Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers
Opportunities for entrepreneurial spirits, freelancers, and consultants are on the rise. A weaker economy (as we’re experiencing in the US right now) is one reason, but another is the flexibility such employees offer companies who might not have the resources (or want the overhead) related to taking on full time staff for certain roles. And yet, with our attention forever dividing, how can you rise above the fray and be not only seen but selected for the opportunities you seek? Here are some thoughts on the matter.
First: Professionalism, or Not
Before you even start in on this whole thing, determine whether you’re a fun-loving soul, looking to make a few extra bucks on the side, or whether you’re seeking to build a sustainable stream of revenue for you to sustain yourself and possibly a family. If A, skip pretty much everything I’m about to tell you. If B, read on.
Your Blog, Your Storefront
If you’re in the business of delivering a service, such as coding skills, design, marketing expertise, sales, etc, there’s a whole lot of factory work that you do that’s not easily displayed. And yet, you need a storefront to productize what you do (hat tip to my friend, Liz Strauss for talking with me today about her passion for turning what someone does into a product).
Ads, Sidebars, and Widgets
Before we get down to tacks, let’s do some cleaning:
- Kill “random” ads. If you’re a successful freelancer, why are you trying to make beer money with your site?
- Kill random widgets. To simplify, tidy the hell out of your blog so that it looks clean and professional-ish (you can have fun, and be engaging, but consider your buying audience).
- Kill the calendar thingy. NO ONE navigates by it.
- Look for useless widgets. Your “phases of the moon” graphic slows down your blog and diffuses your intent.
- Enable comments and make it as easy as possible.
Posting Ideas
Now, let’s talk about your blog as your business engine:
- Start writing posts that cover your space and establish yourself as the thought leader, only humble. Be the “thought learner.”
- STOP writing posts that are horribly off-topic, or at least keep it a 10:1 ratio of on- to off-topic.
- Link to other blogs that cover your space as well, and say complimentary things when you can. This is an abundance mentality space. Sure there are plenty of folks who aren’t the best like you, but when you say it, it makes you sound cheap.
- Make sure your passion shows through. That’s what people buy.
- The more you explore NEW ideas in your space, and further, explain right out in the open how people can make money, reduce costs, etc, the more business you’ll bring in.
About and Contact
Make your about page read like a great (somewhat brief) testimonial. People want to know first and foremost what you can do for them. Write it as if the person reading it is asking, “I like Sonia. How do I work with her?”
If you can, include a recent headshot. If you don’t have a great one, buy a throwaway digital camera for $20 and shoot shots of your head until you get a good one. It’s not THAT hard. Don’t do one of those scary Glamour Shots (no offense to the organization) or those grownup versions of school photos with the weird cloud background. Here’s one spot where you can be somewhat creative in what you put up there. Make it somehow reflect what you’re hoping to portray.
Put your CONTACT information everywhere. On the main page. On the About page. On the Contact page. Make it really easy for people to reach you and do business with you.
Promoting Your Blog
Here’s a quick list of ways to get a little more love and attention to your blog:
- Add your blog URL to your signature file for your email.
- Add your blog URL to your LinkedIn profile, your MySpace page, your Facebook profile.
- Use Facebook tools like FlogBlog and Blog Friends and Feed Heads. they all expand your reach.
- Get a Twitter account.
- Get a Flickr account.
- Join a few blog directories (google for these)
- Share links via email with folks.
- Use FeedBurner and put a “subscribe by email” option on your blog.
Community Building: Beyond Your Blog
Get active on other people’s blogs. Build relationships with other people in your space. If you’re a freelance musician, get really active on people’s MySpace pages, their blogs, their fan forums. Be where the people you need to reach are, and then be part of that scene. Some suggestions:
- Twitter - Say what you will, but Twitter is a way to get to know other people (mostly in the tech scene, but you’d be surprised. TONS of knitters on Twitter, for example).
- Ning - There are plenty of groups and shared interests in this white label social network platform, and more and more people using it.
- Facebook - Groups there can be active, and/or can go quiet fairly quickly (my experience, overall).
- Yahoo! Groups - Don’t forget this very 1.0 method of reaching active communities of people.
- UPDATE: Laura and Jeremy said lots of people get a great community– and business! — out of LinkedIn.
