Freelancing: Pushing Pixels & Going Rogue

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Making the move to go freelance can be both a liberating and terrifying experience for some. The idea of freelancing is easy enough to grasp: find clients, get work, complete work, get paid. But what most freelancers miss are the details. From finding clients to getting paid can be more involved than it sounds.

Having said that, freelancing doesn’t need to be altogether difficult either. So in this episode, we ask the question: how do you make all of the pieces of the freelance puzzle fit together neatly?

Like any business, your freelance venture needs organization, planning and a budget. If you think that because you’re going solo you can wing it and just skip the administrative stuff, you’re in for a rude awakening. The harsh reality is that lack of planning leads to an empty stomach. And you can totally forget about buying that TaunTaun sleeping bag over at thinkgeek.com (seriously, who doesn’t want that?).

Organization

Good organizational skills are essential in life. Whether you’re in college, running a household or working for the man, how you manage your time is critical. When working alone it is doubly important that you have a weekly plan: what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it and how long it’s going to take. These things are not only important for saving your sanity, they are important to your clients as well.

A great way to accomplish this is to create a simple plan that plots out your goals for the coming week and outlines how you’re going to meet them. Your plan should be simple, reasonable, and most importantly realistic. Don’t, for example, set a goal of building a fully-featured real estate content management system from scratch or re-design the entire user interface for Facebook by Tuesday. Although ambitious, unless you’re Super Man goals like that are naïve at best and will only set you up for failure.

Find some quiet time, with no distractions. Grab a piece of paper and scribble down your projects, goals and your “must do’s,” then prioritize them. Once a reasonable, digestible and not-likely-to-cause-panic list is created, decide on what days you want to do what and pop them into a scheduling system of some sort.

Online calendars are fantastic and most email programs come with a built in scheduling system as well. If you have a smart phone you may be able to export your weekly plan to your mobile device, which will help you keep on top of things while you’re out slacking or caffeinating. Those large paper desk planners are nice too, although if you spill coffee or Chinese food on Thursday’s goals it might make it tough to decipher what they are, which may present difficulty in meeting your goals for that day.

Finally, don’t forget to review this plan often and be flexible. Sometimes plans need to be changed, goals re-organized. That’s ok, even with mid-week tweaking you should still be out ahead of your workload.

Choose Your Work Environment Wisely

Where you work is just as important as how you work. If you have a computer set up in your living room or family room, you’re in for trouble. It is important that you work in a distraction-free environment. If possible try to dedicate a single room to use as an office and try and keep furniture and decorations office related. Hooking up the XBOX 360 in your office is probably a bad idea. It’s hard to work when you’re wondering if you can rock out a quick set on Rock Band or off some n00bs on Modern Warfare 2. Mind you, your office doesn’t need to be sterile and void of all personality. Just try not to add items that distract you from work instead of helping you focus on it.

Of course, not everyone will have an empty room handy to use as an office. A lot of freelancers are still in college living in dorms or have small apartments. If this is you, try to get your work done during the calmest part of the day. Really make an effort to focus on the task at hand.

Some freelancers like to work at cafés and bistros. A charming notion to be sure, but that type of environment really only works for the truly dedicated. If you’re easily distracted, we recommend you stick to working at home. Of course if you’re really struggling to find a good work environment, try the public library. Most libraries have free Wi-Fi these days. A selling point here is that unless you’re working in a morgue, you can’t get a much quieter environment to work in.

Advertising & Selling Yourself as a Freelancer

Advertising as a freelancer can be challenging for many reasons. Most freelance web designers and developers are only aware of their niche market and know next to nothing about running an advertising campaign. Worse yet, many do not realize that they are not just selling design and development services, they’re selling themselves. Your company image, or in this case your persona, is vastly important. Some would argue it is even more important than your pricing or portfolio. Marketing yourself, knowing your target audience and enacting a plan to reach your customer base should be a weekly priority.

The good news is that in today’s social environment it is easier than ever to advertise online. Services like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Craigslist make it simple to advertise and promote your services. The key to these online communities is to be involved with them regularly, with content that will interest your target group. Add in a splash of humor, real life experience and wit and you should quickly gather a decent following. Remember, social networking is marketing. And it is not just about the number of followers or fans you have; it’s about showing your followers that you’re an authority in your field and a true professional. It also helps to keep your name and branding highly visible.

