Personal and Professional Balance

I write a lot in here about the balancing of freelance seo writing and your personal life. This last week, I was again faced with this situation...but this time in a much more negative way.

I had a family crisis, and it pulled me out of commission for 4 days. It ended today, and now I am way behind.

A personal crisis can pull anyone out of a routine, but as a freelancer, this can be deadly. Gig-smashing. It is too early to tell if I did any damage, be it temporary or permanent. To the gigs I mean - the family is fine.

Priorities Depend on Circumstances
One thing I am finding more often this year, is that priorities are really dependent on the surrounding circumstances. Last week, my family was the most important thing in my schedule. This, sadly, is not always the case. More often, they know I need to keep working, and don't have near the time I would prefer to simply hang out. They're good that way.

But when the priorities shift a bit, it is important to take the time to really identify why it is you do what you do. Keeping control is sometimes as easy as articulating your direction.

I stay true to my business ideals, which is why most of my clients last for a long time...many times, moving from job-to-job themselves. My priorities are therefore handed to me, based on serving my ideals in being a freelance seo writer. And these ideals are pretty simple:

1. Offer creative, solid work with a focus on the ROI
2. Be honest, and lead with respect
3. Don't miss deadlines
4. Communicate
5. Don't miss deadlines

So you can see how this last week is wrenching with my own business ideals - by concentrating on family, I missed a bunch of deadlines. A shift in priorities.

Balancing the Personal and the Professional
For me, much of the lure of freelance seo copywriting is an ability to allow shifts in priorities. My family always comes first - they are why I work. But some gigs don't allow you enough time to be with your family as much as you might like. For me, freelancing must do it.

While it is true, this is a cool perk of freelancing, it also makes it less stable than other options, like a day gig. So you want to know whether or not you are cut out for this,what your personal thresholds are.

Ultimately, balancing personal and professional efforts is an ongoing dance. On a tightrope. With greasy slippers. Juggling weights and french fries.

Be prepared.

Handling 301 redirects

Here's a seo copywriter tip: understand what a 301 redirect is.
I just moved a pretty decently big site (250 pages), and had to make sure I did not slip in the search engines.
The site is a totally new way of presenting content to the world from this company, so I am tasked to make sure anyone who is used to coming here can still do so as they have been, and that new ones can find it as well. lots of new content, so lots of change and freshness to attract some attention - or at least, retain it.
Enter the 301 redirect.

Simple Explanation of 301 Redirects
If you don't already know, there are different codes that computers use for different types of commands and errors. Some of these commands are pretty universal across any computer, like a 404 error means a page can't be found, a 302 redirect is a temporary redirect to a different URL, and a 301 redirect is a permanent redirect of a URL.

You have a site, and want to move it. You want the old URLs to still find the new pages in the new place, so you push them forward with a little bit of code. The 301 redirect does this for you.

Conceptually, they are easy to understand.
Let's say, in the new site structure, what WAS a folder named "images" has had its content shifted to a new folder named "assets." Using a 301 redirect, you force requests for the old URL to find the new one. 301 simply means that permanently, this old URL will forever be this new one. The intent is that in time, the old URL will disappear, being replaced by the new one.

Your 301 might look something like this:
/images/my_image.jpg redirect /assets/my_image.jpg

You replace one url with the new one. In this example, I am using relative paths instead of absolute paths. It depends on how you deploy the 301 redirects as to which syntax is most appropriate for you - but whether it is best for the absolute or relative paths to be used, it is pretty easy to do this correctly.

The tricky thing about a 301 redirect, it the way that you handle it will depend on the server type and the kind of website you have built.

Lots of times, a simple solution is available. For example, on a Linux server, you can use what they call an ".htaccess" file to handle these commands for you, and very few things are easier to create that this file full of redirects. There is plenty of information on creating this file correctly out there. If you find you are using a Linux server and can use a .htaccess file, I strongly suggest getting to know this file, and what it can do for you.

Other times, like if you are using a Windows server or a technology that does not use a .htaccess file, you need to find what works within your situation. The variables you bring specifically will determine how you create and deploy this effort (one size will not necessarily fit all here).

