Like Mickey Rourke, the corporate blog seems to be making a comeback this year. But not for the reasons we used to use- so our CEO sounded smart, or to  place brilliant thoughts on our industry and life in general into the infinite archives of the Web. These days consider this – if your website is “home” on the Internet then your blog is the front porch.

Top 3 reasons to implement a corporate blog on your website:

1) Blogs improve Search Engine Optimization

2) Blogs build credibility online

3) Blogs help people find you – in turn recruiting new clients for your business services

The Do’s & Don’ts of Corporate Blogging:

• Put your blog WITHIN your site so the address is blog.waxmarketing.com for example. Don’t use forward slash blog.
• Update 2-3 times a week with short (200 word) posts. Add a longer one once in a while.
• Use photos and videos as often as you can.
• Don’t insist on reviewing and approving content – you’ll never get anything posted. Give up control and review the guidelines instead.
• Hire more than one blogger to help you write – perhaps a “problogger” as well as an industry expert. That way if a blogger flakes out (and they will) you won’t be stranded.
• Interview people from your firm and post the Q&A online.
• Invite influencers to write guest posts on a frequent basis.
• Make sure you’re blogging about news events in your industry.
• Use a blogroll, tags, and trackbacks liberally
• Use popular blogging software or a CMS. DO NOT use your programmers little tool he/she coded up at home.

Read the complete article, by my lovely client, Bonnie Harris, CEO of Wax Marketing here for all the in’s and out’s of corporate blogging.

There’s an unwritten rule with Twitter (or maybe I have seen it [un]formally documented somewhere…who can be sure), that not all of your tweets should be self-promotional in order to establish a following. To market my business, I use Twitter to talk about news and tips related to the freelance writing industry, and link my own published articles. However, to use Twitter the right way; I make sure to tweet about things on the other end of the spectrum; things happening in the news, interesting things I’ve seen online, and even what I had for breakfast (okay, not actually – but other personal details about me).

Celebrities on Twitter need to consider the same rules when tweeting. When I joined Twitter, I started following a few celebrities on Twitter’s list of recommended users. Only a few have remained, and these are the ones who are effectively marketing themselves and their brands with a down-to-earth approach to Twitter. A few members of the Kutcher/Moore/Willis clan use Twitter and tweet like it will determine their survival. Of course, they too promote their projects, like any other smart Twitter user, but they bring themselves down from an idolized, celebrity status by tweeting about what they’re up to, funny things they saw online, and unlike me, actually use Twitter to tell their followers what they had for breakfast. When I read the tweets of Ashton Kutcher or Demi Moore, it’s like reading about any other unknown amongst those I follow (but I do also get a sense of voyeurism through getting a look into their lives from a first-hand perspective) . By appearing approachable, and even responding to other Twitter users, it’s an effective form of brand marketing, because if you’re like me, you want to help support people like you be successful at their craft.

Celebrities on Twitter who promptly found themselves removed from my list of followers gave off a “better-than-thou” aura and seemed too focused on only promoting their craft. One musician in particular, offers dry running commentary about the music industry on Twitter. After reading a few of this musicians tweets, I went back in time to see if this is all he uses Twitter for, and of course that’s what I found. We get it, you’re a multi-millionaire, major celebrity, so that makes you an expert on all things music (*gag*). Give me something else to hang onto; are you too good for YouTube? Do you read the news? When you travel, do you take note of your surroundings? I’d have to think you’re not so self-possessed; so tell us about it and the well-rounded mix of tweets will keep your followers interested.

The bottom line here? No matter who you are or what you do, Twitter can be an effective tool to market your brand if done right. So, celebrities on Twitter; get off your high horses and remember what it means to act like a normal human being and you’ll see your support growing.

Fellow Twitter users; if you’re wondering how to tell who’s a celebrity and who’s a phony; good luck. Some celebrity tweeters are all around fakes; others have their PR people post their news; and a select few really do travel the world with their iPhones, post pictures and create hilariously videos.

