?

I was talking to a fellow freelance writer yesterday. He was quite pissed on one of his clients as the client has given him some nasty feedback. He was not sure if he deserved it, and according to him he did everything in his capacity to please the client, but it didn’t change his client’s feedback.

I am narrating here my discussion with him because I want to tell the readers that no matter what, feedback given by your client “about your work” matters a lot. His reaction to your personality may not matter, but for the work you have done for him, it does matter.

Having said that, I must say that your client’s feedback is not the final word on the quality you are able to produce. It is just a reflection of the kind of work you have produced for the client. You need to ask yourself where you have erred, and you should try not to repeat the same mistake again with another client. One feedback may not hurt you, but quite a few will blow a serious dent in your reputation.

How to avoid negative feedback?

Ask as many questions as you need to ask in order to understand the full details of the project before you start working on it.
Ask for the deadline, and verify if it is realistic or not. If you feel the time frame for the completion of the project is not sufficient tell him that. And also tell him what according to you should be the deadline for the work. Stick to whatever deadline is fixed.
In case you need extension, tell him days in advance. Calling him on the last day for extension may give you an extension, but will take away your reputation.
Do the best for each of your client. No matter how low or high one is paying. Always remember it was you who accepted the low rate, client did not put gun on your face to do so.
Ask for feedback.

Always keep your eyes and ears open, and welcome feedbacks with open arm. This is how you will grow.

Tags: Blow, Eyes And Ears, Feedback Matters, Feedbacks, Fellow, Final Word, Freelance Writer, Lot, Mistake, Nasty, Negative Feedback, Personality, Reflection, Reputation, Time Frame

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03 Jan 10 How to Use Twitter to Get Clients

Twitter is an amazing tool. It can be put to any number of uses. People use it to make friends, to know about the topics they care, to get job alerts, to stay on top of any topic, to get recommendation, to read funny jokes, and to get influenced by memorable quotations, etc. This 140-character wonder can even be used to get clients for your business, regardless of your size, be it for your one-person startup, or for a 1000-people big company.

In this article, we will see what you need to do to get clients from twitter.

Step 1: Use real name

Will you like to do business with sexykitten, or hotrode? I am sure you won’t, regardless of how smart hotrode or sexykitten is. This is the power of name. A good name creates a positive image, whereas, a bad name ruins the party. Use your real name or business name for the twitter profile. If your name or business name is already taken then use something close to that, but spare yourself the horror of bad names.

Step 2: Use real picture

Like a real name, a real picture helps create a positive image in the mind of onlookers. Do not go for cool looking cartoons, or any other thing. Let your prospect know that you are a real person behind the twitter profile by giving a real picture.

Step 3: Brand your background

If you do not know this then let me break the good news that you can brand your twitter profile the way you want. I will suggest you customize the background of your twitter profile with your corporate brand identity.

Step 4: Use compelling bio

Your one-line twitter bio says a lot about you. People get influenced reading that, so it better be good. Make your twitter bio forceful and SEO-friendly.

Step 5: Add URL

Many people leave URL field empty. Do not commit this mistake. Use a proper working URL in your profile. This will work as a door to your website.

Step 6: Create a list

Create a list of the tweets from your industry and make it publicly available. This will give your prospect an idea about how closely you follow the changes in your industry. He may regard you as a leader of the pack, which will mean more business for you.

Tags: Background, Brand Identity, Business Name, Friends, Funny Jokes, Horror, Hotrode, Many People, Memorable Quotations, Mistake, Names, Onlookers, Positive Image, Real Person, Sexykitten, Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 6, Tweets

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10 Nov 09 Power of Checklist and Why Should You Have One Handy

It is often impossible for busy freelance writers to keep track of everything that they have to accomplish in order to successfully complete the work at hand. Often times, you end up missing one thing or another, and it is not before you have hit the button send that you realize the mistake you have committed. But by then it is already too late, and the process of sending an apology mail followed by the correct version of the piece that you sent starts. Generally, clients will not say anything, nevertheless, it reflects badly on your reputation and professionalism. Hence, you should work on doing the things right in the first time only, and in that checklists help a great deal.

Benefits of a checklist

A checklist offers many benefits, and unlike its how-to part, it does not require us to invest lots of time reading it. A checklist offers the following benefits:

It helps us know what we require to accomplish in order to get the work done before we embark upon.
It works as a guiding post, when we get stuck in the middle of the project and ask now what.
A checklist helps us verify if we have missed something in the project.
A checklist is easily scanable, and it should be kept handy when doing some work, as it will help us remember what needs to be done.
A checklist can help us properly prepare the budget keeping each item in mind.
It can prove to be a valuable asset when it comes to making a business decision.

Conclusion

One must keep a checklist handy whenever one embarks upon a new job. As said above, it will prove to be a very valuable tool right from the beginning.

Tags: Apology, Budget, Business Decision, Conclusion, Deal Benefits, Freelance Writers, Handy, Invest, Mail, Mistake, New Job, Professionalism, Reputation, Right From The Beginning, Valuable Tool

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17 Jan 10 Why Client’s Feedback Matters for a Freelance Writer?

How to avoid negative feedback?

03 Jan 10 How to Use Twitter to Get Clients

Step 1: Use real name

Step 2: Use real picture

Step 3: Brand your background

Step 4: Use compelling bio

Step 5: Add URL

Step 6: Create a list

10 Nov 09 Power of Checklist and Why Should You Have One Handy

Benefits of a checklist

Conclusion

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