Freelance Smackdown: Day 14 Update (With “Secret”-Busting Goodness)

For those just joining us, I called out Christine O’Kelly to put her Freelancing Guide to the test for 30 days and build a $1000-$2000 per month part time revenue stream. These are the continuing adventures …

Today’s post is going to cover:

• The Last 7 Days of Freelance Smackdown Activity
• What’s Coming Up For The Next 14 Days
• The Magic of Working For Less Than You Want
• How To Use The Magic For Fun And Profit
• What To Do When You’re Starting From Scratch

The Last 7 Days of Freelance Smackdown Activity

‘Tis Friday once more, and I’m closing in on the end of Freelance Smackdown: Week Two. Numbers are a little skewed because I didn’t actually do much freelance writing (less than $100 incoming cash this week). But the good news - I locked in about $1,500 worth of writing assignments to be spread out over the next 45 days. Read more

Interview With Blog Consultant Michael Martine

Michael Martine is a leading blog consultant and coach who offers his services and blogs about business blogging over at Remarkablogger.com. He has been involved in web design since the mid 90s and blogging since 2000.

Dave: Michael, why do you love what you do?

Michael: The web is the most personally empowering and sweeping change we’ve ever seen in our lives. I am thrilled by it and passionate about it. In the face of all criticism to the contrary, it has brought us closer together and expanded our opportunities to earn a good living or do amazing things that have a real impact on the world. To earn a living by helping others make this happen for themselves is nothing short of life-changing for me. I love being a part of it and helping others enable and empower themselves through the web.

Dave: What is one of the major turning points / “A-ha moments” that paved the way towards greater success for you? Read more

Freelance Smackdown: Day 7 Update (Now Codeine Free!)

For those just joining us, I called out Christine O’Kelly to put her Freelancing Guide to the test for 30 days and build a $1000-$2000 part time revenue stream. These are the continuing adventures …

Dave

Today’s post is going to cover:

• The last 48 (or so) Hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity
• Second Thoughts and Refining My Ideas
• They May Take My Rates, But They’ll Never Take My Freedom
• I Still (Want To) Know What You Did Last Summer (For Pay)
• Good Things Come To Those Who Expect Them
• We’re No One Without Someone Else

The Last 48 (Or So) Hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity

‘Tis Friday, and I’m closing in on the end of Freelance Smackdown: Week One. Total bank for part time freelancing since I read the eBook is $505, though to be technical, only $140 of that was after the call-out. But I’ll count the whole $505 since it’s all post-eBook freelance earnings.

I started to put out the word via email to a few SEO shops that I am available for writing services, along with my rates, but I’m backing off on that strategy. Not because it’s a bad strategy (it’s actually a great one), but because of some bigger picture concerns I’ll go into below. Read more

Freelance Smackdown: Expanding Services, Part Deux

For those just joining us, I called out Christine O’Kelly to put her Freelancing eBook to the test for 30 days and build a $1000-$2000 part time revenue stream. These are the continuing adventures …

Dave

Today’s post is going to cover:

• The last 24 hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity
• How I’m (Really) Expanding My Services
• How I’m Really, Really Expanding My Services
• A Big Thank You To Everbody

The Last 24 Hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity

First off: On Tuesday, this blog exploded as far as traffic goes. Thanks to you Stumblers and all who backlinked. And thank you for all comments here and on Christine’s blog. Tuesday was a day of work, where I finished up the billable goodness that had come my way in the evening after my day job. I was actually in the good position of having to turn down a piece of work this week. Read more

Freelance Smackdown: Expanding Services (I’m Doing It, You Should Too)

For those just joining us, I called out Christine O’Kelly to put her Freelancing eBook to the test for 30 days and build a $1000-$2000 part time revenue stream. These are the continuing adventures …

If You Scan Blog Headers, This Is For You

Today’s post is going to cover:

• The last 24 hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity
• How I’m Expanding My Services
• How You Can Easily Do It, Too

The Last 24 Hours of Freelance Smackdown Activity

Monday wasn’t too productive a day for me as I was feeling a resurgence of bronchitis (walking through freezing rain in DC last week didn’t help). Tried to sleep in as much as possible so I could go all out in the evening. Last night I was successful in booking some extra freelance writing work but didn’t actually do anything billable (head was pretty fuzzy so I didn’t want to write), so I worked on my game plan for the next seven days. Read more

How I Boosted My Confidence In 5 Minutes And Made Over $5000

As I’m pushing through the Christine O’Kelly Freelancing Showdown, I’m kicking myself for not taking advantage of ways to make money that I could have been using for the last 12 months. (Damn you, page 3!). But no more. I realize now that I’ve fallen under the seductive magic of the “Scary A-Lister Syndrome.”

