Many freelancers use Gmail but have you considered sprucing up your settings so that each email looks more professional? Wouldn’t you prefer to have your customers and clients receive emails from your name @ your domain name dot com instead? This is really simple to set up and gives your emails a much more professional look.

This article will show you how to add additional non Gmail addresses to your account, how to add labels and filters. Plus it will cover certain Add-ons that are available and will make using and organizing your account easier.

The final section shows you how to use Rapportive as a way of connecting with your prospective customers and getting some background information before making your initial contact. After all first impressions count and what could be better than knowing a little bit more about them in advance? Continue Reading

“Photographer” is one of those professional titles that many people want. And why not? Taking pictures is fun and exciting.

However, reality isn’t so glamorous. According to a report prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “More than half of all photographers are self-employed, a much higher proportion than for most occupations.” The BLS adds, “Salaried photographers—most of whom work full time—tend to earn more than those who are self-employed.”

In short, what we have is a business that isn’t a hotbed of jobs – or high earnings for those who aren’t employed as photographers. Not a pretty picture.

The BLS continues with the killjoy theme by saying, “Most photographers spend only a small portion of their work schedule actually taking photographs. Their most common activities are editing images on a computer—if they use a digital camera—and looking for new business—if they are self-employed.”

However, similar things can be said about the music business. But people still pick up guitars and start to play. Likewise, the theatrical arts. It’s tough to make it onto the stage or screen, but somewhere, there’s an audition attracting hopeful actors right now.

Okay, so I’ve acted like your parents and given you the “Tough way to make a living, but I know you want to do it!” speech. Now let’s get to work on helping you succeed in the business of photography.

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Rockable Press is very proud to announce the launch of our newest book, LinkedIn and Lovin’ It!

Why a LinkedIn book? LinkedIn veteran and FreelanceSwitch writer Susan Johnston was encouraged to write a guide on LinkedIn after noticing something: “Although LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for freelancers and other creative professionals, I noticed that much of the information on LinkedIn is geared towards job-seekers. So, I decided to create my own guide specifically tailored to people who consult, freelance, or own a business.” In LinkedIn and Lovin’ It, Susan Johnston teaches you how to build a rock solid LinkedIn network that can be a constant source for recommendations and referrals. Advice includes:

• Setting up every aspect of your profile to bank on maximum response.
• Build your network to reach your next top client, employer, or partner.
• Build your profile to get your work in the spotlight.
• Do research on the competition & companies, find jobs, gather data.

Interested? Head over to the Rockable Press page to download a free 14 page sample! LinkedIn and Lovin’ It is available in three DRM-free ebook formats (epub, mobi, and pdf) for only $17. Join Rockable Press’s LinkedIn Group to get an additional voucher for $3 off!

We’ve had a few posts recently discussing the usefulness of networking sites like LinkedIn for freelancers: 5 Reasons to Use LinkedIn, Are You Getting Clients on LinkedIn? And over on Rockable Press’s own LinkedIn Group, we’ve had a fantastic discussion full of tips for freelancers looking to network. Read on for some of the tips from our readers!

Since I’m a FreelanceSwitch writer, I have to keep coming up with ideas for articles. Since LinkedIn is one of those places where you have to write in order to communicate, it’s a great generator of raw material. Say someone asks a question, I answer it, and I happen to think that my answer is pretty clever. (It’s one of those writer things. We all think that what we say is pretty clever.)

So, I take said clever answer, do the copy and paste thing, and there it is, the germ of another FreelanceSwitch article. Call it the LinkedIn Forced Writing Plan. (Martha Retallick)

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I’ve been reading through a lot of articles from our archive this weekend, and I managed to get some inspiration, great tips, resources and so much more from doing it. I decided to share a few of the best articles I dug up within one single post. So whether you want to learn about how you should handle work that infringes on your own, or want to learn about social proof – I recommend these articles for everything from useful tips to an all-around great reading. Continue Reading

Staying productive is one of the hardest parts of being a freelancer, we all run into some small road bumbs once at a while. So to keep you all on track, help you out a bit and to give you all some tips – here they are, the three best productivity articles from WorkAwesome, our sister site dedicated to productivity and work tips.