The majority of my client base has come from Craig’s List postings in the US and Canada, and no matter how much or how little work I have, I am always looking through the postings to see what’s happening with the market and keeping my eyes open for interesting projects. While there are always people looking to pay absurd rates for blog posts and web copy, now more than ever, the word “internship” is popping up all over the board. While these advertisements are trying to recruit people by offering beneficial industry experience and references if you do a good job, it’s just a coy way to avoid saying what it really means, “we want you to work for free”.

Internships are a great idea for students and those with no relevant experience on their resumes, beware, because offsite freelance internships won’t accomplish the same goal that working in an established organization will. Internships are usually meant to show you the ropes and expose you to different aspects of the industry. If you are a freelance intern, you will likely be expected to figure things out on your own and deliver while working independently. It might put another notch on your freelance belt, but you’d get the same benefit through paid experience. So, if you need to build experience, find out as much information as possible about the position before you agree to work for free, and if you’re an experienced professional, move on; get paid what you’re worth.

I see a lot of jobs posted where people expect writers to complete 400-800 word blogs, articles and web copy for a lump sum of $2-$5, including all relevant research, writing and editing of the completed materials. Some of these businesses say they will offer you an unlimited amount of work per day, so while it may help you pay the bills, if you’re a professional, this should be well below your minimum. According to Writers.ca, per word rates to higher a professional freelance writer should range anywhere from $0.10 – $3 dependent upon the type of content and experience of the freelancer. The complete rate chart for freelance writers and editors is available here: http://www.writers.ca/whattopay.htm

Understanding what’s happening with the economy, my rates are on the lower end of the spectrum, typically starting at $0.12/word or $13/hr for writing. For a great project, especially one with ongoing potential, I’m always willing to negotiate my rates. For example, I received a quote request today for industry specific articles that would require substantial research; I provided my standard rates, and also said that I would be willing to go as low as $20 for a 400-600 word article and would be willing to negotiate based on the budget the company had in mind. The response I got back was a straight forward “that’s nowhere near what I’d be willing to pay”, so clearly it was understood that even if I bent a little more, their pay would never meet my expectations and they were wasting my time. In this case, on the job posting the rate was listed “commensurate upon experience” with a slew of requirements…so, apparently not. Maybe the economy has limited their outsourcing budget, but if it’s a professional they want at those rates, they are taking advantage of desperate times and it certainly won’t be me.

So, as a freelance writer when you apply for jobs, make sure that you have a minimum rate in mind and further assess how reasonable that rate would be once you have a better grasp upon the scope of the job. Find out upfront what they’re willing to pay before you undergo further negotiations so they don’t waste your time, and walk away if they aren’t willing to pay you what you’re worth.

When you’re a freelancer, there really is no such thing as a steady income, and while limited benefits are available from US and Canadian governments to encourage small business development, they still have a long way to go.

In Canada, EI benefits are not offered to the self-employed, and entrepreneurs don’t have the option to pay EI premiums for eligibility. Maybe my view is a bit tainted, being a freelancer myself, but I’m astounded that there isn’t more support considering the establishment of new businesses can ultimately result in job creation; and with the state of the economy, isn’t that something the government should be focused on? South of the border in the US, unemployment benefits do vary by state, however, most regions also take the same stance; the self-employed don’t count as the unemployed, so they don’t qualify for financial help, not even government maternity or paternity benefits.

In Canada, the government is fortunately starting to grasp that maternity and paternity benefits really shouldn’t have anything to do with being employed or unemployed. While the benefit program will still fall under Service Canada’s employment services, they are exploring the option of implementing an optional program which allows self-employed Canadians to make regular EI contributions in order to take maternity or paternity leave so that there no longer has to be a financial division between family and entrepreneurialism. Benefit periods and mandatory contribution requirements have yet to be established, and a timeline to approve the rollout of the program has not been set.