If you’ve never heard of this malady, it boils down to this - you don’t consider yourself expert in an area because there are so many people more experty than you are. This usually happens because you dabble in a skill that other people devote their full attention to. So on a scale of 1 to 10 those “A-listers” are 10s in their field while you clock in at about a 5. Read more

Christine O’Kelly Is Officially On Notice

The word is out on FreelanceFolder that I’ve put Christine O’Kelly on notice for giving me the freelancing bug.

No sooner did I plunder through her eBook to find ways to sell more of my coaching programs than I had a whole bunch of freelance copywriting come my way. Coincidence? Magic? Hell no, I just did what she said on page 17. I just didn’t expect it to get me all the work I could handle for 2 weeks straight.

Now, if you know me well, you’ll know that the only thing tastier to me than helping myself to a nice tall pint of Guinness is helping myself to a stream of cash that I’ve been leaving on the table without even knowing it. But the taste of freelancing lucre has made me hungry for more, but not necessarily at the “get my feet wet” rates I’ve been using these last two weeks. Read more

Interview With Harrison McLeod - “The Pen Is Mightier!”

(500 Internet Points for whoever caught the Sean Connery reference in the title.)

A few weeks ago I put in interview requests with James Chartrand and Harry McLeod of Web Content Writer Tips and they were kind enough to clue me in to some of their advice for business success. I had tons of energy when I posted James’ interview, so it looked spiffy, but right now it’s almost midnight, I’ve got bronchitis (and no meds), and I’m in D.C. on a weeklong business trip that leaves me missin’ the hell out of my wife and kids so I’m slamming this one out but I’ll make it up to ya, Harry. (There, Naomi, you’re not the only one spilling your guts on your blog!). But enough about me. It’s all about Harry now.

Dave: How do I do justice introducing the co-author of the “Men With Pens” blog without doing a double take? Introduce yourself.

Harry: Dave, I’ve been staring at your questions for an hour thinking of how to answer them. I’ve been debating whether I should grab something containing alcohol from the ‘fridge. Of course, I’ve warned James many times not to drink and write, so I couldn’t do the same in good conscience. Here goes.

Hi, I’m Harrison McLeod, the other half of JCM Enterprises. I’m a writer and a graphic designer. I’m single, 42 and a Sagittarian. I have no kids, and I live in Las Vegas with two cats and a roommate. I’m also most likely the only guy you’ll ever meet who has a motorcycle parked in his office. Seriously.

Dave: Why do you love what you do?

I don’t think there is a “why” to my doing this. I do what I do because it works for me. I enjoy the variety and the process of creation involved with each project, whether it’s a writing assignment or a graphic design project.

I love the sense of accomplishment and being able to point and say, “I did that!” I guess I’m taking my 15 minutes of fame any way I can - and hoping no one notices when I try to steal a few extra minutes.

We should thank all Gen-Xers for giving us the drive to break out of the cubicle and start doing what we love. How many of us grew up watching our parents working the daily grind? Back then, your job was a life sentence until retirement. You’d get your party and your watch, and you could look forward to a pension.

These days, there is no such thing as job security. People know this. I know this.

I love that I can freelance and have my own business. Having a business partner like James makes it even better. Anyone can start a business if the person is willing to do the work involved. It doesn’t happen by itself, folks.

Dave: What is one of the major turning points / “A-ha moments” that brought you one of your biggest successes?

Harry: My biggest a-ha moment happened recently. I attended the Las Vegas Blog Expo back in November. Something in my head clicked when I mingled with other bloggers.

