Learning from Business Mistakes
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." - John Wooden
Now I don't know who John Wooden is, but I do know that I make mistakes - a lot of mistakes.
Last week, I had the dubious distinction of being the only person I know of to trip going UP the stairs. I was carrying a cup of coffee in my left hand and a piece of toast in my right and ascending the stairs to start work for the day. My dog, Shadow, raced up to my right just as my left moccasin slipped off my foot. I caught my foot on the stairwell, and pitched forward.
In a split second, I had to decide, "Do I save the coffee, the toast, or me?" Well, the coffee sloshed over, the toast landed butter-side down, and I did a nice forearm-face-butt plant that left impressive bruises on my now coffee-splattered personage.
My dog, of course, looked concerned, then snatched up the piece of toast with glee. So much for man, or woman's best friend.
I was thinking about that fall today. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone falls now and then. In business, we make lots of mistakes. We hire the wrong person. We invest time and energy into projects that fizzle out. We launch a new website only to realize that it's not responsive. We make a typo in the annual report, or print a sign that says CHRIS IS RISEN instead of, you know, the son of God, Christ. (I saw that one on Facebook and truly appreciated it as only a writer can appreciate such a magnificent typo.)
After a fall, what do you do? Do you pick yourself up and keep going? Do you nurse your wounds and bemoan your fate? Do you blame others?
When I told my husband later about my fall, he had a good laugh, then asked, "Did Shadow trip you?" I could easily have blamed the dog. Heck, I could even have blamed my moccasins. They are too loose, anyway. But neither caused my fall. I was trying to hurry to work. I was carrying too many things. I'd filled my coffee cup to the brim. It was that kind of a day. It all added up to a spectacular trip and fall that ruined a good piece of toast and necessitated an impromptu scrubbing of my wooden steps.
When mistakes happen, you can blame the dog, your shoe, or your slippery steps. Or you can simply laugh and say, "Yes, I tripped and made a mistake." Then you grab the paper towels and start mopping up the mess.
Good business people know that grabbing the paper towels, mopping up the mess, feeding the rest of the toast to the dog and giving yourself a refill on the coffee is what to do next. It's really no use blaming spilled coffee, loose shoes or slippery steps. Instead, take immediate action to claim and own your mistake...then fix it.
I think you can tell a lot about a person by the bruises they wear and the blame they affix on others. We can only progress in our careers and lives if we accept responsibility for things that are our fault. More importantly, when problems and mistakes happen, we have to be the strong shoulders to bear the load and fix the problem.
When mistakes happen, pick yourself up, accept responsibility, fix what you can, and move on. Most mistakes in business as in life are like a spilled cup of coffee or dog-eaten, butter-side-down fallen piece of toast.
Smart business people know that it's only a piece of toast, after all. There's a whole loaf of bread waiting in the kitchen.
It's Party Time! Blog Parties Explained
Have you ever seen the term "blog party?" A blog party may be a good way to gain traffic to your blog.
Photo credit: FidlerJan from morguefile.com
Blog Parties to Boost Website Traffic
What is a blog party? Blog parties, also called link parties, are online link sharing opportunities. They're usually hosted on DIY or "mommy" type blogs but may be on any type of blog.
On a blog party or link party, you'll have the opportunity to share your blog post via a tool called InLinkz. It's a Wordpress Plugin favored by blog party hosts because it offers an easy opportunity for participants to share links.
With InLinkz, the blogs shared on your party are automatically added and updated as participants their blog posts. You can add one post, but some parties allow you to add more than one. You can add any post -- an old post or a new one. I like to add one new post per week and then trot out an old favorite from my blog for other parties.
Whatever post you choose to share, it should feature a good quality photograph that you have permission to share. The more eye-catching the photo, the better. The photos are displayed in a tiny thumbnail, so they should be bright and big. Little details tend to get lost in the smaller pictures.
Once you share your link, what happens? Well, with each blog party, it's different. Some party hosts request you to leave a comment or share other participants' posts. Read the instructions on the blog party itself. Hosts set their own rules. Most ask you to follow the blog party hosts on social media, and comment and share at least 1 or 2 other party posts. Some ask you to add a graphic or code to your sidebar.