In my case, once again I was not so lucky...this was not a Linux server. It was a Windows server, moving to another Windows server and a rather complex CMS/Portal solution. I had to find a different way to create my 301 redirects, and it was very important to get it right.

Research What Works
My best advice to an SEO writer to make the most of what a 301 can do, is know where to find answers for different situations you will encounter. Learn very specifically how a 301 works, and then learn how to code it in a couple different ways. Base your efforts on the ways that you usually code sites...be it in .php, .asp, .NET, or whatever. If you have a tendency to move sites to a specific type of web server, learn more about how to control and protect the information held by that server.

In my case, I asked the programmers what the server specs and site specs were, and found I could do my 301s most effectively using an XML file, which would be handled in a specific way by the CMS/portal we had in place. We tested a few urls, and created a snippet for me to work from.

I collected all known URLs, and connected them in a spread sheet to their new counterpoints. I wrote it in a syntax that would work for the CMS, creating the actual commands in the file using notepad, saving the final as an XML file...this was the researched and tested solution. The final 301 redirect sheet pushed more than 200 URLs to new locations.

In the end, I was able to protect my client's site through this very large-scale change.
I also created specific error page content to handle anything I did not repoint more specifically.
They were pleased the move went smoothly, and were glad I showed them all the links were working as we desired. It was all good.

Why is this important to a freelance SEO copywriter? Because the more you can offer to clients, the more valuable your services become to their projects. Show them continued, repeating value, and work then finds you. Cold calls will slow down as a necessity or even stop, and if you get lucky, you can get to hand-pick your clients.

I'd say that's worth it.

Please: Bring Me More Spam

I have to laugh.
Maybe just to keep from crying, but I have to laugh nonetheless.

In the year or more that I have run this blog (very quietly), I have dealt with probably 80-90 spam attcks.

This blog has no juice.

It is an intentional silo - unlinked, and unloved.

But thanks to search engine magic, it gets spammed at least once a week.
Because blog comments count!

Idiot search engines.

Make blog comments count, and automated blog comments are completely your fault.

Make blogs in general count, and they too, will be automated.

Put a fraction of a penny somewhere in the mix, and let the games begin.

So I'd like to thank the search engines for bringing me countless worthless visits, from bots and little automated scripts written by kids too scared to leave their Mom's basement.

As a freelance seo copywriter, this is all I could ever hope for, and so much more.

Thank you.

It's Something Personal

So in the past couple weeks, I have been really busy. But then I had some family members come into town, so I dropped everything and hung out for a while.

I have 4 live contracts right now, and one longer-term commitment. I have been writing and coding like a fiend - cranking out some of my best work ever.

So when these people came into town, I had to decide - stay on track, and keep slamming the deadlines, or take a few days off, go see some touristy things and spend some time with my family.

I opted for plan B here.

The Reason You Freelance
There might be many reasons for someone to get started in freelancing. For me, it was a way to build myself professionally while also retaining a sense of freedom in what I do, maintaining an ability to never stop enjoying life.

The past week had me at a fork in the road. I have been working like crazy lately - doing a ton of work for some great people. But my family doesn't make it to where I am too often, so I had to decide: do I risk my work flow, and possibly rock the relationships with my clients just to claim some "me" time?

Proud to say, the answer was yes. I was absolutely ready to risk what I was building for what I believed in. I felt this was a clear illustration of why I do what I do.

Besides, there was a Monet exhibition at the Atlanta High Museum, so I took my parents and we really had a time of things. I made big meals, we played cards and talked for a couple days in a row. It was wonderful, and I didn't even crack a laptop once the whole time.

Not Without Guilty Pangs
While I was enjoying time with my family, I didn't think much about work. But when I came back to it, I was pretty stressed. I had let my clients know that I had unexpected guests in an email to each of them. Two had responded pretty quickly and did not mind at all, but the other 2 were pretty quiet.

In fact, I didn't hear from them for 2 days.

What this did, was start the waves of guilt. I don't typically put my needs before the needs of my clients, so I was feeling a little guilty about doing it, even though I had tried to let them know. I was working on all 4 contracts again, but the fact that only 2 were acknowledging the fact I was a few days behind was messing with my head.