While Unemployment Benefits may not be available to the self-employed, there is financial aid available to budding entrepreneurs in both countries. The United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration does allow some states to offer a self-employment allowance, encouraging unemployed individuals to create their own job opportunities. Canada also offers a similar Self-Employment Program through Human Resources and Social Development Canada, which provides limited financial assistance to allow business owners to get their concept off the ground. There are strict requirements for eligibility; only business ideas that could result in a great amount of job creation are approved, with limited numbers from each industry and category. A mandatory training period, which consists of approximately 2 weeks of in-class time helps to prepare entrepreneurs for new business ownership.

Additional financial help available for small-business startups is available through government grants, private bursaries and loans from major financial institutions. If you’re looking to pursue your dream career in freelance writing or editing, there are options available to help you along financially. However, it’s important to understand that you will never get the stability of a regular paycheque; while some weeks and months you might be rolling in the dough, you could also go through periods with little or no money coming in.

Whatever you do, make sure you follow your dreams; money’s a factor, but it’s not everything.

If you’re thinking about working at home you have a couple of ways to go about it; you can start your own, or you can buy one that’s pre-existing (and hopefully successful) if you want to avoid doing the groundwork yourself. While your motivation to work at home shouldn’t ONLY be because of the location, but also because of your love for the job, it does have its many benefits.

Read my complete article, about the benefits of starting a home business on Inventor Spot.com to learn exactly why it’s a good idea!

Establishing effective communication methods with co-workers and clients is no easy task, and as freelance writers and editors, this is a challenge that we endure often as our client base changes and grows on a regular basis. Learning how to communicate with any new client, both to develop a relationship and get the job done is the first step towards freelance success. It may be a long, hard road, but with the following information in mind, you will get there.

1) Try and establish your new client’s preferred method of communication upfront:

Do they prefer email or phone? Is there a certain time of day that it’s most convenient to reach them? Do they prefer to schedule calls in advance? Or is it okay to get in touch anytime? If it’s a company with multiple people, who is your main contact person?

2) Set your expectations:

While it’s important to be accommodating and flexible, especially at the beginning of a new client relationship, let them know what your needs are. Do you have days or hours that you will be away from your home office and unavailable to respond to emails? Do you have a preferred working schedule? Let them know when you plan to work. Let them know how you plan to communicate and establish your preferences; although that old statement “the customer’s always right” rings true here.

I often work 7 days a week, but due to my family situation, often work over the weekend and take hours or days off during the week when it’s possible. When it’s appropriate and we have established a relationship, I make this preference clear to my clients, so when it’s possible, we can make arrangements that allows me to follow my preferred schedule.

3) Ask questions:

Don’t assume you have all the information you need from a client upfront. There is always a learning curve at the beginning of any new client relationship, so try to gather as much information as possible to encourage the process along. If they don’t provide you with deadlines, ask them; if you are unclear about expectations, ask; when you submit initial work, request feedback and establish open communication; if you’re unclear about instructions or requests; ask for clarification before moving forward. By asking appropriate questions, they will be aware that you have their needs in mind and are trying to deliver work of the highest quality.

4) Be assertive:

While in theory the client is always right, you don’t need to be a pushover either. Always remain professional and polite, but you can let them know when they’re not accommodating your needs. If you’ve established a 48 hour turn-time for work and they want something within 24 hours, suck it up and do it the first couple of times. You need to be flexible if you want to have a successful freelance business, but if it becomes a habit, a gentle reminder that your accommodation is the exception but not the rule is appropriate.

5) Open the lines of communication:

By communicating openly and effectively with your clients, it will help establish your responsibility and strengthen the relationship. While you don’t want to start calling or emailing to talk about what you had for dinner, do be proactive in notifying them about any vacation plans or time out of the office. You also want to make sure you’re readily accessible at virtually anytime. You don’t have to be handcuffed to your desk, but consider a PDA or cell phone that allows you access to communications when you are out of your home office.

6) Accept that there may be faulty communication:

Despite your best efforts, there will always be issues with communication; especially if you have a client is not prompt at responding to emails or if their communication method doesn’t match yours. It happens, accept it and move on. Just remain professional so the relationship, and in turn, the client is not sacrificed.