The names I’d seen on posts I read now had faces. These were real people just like me, plain and simple. They weren’t doing anything special, and they weren’t revealing any great blogosphere secrets that James and I didn’t know already.

Hell, I’m sure there are people reading this now thinking I’m some kind of celebrity. I’m not.

Once I realized these superstar bloggers were real people, there was no reason why I couldn’t do the same thing they were doing - only my goal is to do it better, take it a step further, and to do what no one else is doing.

I came back to the keyboard with a vengeance. I think I even scared James with my newfound enthusiasm.

Dave: What are some ways you help keep a work-life balance?

Harry: There’s really not much to balance. I don’t have any kids, just a couple of cats that are pretty self-sufficient. Even if I live in Las Vegas, I’m not out hitting the casinos or whooping it up in the clubs. That’s not me.

When I need balance after a rough week, I fire up the motorcycle (a Honda VTX1800 RS) and head out into the desert on the longest stretch of road I can find. Riding with no distractions for a couple of hundred miles or so is a great way to get your thoughts back in order and recharge your batteries.

It’s easy to lose track of the days or how much you’re working when you work from home. I had to adjust to resisting the temptation to work around the clock. I had gotten to a point where I was in a bad cycle of staying up all night to work and get ahead. Then I’d be too tired to get up early the next day, and I’d fall behind. It was very counter-productive, to say the least.

James pointed out that my work habits were crap. I decided to take control. One of the best things any new freelancer can do is to set up a schedule and stick to it.

I plan out my tomorrows the night before, jotting down tasks I’d like to start or finish on a schedule. If a task isn’t finished, it goes to the top of the list. Every task gets one hour of time. When the day comes, I know what I’m doing, how long to spend on it, and my day flows.

I often finish the task or the project ahead of schedule. I’m getting more done in a day, and I end up with more time on my hands rather than less.

Dave: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

Harry: I think I’m going to have that alcohol now. Man, what don’t I know now that I wish I had known?

I wish I could go back in time and tell myself, “Harry, don’t worry so much. It’ll work out just fine. Don’t worry about the money, don’t worry about the bills, don’t worry that there won’t be enough work, and most of all, don’t worry about failing.”

That’s the thing. So many people are worried and afraid to start, so they never get started. They stay in their crappy jobs with a false sense of security.

The reality is that working for yourself is much more secure than working for someone else. When I was in the corporate world, there were always talks of layoffs and cut-backs. You’d work like a dog for a lousy $0.25 raise each year. The work, the hours, and the responsibilities increased while your paycheck stayed the same.

I knew there had to be something better. I’m lucky I found the courage to go after it.

Dave: What leverage do you plan to use to grow your business over the coming year?

Harry: Work smarter, not harder. For the past two years, James and I have busted our asses to build our reputation and credibility. Now we’re at a point where we can relax just a little. Over the next year, we’d like to continue growing our business and push it further.

With a well-built business comes freedom so that James and I can enjoy some of the better aspects of our business – blogging, for one.

Dave: What blog posts are you most proud of?

Harry: The posts I’m most proud are those in my “The 7 Deadly Fears of Writing” series. The inspiration came from Jurgen Wolff’s Your Writing Coach.

After I wrote a post, James suggested I make a series. At first, I said, “Crap. A series?” Then I had to laugh at myself. What was I afraid of?

I explored each of those seven fears and it turned out to be a great experience and an excellent series.

See, that’s the thing about writing. You learn more about the world around you, and you learn more about yourself with every word you write. By the end of the series, I had pinpointed each of my personal writing fears, stared them down, and wrote them off for good.

Dave: What blogs do you read to get the edge in your business?

Harry: Dave Navarro’s Million Dollar Leverage, of course! (How’s that for sucking up?)

Seriously, your blog is one of the handfuls of blogs I read on a regular basis, along with Naomi Dunford’s IttyBiz, and Jurgen Wolff’s Time to Write.

These days, though, I find myself not reading blogs as often as I used to. Call it an experiment. I felt that everyone wrote about the same topics. The blogs that really stood out were ones where the writers posted on ideas no one else had thought of.

While I still read, I don’t read as much. I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s posts. It forces me to think, and I mean, really think. It’s a personal challenge to see if I can produce the one topic everyone talks about – and blogs about.