Then, on the third day, I heard from one more client, who was also fine with the delay. It so happened to be that he was out of town for a few days, and did not care at all that things were a few days later.

That left only one. And the buckets of self-loathing I was now sweating every day.

A Happy Ending
Glad to say, it all worked out fine. Better than fine, really...because I was reminded why I do what I do as a freelance seo writer - it's worth it helping good people.

As the week wore on, though I was working on 4 different projects, I dove particularly hard into the one client's contract. The guilt was now a sea, and I was far, far below the surface.

I was wondering if he was thinking of me as a guy who made excuses. I was wondering if he forgot that I had written many great pages for his website already. I even started wondering if he hated me, and thought I was not worth the efforts. (yes, it was pathetic)

But experience has shown me this is just in my head - and I need to simply relax, and let things work out how they will. I at least know now, not to do anything until I mellow out. It passes very quickly, and it is part of why I can do great work, because it matters to me, freelance seo writing is something I take very seriously. I take my work very personally.

And sure enough, in came his email.

The Pay-Off
This client reminded me why I hand-pick my clients now. He said, of course he understood, and he was glad I took the time off. He mentioned that my choice is the same one he would have made, and even though he wants his work done, he certainly wants me to be happy - so all was well.

The moral of all this, is I take what I do personally. This means some ups and downs, some anxieties and some celebrations. It means I am more than likely to occasionally demand some "me" time. Unfortunately, sometimes it means that I bring my personal baggage into the arena. I am working on making this not happen, but we are what we are, right?

And my clients are great folks. My folks are great folks.
And there is plenty of room in my life for all of them.

Freelance SEO Copywriter Tip: Blend Your Sources

Had a couple things recently on the gig that made me remember that blending the sources of information can be a crucial safeguard to freaking-out.

The first was a client with a SERP fluctuation for one keyword. I reported the slip for this keyword the day I saw it, and we have been watching it do some weird things (mostly bad). It basically fell from page one to page three for no apparent reason, and was a keyword this client had been actively building on for more than a year.

The owner was a little bit freaked, seeing his most targeted keyword getting dinged in Google. This is a relatively new client - I have only been helping them for a couple weeks so far. But in that time, I have not known them to freak out unnecessarily.

But experience told me not to join in the panic, and to look deeper into what could be happening.

I looked at some recent changes we had done, and nothing leapt out as unusual. I looked at the analytics of the web traffic and saw some interesting things, the most important one being, that visits were not down, and nor were conversions. Read that part again - it was the meaty bit.

Referrals were actually continuing to rise, and so though there was definitely less traffic coming in on this keyword, it only seemed to affect a direct match to this keyword...the long tail stuff was all intact. And more importantly, it was only visible in Google. Yahoo was holding steady, and Bing was cruising on fire.

The point is, I blended the information from a couple different sources, and did not let the one bad indicator make me believe it was all in trouble. Now this is not to say that I won't try to fix it. I actually believe it could be improperly weighted anchor text, and am taking some steps and continuing to watch it.

But the tip here, is once I was able to see, and make the point that the business was not suffering - just changing - the client was calmed down, and we can continue to try to find the issue with a coooler head and therefore a more detailed and methodical approach.

Story Two: A Slanted Source
The other illustration I had recently was a client who was tracking his site's ranking using a pretty outdated methodology. The source he was using was understandable, as it is pretty visible, and some people seem to value it (or did a few years back). But once you know how it collects its information, you know that this is a very limited option.

So in this case, it was not that the information he was reviewing was incorrect - it was simply one still frame of a larger moving picture. Nonetheless, it was making him a little sad to see a competitor overtake him. I don't like it when good clients are sad, so I asked him how he came to understand this competitor was doing better than him. The answer was this outdated technology told him so.

The thing I did, was show the client the small print in the software he was using to show where some of the shortcomings were later identified by other sources I trust. I showed my client some newer versions of the one he was using, as well as additional ones he could strategically employ in his SEO evaluations - many were free, and others had fees equal to or less than what he was used to paying.

What it did, was show him that one source of information is not a holy edict. None of the tools I showed him would necessarily be the single answer he needs either - but by blending a bunch of the information from a variety of sources, he'll get a much more clear picture of what is happening out there.

