Like most freelancers I know, I check Craigslist on a regular basis. Lately I’ve noticed the gig and jobs lists have become a venting ground for frustrated writers and designers who feel the need to lambaste ads and companies asking for free and cheap services. And this puzzles me. For one, why waste your time? And secondly, if it weren’t for those no-pay and cheap gigs, many freelancers wouldn’t be getting the paid gigs they’re getting today.

Internships and apprenticeships have been around for as long as specialized skills have been in demand. But today’s economy has changed the structure of these long revered traditions where speedy growth and advancement is the name of the game. Instead, the tendency is to offer one time or irregular gigs and newbies in the field use these to build a portfolio of experience they can’t get because no one will hire them without experience. And there’s nothing wrong with it. As long as it’s win-win.

I have a master’s in writing but I still needed to pay my dues when I headed into freelancing. I did a few articles for nothing but publications credits, wrote a few books for what seemed pennies an hour, and did graphics work pro bono for non-profits and friends. These slave wage gigs are what landed me a three month, full-time contract and several articles with a major national magazine and ever since, I have been able to get great contracts with livable fees writing and producing the kind of work I had set out to do.

Now, there are a lot of slime balls out there who ask for the most unreasonable things and are only concerned about what they can get out of the relationship. But there are plenty of fledgling companies and individuals who just need help with basic services to get their business or project off the ground. These are great time investments for a greenhorn freelancer, especially with new companies since it gets you in on the ground floor and if you do good work for them, they are likely to come back to you when they need more consistent or advanced work. Just let the prospect know what you need to get out of the project and if it’s by-line credits, reprint rights, items for your portfolio, etc. be sure you are guaranteed these things in the contract you have with them.

Alternatively, if you are one of those fledgling businesses who are strapped for cash, don’t feel bad asking for low or no cost services, just be certain you are able to offer something of high value in return. Be prepared to give testimonials and references as needed, don’t ask for the entire production to be off limits for use in their portfolio, and if they are a great resource, return a favor and recommend them to others.

No money doesn’t mean no value. There are many things in this world that just can’t be bought. It just needs to be valuable for both sides.

When consulting for new businesses and solopreneurs, one of the first questions I will ask when we get to marketing matters is “Who is your market?” A great a deal of the time, I get the answer “Everybody!”. Even with a little pushing for a better definition most clients will still insist their market is a large generalized group with only one or two characteristics to define them such as “Anyone that needs a website” or “Any woman who like jewelry” or “Anyone who likes a good book” But such statements are:

1. Never true.
2. Representative of a marketing plan that is doomed to fail

Your market is always a very specific set of people. Take the website designer who says his market is anyone who wants a website. As one guy, is a big corporation who wants a 1000 page catalog site done in 2 months even possible for him to take on? Or is the hobbyist who will only spend $100 on a 5 page site, really the kind of client he wants to work with all the time? Is he going to be able to do a site for a hard-core gangsta rapper and still get the contract for that conservative local church?

The point is, you don’t market to a wide variety, or the fringe and oddball possibilities. You market to your specific core of people which may incidentally get you buyers or clients in other market segments but you don’t waste time chasing that. If you aim for too broad a market, you spread your efforts too thin to be effective with any one section of your market.

But who is your market? You probably already know, you’ve just never defined them. Take some time to do so now. Sit down and write out what your ideal, mostly likely to return for more, individual or company client or buyer is like. Characteristics should include:

1. Economic level (income for individuals, profit range for business)
2. Size of family or business (single, married, young family, empty nest; solopreneurs, small business, mid-size, large corporation)
3. Age (age range for individuals; start-up, established, or generational for business)
4. Ethnicity/Culture
5. Social &/or political leanings (conservative/liberal, primary social activity type, amount of social interaction, subcultures)
6. Interests and/or hobbies
7. The individual’s or company’s goals/concerns
8. Geographic location (local, state, national, international)
9. Type of location (urban, suburban, metropolitan, etc.)
10. Where they get general information (newspapers, TV, internet, networking, gossip, etc.)
11. Where they shop or go to find services
12. And whatever else you can think of …

Answering these questions will draw for you a picture of your typical buyer/client that you should keep in mind when making every marketing decision. If you have the talent, drawing an actual picture of your ideal person or business can help tremendously. I had a client who printed pictures off the internet and cut out photos from magazines of the particular type of people he was marketing to. It’s kind of like when you go to buy a birthday gift, you keep the person you are buying for in mind, usually visually. Do the same when planning your marketing (also when developing your product).

