Week in Review

So I thought it would be fun to do a little post about what I did this week, just to offer some input into a typical week/day for a freelance SEO writer.

I Dedicated Time to Getting New Business
I spent about 1 full day answering inquiries and making connections with potential new clients. 1 is a student asking for mentoring, and 2 new businesses inquired from referrals this week.

I find that setting aside some time every week to pursue new stuff is a good plan to keep the work flow at a manageable pace. I get lucky, and usually get by more on referrals now, so I don't have to look for work--it tends to find me. Knowing this, I am usually quick to take advantage of time off, and I go fishing or do something fun while I know I can.

If I didn't have some pretty strong prospects and a few working projects, I might make a few calls, or send out some emails as a way of reminding folks that I am here, and can help them make some money. Cold calling is far from my favorite thing to do, but it is effective if you are diligent. I more often have a tendency to just cherry-pick projects where I like the people and like the work. Once someone is happy and is seeing some results, it is easy to justify another project and another and another...meaning only that cold calling is not as necessary.

I Dedicated Time To Research
I spend at least 2-3 hours every day reading blogs and other websites...very often much more than that. My line of work is quickly changing, which is part of why I like doing it. But this requires me to be up-to-speed on new things like different coding practices, different media uses, new strategies--all kinds of related stuff. I am lucky because I like doing it--but this is a necessary part of my job.

Research does not have to be boring. It rarely is to me--no matter what subject matter I am looking at. Which is good of course, given my field. But I never know what I am going to learn, or how...and that is a big part of what makes life on the Interweb exciting and challenging. So if you are pursuing this as a career move, realize that you will spend a lot of time researching...learn to love it, or it will be a big hurdle for you to cross.

I Stayed on Top of My Deadlines
This week, I had 2 press releases, 2 blog posts, some product information, and two sales rep sites to optimize for a client. Done. It was in-hand and approved 12 hours ahead of schedule.

Meeting deadlines is perhaps the single most important thing to master as a freelance SEO writer. Most everything else can be forgiven--missing deadlines can have a very expensive ripple effect that will typically end with you looking for a new client. Miss a crucial deadline or two and you will be fired, no matter how good your work is.

It may not seem like much to you when you are just starting out, but often in a project, many different moving parts are coming together for a single impact. You might have a radio spot coordinating with a press release, a webpage, and a TV commercial for example--that is a lot of budget being focused on one project. If your copy is the thing slowing it down, none of the other parts can function properly until you are ready. This means that if you slip and miss a deadline, by the time you get the copy to the client they will already be angry at you being late. Believe me, if they are mad at you, they will very likely translate this feeling onto your work...seems petty, but it is true.

So avoid this. Be on time. If a ridiculously short deadline is asked for, you might try to push back and get more time. But do use caution. It can easily come across as you being slow or weak or a whiner if you need more time or resources than they are budgeting--so tread lightly here. You may be 100% justified, but you have to present it to the client so they can understand why you need more time. As a rule of thumb, I try not to ask for an extension unless I absolutely need it. So yes, this means I sometimes have to work crazy gorilla hours to get a project done. But that way, when I do ask for something extra, my request carries a little more weight because it is unusual.

One thing in my favor, is that I have done this a long time, and I know basically how long it takes me to get something done. So when I get a weird deadline, I know very early on that it is weird. I can often nip it in the bud, by resetting the expectations during the planning phases. It is ALWAYS easier to ask for more time before something starts--once the project is underway, it is like a train hurtling down the tracks.

I Spent Some Time Billing
My absolute least favorite part of this work is trying to get paid. I don't have to argue with anyone about it, but just coordinating invoices is a big pain to me. But I like getting paid, so this is a necessary evil.

I have a whiteboard in my office where I monitor my flow of invoices. I found that having it on the wall made me look at it all the time, and spend enough time to keep it full and flowing. If I notice I don't have enough invoices working, I try to complete some projects to get them billed out. If one or more of the invoices is lagging, I can make a call or shoot out an email to see what's up.

If you are new at this, do try to understand, that you getting paid really matters only to you. The client wants to get the project done. The bigger the client, the more convoluted the process to get paid can be. I now spend a few minutes when starting a new project to handle any billing questions. I find out who I should send them to, and who needs to approve them. When necessary, I introduce myself to the person in the billing department that I will deal with--I like making friends with these people for obvious reasons.

That was About It
Very basically, these were the elements of my week. The days divide up around these tasks however they do--it depends on what kind of priority everything has. But by knowing what my work weeks should more or less entail, I can keep enough work in the door and enough checks coming in to keep me fat and happy.