At the end of last year, I listed the following ten things:
- Schedule more time for my own stuff.
- Keep the flow of projects steady, so one ends as another begins (reduce overlap).
- Participate in more online discussions of interest.
- Attend more conferences (try to hit 2 per year).
- It's all about backlinks (today, anyway).
- Bartering rocks.
- Smaller businesses are typically more of a hassle, but can be extremely rewarding.
- Communicating SEO in numbers is the best possible way to get more work.
- Old clients can surprise you with new requests any time.
- It's all about the relationships you make, maintain, and build upon.
I wanted to take a post to reflect, and see where it went.
- Schedule more time for my own stuff. OK, I did start my new site. Am working new stuff - nothing scheduled yet, thank the Lord.
- Keep the flow of projects steady, so one ends as another begins (reduce overlap). I actually did pretty well with this one...I hand-picked my clients well this past year. My projects were challenging and rewarding, and only rarely over whelming. There was a near melt-down in the early Fall, and the usual holiday hi jinks, but the year finished strong, and the projects speak for themselves.
- Participate in more online discussions of interest. Yep, I am a forum nerd now. But only one, really...I have about a half dozen community voices I check on regularly, and learned to speak-up a little more in one.
- Attend more conferences (try to hit 2 per year). Zero success here, beyond online training. Nothing beyond the cube.
- It's all about backlinks (today, anyway). Duh.
- Bartering rocks. Yep - did some great swaps again this year. Looking for more, always.
- Smaller businesses are typically more of a hassle, but can be extremely rewarding. Duh again. Not sure what this frustration was all about, but OK.
- Communicating SEO in numbers is the best possible way to get more work. Yeah, still believe this to be essentially true for cold calls, but I did more thru referrals in the last 12 months than otherwise.
- Old clients can surprise you with new requests any time. Um, yeah. This year, I had almost an entirely new roster of clients. A couple long-termers, but most of my focus was on new people asking me new questions.
- It's all about the relationships you make, maintain, and build upon. Duh.
So here, I will lob out more of the same to see what difference another year makes.
In 2009, the 10 things that made a difference in my business as an SEO freelance copywriter and will guide me into 2010:
- Relationships uber alles.
- Better clients, better company.
- Fun is subjective.
- Less coding - more writing.
- Family time first.
- Charge handsomely for every minute spent supporting someone else's dream.
- Trust my own skills, and take the leap...again.
- Borrowing brilliance is only a mistake when it lacks honesty. Building on it well is flattery.
- Money is spoiling everything...collapse is certain.
- High maintenance people are low paying investments. Mental health is non-negotiable.
That comes off more acidic than it feels. 2009 rocked. 2010 will be even better, I can feel it.
2 comments:
Excellent list of objectives.
I'd add one more: go through an extensive discovery phase to determine what the client wants and expects.
This prevents the dreaded "project creep" - you know, "just one more little thing."
Thanks for the post.
Absolutely - good point.
Had one example of a project creep that was downright frightening - so yeah, I'll add that to the list! Thanks for stopping by.
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