Real Time Social Gatherings
Now more than ever, opportunities to meet and connect with people in the real world are important and valuable for your ability to meet and do business with others. You don’t have to go in like oldschool networkers, eager to suck in as many handshakes and business cards as humanly possible in the shortest amount of time, but you SHOULD consider how this will all relate back to your strategy of building business relationships that might result in appropriate work opportunities for you. To that end, some thoughts.
- Conferences are great (I produce them for a living, so of course I’ll say that). Get to know lots of people in a short amount of time, while hopefully being educated on topics that matter to you. Check Upcoming.org and Eventful for lists of conferences that relate to your space.
- Make decent looking business cards. Your hack job Staples photocopy cards are quaint, but immediately tell me that you were unprepared. (I’ve been this guy twice over the last 2 years). And by decent looking, “clever” only seems interesting while I’m shaking your hand. Cards that tell me how to reach you and how you and I might do business are awesome. Provide your cell number, no matter what.
- Write some great blog content the days leading up to an event, so that when people read your business card and see your blog prominently displayed there (you knew that, right?), they’ll check you out and realize you’re the right person to hire for that blog redesign project.
- Go to more than just conferences. Attend social media gatherings, local events, meetups. Don’t be afraid. LOTS of new folks show up. If you can, find a Twitter user or a blogger or someone you can learn about ahead of time. Build the relationship BEFORE you go, and that will help with some of the anxiety.
Rich Media- Video and Audio
If you’ve got the time and inclination, make a podcast or videoblog about the space you’re passionate about. Want to hear a great marketing podcast? Check out Marketing Over Coffee. I’d here those two guys in a heartbeat to train a traditional team to do new stuff. Want to know about a great personal development trainer? I’d check out The Bigg Success Show.
Video? Gary Vaynerchuk is the poster child for demonstrating authenticity while building trust in his personal and business brand. Another great example overall would be what Ben Yoskowitz is doing at Standout Jobs. Learn from that.
Video and audio are great tools to build up an experience with your potential audience. It gives people a sense of how you might be in person. Even though you could edit the hell out of your media such that you’d still show up as polished and professional, it’s one more wall coming down between a “no” and a “yes.”
Some might ask whether this opens people up for potential discrimination. Absolutely. I have no doubt. That was what kept LinkedIn from putting up optional profile pictures for a long while too, but after a while, it’s a question of whether or not you just want to put who you are out there and call it good. That’s your call. My take? They’re going to meet you at some point, right?
Strategy Point: Give to Get
In the world of freelancing, my take is that the best way to build relationships and get more business is to help other people get business. This has nothing to do with social media. It has everything to do with humans. If you’re helpful, and if you’re out there giving people ideas, tools, insights, and passing on connections where you think they’ll do the most good, you’ll likely be in someone’s mind when something good comes along.
Part of this goes into the space of thinking about “free.” Don’t be so eager to get paid for every little thing you do. (Disclaimer: I’m teetering on dirt broke most of the time, so maybe this isn’t sound FINANCIAL advice.) I believe that there are lots of “long tail” opportunities out there. It just becomes your duty to decide which ones are eventually going to pay off, and which ones to stop doing.
So that’s my sermon on free.
Lastly, Ask for the Sale
If you’re not out there LOOKING for customers, don’t moan that you don’t have many. Don’t be overly aggressive and barracuda-like, but by all means, if someone’s courting you a little in the comments section or the email section, ask if there’s something you can help them work on. It’s not rude. It’s not overly aggressive (okay, maybe on first contact, but if you’ve been playing email footsie, then go for it).
If you’re saying you want to use your blog and social media tools to get business, ask for business. I promise, the results will improve on that front the moment you get over that glitch.
Summary
If you’re a freelancer hoping to use social media to get work, here’s a quick summary:
- Make your blog your storefront.
- Kill all the extraneous stuff from it.
- Write posts that establish your experience and abilities in the industry.
- Write other posts that promote other people, too.
- Contribute beyond the walls of your blog.
- Attend real time events, too.
- Consider if you want to add audio and video.
- Give to get.
- Ask for the sale.
What else do you successful freelancers ( a strong segment of people who come to my site) want to share with people seeking Starter Moves? What’s your take on this advice? What can YOU do to help freelancers?
