Freelancing

When you have nothing more to say.

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nothing to sayI work with a lot of freelancers, as a teacher and as a coach.

9 times out of 10, when I visit their blogs, Facebook pages and other social media pages, they had nothing to say today, or yesterday, or last week.

This is a problem.

A few years ago, when most freelance websites were simply a collection of static, evergreen pages, you could get away without adding much to your site. But not any more.

If you have a blog, you need to post something more often than once every couple of weeks. If you have a Facebook page or a Google+ page, you need to be active on a daily basis.

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Monday Spark: Make the most of your upbeat, positive moods.

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positive feelingsAs a freelancer I have my good days and my bad days. And on my good days I am three or four times as productive and creative as I am on my bad days.

So what constitutes a bad day? What are the symptoms of bad days? For me it’s largely a matter of mood. I’m either feeling upbeat and positive in my outlook, or I’m feeling down and negative.

The scary thing is, during a bad day, the cause of the negativity may have nothing to do with my work at all. Its root might lie in something I read in the news, the dream I was having when I woke up, or some bad family news.

In other words, negativity impacts my work, whatever its root or cause.

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Believe in your gift as a writer, and don’t let anyone take it away.

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paulo cohlo writerMy gift is that I can write.

Looking back, this has been evident since I was about 10 years old. But the first time I truly believed in this gift was when I was 22 and started working as a trainee copywriter at an ad agency in London, England.

After a few weeks working there the Creative Director told me I was truly gifted as a writer. Soon after that, I received a big pay rise to dissuade me from moving to another agency.

I was lucky. I really was. Many people have a gift, but never have it validated in the way I did. As a result, they are never quite sure, and never fully believe in the gift they have.

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Monday Spark: Perform at a higher level by connecting with other freelancers.

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I’m at a conference right now, preparing to give a full day of presentations.

I’m surrounded by dozens of freelancers, busy talking with each other about their lives, their work and their hopes for the future.

Some are meeting each other for the first time. Others are catching up with people they have met before.

And all of these people are creating for themselves an advantage over freelancers who stay at home. They are not marketing themselves. Nor are they picking up new clients. But what they are doing is invaluable. They are creating relationships with other people who also work for themselves, and spend most of their time at their desks at home.

Why is this important?

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Monday Spark: You don’t have to be suave, super-confident and charismatic to succeed [VIDEO]

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confidentYou may have noticed the same trend that I have been watching.

In fact, I have written about this before, a few months ago.

What I’m noticing is that the marketing of freelancers and solopreneurs is becoming more and more about looks, sound bites and high production values.

It used to be that we just took a headshot with our web cams and used those on our sites and as avatars. And when we made videos, we would just set up a camera in our office or dining room (which I still do).

But more and more, I’m seeing high-priced professional photos being used as avatars. I read a post on Google+ the other day about someone flying down to Los Angeles to test a studio setup for his upcoming series of videos. I’m also seeing a lot of work being done on grooming, lighting and makeup, to make good-looking entrepreneurs, male and female, look their best.

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Get in the driver’s seat of your freelance business, or fail [VIDEO]

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freelance business controlMost freelancers fail to achieve the level of success they deserve simply because they don’t take control of their own freelance business.

They follow the old model of being in the “service” of their clients. They take a subservient role, feeling grateful for every crumb of work that comes their way. In fee negotiations, they cede power to their clients, and buckle under when pressured to charge less.

The new and better model is to be the freelancer who sits firmly in the driver’s seat.

This freelancer has a plan for his or her freelance business. She sets goals and chooses her clients carefully. She markets herself in a way that associates a high level of value with her business.

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