7) Learn from poor communication:

While problems may occur, take the opportunity to learn and grow from these experiences for the future. I recently had a client tell me that I could send some last minute writing to them “anytime” the next day; after receiving a phone call wondering when they would be receiving the work, I began to think that there had in fact been a timeline in mind. Instead of pointing fingers, I asked if there was a specific time of day the start posting the day’s articles online. Now, I have a grasp of their schedule so I can accommodate their requests according to their needs, even if there is a lapse in communication.

Try to establish your clients’ needs:

Learn your role in communication with them; everyone has different requirements. Does your client prefer you to be a wallflower and wait for instruction, or are they disorganized and require you to keep them on track with reminders for assignments or upcoming dates. This is a factor of communication that will come into play once the relationship with your client grows.

9) Keep your frustration to yourself:

I know they say it’s healthy to talk about your problems, but when it comes to your clients, this doesn’t apply. Again, be assertive when needed, but find someone else to voice your frustrations to. Your friends, your family and your therapist are good choices, and as much as you may want to shout at your clients “You needed this writing so badly, but you won’t respond to my emails!” Save it!

10) Modify your method of communication:

11) You may prefer email, but it can be unreliable. So if you haven’t heard from your client regarding an important deadline, or they haven’t confirmed they received an important piece of work; pick up the phone. Sometimes communication through email can be misconstrued too, using the phone lets them correctly interpret what you’re saying based on your tone of voice and other cues.

]]> http://writesourcing.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/communicate-your-way-to-freelance-success/feed/ 0 writesourcing http://writesourcing.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/blog-your-way-to-success-by-keeping-it-fresh/ http://writesourcing.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/blog-your-way-to-success-by-keeping-it-fresh/#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:41:55 +0000 Beth http://writesourcing.wordpress.com/?p=20 ]]> Who doesn’t have a blog these days? Using it as a marketing tool, many businesses are starting to write about their industry, and the “regular” person is using it as a way just to voice their thoughts or talk about their interests. Just because there are many people blogging, doesn’t mean they’re doing it effectively or that anyone’s reading. One way to capture an audience, and keep them after drawing traffic to your site, is to make sure that you keep your content fresh and interesting.

1. Establish your voice – why do readers want to read what you have to write? Tell them why they should be listening to you; you don’t need to be an expert, but you do need to have a plan, set goals and stick to them. It doesn’t do much for establishing your legitimacy if you are constantly changing your point of view. If today I’m writing about the steps to keeping your blog fresh, and another day I’m listing why all the points I’ve made previously are wrong, no one will want to heed my advice in the future.

2. Talk about things that are hot in the news and media. Think about what people are concerned about today.  I’m writing about blogging because it is a current marketing trend today that people are interesting in learning more about; the same goes for email marketing. If however, I were to write about direct mail marketing (other than in it’s historical sense), no one would care, because it’s last decade’s hot topic, not today’s.

3. Avoid ranting – keep it simple, be concise. No one has the time or energy to read thousands upon thousands of words for a post online. Otherwise, they might just pick up a book.

4. Drop the business perspective on occasion – don’t lose your corporate perspective, because that’s where your business comes from; but don’t be afraid to keep it fun and light on posts once in a while. Talk about the movie you saw last night, write a book review, or comment about what you heard in line at the grocery store.

5. Make your posts editorial, but don’t push it – blogs need to leave room for people to voice their own opinions. You can voice yours, but force it down your reader’s throats and they won’t feel like the can share their perspective.

6.  Remember the point of your blog – people visit to read what you write for a reason. Maybe the like to read my tips for the (rather broad) writing industry; maybe it’s the sarcasm they cherish. Whatever the appeal is, don’t deviate too far, or you’ll spot appealing to the target audience that you’ve successfully captured.

7. Name drop – it’s okay to refer to articles written by other people, whether they’re positive or negative. Recently someone took me on regarding an Inventor Spot article about the Thriving Office CD. They overlooked the sarcasm prevalent in the writing, and stooped to personal attacks, but the fact that someone felt the need to write an article contradicting my perspective was to me, one of the highest forms of flattery.  Clearly the writer of this article, felt I have a strong enough voice and presence to take on; so whether he got it right and wrong, it was a nice nod of respect.

