I love a good infographic, and this one created by Jobvite (view full infographic post or view it at full size) is really cool. It shows how Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter help people find work.

This research looks at how people are using social media to look for and find work. Facebook leads the pack, with 44% of job seeking activity followed by LinkedIn at 26%. Are you a ‘super social’—someone who is highly active in social media circles with more than the average number of contacts? Twenty-eight percent of you found their last job through social networking, and 85% of you did so on Facebook.

And my mother thinks you can still find good jobs in the daily newspaper…

This infographic doesn’t just look at the millions of unemployed workers, it also takes into consideration the 61% of Americans (sorry, foreign readers) who are currently employed but are open to a new job. Continue Reading

Search Engine Optimization—three words that can make or break your website. If you haven’t been paying attention on how to up your SEO by now, it’s time to start listening.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the visibility of your website in search engines. Go ahead and look your business up on Google. Does it appear at the top? On the first page? Second page? Anywhere? The earlier your website is listed (or higher ranked as they call it) the higher the chances are that someone will click on it to find what they are looking for.

There are some basic ways for you to increase your search engine ranking organically, to give your site better results when people search for it. No one really knows the “best” way or “right” way to increase your visibility in search engines, but there are some SEO strategies you can implement that can help.

I found three hot tips from this article that I thought made a lot of sense. These strategies are free, so why not give them a shot? Sure, they take a little time to implement, but if they bring more traffic (and more sales) to your site, what do you have to lose? Continue Reading

I really like the 60-Second Solutions videos on Entrepreneur.com. I thought that the recent video by communications coach Carmine Gallo on creating a 60 second strategy to tell your story was especially useful.

Sometimes it’s hard to explain to people what it is you really do. Many people hear the word ‘freelancer’ and don’t quite understand what it means, other than you probably work from home in your pajamas.

Gallo suggests you come up with one sentence answers to the following four questions to keep your “What I Do” story to 60 seconds.

What do you do?

Are you a graphic designer? A freelancer writer or photographer? Do you have a niche or topic (like small business, agriculture, health) that you concentrate on? Turn this into one sentence. Example: I am a freelance blogger and I write about small business financing for several online magazines. Continue Reading

Picture this:  You own your own catering business.  Long days of persistent marketing and hard work have paid off and you have a steady stream of corporate clients.  At a networking luncheon, you’re seated next to another caterer new to the area.  She seems pleasant and you’re enjoying her conversation.  

You’re just about to bite into your chocolate cheesecake when she asks: “You do a lot of business with Big Juicy Client.  Who is your contact person there?”

Sounds strange, doesn’t it?  But the same thing happens to many freelancers. While most self-employed individuals understand the taboo behind asking a colleague for contact information, at the same time, a fairly large percent don’t. It can be uncomfortable when someone asks you for information that you don’t care to share.

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Credit: Sharon Mollerus on Flickr

Lately, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the future of freelancing.

I’ve been a freelancer writer for thirty years and I just can’t get the same rates that I used to — where’s the future in freelancing?

Are these awful bid sites really the future of freelancing?

There seems to be new freelancers every day. Is more competition the future of freelancing?

While I’m not a psychic or a soothsayer, I can see the future of freelancing. That’s because the future of freelancing doesn’t change — it is what we make it.

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A few weeks ago, we announced we were running an update to the Global Freelancers Survey. We asked readers to participate in order to make it successful – and boy, did you ever! When the poll finally closed, we had over 3,300 participants from every corner of the globe. That means we have a winner for our Grand Prize!

We used a random number generator to flip to entry page 41 and participant #24, which means Samuel from Kansas (United States) is our Grand Prize winner! Samuel will receive the grand prize package which includes a 32GB wifi Apple iPad, $100 in merchandise from MOO.com, a free copy of WPBids, and all the other fabulous prizes listed in the survey announcement. Please join me in congratulating Samuel!

The Global Freelancer Survey was a huge undertaking for us, and it was a project I was especially invested in. I’d like to thank everyone who participated. We really couldn’t do it without you! I’ll be digging through all the data in the coming weeks, but we’re already learning some interesting and sometimes surprising things about freelancers as a community! Some preliminary things we’ve learned include:

• Male freelancers out number female freelancers at a rate of more than two to one.
• Over half respondants identify themselves as a web developer or web designer.
• Of freelancers who have worked fulltime, most feel they are working more hours now than when they were an employee. (And yet the majority feel they have more time!)
• On average, freelancer writers are earning much more than their salaried counter-parts.
• Overwhelmingly, freelancers state they feel happier since they started freelancing.

Interested in hearing more? Stay tuned! All participants (with valid e-mails) will receive a complimentary copy of the survey results from Rockable Press. Additionally, Rockable Press will be publishing a comphrensive book (written by your fearless FreelanceSwitch Editor!) on the state of freelancing today, including in-depth survey analysis, interviews with top freelance professionals, and how to make the information work for you and your business! The book is tentatively planned for early next year, so watch FreelanceSwitch for updates. Once again, thanks to everyone who participated! Continue Reading

The response to our recent competition for photos submitted to our FreelanceSwitch photo pool on Flickr was huge–we received over 1,500 submissions! Due to the high number of fantastic photos, I called in FreelanceSwitch’s resident forums moderators, Eliffio and Amber, to help pick the winners. Check out all the submissions in the gallery. Without further ado…on to the winners! Continue Reading

FreelanceSwitch has created our first FreelanceSwitch community Flickr group, and we’re giving away prizes to celebrate! Instead of regular ol’ blog images, we want to feature photos from our community on blog posts. Submit your photos to the Flickr pool, and if we choose your image, you’ll be credited in the article.

That’s the fame part, now here’s the fortune: we’re giving away a bunch of goodies: over $100 in swag for the best photos! Prizes include a hefty gift certificate to ThinkGeek, free membership, and awesome freelance-themed tees from TeeLance!

Like photography? Like winning loot and bragging rights? Read on! Continue Reading

During our recent review of The Money Book, we asked for your very best money-saving tips. The huge number of comments and savvy advice we received shows that our readership definitely knows a thing or two about saving pennies!

After careful consideration, Joseph and Denise, the authors of The Money Book, helped us pick the top money-saving tips from our readers. Each winner will receive a copy of The Money Book, directly from the authors.

Check out the winning money tips after the jump! Continue Reading

Last week, we opened a competition for readers to win a copy of The Wealthy Freelancer.

To enter, all you had to do is leave a comment with the freelancing tip you believe has made the most impact on your ability to earn a great income, and you had the chance to be one of free readers to win a copy and have your tip posted on the blog.

Today we’ve chosen the winners, and their tips are below the break!

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Kristen Fischer recently mentioned the book The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle in her article, Tuning In to True Wealth. Ed Gandia, one of the book’s co-authors, recently contacted us with an offer to give away three signed copies of the book.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment with the freelancing tip you believe has made the most impact on your ability to earn a great income. The best three entries will win.

Please take special note that this competition is only open to residents of the US and Canada.

The rules are as follows:

• Envato staff are not eligible to compete.
• Entries must be submitted by 9am on Friday the 7th of May, Australian Eastern Standard Time.
• Judging will take place at the end of competition. The winners and their tips will announced on the site.
• Only one comment per user–if you submit more than one, your first comment will be considered your real entry.
• All decisions are final.
• Comments that are taken down for any reason are not eligible to be counted.
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter.

Last week, we ran a competition with Carbonmade. Your job was to give your best portfolio tips. The three selected by FreelanceSwitch would win.

A week later, the competition is closed and the winners have been chosen. Congratulations to Anne, Clay and Jonathan! Here’s what they had to say: Continue Reading