Hi,

As writers, we put a lot of effort into trying to make our words sound right. When we write for the Internet, the standard rule of thumb is “write like you talk.” Keep it a little more casual and conversational. I certainly try to write that way, but there is one little word that catches a lot of us up. the word is “that.” It can slip into our writing far more often than we realize and we may never notice it when we proofread our own work.

Here’s an easy trick: When you finish writing your piece, use the “Find” feature in your Editing toolbar. Search out all the times you use the word in your document. Carefully look at each sentence and see if the word “that” can simply be removed. Many times it can – without changing the meaning of the sentence at all. In fact, taking it out will tighten up your writing a lot. Other times, you can simply change the verb and the word that is no longer necessary.

Whether you’re a new writer or an old hand, run a search for the word “that” to make sure your writing is staying sharp! It’s an easy habit to slip into – and THAT just won’t do!

Technorati Tags: freelance writing

First, I join in the celebration of the inauguration of our new President today! No matter what your political viewpoints, today is so monumental to see our country welcome our first African American President. Let this be the beginning of true change- where finally we do treat all people as equals in this country. I am thrilled to watch the changes in store for us as a country!

Second, on a personal selfish note: I just won a new computer. Shoemoney.com ran a contest for a new i7 Intel computer. I know I don’t even have a clue how awesome this machine is, but I sure can’t wait to see it! Dual 24″ monitors and speed like I’ve never seen!!  Now I will have to break into some video on the blog here!! Stay tuned for that- it’s bound to be a kick!!

Have an awesome day today! Take the time out to watch the inauguration- it’s too important to miss!

And, hey, while you are here, sign up for the RSS feed over there on your right so you don’t miss a video- COMING SOON!  Woo Hoo! Thanks, Shoemoney!

As a freelancer, I spend a fair portion of my time searching for clients and markets for my work. Client hunting is not my favorite sport. In fact, it can feel like a struggle on the best of days

Like a lot of freelancers, I love working with regular, ongoing clients. I enjoy the interaction of getting to know my clients and their businesses. For me, I think it helps me become a more effective writer for them. As I learn more about how they work with their customers and how certain things work better for them than others, I can drill down deeper with my content and zero in on their target market.

Of course, I work hard to hit that target from the onset, but I think consistently working with the same client/freelancer combo works well for me and my clients. I write regularly for several of the same clients that I did a year or more ago, so I think they are happy with the situation as well.

Regardless of regular clients, however, we all have to get out there with our pitches and proposals to land a new gig. So where do you look for new clients?

Job Listings for Freelancers

I have a few sources that have worked well for me. There are a lot of great resources out there and most of them won’t get mentioned in this list. Not because I don’t like them or find them useful, but just because they aren’t in my regular hunting expeditions.

Guru.com can be a great place for a freelancer to find clients. Sure there are plenty of customers on Guru.com that are looking for “quality writers that will write 500 word articles for $1 each” but that holds true for any job source. There are too many people out there who aren’t willing to pay a writer a living wage and unfortunately, there are too many writers out there that will work for those wages, but that’s another post. I have found some excellent clients through Guru.com and have made excellent money through them as well.

Anne Wayman posts a freelancing blog with gigs that comes out every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Again, you take the bad with the good, but there is definitely good on this list.

Deb Ng has a very popular freelance job blog as well. Always worth a look.

Suzanne Franco puts out the Freelance Daily newsletter. You’ll pay an extremely small pittance for Suzanne’s list, but it’s worth every penny.

ProBlogger has blogging jobs on a blog and these are another great client source.

Twitter (follow me here) is another great source of client connections. Do your networking on Twitter. Make friends with folks and develop some relationships. If you do this from a genuine place and keep it real, you will absolutely gain clients from Twitter if that is your goal.
I decided to start running a special on Twitter to gain new clients- as well as provide a really great deal to my Tweeple. It has taken off very nicely and has brought me several new clients in a week’s time.

Hunting for clients can be a tricky sport. You need to balance between charging enough and not charging so much you can’t get work. You need to keep a constant eye on your total schedule to make sure you don’t take on more than you can handle. You need to communicate effectively with your clients to make sure you are giving them what they need. You need to do your gig hunting and then get to work on the clients you already have. There are a lot of pieces to keeping the balls all juggling at the proper pace so they don’t all land on yoru head!

Tell Me More!!

Where do you search for clients? Add your favorites to this list. Go ahead- there’s plenty to share. Tell us the good stuff- I just did!