Where to Find Link Parties
The best place to find link parties is on your favorite blogs. Start looking for them, because most bloggers in the DIY and "mommy" space (those catering or writing to people who have children, families, craft, garden, etc) participate in at least one or two per week. I'm a co-host for the #HomeMattersParty or Home Matters Link party, by the way, over on my home and gardening blog, Home Garden Joy. You're welcome to add your blog post to this week's party or the new on happening each Friday if you fit the profile of party participants: DIY, crafts, recipes, homemaking, etc.
You can also search for link parties online. There are also groups on Facebook dedicated just to bloggers promoting link parties.
Why Participate in Link Parties?
Link parties are a good way to generate traffic to your blog posts, but they can be a lot of work. There are numerous pros and cons to participating in link parties:
Pros/Advantages
- Can generate traffic
- Network with other bloggers
- Find other parties to participate in
- Share on social media and have your posts shared
Cons/Disadvantages
- If it's not the right niche, it may not generate enough traffic.
- Co-hosting a party is a lot of work and requires time.
- The traffic you get may not be the 'right' kind of traffic. In other words, it may be lookie-lous but not people who are truly interested in reading your blog posts.
- It's useful for consumer blogs...and may not work well for business related blogs.
I have included blog parties in my toolkit this year to boost traffic to my gardening blog, Home Garden Joy. One of my goals for the blog this year has been to boost page views and lower the bounce rate.
I've been participating in a link party as a co-host consistently now for six months and have seen my blog traffic double. More importantly, links are being shared. One link to an old blog post went viral last month, causing my traffic to soar. There's been a continual uptick since then, probably due to the search engines taking more notices of my little blog. At least I hope so.
The bounce rate on my blog, however, remains stubbornly high. I think it's due to poor naming conventions on my blog from years ago when I considered my blog more of a hobby than a true website. I am still revising many of my old blog posts to make them better optimized and more professional.
My participation in the Home Matters Blog party takes about 3-4 hours per week, which is a considerable amount of time to invest. However, the audience for the party of mostly women in their 30s, 40s and 50s is perfect for my blog and I have met and made many new contacts thanks to the party activities. If you're trying to reach a specific DIY demographic, participating in blog parties and link parties may be a great opportunity to boost your blog traffic.
For more information on this topic, see:
- Home Matters Party on Home Garden Joy
- Find Link Parties To Promote
- 5 Things You Must Know About Link Parties
by Jeanne Grunert/Seven Oaks Consulting. Jeanne is a marketing writer and freelance writer specializing in business, marketing, technology and lifestyle content for clients worldwide. She's the author of several books including Pricing Your Services: 21 Tips and Plan and Build a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden. Learn more about her work or hire her to write for you at Seven Oaks Consulting | Marketing Writer Jeanne Grunert.
How to Love Your Blog Again
Every relationship can grow stale at some point. That's why partners go into marriage encounter weekends, or why self-help books suggest dating your spouse as if you had just met for the first time.
For bloggers, the relationship between you and your blog can also grow stale. What was such an exciting adventure when you started it now seems ho-hum, or worse still, a daily chore you just want to get over, like brushing your teeth or making your bed.
Here's how to fall in love with you blog again.
Rekindle the Spark: Breathe New Life Into Old Blogs
Reinvigorate, rekindle and rejoice. Breathe new life into an old blog with these tips:
- Enter a blog challenge: Blog challenges can give you a reason to blog again. Blog challenges are online fun contests centered around a theme. "30 posts in 30 days" is one such theme, the A to Z blogging challenge is another. Each time you enter into a blog challenge, you're pitching your blogging talents against the contest rules. For me, entering one of my four blogs into the A to Z challenge helps get my creative juices flowing again.
- Enter a contest: Another fun thing to do is to enter your blog into a contest. You'll find awards competitions from magazines and websites as well as popularity awards given from one blogger to another like the Liebster Awards. It's all in good fun, and the added excitement can make you fall in love with your blog again.