Well, folks, looks like that cider’s kicking in nicely now and I’ve run out of questions to answer. Thanks for the opportunity, Dave!

Dave: I owe you one, Harry. I’ll touch base soon.

Check out Harry’s latest musings at Men With Pens: Shooting From The Hip. And yes, it is a blog about writing. Writing, people.

Because as Sean Connery will tell you, “The Pen Is Mightier, Trebek!”

8 Business Stats You Should Double In 2008

As I mentioned yesterday in How to Double Your Sales (Over and Over Again), an easy way to improve your overall sales is to find a bottleneck - an area of your business where you’re not very efficient or effective - and tweak it. When your customers stumble across a path to your products that you have neglected to make smooth, a little sprucing up can make a lot of difference.

This is especially true at those tight bottlenecks where a potential customer isn’t moving on to the next phase of your sales cycle. For example, it’s probably going to be easier to take a 2% newsletter signup rate to 4% than it is to take a 15% sales page conversion rate to 30%. (Or is it? Feel free to defy that limiting belief in the comments.) Let’s jump in and take a look at 8 sales-driving metrics that you can double in 2008.

Name Drops - Who’s Talking About You?

In the online world, having other people talk about you is like a basic form of currency. There’s a “social proof” that’s invoked when someone with an audience mentions your name, your brand, or your product. Who’s talking about you? What simple ways could you double that number?

Click-Throughs

Take a look at how many people visit your blog posts or articles. If you don’t understand a few basic principles of constructing solid headlines, you’ll only tap into a fraction of potential page views. Fortunately, five minutes at Copyblogger will help you double that in no time.

Read-Throughs

When it comes to blog posts, articles or even sales copy, the first paragraph is the first impression that either makes or breaks you. If you’re not consciously laying out a compelling string of sentences, you’ll lose customers when they lose interest and click away without reading. Spend a few more minutes at Copyblogger and learn how to double the number of people who stay glued to your content.

Newsletter Opt-Ins / RSS Signups

With the pressure to drive sales, sometimes you may neglect to make it easy, attractive and compelling for people to sign up to your newsletter or RSS feed. Take a moment to look at what you’re doing and ask yourself what small tweak could double your signup stats.

Calls To Action

You want your readers to have a transaction with you eventually. Are you only giving them one opportunity, or are you presenting them with a good reason to do business with you again and again? Doubling this stat isn’t about sending more “buy now” messages, but about providing value, and providing a chance to transact at the same time.

Repeat Purchases

When a customer buys from you, how often do they buy again? If this stat is low it’s not necessarily an indicator that you suck, but that you’re not providing an easy and compelling reason to purchase again. (Yes, I’m using ‘compelling’ all over the place.) What simple change could you make to offer your customers a great reason to do business with you again?

Referrals

Word of mouth = GOLD, GOLD, GOLD. If you don’t get referrals, it’s likely that you’re not asking enough (or asking in the right ways). Think of what makes you refer someone else’s business to others, and take a fresh look at your own business. Doubling this number may not be as hard as you think.

Reference Customers

Happy customers = DIAMONDS. How many success stories or rave reviews do you have for potential customers to see? Again, this comes down to asking (and asking in the right way). Consider this the most important stat to double this year.

Upcoming articles over the next few weeks will cover these areas (and more), so why don’t you subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss any of them? And feel free to add your any “stats to double” I haven’t covered so far.

Now It’s Your Turn

Take a moment and think of how you might double one or more of these states in your own business (or how you’ve done it in the past), and leave your wisdom in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the comments as well so you’ll get a steady stream of valuable tips from everyone who shares their experience as well.

You know what to do,
Dave

(PS, the Becoming an Early Riser $12 special expires TODAY, so if downloading it is on your to do list, now’s the time to do it!)

How To Double Your Sales (Over And Over Again)

The Holy Grail of any business is to double profit without directly increasing costs anywhere near as much. That’s leverage plain and simple - using small adjustments in strategy to gain large results. This article is the first in a year-long series that will revolve around ways to take what you’re already doing and tweak it to get double the results. Let’s get started. Read more

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