—
The Social Media 100 is a project by Chris Brogan dedicated to writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Swing by [chrisbrogan.com] for more posts in the series, and if you have topic ideas, feel free to share them, as this is a group project, and your opinion matters.
Get the entire series by subscribing to this blog, and subscribe to my free newsletter here.
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Photo Credit, Thowra_UK
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Comments
Chris,
This is BY FAR the best post / explanation that I have read about the HOW of using social media to build an online business presence, especially geared towards the freelancer. Thanks for sharing this. Absolutely awesome!!!
@marcand on twitter
Great, great stuff Chris!
I came to your site to read something else you wrote via Twitter and saw this.
How you find time to do it all is beyond me.
But I really appreciate that you write great articles like this one!
Chris
Your posts are always good, but this one is truly inspirational. Thank you for sharing such thought-provoking and useful info.
One strategy you didn’t mention (which I’m starting to experiment with) is the “honor payment” system.
As a freelancer in a new and developing market like social media, it’s often very difficult to know how much to charge for your services. If you pitch too low, there’s a danger you won’t be taken seriously or that you’ll come across as desperate. Too high, and there’s the possibility you’ll be undercut by a competitor or outside the client’s budget. Not only that, but the client may not fully see the value of what you’re delivering because you haven’t actually delivered it yet (and this is still new ground we’re all breaking here, don’t forget).
So, if you’re good at what you do and you know how you can add value, why not ask the client to pay you what THEY think the job is worth?
The advantages are many:
- It gets rid of all price negotiations
- There’s no way you’ll be undercut by a competitor
- It shows the client you have full confidence in your ability to deliver
- You’ll pull out the stops to deliver customer satisfaction
- If you do a good job, there’s a strong chance you’ll get paid more than you would have originally pitched.
- You’ll probably get repeat business and excellent referrals
The disadvantages?
- You might not get paid for your work.
But I think that’s unlikely, unless you do a crap job or you’re doing business with dishonest and unscrupulous people (who are best avoided however you price your services).
I’ve just started experimenting with this, so I’ll let you know how it goes.
Something to think about anyway.
Keep up the great work Chris, I always get inspired by your blog posts.
All the best
Mike (twitter: mike_ohara)
Excellent post filled with great tips that I will be utilizing with my own blog. I will be passing this on for sure! Thanks Chris!
Meg
Great 101 article, I’ll def be following your project along! It was nice to meet you at sxsw, and I hope to catch up with you at one of your conferences.
Marla
@trevinorama
Nice round up Chris.
I liked the point about posting great stuff just before a conference. I’ll make sure I have some good things on the site before I come to Chicago in May!
Joanna
[…] I read this post by Chris Brogan this morning, which has really inspired me to take things in a new direction and to update my blog […]
lined here from Darren’s blog. thses are wonderful advise and i will be utilizing with my blogs
regards
webrex
http://www.webrexia.com
What you say about “Don’t be so eager to get paid for every little thing you do.” is very true. Of course, being careful about what you don’t get paid for is the key. Here’s an example of how it can work well for you, though.
Let’s say you have a friend/acquaintance who is starting up a small business. You know they don’t have much money, but they need a web site. Rather than turning down an opportunity because they don’t have the cash, negotiate a small fee (that maybe can be paid partly in gift certificates or in exchange for some of their services). Do a fabulous job on their site, and they will not only tell everyone they know (like their friends who HAVE money to spend!) but down the road when they are successful they will come back to you to build that online shopping cart or reservation system or hire you to help them make a podcast, etc.)
Offering something for free is fine, but ensure that the recipient of your free services or advice is aware that you are a professional and that your time and skills are worth something, even if its not monetary. They will always come back for more.
Awesome post, Chris. I think this is one of your best yet. I’m going to take some of these examples and run with them (I’ve been mulling over getting into the freelancing/contracting thing for a while now).
The only reservation that I have is with attending conferences. How the heck can people afford those things when they’re just starting out?
I suppose it’s a case where you “can’t afford not to,” but I always get a bit squeamish when I see how much I’ve got to fork over to attend one.
Very detailed, thought provoking article. You have encouraged me to return to blogging!