When planning your marketing, act like you’re shopping for a gift, and ask yourself what kind of gift they would like most (what products to focus on), what they need right now (how your product can solve their problems or fulfill a desire), how they will respond to different types of gifts (marketing materials), and how to wrap it (method of delivery).

Or you can just do something general like so many businesses do—kind of like spending you Christmas gift budget on sending everyone you have ever known a generic Christmas card. Many may read it but then it gets tossed and forgotten. Wouldn’t it have been better to spend your money on a few stunning gifts for the key people you want to impress so they’ll go around and talk about what you gave them?

Aim for impressing your key market. If your product is that good, they will tell others and expand your market for you.

Making a living off your creative endeavors is a very different thing from working just about any other kind of job or owning any other kind of business. You usually work from home, work odd, long hours and often need plenty of solitary time to get into the zone and create. People who aren’t creatives tend to have a hard time understanding this. That’s why establishing a work schedule and communicating with the people that matter to you is so vitally important.

First, you need to have a schedule you know you can work with. Assuming you already have some experience in your craft, consider the conditions under which you work best. What time of day are you most productive and/or when will clients or customers need to get a hold of you? Can these times coincide or will you need separate hours for business versus creative time? What hours work best around other obligations you might have or when your family is most demanding of your time? Determine a schedule from this and then stick to it. Consider getting software you can use to clock in and to both track your time and give you that feeling of being “on the clock”.

Then tell all your friends and family what your work hours are and be firm about not being available during those hours. Posting signs that say “Do not disturb” or “Working” will signal to the household to leave you be. Don’t take phone calls from friends during that time either. Your working hours are for work only, just as it would be if you worked for someone else.

Often the hardest part for our significant others to understand is the necessity for solitary time as wanting time to yourself can feel like a form of rejection to others. Take time to describe to your family and close friends what being in the zone means and how interruptions will just slow down your creative process. To keep those in your home from being tempted to stop and talk to you, work in a separate room or erect a barrier if you must work in an open room. If home is just too disruptive, take your work elsewhere, such as a library or coffeehouse if you can transport your work on a laptop. If you are an artisan, look into co-op studios where you can get time away from the distractions of home and be surrounded by a supportive community of other artists.

The bottom line is, if you are going to try and make a living off your creative work, you need to schedule it like a job and get everyone close to you to understand it has the same kind of restrictions and priorities as their work.

But you can keep the fact that doing what you love doesn’t feel like work, all to yourself.

First of all, I apologize if the title of this blog gets that Bonnie Raitt song stuck in your head. If it makes you feel any better, it’s torturing me non-stop as I write this. But I figure it could be worse so, onto my thoughts sans the theme music.

I spend a fair amount of time emphasizing word of mouth as a primary goal when consulting with clients on marketing their services & goods. I often refer to it as encouraging the messenger (see ‘It’s the Messenger not the Message’  http://asageinreallife.com/?p=31) because as one person (or even as a small team) you can only reach a relatively small number of people in a real, connected manner so you need your contacts and network to connect with their people and pass on your message. But the question is, what will motivate them to recommend you?

Seth Godin got me thinking about this after I read his blog about what he calls ‘the first circle. Basically he’s just bringing into focus how important your connection is to your immediate contacts versus worrying about the number of contacts you have. (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/09/the-big-drop-off.html) That’s because you aren’t really marketing to your first circle as much as trying to market through them.

Your first circle–or first messengers or direct connects, whatever you want to call them–are the people you want to spend your resources on. If you skimp and do nothing but Twitter about what you have for sale, you aren’t going to have much effect. You need to give them a reason to pass the word along, a reason to talk about you.

You can do this a number of ways. Making humorous comments, videos, and pictures are great as are items that are visually or situationally amazing –just think of what makes the biggest hits on YouTube and what most of your forwarded emails are about.  Sending out messages with items of high value to your market such as novel advice or links to great resources will make people remember you. My favorite method of connecting and getting my messengers to pass the word along, though, is to help them out first. Appreciation is an intense motivator.

