Comments on: Freelance Smackdown: Week 3 Update (”Once More, With Feeling”)

By: Freelance Smackdown: Day 14 Update (With “Secret”-Busting Goodness) : Million Dollar Leverage

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:19:45 +0000

[...] freelance smackdown index | next article in series [...]

By: HD BizBlog- The Blog: Productivity in Context » Blog Archive » Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:03:09 +0000

[...] Dave Navarro puts Christine O’Kelly’s Freelancing guide to the test. Freelance Smackdown. [...]

By: James Chartrand - Men with Pens

James Chartrand - Men with Pens — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:18:58 +0000

@ Christine – Oh, thanks for the compliment on those product descriptions at thinkgeek!

Kidding. But we write them just as well

By: Christine OKelly

Christine OKelly — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:49:21 +0000

Ugh – product descriptions! The client thinks… hey – it’s just 100-200 words that should be easy! But really it’s their one chance to SELL the customer. The best product descriptions bring flair and creativity into the mix – but most companies aren’t willing to pay for the time it takes to produce that. My favorite example of product descriptions is at http://www.thinkgeek.com. They’re product descriptions are actually FUN to read!

You asked for a horror story – here’s mine: I was asked to “Americanize” some articles that were written by writers in India. I thought that would be pretty quick and easy. NO! Don’t ever take a job like this! I pretty much had to rewrite the every single article because language was just so wrong for an American audience. What’s worse, is that the articles were about a dating site. Let me tell you, they have different ideas about dating in India! These articles were so off-base that they would never jive with Americans.

Congrats on meeting your goal! I’m tellin ya… that email strategy WORKS. I’m so glad you proved it!

By: Dave Navarro

Dave Navarro — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:40:54 +0000

Thanks for the tip James – fortunately freelancing is gravy to me rather than bread and butter, so I’m not stressing about gigs I don’t get .. I’m just glad to be in the mix. I’m actually on the flip side of your equation – I only got 1/5 response from my emails!

200 word description of a couch? O_o

By: James Chartrand - Men with Pens

James Chartrand - Men with Pens — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:21:48 +0000

Hehehe… rookie

I love product descriptions. They’re fun and lucrative and let me use tons of sweet, tempting adjectives to lure the senses and tantalize the urge to purchase. I like making a picture of something sound really, really good.

I hate product descriptions. Especially when a client has nearly 100 different models of black and chrome chairs and sofas – and wants 200-word descriptions that are unique for each one. How many ways can you say, “They’re black, they’re chrome, and you need one?”

Cool on the new gig – and word of warning: you won’t get gigs 1/5th of the time.

By: Dave Navarro

Dave Navarro — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:16:09 +0000

Hey, lowbrow belt-kicking humor always brings out the smiles.

By: Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

Michael Martine, Blog Consultant — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:25:43 +0000

watch me kick the Law of Attraction below the belt and teach you to use real, actual true-to-life magic to increase your freelancing income. (And by real magic, I mean a metaphor.)

The whole post is worth those words right there!

Good points on the repetitive work v. productivity issue. I’ve done some stuff like that: part trance, part screw-off.