- Start an idea file: Back in the days when I wrote for magazines, I kept a clips file or an ideas file. It was essentially news stories that sparked my interest. When I encountered stories like that, I'd clip them and keep them on file. Sometimes just going through my ideas file would spark new, fresh ways of looking at a topic. Then I'd go off and tackle my own research and have a new story at hand. You can use internet bookmarks to keep your own online clip file or use Pinterest to make a file for future inspiration. Just remember not to rewrite or reword an existing post from someone else. It's still considered plagiarism even if it's in your own words.
- Talk to your readers: By this I mean get out from behind your computer and actually mingle with the folks who read your blog. If you write about antique cars, go to a car show and listen to what people are talking about at the car show. If you're a recipe blogger, visit a cooking supply store or try a new restaurant. Get back to your roots and find the inspiration among your readers and target audience who inspired you to start your blog.
- Make an idea calendar: The creative well can run dry just when you least expect it. One way I get around this is to have an idea calendar for each blog. It's a printed blog planner (I like Sarah Avilla's planner at My Joy Filled Life. It's $4.95 but well worth it). I have posts noted for each week, so if there's a week when nothing immediately comes to mind to write about, I can flip through my binder and choose an idea. You can accomplish the same thing using a notebook. List the months of the year and ideas for posts that come to mind for those months. Maybe April is spring, Easter, new clothes, shopping, and September is back to school, new year, whatever. Having ideas at the ready can be a lifesaver when you feel like you just don't want to write anything more
Fall in love with your blog again. Find ways to rekindle that passion you once had for writing.
5 Surprising Reasons Why Blogs Fail
Do you know the reason why blogs fail? You might think it's lack of interest, or maybe poor writing, but I'm here to share with you the 5 surprising reasons why blogs fail...and how you can turn that frown upside down and get your blog back on track.
5 Reasons Why Most Blogs Fail
One of the goals that I set for my website, Home Garden Joy, is to increase my site traffic and decrease my blog's bounce rate this year. It's not an easy goal. With WordPress reporting 74,652,825 blogs on their site alone, it's tough to crack the blogosphere with zippy content.
I decided to join a link party or blog party this year to help boost traffic to my own blog. A blog party is an online event in which a group of bloggers bands together to share, promote, and help each other with their blogs. As part of the blog party, I visit at least 60 to 100 different blogs each week. That's a lot of blogs!
Because I'm now reading so many blogs, in so many different categories than my own, I've gotten a really good sense about what makes a great blog, a good blog, and a boring blog. These 5 tips are derived from my own experiences reading 100+ blog posts a week.
Ready? Here's why most blogs fail:
- What's the point? Many bloggers have a hazy, unfocused blog that tries to cover everything under the sun. Today they're writing about parenting issues, tomorrow about fashion, and on Friday, home decorating. That's not to say that you can't do this, but if you do decide to cover a multitude of topics, make sure you do in a fresh, fun way. Having your blog structured around particular posts on a certain day of the week, such as Foodie Friday or whatever can give it structure. Keep your blog focused around one major topic and similar related topics. Structure in blogs, as in art of music, is a key to a successful blog.
- Where do I look first? If you have 17 ads blinking and screaming at me, all boldface type, no discernible headlines, and giant blogs of text, I'm skipping your blog and heading elsewhere. Don't try to cram your blog with every advertiser you can to make money. Focus on just a few or even none if you're starting out. Purchase a good blog template if you're not used to designing a blog. My site host, Web Design of Palm Beach, did an excellent job on the original layout of this website. I purchased the template for my blog, Home Garden Joy, on Etsy. Blogs can fail due to poor design. Hire a professional graphic designer to design your blog or purchase a license to a good stock template. Poor blog design turns readers away.
- Nothing new here. When was the last time you updated your blog? While you don't want to be a slave to blog updates and send out several day, you also don't want to let months rush by without at least one blog post. A good rule of thumb is to post 3-5 times per week if you want to grow your blog. Blogs can fail from lack of attention. Frequent updates signals your readers that you've got something to say. Don't neglect your blog.
- Nobody cares about you: Unless your blog is about an experiment you're doing or your life, and you're doing something incredible, I have to say this straight out: nobody really cares about you. If all your posts are about what you want for your birthday, your last pedicure, or the coupons you found online, you're going to bore your reader to death. Many blogs fail because they are written all about the writer and not about the audience reading the writing. Write with your reader in mind. What do your readers want to know? That's what you should write.