Instead of wasting time (and money) sending out announcements and sales pitches, try investing your time and effort in personally chatting with your contacts–especially to encourage or compliment. Buy a product or employ their services if they have something to sell. Or help them in their endeavors by spreading the word, offering your professional advice for free, or connecting them with others who can help them out further.

If you do things like this, your first circle is going to talk about you. Not only that, but you will also get that very necessary personal interaction that will translate into more enthusiasm for your own work and industry, not to mention the seredipitous encounters that result in great friendships and even business ventures along with more sales and exposure.

So go ahead … give them something to talk about. Then go throw on a CD of Patsy Cline or Queen or whatever floats your boat to get that song out of your head. Sorry about that …

Building a creative life can be tough, especially on the financial front. Because of that most creatives try to do everything themselves including building a website, writing promotional copy, building a blog, doing the accounting, etc. It may seem to save money to do it yourselves but often it will actually cost you much more than it would to pay someone else to do it.

Say what?

Yep, the end result of actually paying someone else can quite often put more money in your pocket than it would if you tried to do it yourself. Why is that?

Because when you are not creating your primary work you are not building your portfolio, you are not honing your skills, and you are not able to take on as many contracts or produce as much inventory to sell. Simply put, you could be stunting the growth of your business and missing out on money making opportunities.

So how do you know when to contract out the work you need done?

Well, let’s say you spend 20 hours building a website but your business is making custom clothing. What is the value of the clothes you could have created in that 20 hours? Maybe $400 or $500 worth? Wouldn’t it be better to pay someone else to build a website for $400 while you make that money doing what you do best? Chances are you’ll end up with a better website done in less time because you’re paying another creative to do what they do best.

Even if you don’t have a lot of cash to work with you can still employ others to do what needs to be done. Send out an offer to barter to your network, mailing list, or on a Craigslist ad. Look for students or new entrepreneurs trying to build a business who would be willing to do it on the cheap. Offer to do a write up on your blog or put a link on your site in exchange for a discount.

Bottom line–never do it yourself if you can pay someone the same or less than it would cost if you had to pay yourself for the time you would spend on the task. I know this idea seems foreign but if you can spend more time creating, you build your reputation, portfolio, and client base that much faster. Which in the end means more business and more money.

There’s always something you don’t want to do

Working as a creative is definitely more fun than the 9-5 grind. But it has its aspects that aren’t so very creative or fun. In fact, some are just downright exasperating. Like taxes. And invoicing. And business reports. And cleaning the studio …

For all that we enjoy in our business there seems to be almost as many things we really don’t want to do. Well, here are a few tips to get you through those dreaded tasks and back to the fun stuff.

1. Do it now! Kind of a mantra of mine, this philosophy has the most amazing effect. Instead of watching that pile of receipts grow or spending all day moaning about the client calls you have to make, just do it and do it now. Don’t think about it. When the task appears, get it done and get rid of it. You will stop wasting time hating the task and find your business so much more enjoyable. Try it for a week and see how much easier your whole business seems.
2. The 60 second Start rule: Tell yourself you only need to spend 60 seconds on a task. If after 60 seconds you still can’t stand doing it, go off and do something else. However, most of the time, once you get going, it won’t be so bad and you can just kick it out. Or you will simply get it done 60 seconds at a time.
3. The 60 second Finish rule: If any portion of the task will take less than 60 seconds, you have absolutely no excuse in the world not to do that part now (goes back to tip #1). When can’t you spare 60 seconds? If you set it up so it’s easy to do the work (cleaning items are ready to use in your studio, you do all your business forms on-line, etc.) you can get a lot done in random 60 second chunks.
4. Challenge yourself: This works particularly well if you have a competitive spirit. Just time yourself each time you clean or input receipts (still being meticulous about the numbers!) or give yourself a little side goal for your client call (like simply making your stodgy client laugh) and see if you can do it. Then once it’s done, reward yourself with a fun video game, a tasty treat, or an afternoon off if it was a big task.

The only other alternative is to pay someone to do the work for you. And that really is a viable alternative. As my economist father would say, if you can pay someone to do it for a lower hourly average than your average hourly, you’re just losing money doing it yourself. It’s something to consider.

In the meantime, just get ‘er done and get back to your creative endeavors.

