thatwordchick

Clearly your past success speaks to your skill level, so I doubt I can “reinvent the wheel,” so to speak. As a writer/editor though, I will tell you that your capitalization is all over the place and makes you look a little sloppy / unprofessional. When I’m working with clients outside of America, in casual / introductory text where they give their name, I also recommend a quick pronunciation add-in - that’s entirely your decision, and not strictly necessary, but it might help make you look more approachable to American/English clients, even if you never verbally speak to them. For example, in your bio here, if I was correcting the capitalization and adding in something like that, it might look like (I’m putting it in as a picture so no one steals it from you - also, I took a guess at your name? It may not be pronounced like that, if I got it wrong, I apologize! 🙂 ) image704×96 6.53 KB

Found this awesome reminder today, too: [If a client tells you “I know people that charge less,” respond “I got clients that pay more.” Keep developing skills to the level that allows you to work with whoever you want to. Value your work and effort.] May be an image of 2 people and text that says 'IF A CLIENT TELLS YOU: "I know people that charge less" RESPOND: got clients that pay more" Keep developing skills to the level that allows you to work with whoever you wan to. VALUE YOUR WORK AND EFFORT.'526×515 43.4 KB

I love this idea. I’d be totally behind it - maybe even tie it to fractional stock in the company 😃

Aw man, what a GREAT video! No, this is fantastic and I’m so glad you added it here. Everyone should see this!

I see a lot of advice that encourages the freelance tropes - the idea that we’re all workaholic night owls, perpetually hunched over keyboards, waiting at the beck and call of potential clients. Never log out… Always be agreeable to clients… Give free samples or mock ups… Answer right away… If you needed an experienced professional to give you permission, in plain words, here it is: it’s okay to be a human being. Never give out free work. No samples. No mockups. Period. That’s what your portfolio is for! If they can’t judge the quality and capability of your work from your portfolio, they’re likely going to be a pain anyway. (Editing to add: make sure your portfolio DOES reflect your capability, though - if it’s just an image with some text like “I do X, Y, and Z!” and there are no pictures of your actual work, change that. If a client can’t see your work within a few seconds, statistically you’ve probably already lost them!) Do not offer discounts or give in to buyers begging for one because they’re a “start up.” You were a start up too, and no one paid you more because you were new, right? Don’t give them something they’d never extend to you. No arbitrary discounts, especially for new clients asking “can you just…” or promising future work. Spoiler alert: that future work, if it even manifests, is going to be expected at the lower rate. You wouldn’t let your boss at a conventional job just randomly pay you less per hour because they felt like it, right? So don’t do it here. Do not feel bad about taking days where you don’t schedule work or respond to messages. In conventional jobs, people don’t “swing by the office” to see if they can work on something - they enjoy their days off and use them to get personal things accomplished. Do that. Your sanity will thank you. Some clients are going to be in different time zones. Answer when it’s appropriate for your time zone. Otherwise, you’re setting up a precedent of answering questions at 3am in your time and the client’s going to get testy when that’s not the norm. Value yourself, your time, and your work - a freelancer is no different than any other worker, and we deserve the same dignity and consideration as those “protected” under a conventional job. It may mean we have to be a little more firm about boundaries with clients, but you can do so while remaining polite and businesslike. I reject at least 2 or 3 jobs every day because I know in my heart they’re a poor fit, either price-wise, effort-wise, or expectation-wise. I just steer those clients back to the Fiverr marketplace and explain there’s a ton of talent that would suit their needs better than me, and they’re all ready to work.

Anyone who loves ambient sounds (e.g. the murmur of conversation in a coffee shop), may I suggest: https://www.ambient-mixer.com/ - they have a bit of everything, from the usual rainfall / background murmur stuff up to specialized things like the “Gryffindor Common Room” and you can adjust each track to your liking, including the frequency of sound effects like page turning. 🙂

Heck yeah! I came here to post this. jazz lover fist bump

Patrick, unfortunately that’s VERY common here. I get at least a few messages a week with people proposing that sort of thing. They ask you to take it to “hype with an s” because Fiverr has no authority there and they (the buy-your-account idiots) can spam and swindle to their heart’s content. Just report them, ignore them, and move on. Do not take any conversation to email, “hype with an s” or any other contact method off of Fiverr, because it’s against the TOS and it could get you deactivated, even though it’s a scammer trying to get you to go there. You’ll start to recognize their opening schtick before too long so you don’t waste time on them. They pretty much all cut and paste the same thing.