SubscribeI saw a job advert for a freelance technical writer the other day and wondered what it entailed. How is the job of a freelance technical writer different to a run of the mill freelance writer? I’m guessing that freelance technical writers have a specialism, presumably technical, and stick to it. Whereas freelance writers can be writing Jezebels and tout for work wherever.
After some initial research it seems [Read more]
When I was writing the title to this post, I got really stuck on whether to call it an ‘introductory’ email. Should it be sales letter? Or an email pitch?
I’m not sure, but you know the kind of thing I mean, it’s the email that you send to someone whom you don’t know, asking for work and offering your services. They are really tricky things to do because the temptation for the reader to press the delete key is huge.
Why should they open and read an email from someone they don’t know and give them work?
When I first started out in freelancing, this was my first hurdle. I wanted to write for publications but I couldn’t get the editors attention at all. All [Read more]
Photo by Carrot Creative
So I just joined twitter.
I’ve been avoiding it, mostly because
a) I didn’t see the point. I mean, who cares if I’m cooking curry for dinner, or washing my socks? I hate those things on Facebook and besides, I can never think of anything amusing to say.
And…
b) I didn’t understand how it worked. I know that’s a really lame excuse, but put it together with point a) above and the motivation for understanding the programme is none existent.
Then two things happened. [Read more]
Right now, with all the Christmas decorations everywhere and mess, I could really do with one of these.
I didn’t know they even existed, but of course, if there’s a market for it, then there’s a business to be had, and from what I can gather, quite a good business.
So what is a clutter consultant and how do you become one?
Obviously you have to be extremely organised and have the right kind of management and logistical skills that’ll help you, help others to be organised.
You could either specialise in physical clutter, which is literally moving objects, sorting wardrobes and doing house clearances, or on the time management side, where you de-clutter a client’s life and help develop schedules and routines.
And in times like these, becoming a clutter consultant could be big business.
UK company Clutter Clearing explain on their site that the credit crunch has meant that more people are looking to de-clutter in order to save money.
They even have 11 ways of how you can do this, including: making money out of the space you create by renting it out, managing your space so that you can shut off unused rooms and turn down heating and lighting and therefore reduce your bills.
They also hold training days and have free downloads, so if you fancy becoming a clutter consultant, it’s worth checking out.
It’s a little early to be reviewing my earnings on Buksia as I’ve only been on there a week, but I thought I would blog about it as I go, especially as I’m part of the great December experiment.
I also thought it would be a good time to talk about what I’ve learnt about how Bukisa operates so far and how I plan to optimize it to make more money.
Bukisa is a very easy site to navigate around. Basically, you think of an article, write the content and hit publish then, hey presto, you’re in business. The more people who read your articles, the more you earn, so it works in your favour to promote the site and your content.
You can write, or put up videos about anything, from ‘How To Make a Cup of Tea,’ to ‘What I Ate for Breakfast,’ to ‘Easy Ways to Look [Read more]
So after reading the great idea for the eHow Experiment over at the Life Uncommon, I thought I’d give it a go. Writing small articles and then having them make you money, months after you’ve written them, is a great way to make some passive income.
I was reading the work at home mom blog and her passive residual income report was inspiring; she’s making over $2000 per month from things like this.
Working as a freelancer can often be a feast or famine situation, with some months bringing in more money than others, so to have an amount like that coming in every month from previous work is a brilliant way forward.
Anyhow, after signing up to eHow, I then realised that it’s only open to US residents. Grrr.
But then I found Bukisa.
And that looks even better.
They are just starting up, so there’s plenty of topics to write about that are not yet covered. And they have a three tiered earnings level and earnings are based on page views not how many people click on the ads, so if you pick a popular topic, you’ll get paid regardless of how the ads perform.
If you want to sign up and join me on Bukisa then click here to join my growing network!
Before I start this post about how to benefit from the ‘work do’ I just thought I’d start by pointing out that ‘work do’ might not be the right phrase. However, it’s what I’ve always heard office parties and such being called and when said in a really low, depressing voice it makes me giggle for some reason.
The only thing worse than having to go to a work do, is having to organise a work do.
It’s around this time when the panic sets in for the person who has to prepare the dreaded, miserable Christmas work do. Have pity for this poor soul who has to prepare an evening of festive fun for people who would never, ever, see each other socially under normal circumstances.
Think kindly for this victim of office politics and party planning, who has to do work, and then, sort out the work do.
They are the one person who can’t get out of it, and they are the one person totally responsible for the success or failure of the work do.
Then have a smile, because as a freelancer know that:
1. You don’t have to go to the ‘work do’
and
2. You could get some work from this sorry little state of ‘work do’ affairs.
‘How?’ I hear you ask, well, you get work from the sheer desperation of the poor soul sat at the desk, obsessively Googling ‘Great Ideas for Office Parties.’
Obviously this depends on what kind of freelance job you do.
You may be reading this thinking ‘I’m a web designer, what’s that got to do with office parties?’
Well lets say that the office party was for a big company.
So big, that they where looking for really original ideas this year because every year the work do consisted of a ball-room, a ‘theme’ and a DJ.
And let’s say that the person organising the work do wanted to do a [Read more]
Part of being a freelancer, in fact a large part of being a freelancer, is generating work and getting new clients.
Even if you have a bank of steady clients, you still need to be on the lookout for new business, because you never know when one of those regular gigs you have might just disappear.
There are a million ways to get new gigs, but these five tips that I’ve listed here have worked for me. [Read more]
TeleTech need customer service agents to work from home.
I blogged about this in Feb, but noticed that Teletech@home are currently hiring again so thought it was worth a mention.
They accept applications from anywhere in the UK, and the basic salary is £6.00 per hour, but you also get a performace-related bonuses.
If you visit the website it gives full details on how to apply and the opportunities in working for the company and how you can do it all from home and in your PJ’s 
Good luck!
This site based in the UK are looking for submissions of attractions to add to their directory.
Basically, you have to find a place that can be described as an ‘attraction’ for tourists. Then take a photo and a quick description [Read more]
Next,
SubscribeGrid Focus by Derek Punsalan 5thirtyone.com.
