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The SitePoint Tribune #466 Copyright (c) 2009 October 8, 2009 PLEASE FORWARD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - News, Rants and Case Studies for Web Design Professionals by Brendon Sinclair Read the HTML version of this newsletter, with graphics, at: http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=2&issue=466 Note: This newsletter is supported solely by advertisers like the one below. We stand 100% behind every ad that we run. If you ever have a problem with a company that advertises here please contact us and we will try to get it resolved. 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 [1] [1] <mailto:tribune@sitepoint.com> SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Easy-to-use CMS for Your Clients! Deliver easy-to-use CMS with an intuitive interface to your clients. Meet any client needs with a flexible and extensible ASP.NET solution. Click here to download the FREE edition of Kentico CMS for ASP.NET now. http://sitepoint.com/launch/b17a2f IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Introduction - Editor's Perspective: Dealing with Online Theft - Winning Freelance Jobs -- What Works? - Tire Kickers and Time Wasters: Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff - The Sixth Step to Promoting Your Online Business - Tips and Tricks - That's All Folks (From Me, Anyway) - Latest Tutorials - Hot Discussions - New Blogs 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 [1] 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. [1] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/> SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Minutes, 4 Prizes, 1 Survey Go in the draw and you could win ONE of the following prizes: - A new iPhone GS3 - A Nintendo Wii - An Intuos4 Wacom tablet Or perhaps you'd like to give $1,000 to charity instead? All you have to do is answer our 5-minute SitePoint reader survey. Click here to check out the details: http://www.sitepoint.com/launch/c8e060 Or do the survey now: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0GbE5RsW9gvMoolbOw_2fvkg_3d_3d 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. SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - When times get tough, the tough get "The Web Design Business Kit 2.0" * Win more business and boost your income. * Maximize revenue from clients. * Access 73 ready-to-use business documents. * And so much more ... Grab yourself a FREE sample now! http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/freelance2/ 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 [1], Twitter [2], MySpace [3], and Stumbleupon [4] 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. [1] <http://www.facebook.com> [2] <http://www.twitter.com> [3] <http://www.myspace.com> [4] <http://www.stumbleupon.com> TIPS AND TRICKS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Looking for fresh search results online? Then look no further than a new option on Google [1] 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. [1] <http://www.google.com> 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 [1] Editor, SitePoint Tribune [1] <mailto:tribune@sitepoint.com> LATEST TUTORIALS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CSS3: To Infinity And Beyond! by Alex Walker Browser support for CSS3 is continually improving. In this article, Alex walks us through a few of the coolest CSS3 properties supported in the latest development release of Firefox (3.6 alpha). http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1758 Share Media on Twitter Using Flex, Part III: Video by Andrew Muller 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 to upload videos, and to take screenshots of their videos to post as images. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1757 HOT DISCUSSIONS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WordPress or Joomla! <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=640332> FTC: bloggers must disclose payments & freebies for reviews <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=640548> Take the SitePoint HQ Reader Survey and Win One of Four Cool Prizes! <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=640391> Is Bookmarking Own Posts Good? <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=640360> Open pop-up window, UNDERNEATH the active window <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=639708> NEW BLOGS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Web Pro Business Blog: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS Stop Over-Scheduling! How to Take Back Your Time (7 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/08/how-to-take-control-of-your-time/ How to Cut Ties without Burning Bridges (3 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/07/how-to-fire-a-client-2/ Zoom Zoom Zoom: The Better Way to Multitask (3 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/06/zooming-better-than-multitasking/ 20 Ways Starting a New Business is Like Skydiving (9 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/03/starting-a-new-business-is-risky/ Web Design Blog: PIXEL PERFECT The Primary Design Elements: A New Series (5 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/08/the-primary-design-elements-a-new-series/ New Logo Design For Dr Who (14 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/07/new-logo-design-for-dr-who/ 22 Halloween Photoshop Brushes, Vectors & Fonts (3 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/05/22-halloween-photoshop-brushes-vectors-fonts/ Web Tech Blog: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING Progressive Enhancement Techniques 2: the CSS (1 comment) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/07/progressive-enhancement-2-css/ Progressive Enhancement Techniques 1: the HTML (6 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/06/progressive-enhancement-1-html/ 12 APIs For Creating The Next Big Mashup (4 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/05/apis-for-creating-next-big-mashup/ News & Trends Blog: INDUSTRY NEWS FOR WEB PROFESSIONALS Make Money Online: FTC's New Rules of Disclosure (9 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/07/endorsements-blogs-ftc-rules/ Microsoft Security Essentials: a Review (24 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/04/microsoft-security-essentials-review/ Microsoft Release Free Anti-Virus Package (10 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/04/microsoft-security-essentials-free-anti-virus/ JavaScript & CSS Blog: STYLISH SCRIPTING CSS Frameworks and Semantic Class Names (11 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/06/css-frameworks-semantic-class-names/ Podcast Blog: THE SITEPOINT PODCAST SitePoint Podcast #30: Google Infects IE (4 comments) http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/10/05/podcast-30-google-infects-ie/ ADVERTISING INFORMATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Find out what thousands of savvy Internet marketers already know: email newsletter advertising works! (You're reading an email ad now, aren't you?) Find out how to get YOUR sponsorship ad in this newsletter and reach 95,000+ opt-in subscribers! Check out http://www.sitepoint.com/mediakit/ for details, or email us at mailto:adinfo@sitepoint.com HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - People you care about can take charge of their Website by effectively using the information and resources available on the Internet. Help them learn how - forward them a copy of this week's SitePoint Tribune. ADDRESSES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Send suggestions and comments to: mailto:tribune@sitepoint.com To subscribe, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@sitepoint.com The Archives are located at: http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/archives.php The SitePoint Tribune is (c) 1998-2009 SitePoint Pty. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No part of this Newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. All guest articles are copyright their respective owners and are reproduced with permission. SitePoint Pty. Ltd. 48 Cambridge Street Collingwood, VIC 3066 AUSTRALIA You are currently subscribed to The SitePoint Tribune as: [email] To change the email address that you currently subscribe with: http://sitepoint.com/newsletter/manage.php To switch to the HTML version of this newsletter: <http://sitepoint.com/newsletter/htmlplease.php?email=[email]> To leave this list, please visit: [unsubscribe] Do Not Reply to this email to unsubscribe. We send this newsletter using Campaign Monitor. http://www.campaignmonitor.com/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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