- Be original: Even though I don't want to know every detail of your pedicure, I do want you to be yourself. I'd rather read the writings of a truly original person than to read a poorly reproduced carbon copy of someone. Be yourself. You can't be anyone else. If you love puppies and heavy metal music, let your readers know that. Just because Blogger A is famous and Blogger B seems to be making a lot of money doesn't meant that A and B know what they're doing. They may be lucky, they may have good sponsors, or they may just have hit on a hot topic. I know of one writer whose blog gets 30,000+ hits a month. Now, I could copy what she does...or I could continue to be an original and grow my blogs in my own voice, style and tone. She's popular...but I'm not her. Blogs can fail when you try to copy someone else's style or tone, even if they're popular. Be yourself. You can't be anybody else.
Building a successful blog takes time. I know that there are stories out there of people who have managed to build a smashing success in six months, a year, or two. Good for them! Congratulations! For more writers and bloggers, success takes time. It takes practice. It takes blogging, day or night, day in and day out, until finally you hit that sweet spot known as success, however you define success.4
By Jeanne Grunert, President, Seven Oaks Consulting. Jeanne is a freelance writer, blogger and novelist with a background in internet marketing. This post originally appeared on Acorns, the content marketing blog of Seven Oaks Consulting. Feel free to link to it. Reprints by permission only.
Use Images Legally Online
I love vintage everything...vintage fashion, vintage style. I subscribe to several vintage blogs and read them avidly.
Over the weekend, a blogger whose work I've long admired shared a Valentine's Day post. Included in the post was a vintage image that appeared to be scanned in from a magazine. She included a Flickr credit under the image with a link to the original. I was curious. I've asked several vintage bloggers where they license their images, and I never heard back from any of them. I'd love to know since I'm always on the lookout for vintage images for one of my clients and finding and licensing them can be tough.
Anyway, I clicked through to the image source and discovered this disturbing fact: the original Flickr photograph was marked "All Rights Reserved."
Flickr Licenses and More
If you're using Flickr images to decorate your blog posts or websites, you need to understand the difference license levels that content owners can apply to their photos. Flickr uses the Creative Commons Licensing system. This is a voluntary, non profit licensing system whereby content creators can affix one of several licenses to their works. Each license grants different permission levels for the use of the work.
Some licenses grant permission to use an image for commercial purposes. This means that the use of the image on a website that displays advertising is allowed. Other images require attribution. You must state the photographer's name and link to the license in order to use the image legally. Still others allow the use of the image, but you may not modify it.
All photographs, illustrations and copy (words) published online are immediately granted copyright protect and "All rights reserved" even if the artist doesn't state it. That's because under United States law, copyright is granted the instant an artist creates a work.
When a photographer shares something online, yet marks it with "All rights reserved", he's taking a further proactive step to state, "You can use this for reference or you can email me for permission. But you can't use this image without permission."
The End of the Story
I hesitated a few minutes before dropping the blogger a quick note, with reference links to some great articles about proper use of photographs, just as a friendly, "Hey, did you know this and hey, if you don't pay attention you might be in a lot of trouble, and hey, I care!"
Her response to me was astonishing. Not only did she justify the use of the image, but she wouldn't take it down. She claimed (and she may be absolutely correct) that when she downloaded the image, it was done so legally. Just because the photographer or image owner changed the copyright on it doesn't mean that she has to take it down.
I'm no legal scholar. I'm not a lawyer. I do know far too many people who have been embroiled in dreadful copyright extortion schemes. Many even used images legally, as I've done with this post, paying a licensing fee to the company from which I downloaded the image. A simple mistake in how you use an image online, no matter how innocent, can lead to a lot of stress and potential heartache.
Use Images Legally Online
The moral of the story? Use images legally online.
- Take your own images. That's the very best way to make sure you don't run into any legal issues!
- Make a screenshot of the license if you download from Flickr. It may seem silly, but if the image owner changes the license later, you'll have proof that you used it correctly at the time of download.