Make sure that your discussions and tweets are interesting and engaging. Don’t spam Twitter non-stop with how fantastic your spring specials are. People don’t want to follow a never-ending advertisement. Make a conscious effort to mix business tweets with relevant information, facts or stories.

In short, a well-executed social marketing campaign will drive traffic to one of your most important advertising assets: your website.

A freelancer’s website is their best representative and their best tool. Stop and ask yourself, “how good is my website?” It never ceases to amaze us how many freelance offers we get from folks who have websites that look like they were built wearing beer goggles or during the throws of a seizure while in the bathtub with a toaster.

Okay so we’re being a little facetious. But the plain truth is that if your website doesn’t resemble the work of a professional, why would someone put their company’s image in your hands? Make it a priority to review your website regularly and update it often with new work and information.

Another common pitfall that we see a lot of: websites that, while visually stunning, have no tangible content, or are riddled with typos and poor grammar. Paying too little attention to detail with your content can make you look uneducated or lazy, which can lead very quickly to a poor first impression and a high bounce rate.

It is a waste of time and effort to attract customers to your website only for it to fail. Take the time, do it right!

So What Do You Do Again?

One of the first things I learned in sales is that it’s much easier to sell something to someone if you truly understand what it is you’re selling. If you’re unsure about what you’re offering your clients in terms of products or services, it can make you look uninformed or worse, incompetent. …Yikes!

Typically most freelancers are not copywriters. We love nothing more than pushing pixels and generally avoid taking the time to write good copy. This is dangerous because it can seriously affect your success as a freelancer. By taking the time to write good content, defining a clear list of services and what they involve, you can avoid looking poorly organized and give yourself an opportunity to leave a lasting, positive impression.

This simply cannot be overstated: a little extra time spent on your copy can mean all the difference in the world.

Defining your services is usually pretty straightforward. However, explaining them in a manner that is easy for a client to digest can sometimes present a challenge. Try to avoid using buzzwords and industry slang. Just because you know what you’re talking about doesn’t mean your potential customer will. Don’t skimp on product or service descriptions. A robust description of what you’re offering lets your client know exactly what they’re paying for and why. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to write a novel for every product or service. But you do need to make sure that you’re thorough.

It’s important you keep in mind that some of your clients will know more about your industry than others. There’s a balance to be struck here. When writing copy, you definitely don’t want to talk down to your more educated clients while trying to educate the not-so-informed. Try and recruit some friends or family from outside your industry and have them read your content. Ask them for feedback. Where did they get lost, confused or bored? Have them note which parts they found most informative and exciting. A few extra sets of eyes can really help whip bad copy into shape.

Consider hiring a copywriter to review your material. Have them give your website a onceover just to be thorough. This attention to detail, although not free, could potentially make you a lot of money down the road.

How Much Should I Charge as a Freelancer?

Whether you’re a freelancer, small business owner, or you’re running a large design shop, choosing your rates is no easy task. Deciding how much to charge clients for projects is by far one of the most challenging areas of freelancing. Clearly, you want to be competitive but also profitable.

A common fear among freelancers is the fear of overcharging. Quote too high a price you loose the opportunity. But quote too little and you’re selling yourself short, both by reputation and profit. Surprisingly, most freelancers charge way less than they ought to; less than they deserve. And those whose talents shouldn’t command a higher fee often charge too much.

To get a better handle on what to charge, conduct some industry research to find out what other firms and freelancers are charging for products or services you have in common. Some companies and freelancers have no qualms about sharing this information, and a good majority of them publish their pricing on their websites. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other companies and freelancers and ask them about their pricing. Just because you are technically competition doesn’t mean they will treat you like the enemy, and you may gain some valuable insight in the process.

Keep in mind that experience has a great deal to do with pricing. Firm “A” might charge $30 an hour more than firm “B” but they might have greater experience and the clientele to back it up. As a freelancer, you may have to charge slightly less while you hone your skills, beef up your portfolio and sharpen your selling strategy. This doesn’t mean that you should work for free or be forced to eat M&Ms and crackers, but it does mean that you’re not going to roll in that new Lexus right out of the starting gate. It takes time to build your brand enough to roll with big dogs, as it were.

The key is to find an hourly rate or project amount that you can live with comfortably. You will also need to decide if you want to be paid hourly or by the project. Hourly works well for consulting gigs and small projects but large-scale ventures usually call for a solid number. Also, some clients prefer a solid quote instead of hourly estimates. You may have to adjust your proposal and sales pitch accordingly. If you find yourself in this situation and don’t know what to charge, try estimating the amount of hours you will need to complete the project, then add them up to come up with an overall price. Feel free to have different pricing schemes for different services as well.