Thanks Chris
well said Chris, if your blog has a focus then it is silly to direct people away from it with random advertising.
I can’t offer any social media success stories other than the satisfaction of being able to get my point across and allowing the world to see more if they choose, it’s like buying a lottery ticket instead of just wanting to to be rich!
I think LinkedIn deserves a place in your Community Building section. I’ve made several contacts which led to paying work there.
I would also note that after doing all the stuff Chris just mentioned, you will likely be tired and lonely. Seek out other freelancers in your area for a bit of camaraderie to alleviate that. For example, a number of us get together every Wednesday morning (heading there soon myself! http://microcowrking.com) for coffee and work and talk about all our cool ideas. It’s good to find out how other people are doing freelance work in your area - what’s working and what isn’t. For example, in your area, it might be a great idea to join the local chamber of commerce. In mine, it’s a mixed bag. Sharing, commiserating - it’s a need you’ll have to fill at some point. Best to find the local freelance crew as early as you can and make friends.
The other note is that someone starting on the freelance path needs to know about the terror that happens the first time there’s a ‘thin month.’ It may be seasonal, it may be due to larger economic forces, it may be because you’ve slacked on marketing/networking, but it will happen. You will need to be prepared - both financially and emotionally - to weather it. But that’s probably a whole ‘nother post!
3 things.
1. Fantastic post, I find it hard to believe you are constantly on the edge of being broke when you are always putting out such great content. And great seeing you again at SXSW.
2. @paul above, lol, because I found this post on FriendFeed.
3. to build on what Laura said. When I was a freelance PHP developer, almost all of my work came through LinkedIn. Often 2nd party (someone needed a PHP dev, they asked a friend if they knew anyone, that friend did a search on LinkedIn, and recommended me to the first person)
great new look on the blog btw Chris… ahh, just noticed it is Nico who did it, nice
FANTASTIC !!! Well done sir. One of the best “anythings” I have read in a good while. You have loads of great ideas and wisdom here Chris. Thank you for sharing your gifts!
Jeff
[…] the past few weeks. This list provides me a way to measure the best opportunity whether it be freelancing, start-up, large corporation or […]
@Laura and @Jeremy - I added your advice to used LinkedIN in the community section of the post, with links to your sites. Thank you.
@Mike D - don’t go right off. Go to some social events. For every event that costs your $2000 to attend, there’s a free meetup near it. Guaranteed. Surf Upcoming and Eventful for that.
I’ll refer to this if I ever return to freelancing. I’ll have to think of how (or whether) to repurpose a brain-emptying personal blog (name link above this paragraph) which, if all goes according to plan, will soon morph into an animation production blog. Chris, you make it sound like there’s no room for morphing: either I’m in it up to my neck or I’m not. Either I’m selling myself or I’m ruminating about life. I’ll have to do some serious thinking.
Excellent advice! Although I have to disagree with you - this is good stuff for the money-on-the-side freelancer, too, not just the put-food-on-table freelancer.
I’m refocusing my business site/blog right now and there are some great ideas here, thanks!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- without the contacts I’ve made through social networking I wouldn’t be in business.
Since I am a man of Good Taste ! I find this very Tasty Advice! I am amazed at how much real world information you give free to your readers ! The “Mugwumps get paid for less valuable information than you give readers free ! If the Social network finds an important name in history I hope you are recognized ! Upward Onward -A Fan !
[…] I was getting started on the day, fired up Twitter and immediately saw that Chris Brogan had a new post. One that hits home to an issue I’ve been having as a consultant or freelance […]
Great post Chris. One suggestion I’d make for folks trying to break through and really get value from Twitter is to add their info to relevant TwitterPacks (http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/) and find/follow new people in their field. It’s a great way to jump-start your exposure and build your conversation stream.
@jstorerj
This post captures my particular dilemma with blogging.
It also ties in synergistically with Gary V’s manifesto commentary from yesterday reminding us that the reality of who we are can’t help but come through in our digital presence.
I’m a high tech sales professional with a long track record of success in my field. I’m also a writer. I write about issues pertinent to a broad variety of both professional and not-so-professional topics.
I want to be real.
I want to show my warts and weaknesses.
I want to share my personal struggles and triumphs with anybody who cares to listen.