• 5 Efficient Ways to Share Files by Mike Vardy. Ever had the trouble of sending large files within e-mails? Read this magnificent post on 5 Efficient Ways to Share Files online with your clients, friends, family or maybe you just need a little storage for your own. Either way, enjoy!
• 5 Incredibly Useful Gmail Features by Susan Johnston. Ever sent an e-mail you wish you wouldn´t have sent? Or maybe you just forgot to attach the file you were supposed to send? Either way, this post might help you a great deal and make you even more productive.
• 8 Ways to Kick Distractions Out Of Your Office by David Pierce. Ever get distracted when working? Get some tips on how you could kick out some of the most annoying distractions from your office. I for one found this post very useful, and it has helped me a great deal to becoming more productive. Maybe it can serve you as well?

Be sure to check out WorkAwesome for more daily tips and tricks for an awesome work day! What do you do to stay productive? Have any suggestions or tips to share? Send us a comment and share your tips & tricks.

The day and life of a freelancer can get pretty hectic. It seems all too often we forget that we hold more than the title “boss”. We forget how best to manage our expenses and disposable income. We remember to tweet what we should be doing and forget to ever do it. We forget how to deal with clients and how to make new ones. And, sadly, we forget why we choose to do it our way rather than someone else’s.

These 12 tricks may not seem to have much to do with each other, but they all lead to the fruition of one goal: optimizing your workflow so you can focus on why you became a freelancer, instead of letting freelancing take over you.

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We know all about the rewards of working as a freelancer. Flexible schedules, a variety of projects, little or even no commuting. But this lifestyle doesn’t come easy.

Finding success as a freelancer requires a steady stream of paying gigs. Obtaining new business through referrals is great, but referrals alone won’t keep your schedule packed with paying jobs, especially when you’re just starting out.

Online classifieds such as Craigslist and the FreelanceSwitch job board are great places to generate new business leads. In this economy, the competition for work is fierce. To stay ahead, you must combine two key elements in your approach:

• Quantity: The more jobs you respond to, the more potential leads you create.
• Quality: Present yourself well and stand out from the crowd.

Here are some tools and tips to help you land more freelance gigs:

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Photo by Noël Zia Lee.

Since freelancers tend to spend long hours hunched in front of a computer, it makes sense that many of them have also congregated on Twitter. Think of it as a virtual watercolor where you can chat about new projects, catch up on industry news, or just take a quick break. Some freelancers are also using the microblogging platform to find new clients and promote their business.

For those who are new to Twitter or just need some new follows, we’ve rounded up 50 users who often tweet about freelance-related topics. Not surprisingly, writers are very well represented on Twitter, but we’ve also uncovered some designers, developers, and other freelance folks. Obviously, there are many more than 50 freelancers on Twitter, so feel to leave your username in the comments.

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Have you ever had a project that turned out to cause way more stress that it was worth? Of course you have. We all have. Most of the time you’re left saying “Why didn’t I see this coming?”

Here are some early warning signs of a problem project and some tips for upgrading them from hopeless to profitable.

1. “I tried doing it myself, but…”

This is a sign of the frustrated artist. They fancy themselves creative, and have given it their best shot, but found that their skills fell short. Now they are turning to you, the consummate professional, to pick up the pieces.

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Your fingers hover above the keyboard as you stare blankly at your empty document. You have an assignment, a topic, a project that you need to work on.

And you have no idea where to go from where you are.

It isn’t burnout. You aren’t exhausted, or sick of writing and wishing everyone who wants you to write something would just go away for a week

What you are is stuck. You know what you want to do, but you just can’t seem to get anything out to work on. Continue Reading

Photo by netan.

I would never call myself a salesman. The word brings to mind a host of stereotypical, manipulative, sleazy jerks I’ve encountered who have very transparently tried to pad their wallets through coercive tricks. I have, however, worked some sales jobs over the years (reluctantly) and each provided lots of sales training, tips and tricks. Frankly I hated it, but when I left the world of sales to pursue a creative career I was surprised to find that my sales training comes into constant use when dealing with clients.

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Photo by Just Add Light.

My youngest nephew, Will, is on the cusp of two years old—that adorably maddening tipping point between babydom and full-functioning Big Boy.  Sometimes he struggles to communicate his needs, at which point he defaults to a full-throated, full-fake cry; sometimes, he’s clearly and efficiently out-sentencing most reality show contestants.

And sometimes he switches from one to the other within no interval between the two.  Recently he was struggling to open a toy, and, seeing a facsimile of an Official Adult nearby in me, he wailed aloud.  I bent down to unfasten the latches for him. I might not be willing to endure labor, breastfeeding, and adolescence, but I can unlock the plastic stops on a Fisher-Price barn. Most of the time.

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