When trying to get work or sales, go big. Don’t be tentative or start small. It’s like playing the stock market. If you only put in a few bucks on a questionable stock, you won’t get much back if anything. There’s just no point in doing that. However, if you put a good chunk of money on a few proven stocks, chances are you will get a very decent return. What you put out in both time and money to build your business needs to be similarly worthwhile.

For instance, if you are going to advertise, don’t keep putting up .20 cents a day banners on small sites with low traffic. Instead, spend $200 on a small color ad in a moderately well circulated magazine that people re-read such as technique and visual magazines. People will be seeing that ad for months if not years.

If you peruse the on-line lists and services for clients and projects, don’t bid on just one at a time and then hope it comes in. Write up a few template proposals with fill-in the blank sections to customize the bid with your relevant experience and how you can help them (it’s always ‘how you can help’ not ‘this is why you should pick me’) as well as the bid details, and send out several a day. You might get multiple acceptances at the same time but then you get to pick and choose.

Same thing goes with all your networking. If you have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and/or MySpace get on there every day and interact with people. That stuff only works if you use it often enough so people know who you are and remember you when they need help with their website or need a cool handmade present for a picky relative. Same goes for blogs—if you have one, contribute several times a week which gives you more for the search engines to find and gives readers a reason to follow you. It’s all top of the mind marketing and promotes word of mouth.

If you have to budget your time and funds (and we all should to some degree), then go as big as you can with what you have. Don’t blog and keep up four or five social networking accounts if you can’t put aside the 2-3 hours every day to attend to them. Pick just a couple online services and work on them well and often. If you can’t put out a few hundred for an ad each quarter, don’t spend money on advertising. Spend what you can on improving your website and SEO or to get a customized Twitter background or new business cards.

It just comes down to, don’t do it unless you can do it well. Otherwise it’s just wasted time and effort.

Have you ever gone to see a live band you knew nothing about because of some flyer that said ” Best music you will ever hear!” or some such claim? How about when a friend tells you the exact same thing about the same band? Will you consider checking them out now? Quite likely (depending on the friend’s taste in such things, of course!). Why?

You already know the answer. Its because you trust the source is passing on information they think will benefit you, not just because they want to sell you something.  That’s why word of mouth is so valuable. And why networking can be such a goldmine. ‘Can be” being the key phrase.

Networking gives you an amazing reach, helping you get in contact with large portions of your market that would be difficult to contact otherwise. But unless people recommend you or you are seen as a like-able and trusted source, all your networking efforts are not going to get you anywhere.

For example, no one likes spammers. But they infiltrate every networking site on the web. However, it literally takes millions of messages for them to hit upon one newbie that isn’t going to think they are a scam AND wants what they’re selling. But for a business that wants to build a reputation and a loyal market, that is not going to work.

So the first rule of cultivating yourself as a trusted source (and getting those who trust you to spread the word) is “Don’t overwhelm and annoy your market”. No 20 tweets an hour or emails every day. You will get ignored with this approach. Your complete disregard for people’s time will only result in people dropping off your email  and twitter followers lists. It’s a waste of time.

The second rule is simply “Build trust by being real.” so you can be considered a reliable messenger and others will become messengers for you. Building trust takes work but it’s not hard work.

• Reach out personally to people. Personal contact is so rare that most people will decided to check your business out just because of that, regardless of your message or product.
• Be helpful. There is not better way to build trust or gain fans than to offer truly useful assistance.
• Be comical and lighthearted. It doesn’t matter how serious your business is, life is funny and people like to laugh. Laugh at yourself, make quips about your product, and laugh at other people’s funnies. If you can laugh, especially at yourself, people will trust you.
• Interact with people. Pass on recommendations from people in your network and when posting information, make it useful so people want to come to you for information. Answer every message and email  you get. If you just can’t do it personally, pay someone to do it for you–it is that important. Ignoring people is the best way to turn off a potential customer or client and start bad word of mouth.

Yes, all this can be very time consuming, at least initially. I used to spend half or more of my time just chasing work but now, I rarely have to, with work coming to me through repeat business from loyal clients and great word of mouth. I spent a lot of time initially building trust and rapport through my networks and existing clients and now, it’s more just maintenance.

So go ahead, just be real. Be human. Be the kind of person you’d trust to steer you to businesses you want to deal with.