And that seemed like a perfect thing to offer you here as an seo freelancer tip...find multiple sources of data that you can trust, and learn the value of using the information together.

Work Again Postpones Work

Landed a couple of great copywriting gigs. One is pretty SEO-heavy - building out a catalog of really nice product descriptions. The other is more generalized - I am doing some press releases and content pages for a retailer.

But both gigs are the result of cold calls from the site. The site is old, and I was in the process of updating it...but now I am sidetracked again with other things to do.

Unfortunately, this is a trade I have had to make repeatedly over the last year or so....but I will get to my rebuild sooner than later. It is a personal goal more than anything else, because professionally this old site seems to do just fine for me.

Knowing Your Limits
So the SEO copywriting tip that best applies to my situation here, is to know your limits. For instance, I know, with the 2 newly signed clients, one other new one I have starting later this week, and the existing clients I serve regularly, I am pretty much at maximum capacity for the next 3 months. This is great - I look forward to the new work, and the money will be nice when it is all said and done.

But at this point, I need to be really careful in balancing my workload and managing my client's expectations. If I am not careful, being busy becomes being frantic, and that hurts the copy and that is never good. I know my limits, and I am about there right now - very comfortably busy, but not frantic or harried. I don't want it to go any further.

However, freelancing experience tells me that when it rains, it truly pours. So I expect more of this - more cold calls and existing relationships asking for favors and projects. And I'll need to determine when enough is enough.

Usually, I determine whether or not I can do more work based on the creative demands I have during any given day. To me, most site building and code maintenance is pretty easy to do on auto-pilot, while writing can be much more mentally demanding.

And there is a definite sway of the dollar to consider. If I have a client that I know pays well and is responsive, I am much more inclined to do all I can to keep them wanting more. If a client is a demanding, cheap, pain-in-the-butt (and believe it or not, there are a few) I feel no anguish in letting them find someone else.

I will end up picking the jobs I most want to do, and either delaying or passing completely on the rest. I do my best to be judicious in evaluating the demands of each experience, so I can feel like each is receiving my best. My clients are paying me to make sure of it, and I don't disappoint.

But I do so often get a little too happy with my commitments...Iwant to do everything for everybody all the time, so I might get a little overwhelmed if I am not careful. I will do my best to follow my own advice here.

And I will also take the problem of being too darn busy...it is a really nice problem to have.

Collecting those Cold Calls

The past 2 weeks has been pretty busy fielding calls from new potential clients. While I typically get a few every month, just last week I had 4 which seemed a little on the busy side.

This tells me that people are probably looking for some relief from this economic crunch. Revising or building new stuff is a great way for them to improve their businesses.

The cool thing, is that of the cold calls I have received, only one has been from here in Atlanta. I can see by my web traffic analytics that I get people from all over the world looking at my stuff.

In the past 3 years, I have maintained almost 70% of my traffic from the organic search engines. And these recent inquiries prove it: I am hardly local.

Why It Matters
The fact that I get people from wherever calling me about business means that I want my message to reflect this. While I don't think it necessarily does at the moment, as I revise and rewrite my stuff I will need to keep this in mind. Much of what I do has no geographical specification, but I want to purposefully remain aware of what my message might mean, depending on who is reading it, where.

So for you, o' my aspiring freelance seo writer, this means a couple things:

1. NEVER underestimate the power of the Internet and a decent site on it. Remember: I am not reaching out to these potential clients, they continue to find me. And my site is old, pretty weakly written and was only halfway optimized over 4 years ago. But it still works!
2. Remember: you are likely talking to more people than you realize, and many messages you might think are short lived will actually find a way to stick around for years.
3. Start early with good habits regarding refreshing your own content. I am horrible about this, and so my site doesn't as accurately represent me as it could. So while I may be having some great calls lately - how many am I missing? How many more could I get?

Hopefully, a few of these calls turn into new relationships. I liked the people I have been speaking with - we'll have to see if I make the right fit for them.

In the meantime, I am starting to revise and reform my own messaging. And my new direction will assume that I can get people from all over the place to see it, and that it might live much longer online than perhaps it should.