When making contact with a client, do you know what they do? What they represent? Who they want to reach? In short, do you know who they are and what they do? Reading about the company or client you do work for is important, this way you get a head start when it comes to contact and to understand their needs.

From years of experience in freelancing, I’ve learned that clients and companies love to see that you know what they do, what they stand for and who they are. If you know a couple of important things about them, they will be surprised, happy to work with you, and they will recommend you to others. Of course, you still need to do a great job for them. Continue Reading

I’m sure any freelancer that started his or her career while they were still in school has dealt with this at one point or another—the “student” factor. Call it what you may, but once a client or potential client knows you are a student doing freelance work, something changes. What is it about being a student entrepreneur that seems to be a turn-off for potential clients?
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What is it that makes us freelancers the way we are? Is it our will to reach our goals? Or do we strive towards being the best in our field? No matter what drives you, we all need some help getting there – so what could be better than listing our Top 5 Freelance Essential articles? Wait a second, this is exactly what I´ve done – With no further ado, here they are, our top 5 articles on Freelancing Essentials.

Why Doing Your Homework Leads to More Sales by Martha Retallick. I know, homework are horrible! But this kind of homework, is actually really usefull but most of all, it´s essential for a freelancer. Learn from, Martha´s own experience and always remember – Knowledge, Is King!

Setting Your Standards as a Freelancer: A Few Suggestions by Thursday Bram. No matter if you´re new to freelancing, or you´ve been in the game for a while – we all could need some tips on how we should be Setting Our Standards as a Freelancer. I, for one, found this article usefull as well as inspirational. Continue Reading

As a freelancer, every once in a while I have a couple of hours where I would have liked to have scheduled work for a client but I wind up with nothing. Over the years, I’ve taken a couple of different approaches to this sort of crack in my time: I’ve been known to take those hours off, to work on my own projects and to even pick up work on bid sites. There no single way that freelancers should handle spaces in our schedules, but there are a few factors that can be key to deciding what approach will be most beneficial in the long run. Continue Reading

Is there such a thing as the perfect home office? From my personal opinion, I’d say that your own office is the perfect one. Then again, this all depends on what we have, what we use and if we’re pleased with it. I’m not even close to satisfied with my office yet, but I’m working on it.

For all of you who has your office setup already, but could still use some inspiration or suggestions on how to improve it, or if you haven’t setup your office just yet (like me), this small round-up will definitely get you inspired. Continue Reading

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100 Years Of Propaganda: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Propaganda is most well known in the form of war posters. But at its core, it is a mode of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Although propaganda is often used to manipulate human emotions by displaying facts selectively, it can also be very effective at conveying messages and hence can be used in web design, too.

Notice that propaganda uses loaded messages to change the attitude toward the subject in the target audience. When applied to web design, you may experiment with techniques used in propaganda posters and use them creatively to achieve a unique and memorable design.

Information Architecture: Enhancing the User Experience

Defined as ‘the structural design of shared information environments’, information architecture focuses on bringing the principles of architectural design to the online world.

Just like the blueprints of a dream home or the outline of a well-written article, good website structure organizes information in a way that enhances the user experience and delivers pertinent information as quickly as possible. Continue Reading

Anytime I work with a young copywriter eager to launch their career, there always comes a time when they ask the inevitable question: “what are some good how-to books for copywriters?”

The truth is, there are none. A good how-to book may provide a few tips, a couple of poignant stories from the trenches, but the cold, hard truth is that you just have to jump in and hope you learn to swim fast enough to keep up. Because the reality of being a copywriter is nothing like you’ve learned in advertising school or in any book on the craft. The real world of a busy, working copywriter is faster and far more demanding than you could imagine.

Still, there must be a book or two that can help, right? Oh yes. But, they’re probably not the books you’d expect. These books aren’t how-to manuals on writing killer copy. Instead, the following essential reads are intended to inspire, stoke the imagination and prepare the next great copywriter to embrace innovation and trust his or her inner voice. Here are my 5 unexpectedly awesome books for copywriters.

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A quote can help you get through the day, maybe even bring you inspiration in it´s own way. But what is it that makes a great quote? Is it that a famous person once said it? Or maybe it´s just something you came up with while taking a shower? In my own honest opinion, I´d say that:

“All quotes are great in their own way, the hardest part is to understand them.”

You have any favourite quotes? Share them with the rest of us, if it´s good enough – I might feature it next friday. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, Travis King and Thursday Bram look at how to charge and about becoming a freelance writer.

Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Let’s get ready to rumble!
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Inspiration is something that occasionally runs out for everyone, but there are ways to get it back in a snap. When I run out, I usually visit a lot of different sites – but occasionally I also take a walk in the wilderness. To level with you, I get inspiration from taking a shower, driving my car or even when I sit with my coffee in hand reading a magazine.

I guess we´re all aware of the many places to get it from, but my question to you is – Where do you go for an inspirational refill?

Share your perfect places to get inspiration from by leaving a comment, we all wait anxiously for your tip! Continue Reading

Debating on whether or not you should venture into the world of freelancing while going to school? Wondering if you have what it takes to make it as a student freelancer? Well, below are five reasons why you may not be ready to start that venture after all. But, since I don’t like when people tell me I’m not cut out for something and then give me no pointers on how to become better, I will also explain how you can rectify the issue.
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