The Freelance Folder recently ran a contest to celebrate its one-year anniversary. Whether a writer, editor, designer or other consultant, you'll find this list of freelancer-to-freelancer recommendations submitted by contestants helpful. And, if you have your own tip to share, post a comment at the end of the blog.
Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com
As you review your goals and strategies, ask yourself what's working and how do you know it's working. Think about different strategies you might like to incorporate. Perhaps an e-newsletter isn't working with your target audience, but a more interactive blog is the perfect technology alternative. But how can you be sure a blog is the right step to take?
Determine the focus. Keep the survey simple, by narrowing the focus. Don't try to find out everything about your customer's preferences all at once. Choose either satisfaction with services/products, or what they're looking for from your industry or type of business. But don't do both at once. You want to hold their attention for the entire survey.One of the best resources for developing and distributing surveys is an online survey service, such as Zoomerang or Survey Monkey. These companies allow users to develop surveys (or adapt a template), distribute them via e-mail, and even assign unique links for each survey respondent.
Limit the questions. The shorter the survey, the more likely your clients are to complete it. Settle on 10 or fewer questions that zero in on your focus area. Resist the temptation to split off onto a tangent. This will also help force you to stick to the most important information.
Solicit comments. This is an excellent opportunity to get feedback. Use the last question as an invitation to write about their answers or add something not asked in the survey.
A guest blog by Sheila M. Goss
If you’re reading this, you’ve been introduced to the wave of the future -- BLOGGING.
What is a blog?
A blog is the equivalent to an online diary. You can use it to post personal information or useful information (such as this article). It can also be used to interact with other bloggers and if you’re an author, your readers.
Why would I want to blog?
Blogging is what you make of it. It’s a way to introduce your readers to a side of you that they cannot see from reading a bio on your website or on the back of your book cover. It also gives your reading audience a chance to leave you real-time comments and interact with not only you, but also other readers of your books.
How often should I blog?
Don’t look at blogging as a dreaded task placed on your “to do” list. Blogging should be fun. If you become an active blogger, you’ll look forward to posting as well as interacting with others. How often you post is up to you. You can post daily, every other day, weekly or whenever the whim hits. You’ll find the more responses you get on your blog posts, the more you’ll be inclined to post on somewhat of a schedule.
Is there Blog etiquette?
If you’ll be away for an extended period of time, just write a quick post, so your regular visitors won’t think you forgot about them. There are times that you may get some unwanted posts (yes, spammers have infiltrated the blog world), so don’t hesitate to either delete those posts or set up your blog so posters have to put in a password.
Should my blog have a theme?
Not necessarily, but it makes it fun. I have several blogs. Each blog has its own theme. For example:
Examples of author blogs:
Shelia M. Goss is the ESSENCE MAGAZINE Bestselling Author of My Invisible Husband, Roses are Thorns, Violets are True, Paige’s Web and Double Platinum. With unique storylines, her goal is to create “stories with a twist”. Shelia was the recipient of three 2003 Shades of Romance Magazine Reader’s Choice Multi-Cultural Awards for her debut novel, Roses are Thorns, Violets are True. For more information, be sure to visit her website /.
©2008 Shelia M. Goss. All Rights Reserved.
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