Writing for the web entails a bit different perspective than writing in other mediums. A sound blog topic, that leaves a mark in reader’s mind. It is a carefully thought out product based on several abstract and non-abstract issues. When all these issues are dealt with proper cognition, a blog topic is tickled with a touch of life in itself. This article will introduce you with some of these issues.
A CATCHY TITLE
It all starts with a title, if the title of the article is not attractive enough, most probably the reader will not bother to take the time and have a look at it. The title should be something that will function as “Attention Grabber”, and will draw the user into reading the content.
Below are few idea of how you should orient a title:
- Be critical about some controversial issue
- Offer some most-wanted tool or information for free
- Call out a scammer
- Write a tutorial spanning over several series
- A catchy expression on a celebrity
- A well thought out teasing of amusing title
A BOLD CONTENT
Do not be afraid of being bold and shocking at your writings. People want to read something that is different, something that has spice in it. Write with confidence and take a different approach towards audacity at times, and you will never be short of readers.
THE TONE OF WRITING
The voice of your writing should be such that it immediately gives the impression of being friendly and personal with the audience. The reader should feel they are just in the same track as the writer was at that moment of writing. The reader should feel like he is not having to read the words, instead, the words are talking to him.
EMOTION
Emotion has to be there in article to make it enliven. Depending on the discussion topic, the reader should feel inspired, funny, scared or even angry at times. If this feat can be achieved, then you have truly done a great job, and surely the audience will keep coming back to have a feeling from your writing.
PROOFREADING
The article should be free of grammatical and spelling mistake as far as possible. If the readers is consistently faced with some abnormality, he will lose focus and thereby killing the zeal that he had at the beginning. Thus, meticulously proofread few times before publishing.
Thus by practicing more and more the aforementioned points, soon you can be one of the most sought after content writer for web sites.
To be an effective freelancer, it is vitally important to continuously produce work of high quality. However, humans are not machines and the pressure of producing and performing can be hectic at times. It may resulting in the loss of attention and focus, unprofitable change in direction, or shortcuts being applied to just get the work through anyhow.
This article will show some of the ways to a relaxing stress-less freelancing lifestyle:
DEAL AT PRESENT
May be at present you have a average car, average PC and house. But don’t grieve over not being able to achieve the highest standard of life at one shot. Instead, deal with what you have, and try to do best with those, fix your target for a life of top level, but just don’t mourn over it day and night, forgetting the work in hand. Work for it with what you have, enjoy with what you have got at current day. Don’t be too much materialistic.
REMOVE THE NON-ESSENTIALS
Try to figure out what is actually needed in your life which will benefit you in some way. If you can think of something that is not relevant, ditch it, both in your digital warehouse and materialistic possessions. This will considerably free you up from unnecessary complicity and thus will gain you a lot more free dimensions to relax a bit.
SIMPLIFY THE WORKLOAD
Think of everyday works that you don’t enjoy at all but are having to do. Once you have decided, delegate the work to someone else or find some other way around, if it costs you money, then it is also a worthy investment, as it will relieve you of some torrid mental pressure. For example, if you do not like cooking, hire a maid to do it for you. Though you will have some expenditure, but the return will be a lot more profitable.
SEE OFF SMALLER TASKS
Tasks that doesn’t require a lot of time, you should finish it then and there, do not add it to your TO-DO list. Anything that entail for 5-10 minutes of your time, just go through it and see it off.
GOALS ARE IMPORTANT
It is vitally essential that you set a goal within a definite time- frame. Do not pass month after months aimlessly. Set a target, it may be a part of some bigger target and work for it. Without a sound and achievable aim, you will go nowhere.
By following these steps, a happy and enjoyable freelance lifestyle can be lead, with more profit and client satisfaction.
This post is summarized from Lead a More Relaxing Freelance Lifestyle. Photo by Here.Vi.
Photo by FreshPeel.com.
Freelancing business has many forms and shapes. Each has its own dimension and each individual freelancer find different issues to be their main obstacle in their way of success. This article will illustrate some of the common challenges that the freelance designers of these days have to tackle with:-
Looking for Client
Initially, it is a challenge for many freelancers as they are new and naive in this field. The effective way to tackle this problem is an aggressive self-promotion.
Networking
To get a really good client base, the freelancers often has to have a strong network of people who can both be taken as client and people who can hire clients. This network of people will grow steadily as the freelancer goes through his job with success. Always keep your portfolio shine.
Marketing
Marketing is another big hurdle for newbies. The knowledge of marketing is as essential as the ability in doing the work. Without effective marketing, no one will figure out your service and you will not be able to grow your client base.
Managing Clients
It is really challenging to manage all types of clients in design projects as clients will ask for basically anything that comes into their mind regarding project at any point of time. But for the freelancer, it may become very difficult to effectively handle all the requests. Failing to do so brings the profit margin down and also offends the clients.
Pricing
Pricing is of great confusion to many freelancers. How to evaluate the project or how to set the price standard are something that puts many freelancers into a state of total ambivalence. However, the best to set the price according to your skill level.