- Learn all you can about image copyright. Never use Google Image Search to find an image for your blog. It is terrible at finding the original image source or the person from whom you can license the image.
- Understand the various Creative Commons licenses before you download images. Read licensing terms on any stock photo website.
- Avoid free photo sites such as free wallpaper sites. Some sites are unscrupulous and swipe images from photographers then make them available to the public. You are on the hook for the legal issues involved in using the image, not the free wallpaper website. Many have clauses in their terms of use that put the burden on YOU. Know what you are getting into when you download and use photos.
- Purchase stock photography and use it under license. If you're not sure you are using it correctly, contact the company. I had question for Deposit Photo on how I could use their images, so I contacted their Customer Service department. They were pleasant and helpful, plus I now have a written transcript of my chat with their customer service agent who granted me permission to use the image for my stated project.
As for the blogger I emailed, I'm disappointed. She seems to think that she can slap a credit link on a photo and use it as she pleased. Giving credit is nice, but it doesn't absolve you of legal responsibility if you use an image improperly.
Everyone makes mistakes. The internet can be a forgiving place...or a very unforgiving one. Don't take a chance. If you are a content creator like me, a writer or blogger, take your own photos, learn how to license them properly, and avoid getting into trouble using stock images.
For more information:
- Smashing Magazine's Gide to Copyright Online
- Blogger Beware: You Can Be Sued
- Tips for Using Images on Your Blog
By Jeanne Grunert, President, Seven Oaks Consulting. Jeanne is a freelance writer, blogger and novelist with a background in internet marketing. This post originally appeared on Byte by Bite, the content marketing blog of Seven Oaks Consulting. Feel free to link to it. Reprints by permission only.
Don't Rely on Free Sites for Your Small Business Website
A small business website is absolutely essential today to acquire, retain and create loyal customers. Self- hosted websites, or sites that you pay to have hosted online, are the smartest, safest option for most businesses. Why?
Once upon a time, there lived a young couple who were eager to make a home for themselves. They were newlyweds, and with all the enthusiasm of newlyweds, they set out to find a house they could afford. But they couldn't find anything, not even a fixer-upper, that was within their price range.
A friend suggested they rent his aunt's home. His aunt was going into a nursing home and didn't want to sell her house, but was willing to rent it. "Don't worry," the friend said, "When auntie dies, I'll sell you the house at cost, at this very low price, so you will have it forever."
Now he was a good friend...a great friend...so the couple never got the agreement in writing. Friends don't bail out on promises, do they?
The house hadn't been updated since 1952. It needed new windows. It needed new doors and a new roof. The lawn was ugly and bare. The inside and out needed paint and new carpet. The couple set out with a will, doing the painting themselves, even installing new windows.
They did a lot of work on a home they were sure would be theirs someday.
Now you know what happened next, right? They were just renters. The old aunt died, and suddenly the nephew realized he had a valuable, newly painted and fixed up property...to sell. The asking price was way outside what the couple could afford. They complained, but too bad. Out they went, the house was sold, and they moved on to their next apartment.
The story I've just told you is true. It happened to a relative of mine. And it goes to prove the old adage: NEVER build on rented land. In other words, if you rent a property, don't invest in it! Whoever owns the land gets whatever improvements you've made on it. Period.
Now what does this have to do with a small business website?
The Importance of Owning Your Own Small Business Website
How many small business owners do you know who rely on "rented" property for their websites? I'm talking about the businesses who insist that their Facebook page is their web page, even going as far as printing the URL of their Facebook page on business cards and brochures in lieu of a web address.
Others build websites on free hosting platforms. They're doing the same thing--investing in rented land. They have no guarantee that the site host won't discontinue the platform.
[Tweet "The importance of owning your own small business website. Free sites are dangerous!"]
I went through that exact experience with ivillage. Do you remember ivillage? It's faded from memory, but back around 1999 it was the bee's knees. I had my email account with them and set up several free websites for hobbies and my freelance writing. Then they decided to discontinue their free web hosting and email service. Ooops. Gone. My stories, everything I'd published online vanished. I had to scrambled to copy it all down before the site was removed.