8.  Be controversial – let’s face it, being too nice is never interesting. If you’re writing about someone else’s product, service or written word; there are always advertisments on TV or favourable reviews that accomplish the task of back patting. Take a controversial perspective, it doesn’t have to be all bad; but insert some sarcastic quips or constructive critisim. But, beware of what you say, because on the internet, someone’s always watching.

As contract workers, we are responsible for self-declaring when it comes to tax time. Federal and Provincial Income Tax rates for 2008 are available from Revenue Canada and the Professional Writer’s Association of Canada provides a useful guide to handling GST.

The basic rules of GST are as follows:

• Does not apply to clients outside of Canada
• Must be charged to domestic clients if your income is over $30,000 per year.
• You only have to start charging GST once you have reached your $30,000 quota for the year.
• GST can be charged to any clients within Canada if you choose, regardless of income
• You must register for a GST number with the Canada Revenue Agency once you will begin charging GST

When working with international clients, be wary of any tax related documents they present for your employment.  As a contractor working from another country, you should not have any relation to the IRS or any other government revenue agency, unless you are physically working on their turf. If you are uncertain about any documents a client or employer requests you to sign, consult a lawyer or business consultant before signing on the dotted line.

One of the business services that I offer with Write Sourcing, is corporate blogging for my clients. It’s a huge new business trend with growing popularity. But, why? What are the benefits of blogging? Blogs are a terrific indirect marketing tool; when done right they draw traffic to the site and recruit new business. The topics of posts and articles aren’t crucial, provided it would be of interest to the target market for your business. Otherwise what’s the point? It’s great to have readers, but that won’t accomplish the mission of the corporate blog.

There are lots of people out there claiming to blog; it’s a big social trend, with blogs available on social networking sites like Facebook and countless venues that make it easy for just about anyone to provide their two-cents on the web; but with professionals, there’s a difference. Corporate blogs have a point, they’re not just informative, they’re not just to chat about last night’s events; they meet those criteria while following a specific formula. A professional blogger is familiar with Search Engine Optimization and use of keywords, they consider your target audience and what would be appealing and they always keep a sales perspective in mind.

My blog won’t be any different; I won’t rise above self-promotion or corporate marketing, but I will also act as a resource for the writing and editing industries. I will welcome feedback, tips, and of course new business with open arms. I do promise, however, that my next post will sound next like [highly effective] sales web copy, and the blog will likely contain elements of sarcasm in the future.

Visit our website and use Write Sourcing’s services to establish your corporate blog today.

In my article, I outline 8 basic tips that follow Leah McLaren’s example, who knew exactly what she wanted from a young age and did whatever it took to get it.

1. Figure out if it’s what you really want.

2. Go and get it!

3. Get the appropriate education (consider English or Journalism programs).

4. Find a way to establish experience and build a portfolio early on (consider internships or pro-bono contributions to publications).

5. Seek the advice from a strong mentor in the industry.

6. Don’t be too picky in the beginning…any job will help get you on your way.

7. Consider marketing yourself as a freelancer (connect with agencies, setup a website, put up web ads and flyers).

8. NOW, go and get it!

Unfortunately, it may not be that easy for everyone; because only a select number of graduates from such programs have the right skills and the ability to survive the cut-throat industry. I’d like to tell you exactly what the employment statistics are post-graduation for journalism students, but there seems to be a disturbing lack of relevant information readily available post 1976 (when this report was published). I can’t help but wonder what this means.

I did however find an interesting article, published by Suite101.com that guides individuals with journalistic aspirations towards success. The 5 basic tenants are as follows:

1. Make sure you love writing and possess the skills.

2. Learn time management skills in order to meet deadlines.

3. As with many industries, networking is essential for success.

4. As I also mention in step 4 above, use internships to build experience

5. Have a release from journalism and take a break.

For further details on how to follow your journalistic dreams, read the complete article on Suite101 and my article on Inventor Spot.

If you are a student looking to further develop your writing portfolio, contact us at Write Sourcing; we are always interested in hearing from good writers!