I do this because nobody is perfect, especially me. As a student of human nature, [read: salesman] I know all too well that people have a tendency to compartmentalize, separating the personal from the professional and so on, and so on, until, in some cases, a person can change their persona as frequently as they change their clothes.
So is the answer to have more than one blog? Plenty of people do it.
One for the marketer in them and one for the mommy in them.
One for the PR professional in them and one for the surfer dude in them.
But as Gary V. reminds us, it’s only a matter of time before the two are linked, and do we really want our professional Self being judged by the musings of our personal Self?
How does a professional with something to contribute strike an appropriate balance between the two while remaining true to both? True in not negotiable, it just is.
I think you just gave me the basis for my next blog, Brogan.
As everyone above me has already stated, thanks for the great advice. Simply by writing, you’re following your own advice and look how it pays off!
I appreciate your emphasis on the “physical world” of social networking. Being Internet denizens, it’s easy to forget how much time we spend just looking at our laptops instead of people and the benefits of a meaningful face-to-face introduction are hard to top. I was lucky enough to attend SXSW this year and meet many people I’ve followed and learned from online, including you. That was a great experience, but I appreciate the one of posters above questioning how easy it is to spend the money to attend numerous conferences. I agree with Susan Murphy’s example of how to social network using your skills you’re selling, if you’re a web designer, help out individuals who need your help now but can’t meet your “official” rates. She writes, “rather than turning down an opportunity because they don’t have the cash, negotiate a small fee (that maybe can be paid partly in gift certificates or in exchange for some of their services). Do a fabulous job on their site, and they will not only tell everyone they know (like their friends who HAVE money to spend!) but down the road when they are successful they will come back to you to build that online shopping cart or reservation system or hire you to help them make a podcast, etc.)”
In that vein, I thought I’d offer my own example of how I do this. I’m an Interactive Marketing Creative but I also happen to be a geek when it comes to computers and since I can provide a level of personal computer expertise just by being myself, I get asked a huge amount of questions about buying computers, setting them up, buying software, home networking, etc. That is not my “job” but just a hobby of mine that it turns out other people have many questions about.
I go out of my way to help nearly anyone out who asks me about these issues but it’s never something I rarely take any payment for, but that process opens up a dialog with people that has let me showcase my knowledge in many other areas. For example, if I spend 30 minutes with “Creative Director A” helping her configure a computer for her daughter, that conversation will by default show my knowledge of how teens technology differently than her mother. When that creative director is looking for a creative mind to work on her next project that is focused on a new media/interactive brief, I believe my name will at least be on the short list of people to investigate for the job.
I like your comment about 1 off topic for every 10. Wow, that’s hard. It also focused you on forming a focus for your blog. Thanks.
In a word - Wow! Thanks Chris for a great post packed with practical steps I can take, now. I’m curious Chris - I know you use and invite others to join you on a wiki site from time to time so I’m wondering how using a wiki might also fit with this thinking?
Thanks again for a superb post!
Thanks for the great post. The content and posts are very helpful during my transition period. Thank you all!
Thanks, Chris, for a great post. I have forwarded this to a friend of mine who is transitioning to being a full time freelancer. I have been a consultant full time for three years. This post reinforced some things and made me re-think others!
Chris, thanks so much. I have to say I like the part where you say “It just becomes your duty to decide which ones are eventually going to pay off, and which ones to stop doing.”
I have tried different things, and some I disliked immediately. At first, I forced myself to try to like them and make the best of it. Then I started cutting things that didn’t fit. But I always felt there was something wrong with me, that I didn’t fit.
Well, b/c of you I just tried Ning, and I feel it has a lot of potential. So I think your advice to try and stop what doesn’t work is spot-on and just part of the business of doing Social Networking.
We launched a few weeks ago thinking that we’d operate as a place to post and find work but the feedback we’ve received tells us that pros don’t just want to find work but also want to be able to direct business to their blogs and company web sites.
Whether you’re in the trades or a web pro, carefully shape the message of your sites. People may use social media, boards, search engines etc. to find you but it’s to up to you to compel visitors to want to make contact.
Great article and comments, I plan to apply some of the advice to my own struggling businesses.
