Introduction
 We have some interesting items to address this
issue, including what to do when a person steals from you online.
It might surprise you that part of my advice on what to do is "not
much." Read on to find out why.
How to win more work as a freelancer is one of the most asked questions
on the SitePoint Forums. With that in mind, we take a look at what really
works in pulling in the dollars.
Figuring out which prospects will lead to a business deal is a big part
of being successful. We examine how to work out which ones are full of hot
air and what to do about them.
Our sixth tip for promoting your online business will have you talking
with friends and customers in no time at all, while our regular Tips
and Tricks section shows you how to achieve super fresh results from
Google.
Happy reading!
Brendon Sinclair
tribune@sitepoint.com
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Summary
Editor's Perspective
Dealing with Online Theft
Online theft can call in many guises:
-
This week I had an unscrupulous online business steal an image from
one of our sites and and use it on their own web site.
-
One of our most popular blogs recalls a holiday scam site that
unfortunately my mom purchased from.
-
I often read on the SitePoint Forums of entire
sites being copied.
If you're the victim of any online theft, I have some advice for you:
exploit the situation for all you can. Don't be a hero.
In response to the stolen image this week, we implemented a fairly
simple strategy, which involved:
-
writing a blog post about the theft and placing it on our home page
-
emailing our thousands of subscribers about the theft, pointing out
that the thief was using the image to prove his product worked
-
warning our subscribers that there are many unscrupulous operators
online so people need to beware
What this strategy did was position our business as honest and
trustworthy. It helped to increase the positive perception of our site,
made us top of mind with our target market, and took just minutes to
implement.
Once we did all that, we then asked the thief to remove the image.
It's very easy to become caught up in the outrage of being ripped off,
so much so that you spend hours plotting, planning, and implementing your
revenge. For example, with the holiday scam page, I was answering so many
emails and comments that we ended up closing comments on the page.
It was costing us an hour a day to respond and no one can afford to
waste that much time on an issue that has no benefit.
Never allow these dodgy operators to take you away from the core purpose
of your business. Focus on what makes you money, instead of what makes you
angry.
 You could win one of
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Nintendo Wii
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Winning Freelance Jobs -- What Works?
You really want to know what works for gaining freelance web development
work?
Everything works. Sort of.
Over the years I've tried a ton of strategies for my web development
business. Some work just fine, while others fail miserably. But none of
that matters to you.
Let's take a look at a few ways I've generated business over the years:
-
Cold calling has worked at giving us just a few clients. Direct mail
barely raises a ripple.
-
Referral business has worked well for us over many years, but I often
speak with web developers who hardly ever gain new clients from happy
regular clients.
-
Newspapers have failed to do the business for a long time, but we once
pulled in a huge client from a simple $30 advertisement in a free weekly
newspaper!
-
Attending networking events gives some value. Giving speeches and
talks generates more business than you can poke a stick at.
-
Google AdWords gives us next to nothing in terms of new clients for
web development services. Then again, high search engine rankings work
great at generating leads for our SEO division.
Has your experience been the same as mine? Worse? Much better? Whatever
it's been, it's unimportant.
Different markets, personalities, cultures, and a thousand other
variables means one thing and one thing only: no-one can tell you what
will work best to win more freelance work.
The secret is simple. The secret is trying ideas yourself and seeing
what works for you.
You may be a great public speaker who can wow audiences with your
knowledge and personality. You might live in an area where newspaper ads
work wonderfully well. Your market might love the letters you send out to
generate leads.
Keep testing and keep measuring. Above all, keep trying.
Tire Kickers and Time Wasters
Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff
I had an interesting call from a prospect the other day, who called up
to request a quote for her new web site.
Trouble was she failed to tell me what the web site was about. Or what
it did. Or what search terms it would be targeting. Or how she intended to
market it.
She refused tell me a thing, but expected me to somehow put together a
detailed proposal and costing for the new site.
Another prospect called and we spoke for an hour about his potential new
web site. This prospect made all the right noises during the call and
intimated he would organize a meeting within a couple of days to formalize
what we'd spoken about. Two weeks later and I'm still waiting for the
call.
Yet another prospect met with us and told us he wanted a new web site
completed. Firstly though, he wanted us to mock up some logos for him just
so he could check that we were good designers. If we won the job, he told
us, we could expect more work than we could handle from his friends.
When I was first in business as a web developer, I would've probably
completed a ballpark quote for the first caller, called the second contact
back, and designed the logos on spec for the third prospect.
These days I dismiss them as possible clients in an instant.
You see, with experience comes the ability to identify the red flag of
the time wasters. We've found that there are common characteristics among
those who are wasting time or are simply troublesome clients.
The third example cited above is a very common one: "You do this
web site cheap and I'll give you loads of work in the future."
It never, ever happens. Never.
In business you want to be maximizing your time to generate the most
benefit to yourself. Being successful comes down to just a few core
aspects.
Working with the right people -- the ones that help you continue making
a profit -- is right at the top of the list.
And working with the wrong people is just a no-go.
 - Win more business and boost
your income.
- Maximize revenue from clients.
- Access 73
ready-to-use business documents.
- And so much more
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now!
The Sixth Step to Promoting Your Online Business
The sixth way to promote your online business is a gimme.
Social media is now a massive part of online life. If you're failing to
promote your business on Facebook,
Twitter, MySpace, and Stumbleupon for a start, then you'll
soon be lagging behind your competitors.
The key to having a successful social media presence is simply this: use
them.
Social media only works if you're social. It's vital that you use these
various tools and connect with your market in an authentic and honest
way.
Tips and Tricks
Looking for fresh search results online? Then look no further than a new
option on Google that allows you to
filter your results by, among other things, time.
Now you can request results for what you're searching for from just the
last hour. Simply click on the new "Show Options" link at the
top of the results and you'll see more filtering choices -- by time,
previously visited, and more.
That's All Folks (From Me, Anyway)
I'm writing to let you know that this edition is the final one from me.
I've always been a bit of a stickler for making the newsletter
informative and entertaining, but after more than five years I've run out
of energy and now feel it's time to pass the baton on.
Miles Burke will be increasing his workload from November 12 to bring
you your weekly dose of the Tribune; in the meantime there'll be
a couple of guest authors, so you'll still be able to enjoy your usual
fix.
It's been a terrific opportunity for me to write the Tribune
and thank-you to all of those readers who have contributed with questions
and feedback. I hope my efforts have helped your online business or
marketing skills even just a little.
That's it now -- thanks for checking in.
Brendon Sinclair
tribune@sitepoint.com
Editor,
SitePoint Tribune
|
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In
parts I and II, Andrew showed us how to build a slick-looking Flash
frontend for Twitter and Flickr using the beta versions of Flash Catalyst
and Flash Builder 4. In this final installment in the series he takes our
application a step further by adding video functionality: allowing users
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