Public speaking is hard: we’ve all heard that it’s the most common fear, above and beyond death. Everybody in the room is staring at you, which is enough to make most of us want to run.

There are some lucky people who seem to not experience that particular sensation or who even seem to be natural speakers, but for the majority of us, there are always steps to take that will make us steadier on stage.

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Have you heard about all the powerful insights Google Analytics can churn out for your business? (Here are just 3 Google Analytics insights you can learn about your business.)

If you haven’t heard about Google Analytics, it’s an amazing, free tool you can use to track everything related to your website visitor data – from how many, to where they’re coming from, to what they’re doing on your website (and what’s making them leave!).

If you have heard of Google Analytics and its powerful insights, you know that installing it on your site is a must do item.

If you’re a WordPress user, I have a secret for you: installing Google Analytics on your WordPress site involves very little code. We can install Google Analytics easily. Sound good? Let’s get to it. Continue Reading

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to land your very first speaking gig, before you have any experience speaking in public. It’s an approach that can get you more than just one speaking gig, so that you can get on your way to establishing a speaking career.

Come up with the perfect idea for your presentation, target your audience with your message, pitch your ideas to event organizers, utilize time-saving techniques, track responses, and get speeding towards touching down your first speaking gig. Continue Reading

Once a week, we feature a fantastic freelance-themed comic from the talented N.C. Winters. Why not also take a look at our comic archive? Continue Reading

Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community.

Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in Software Development, Blogging, Web Development and more!

To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!

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So you want to write and publish an ebook? Good for you! With the writing tools and online publishing platforms available today, there’s never been a better time to write a book.

Whatever kind of freelancer you are, publishing an ebook can only be good for your business. It shows you’re a thought-leader in your field. You wrote the book, clients will reason, so you must know what you’re doing. It boosts the visibility of your business, making every reader a potential lead. Finally, it provides a source of passive income. Once it’s written, the work is done.

Knowing how to write a book can be intimidating. Of course, if you feel unsure about your writing skills, you can work with a ghostwriter or editor to make sure your book reflects the high quality of work you do for your clients.

That said, I highly recommend giving writing a go yourself. You’ll find it hard to go wrong if you give Scrivener a try.

What’s so great about Scrivener? Scrivener makes writing a breeze. As well as providing one of the best writing experiences, it helps with the heavy lifting of giving your ebook a solid structure, and it will format your ebook ready for self-publishing. Continue Reading

Every freelancer needs a website, no matter your specialty.

A website gives you a way to provide information to interested parties that are searching for your services online. However, a website launch can be both expensive and time-consuming, which is why some freelancers shy away from it. Fortunately, there are options for creating a free website and you can get it launched in less than a day!

This is where WebStartToday.com comes into play. It is an amazingly simple site builder tool specifically designed for freelancers and business owners with little technical experience. The process of launching a website with WebStartToday is intuitive. The other great benefit is that they allow you a free website for an entire year (with the domain name of yourbusinessname.webstarttoday.com).

For those of you who would like to give WebStartToday a try, use this tutorial for tips on how best to go through the process for creating your own freelance website in less than a day. Continue Reading

As successful entrepreneurs and freelancers know, making a name for yourself online is all about content marketing.

Yet the landscape of content marketing can be confusing, as it is constantly shifting. Blogging is still the mainstay of an effective content marketing strategy, but in the past decade audio, social media and video have all been added into the mix.

Faster broadband speeds coupled with video cameras built into computers and smartphones have seen video become a key player in content marketing. Over 4 billion hours of video are watched every month on Youtube.

This trend towards video is set to continue. Both YouTube and Cisco have predicted that within the next couple of years, 90% of web traffic will be from video.

This is great news for freelancers, as video establishes trust and shows your personality and brand more quickly than the written word. Prospects and clients who watch your videos will feel like they know you as a friend. That means when it comes to selling your services, the hard work of building trust is already done.

But isn’t making videos a big headache? Don’t you need a ton of time and lots of specialist software to make a decent video?

Not necessarily.

With Google Hangouts on Air you can broadcast live from your office. When the broadcast is done, it gets posted to YouTube.

Making quality videos is as simple as making a video call. Continue Reading

Once a week, we feature a fantastic freelance-themed comic from the talented N.C. Winters. Why not also take a look at our comic archive? Continue Reading

Freelancers are often faced with the question of how much to charge for a project. When the project is similar to others you have done, then you have a good idea of the number of hours it will take you, and the costs you will face. But what about when you are pitching for a project that is a bit different from your normal work?

As a freelancer, it is essential to get your estimates right. Too high, and you might not get the project; too low, and you won’t make a profit. With a professional estimate, you will be able to show your client how you have arrived at your cost, which will help them see that your price is fair.

This step-by-step guide will help you think through all the considerations involved in making a professional freelance project estimate, as well as how to set it out clearly so that potential clients can understand your breakdown. Continue Reading

Guest posting on blogs is a fantastic way to build brand recognition, establish yourself as a credible expert in your field, and drive traffic to your website.

Guest blogging champion Danny Iny bulit his Firepole Marketing business through the power of guest posting on popular blogs. I’ve established my name as a freelance writer through guest blogging. I’ve won regular writing gigs on a number of blogs, most of which started by pitching a guest post.

In this tutorial I’ll guide you step-by-step through the process of pitching a guest post to a blog. You can use this technique for pitching to any blog in any niche.

Even if you never plan to write a guest post, it’s worth learning how to pitch by email. Pitching, after all, is how you sell your services and expertise to clients. Continue Reading

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create your own project plan using a Google spreadsheet that you can use for your own projects or share with your team.

It’s a simple technique that you can adapt to any project to help organize your time and keep on schedule.

You can also use it for estimating how much time a project will take when you are pitching to a client. All you need is a Google spreadsheet, so let’s get started! Continue Reading