Maintaining Workload
Sometimes the pressure of work can be too much to handle and easily the freelancers can lose their time track, which may affect their other jobs in hand and personal affairs. The effective solution is to draw a plan of time-frame and stick to that plan at any cost. Read more about How to Balance Your Freelance Life?
These are some of the obstacles that a freelance designers have to face in a consistence basis. But it differs person to person which one is their biggest nemesis for them. For example, one designer can find the ‘Pricing’ to be the foremost problem, but for a newbie designer, ‘Getting the clients’ can be the hardest challenge. All in all, with effective plan and execution, all these can be neutralized.
Self promotion is basically the only way to start off a freelancing career. An effective self promotion with efficient work output can really give a strong boost to the career. This article will give some good tips on self promotion issues.
Distribute Freebies
Travel a bit where you can find a gathering of potential custome. Offer them a leaflet or some free samples of your work. Give your name card too. Check out how LiewCF got his free name card for free.
Take Assistance
Try to be in good terms with the neighboring non-competitors business owner. Try to exchange information and business cards with them, see if they are willing to advertise your product or service.
Offer a Referral Incentive Program
Offer a referral incentive to the customer in the form of a gift such as a gift certificate, discount in future work, etc. This can be really handy at times.
Arrange a Contest
Stage some kind of a contest among your customers with grand prizes. This will really excite them and will help to propel your name. Promote your contest through newspaper, flyers or radio stations.
Directory Listing
Don’t forget to list your company in all proper directory listings, both in the free ones, and if you can afford, the paid ones as well.
Use your Dress Up
Create T-Shirts, hats to display your business and company information. Wearing this will help you in advertising even if you are just walking somewhere. Just to share, we just printed a T-Shirt for AsiaPartTime 
Sponsor Charity Events
By sponsoring to some charity, you will not only get a PR for your business but also in effect, will contribute to a noble cause.
Involve Yourself in Social Groups
Try to get involved in local financial and commerce related groups, and do not waste any chance of networking there. From there you will end up having more referrals.
Show up in Trade Shows
Whenever an opportunity arises about participating in a trade show, grab that, it is a great way to promote yourself in a rapid style.
Keep in Touch With Other Freelancers
Make friendship with them, so that they will remember you as a friend and can safely redirect works that they are not able to complete.
Blog Contribution
Visit different blogs and put thoughtful and intelligent comments. This way you will be able to attract people and redirect them to your blog or web site.
Service Exchange
Offer a local business some free service in exchange of advertising your posters or business cards.
By following these tips, a successful self-promotion framework can be developed and used to a greater advantage.
Discussion is an important issue in almost every creative endeavor that is to be undertaken by an individual. In the online world, there is no better place than the notion of ‘Forum’.
A forum is a web application for holding discussions and posting user-generated content.
Forum is a dynamic and animated circle of creative ideas, solutions of different dimensions of problems, sharing of knowledge and knitting a web of networking with like-minded individuals all around the world.
This article will point the web-designing freelancers to some of these online forums.
SitePoint
One of the most thriving communities of graphics designers, especially for web designers. The very appearance of the forum is quite relaxing and attractive. In the opening page of the forum it has a well-kept list of recent and most discussed topics. There have a huge lists of all the available categories related to web design. Each of the discussion category is extensive and contains many useful information.
Web Designer Forum
Another nice looking and informative forum, though it is not as extensive as the previous one. Basically, it covers all the issues relating to web designing, programming and promotion. As an additional discussion topic, the portal contains forums on SEO Marketing and Website Business. In the hardware and Software section it covers an extensive issues in contemporary development in both the fields.
Webmaster World
This is a bit of different forum where the highlighted entity is the Webmasters. Though the issues of graphics designing and development is also addressed in great length. The focus is mainly on the webmasters with the forums on topics like Website analytic, Contents and Copyrighting practices, general issues in the tasks of Webmastering, different web hosting platforms, Network operating systems, scripting, accessibility and usability, database management, etc. This portal is hosting recent development news among big guns such Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Along with the contents on designing, this forum is one of the most valuable insights for both designers and webmasters.
Estetica Design
This is one of the topmost visually attractive graphics and web design forum. It is mainly divided into five major categories. The first category contains the general forum sections, with forum topic on rules and regulations, job opportunities, advise and help issues on designing and a section for advertisements. The second category is just a fun and amusement section for the members. The third one is dedicated to almost all the known issues in web development and designing, with forums on CSS, programming, flash, search engines, hosting services, etc. The following section is on print and graphic design, covering all well known aspect of graphic and print issues, along with an in-depth forum of graphics designing software. And the last one is just an amalgamation of forums on other designing fields such as photography and motion graphics; along with business opportunities and tutorials. Overall it is a great one-stop shop for designers from all walks of creativity.
DesignsTalk
The design of the forum and the arrangements of the topics are extremely simple and flexible. It is divided into three basic sections. The vastness and depth of each of the sections are quite incredibly. A good repository of useful knowledge.
Aforementioned sites are really impressive in every conceivable way as has been pointed out. Every designers should affiliate himself to of these forums in a regular basis.
-
Get Latest Updates
Subscribe to AsiaPartTime via RSS Or, Enter Your Email Address to Get Email Updates:
-
Poll of the Month
Loading ... -
Featured Sponsors
-