Chris, needless to say, thanks alot for the great post. I just started freelance writing not long ago as a hobby. Just wanted to put all my thoughts on paper. Once I saw that I was making some money, it struck me, theres a lot of potential in freelance writing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making millions , but my goals are sky high. For now I publish my work mostly on Triond. I also use AC and all the usuals. After reading your post, I feel that I have much more tools for better writing and editing.
If you get the chance check out my blog, there you can find links to my work which was pretty successful.
One again, thanks for the great post.
Ron
Fabulous article. And having just posted a similar article myself and having gotten the suggestion that I should include a photo or other illustration (I hunted, then gave up), I’m smiling and enjoying your photo of the “(free?) lancers” in your photo. Creative and funny. Wish I’d thought of it!!
Lisa Creech Bledsoe
Sound post. Thank you! Reminded me to Stumble it. A difficult habit to remember when reading solid content, but a valuable habit to develop.
Will be implementing most, if not all, of these points soon.
Wow Chris, what a post/tutorial. I hope you know that you’ve just written the social media bible for freelancers… and everyone else!
Thanks for writing about this Chris. This is EXACTLY the information that I wanted to pick your brain for! ;)
[…] Check out Chris Brogan’s article from today entitled Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers. It’s a good indication of the sort of useful advice we’ll be sharing at SOBCon […]
Hey Chris.
Although, I have a long way to go this post is one to print, tape it on my wall and study it real hard because you just gave us an outstanding blueprint that goes beyond freelancing.
Jimmy A.
[…] Schwartz of Getting Attention sent a link to me this morning to a great post by Chris Brogan, Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers. It’s an overview of ways to use social media to promote your […]
Articles like this are the reason I follow you on Twitter. Thoughtful, helpful, and well-organized. A reason to check out other social media networks.
Landing the right project has always been my goal, although freelance helps in the interim. I’ll be taking your suggestions to heart when I finally get around to my blog’s redesign.
Proving once again the power of social media, the comments are almost as good as the article. I recently posted news about other people working to make connections both online and offline, but give hats off to yours. Truly a primer for freelancers willing to invest the time and effort.
Chris - great post and I was (thankfully) nodding yes to each one that I’ve done (or not done as the case may be).
As someone who has had her own business for 6 years, I started out doing the networking piece before the social networking one. But the rules really are the same. Just like you ignore the person trying to sell you at a networking event, you ignore the social networker who is trying to sell, not educate you. And the valuable content you provide in your blog is really no different than doing a one to one meeting with a colleague and providing some tips and advice for their business.
Chris, this post represents a few of the things I’ve come love about the blogging community - generosity. Generously sharing information, ideas, success tips and link love. As I read, I spotted many things I’ve done wrong. In fact I could be the case study for “what not to do,” but thankfully you’ve provided tools so that I can now set about running a proper blog. Thank you so much for the great tips.
Karen
it would be great if ..
“free” linked to kevin kelly’s article about free
“long tail” linked to chris’s blog - better yet, a great post about the long tail on his blog
you had a more prominent link to click on to take you to a page listing all the posts (thus far) in the social media 100 - rather than having to tag hunt
Chris, great article. Very practical, simple and actionable advice that everyone should follow, freelancers or otherwise.
I’m in the process of re-working my blog, and will be following your advice.
Bravo!
David
Chris, great points and points well taken. I have stripped down my personal blog. I wasn’t even making enough for beer money :-)
Another fantastic post and great reminders about keeping our selves prepared for doing business. The more professional you are from the beginning, the easier it is to scale should a hobby become more of a business.
I think the one thing we always have to remember is that the internet is a small town, and reputation matters. This means assuming people have the best intentions; trust others to a reasonable extent; be open and helpful, but don’t feel you have to give away the store; don’t jump on every small critique or slight, and when leaving comments for others, think about how it would feel if someone were leaving this comment on your blog. Chris Penn reminds us Google is always watching, and this means that you should treat the information you put out there as something you would like your mom, spouse, best friends, third grade teacher, FBI- ANYONE- see and read.
This could make some people feel inhibited, and for others, the “anonymity in public” actually creates a sense of heightened freedom of speech. In the end, think of your blog and social media musings as an extension of yourself and what you’re known for, and you’ll do fine as you build your personal brand.