Like most firms, at Engines of Creation we have different pricing for our design work and coding. Likewise, we have different pricing for our SEO, online marketing and maintenance. Why so many pricing schemes? Simply put, some work is more time intensive, some more experience-based than others. We try to charge our clients fairly based on these considerations.

Most people that read this will be disappointed that I haven’t tossed actual numbers around. That’s because when pricing a project the majority of it depends on the client’s wants and needs. For example, you may have a price set for installing and designing a theme for a WordPress blog, but what if the client needs special functionality built in? What if they need the project completed start to finish in two weeks, where you would normally take four? Factors like these influence the price.

It’s impossible to say with certainty that you should charge “X” amount for one service or another. Starting points and base numbers are fine, but experience has shown that almost every project is unique. As a freelancer or small business owner you have to be fair to yourself and price these differences and variations accordingly.

Do your homework. Be honest about how much money you need to make. Asses your skill level, your experience and price your services commensurately. Remember, it is your business. You’re in charge. If you feel that you are undercharging, charge more next time around and vice versa. Try and keep a tab on what others at your level of experience are charging in your industry. Stay competitive!

In the end, there is no magic bullet for pricing freelance projects. However, a little common sense, research and attention to detail when writing up a quote can go a long way.

Protecting Yourself with Paperwork

When writing a proposal for a client it’s important that you understand what the client’s wants and needs are so you can deliver a solid proposal and hopefully land some work. In this line of work almost everyone has written a proposal, whether it was a 15-page Word document or a few paragraphs in an email, most are familiar with the basics. Unfortunately what a lot of freelancers touch on too briefly—or leave out entirely—is that very important section called the project scope.

The project scope section is the part where you, the freelancer, clearly define every single thing you are proposing to do for the client, right down to the timeframe and technologies used. This is where you specify every nuance of the project. The idea here is that if it’s not in the project scope, then it’s not in the project.

By creating a project scope that clearly states what, when and how, you are protecting yourself from all sorts of bad situations. A non-existent or poorly written project scope can create bad feelings between parties, legal disputes and a dreadful scenario called “scope creep.”

So what is “Scope Creep“? Wikipedia defines “scope creep” as:

“Uncontrolled changes in a project’s scope. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence that is to be avoided.”

“Typically, the scope increase consists of either new products or new features of already approved product designs, without corresponding increases in resources, schedule, or budget. As a result, the project team risks drifting away from its original purpose and scope into unplanned additions. As the scope of a project grows, more tasks must be completed within a budget and a schedule that was originally designed for a smaller set of tasks. Thus, ‘scope creep’ can result in a project team overrunning its original budget and schedule.”

Sounds like a drag doesn’t it? It is believe me.

There is nothing more frustrating than completing a project, the client decides to change everything, and you wind up having to start over on a whim. Your clients are always right, I believe that 100%. However, they don’t always know what they want or how to explain what they want.

If you clearly state what you are going to do for them from the start, then they will know exactly what they will get in the end. This knowledge can prevent a host of frustrating issues for both parties.

Another section that is important to include in your proposal are your payment terms. Leave this part out and you’re in trouble!

The payment terms section specifies how much you are to be paid, obviously, but more importantly when you are to be paid and how. As a freelancer, you will want to be very clear here. If you want 50% of the project cost to start and the final 50% upon completion, state it here, and state it clearly. Do you want to be paid in cash, money order or via PayPal? How about late fees, project additions or change requests? Anything that has to do with the collecting of fees for your work should be stated clearly in this section. Being sure to state this information properly will ensure that you are paid promptly.

Conclusion

Freelancing can be fun and exciting. But it can also be a nightmare if not enough attention is paid to details; to planning and scheduling. As stated before numerous times, planning and organization is essential. Take your time, be fair—to yourself and to your clients—and above all follow Engines of Creation on Twitter! …errr, have fun!

Resources

As promised, below you will find a list of resources to help you on your freelancing way and a couple of excellent blogs and learning resources as well.

• Web Design Freelance Boot Camp
• Basecamp
• Highrise
• Gmail
• Quickbooks Online
• Dropbox
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Craigslist
• YouTube
• Universal Currency Converter
• Smashing Magazine
• Noupe.com
• Lynda.com
• Nettuts

Tags: Freelancer, Organization, Planning, Web Design, Website
This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Podcast Episodes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.