A baker’s dozen great freelancer’s resources

Posted by Doug on December 2, 2008

Illustration: dh

Many people who work in home offices are freelancers of one sort or another, so I’ve been looking around for as many good resources for freelancers as I could find.  If you’re trying to make a go of it as a freelance writer, Web developer, graphic designer, consultant, photographer or whatever, I’m guessing you’re going to find something here that will be useful to you.  Here’s my list so far:

1. Freelance Switch

Freelance Switch not only sports a great line-up of articles and resources about freelancing, but they’ve also got a valuable (and inexpensive) job board.  The concept is brilliant: you can advertise a freelance job for free, and freelancers pay only $7/month to apply for any of the jobs on the board–pretty much an “everyone wins” deal.

2. Freelance Folder

Oriented towards freelancers and Web-workers, Freelance Folder is another source for helpful articles on a wide variety of topics–productivity, creativity, marketing, and the freelance life in general.  There’s a lot of good stuff here.

3. JD’s Blog

If you’ve got entrepreneurship coursing through your veins, you’ll probably profit greatly from hanging out at JD’s Blog.  You’ll find many articles about how to build better businesses, from virtually every conceivable angle–marketing, tips and tools for entrepreneurs, finances and investing, and a lot more.  (As of this writing, the last post to JD’s Blog was in October, so I’m hopeful they’re just on a brief hiatus–but there is still a ton of useful content there.)

The rest of the resources below are individual articles from a variety of blogs (including those mentioned above), but when you go to look at them, be sure to spend some time on these sites, because you’ll likely find other stuff that you can use.

4. 101 Essential Freelancing Resources

This Freelance Switch article is a very long list of all kinds of resources–tools and Web sites for things like time tracking, invoicing, project management, business tools, job boards, Web site and blogging tools, and advertising and marketing tools and resources.  “Essential” is the right word for this piece.

5. Freelancer’s Toolbox–30+ Online Freelance Resources

This article from Mashable.com is another great list of useful online resources for the freelancer.  Lots of great stuff to browse here.

6. 20 Resources for Freelancers

This article is from Tutorial Blog–there’s some duplication with the lists above, but you’ll find some other stuff here, too, and this site is definitely worth a look.

7. The Freelance Writing FAQ

Writing for newspapers and magazines is the bread and butter of many freelancers, and this article at Creating Marketing Solutions is a very helpful set of answers.  If you’re just starting out, do yourself a favor and get up to speed with this FAQ.

8. Tools for Freelancers

This Society of Professional Journalists article is a great source of information for the freelance journalist, and the resources referenced span a wide range of topics, from tax guidelines to professional organizations to writer’s conferences and such.  Put that j-school degree to work.

9. Ebook Writing and Marketing Secrets

Ebooks are all over the place, and people are buying them.  If you have what it takes to write them, you could stay pretty busy and do pretty well.  This site explains how.

10. Resources for Freelance Web Designers

Here’s a list of resources with a practical, nuts-and-bolts feel.  There’s stuff here about dealing with clients, protecting your work, online portfolios, social networking sites for designers, and more.

11. 53 Steps to follow if you want to become a freelance Web designer/developer

No-nonsense introduction to the process involved in becoming a good Web designer or developer–good stuff, and most of the steps link to resources for further reading.

12. The Ultimate list of Freelancing Resources (1-25)
The Ultimate list of Freelancing Resources (26-50)

These articles comprise a list of 50 articles about freelancing–a lot of helpful content here.

13.  25 tips by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs

This article contains a set of valuable tips–practical stuff–but be sure to check out the collection of articles on entrepreneurship at the end of the article.

If you know of other great freelancing resources out there that I’ve missed, please post a comment and a link.

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How to learn the Web development skills that will keep you working

Posted by Doug on October 24, 2008

Photo: batega

There was a great article recently over on NetTuts called “10 Most Sought-after Skills in Web Development”–very helpful information for those of us who are trying to make it as freelance Web developers. But are those skills really within reach for someone who may not necessarily have a programming background?  The answer is a qualified “yes,” if:

• you have a working knowledge of HTML and CSS
• you know your way around PHP enough to make simple modifications to a script
• you’re willing to take some time to study and experiment
• you’ve got patience, determination and a desire to learn something new
• you know where to find tutorials, references and examples to learn from

And although you’re more or less on your own for the first four of those bullet points, this article is intended to help you with the last one.  This is Part One of a two-part article on where to find the information and resources you need to acquire some of the Web development skills that can make you a better developer and equip you to keep working in challenging economic times.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

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Intellectual property resources (guest-post at Freelance Switch)

Posted by Doug on

My latest piece at Freelance Switch

Although I don’t have any real data to back this up, I suspect that many of those of us who work from home offices are engaged in one form of creative endeavor or another, which means we are creating intellectual property that has value.  In some cases, we retain ownership of that property, and in some cases we do it on behalf of someone else and they own it.  If the very thought of what that means is beginning to make your head hurt, you might want to go check out my latest guest-post over at FreelanceSwitch.com, titled “7 Intellectual Property Resources Every Freelancer Should Know About.”  It may not stop your head from hurting, but it will point you to the kind of information you need to intelligently discuss your intellectual property rights and issues with a lawyer, or to protect your creative work.

If you like the article, I’d be ever so grateful if you Stumbled it while you’re there.  Thanks!

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Could a podcast help promote your business?

Posted by Doug on October 1, 2008

If you’ve ever considered putting together a podcast to support your home-business, freelance work, or other passion, you might want to check out my guest-post on FreelanceSwitch.com.  Podcasting might be a great way to promote what you do!

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