Your blog is you- as you said so well- it is your storefront, and a primary source these days of what you are about, so make sure it reflects you well, and then you never have to worry about what anyone will say about you- it will always be true, accurate and something you can be proud of. Reputation matters, so make yours a great one.
Great article, and I particularly liked your advice on social gatherings and making contact beforehand. Much of this is appropriate to all small businesses, not just freelancers, and I’ll be talking about this on my blog. Many thanks.
Thanks Chris. I’m off to talk to a bunch of artists in Hackney east London (UK) this afternoon about just this using my ideas of VISION and PASSION. A Twittercomrade tweeted your post and I now have an interesting article to point them to and a great example to talk about in terms of how I got it!
[…] Thank you, too, to Chris Brogan for a great peek at what you’ll be talking about — one of the best social media documents on the web. […]
Looks like this was a popular post! As I infer in my blog post, there’s a ton of ‘advice’ out there for the ‘entrepreur’ and ‘work at home’ market, but little quality, practical ‘how to ..’ for the freelance PR. I’ll share it widely.
[…] Chris Brogan, a social media mogul (wouldn’t you say Chris?–I know you are reading this), has given you the social blueprint: […]
Chris:
Started following you on Twitter and subscribed to your newsletter a few weeks ago - found out about you from the SOBCon08 promos. Enjoying reading your work and looking forward to meeting you in Chicago!
Love this: Your Blog, Your Storefront
How timely! I’m converting my site content to blog posts - what a rigorous creative exercise! After struggling with whether or not to promote my strategic communications practice on my blog, I let the numbers convince me. No contest: the blog outdraws my site on every level. Today, I added a post to promote my seminar PR ebook and am working on building out a products/resources/workshop section.
After reading your post, I know I’m going in the right direction! Let me know if you ever need a guest online PR blogger. See you in a few weeks!
Barbara/wiredprworks on Twitter
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Great article! My experience is, that commenting in related blogs, is the best way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche (at least among other bloggers).It is both quick and solid!
Great post Chris, thank you for some of the ideas I will follow-up with. And Thank you, Thank you for writing about random ads on blogs or websites - to have ads it says (to me anyway) you’re not serious and it really takes away from what you are saying as well. Some say, I do it to drive traffic, if you can write or give content to grow you own site what are you doing?
Thank you for explaining a “long tail.”
Perhaps you could write about the new words and definitions for us learners.
Thank you
Mari-Lyn
Great post Chris, thank you for some of the ideas I will follow-up with. And Thank you, Thank you for writing about random ads on blogs or websites - to have ads it says (to me anyway) you’re not serious and it really takes away from what you are saying as well. Some say, I do it to drive traffic, if you can’t write or give content to grow you own site what are you doing?
Thank you for explaining a “long tail.”
Perhaps you could write about the new words and definitions for us learners.
Thank you
Mari-Lyn
Off-topic, but it’s a discussion I recently had with a co-worker:
You say: “Kill the calendar thingy. NO ONE navigates by it.”
I am of the same opinion on Monthlyy Archive links, but you and almost every other blog I go to have them. I never use them, and don’t understand how/why I would. I’m never going to say to myself, “Oh, I wonder what Chris posted in March!” If I’m just browsing a blog’s content, I’m going to go back in time use the next/prev links to see the latest stuff (or go by category, more likely).
What say you? How are these different than the calendar things?
[…] improving your writing, and making connections with people interested in your field. Read the Starter Moves for Freelancers to learn more about making your blog […]
[…] Schwartz of Getting Attention sent a link to me this morning to a great post by Chris Brogan, Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers. It’s an overview of ways to use social media to promote your […]
[…] This is an excellent article with some brilliant online business marketing information, see Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers by Chris Brogan […]
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[…] find their options more limited. So I was pleased to come across this great post from Chris Brogan: Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers. If you’re a freelancer hoping to use social media to get work, here’s a quick […]
[…] find their options more limited. So I was pleased to come across this great post from Chris Brogan: Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers. If you’re a freelancer hoping to use social media to get work, here’s a quick […]
Hi - you put together an excellent article for freelancers. I thought that your subscribers would also be interested in the article that I wrote last night - List of Business Networking & Social Networking Sites for Freelancers - I hope that your readers find it useful.
Thanks.
Rachel
Fantastic information, very thorough.