Ditto with Yahoo Geocities. Remember Geocities? A great source for free websites...until Yahoo decided to discontinue their free service. Then they moved to SiteBuilder, and I had my business site hosted with them for over a decade. THEN they decided to shut down their service on that software, too. They'd still offer hosting, but only with their templates or your files. They discontinued the easy to use software that let me run a great retail site.
Can you see a pattern here? As a small business owner, I absolutely need a strong, robust and well-optimized website. I have several sites now, two of which I host with Web Design of Palm Beach. (I highly recommend them, by the way. Great service, reliable hosting, fair prices, USA-based.) I now own my own land, so to speak, so the "house" I build on it in terms of my blog content and other content is mine.
Relying on a free web service, free blogging platform or worse, a social media website to host your online presence is like the couple in my story making repairs and improvements to a house they don't own. At any moment, the homeowner can snap his fingers and kick you out and take what you've invested. It's his right and your tough luck.
You do realize, of course, that a social media site or another platform can do the same with your business site? And then where would you be? You'd lose all that time and money invested in your site. You'll have to throw away the business cards, bumper stickers and t-shirts printed with your "website" address because it wasn't really a website at all.
Invest in yourself. Own what you build. Although at first it may seem like a strain on your wallet, in the long run, it's money well spent to build and own your own small business website.
If you're ready to build your own small business website, hire a professional marketing writer to craft engaging, search engine friendly text. Invest in professional writing services for a better return. Contact me, Jeanne Grunert, "the marketing writer", for great service and superior writing that gets results.
Long Form Content Ranks Better
A new report from QuickSprout underscores what many content marketers have known all along: longer copy ranks better with Google's search engines.
The report, available from the QuickSprout website, provides details on the company's study of page length, ranking and conversion. Among their findings:
- The average page length for content that ranks among the top 10 search results Google is at least 2,000 words.
- The better a site ranks, the more content it has.
- Overall, Google's search engine algorithm prefers content rich sites.
Why should longer content help with search engine rank? Longer content keeps people on your website for greater lengths of time than shorter content. If I can see at a glance what you're trying to say, I might click away quickly, resulting in low time on page and high bounce rates. But if your content requires me to focus on what you are saying, draws me into the page, provides insights or useful information, and keeps me reading, I'll stay on your site longer.
Longer website content also tends to get more inbound links. These inbound links are strong signals to Google's search engine algorithm that a web page has merit.
Lastly, social media users tend to favor longer content, even if they're not aware they're doing it. By studying sharing patterns on Facebook and Twitter, QuickSprout determined that a post with 1,500 words or more received 68 percent more tweets and 22 percent more Facebook likes than a post under 1,500 words.
Are You Ready for Long Form Content?
Long form content for content marketing programs takes skills and finesse. You can't just keep blabbing away and stuffing keywords and expect to get the same results as a thoughtful, in-depth and insightful long form article.
As a long form specialist, my freelance writing services include extensive research. I have a gift for finding excellent original research from well-regarded and reputable sources to support the theme of your article. My writing is also creative, engaging, and insightful, which will make your content highly shareable, too.
If you're interested in receiving an estimate on your long form content projects, please contact me.
Irony: This post is under 500 words.
But you now what? Sometimes you only need a few words to say what you want. Sometimes, short copy is appropriate. Know when to use long form or shorter copy in your content marketing programs is what I do best.
Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs Bloggers
Do you have a business blog? If not, why not? According to HubSpot, business who run a blog receive 67 percent more leads than those who do not. I don't know about you, but I'd sure like to get 67 percent more leads than my competitors.
Heather over at the Virginia Bloggers Club (of which I'm a member) has written a great post, The Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs Bloggers. A good blog can generate leads, improve your search engine rank, and drive more leads, traffics and visits to your website at a minimal cost.
Samples of Freelance Writing - Don't Write Them for Free
If you're asked for samples of freelance writing by a potential client, do share published samples. These can be samples you've published on your own - on Medium.com, on your blog, on your website. Or, they can be samples of published work completed for your clients.
But whatever you do, do not provide free samples for a potential client written specifically on their chosen topic. Any company serious about hiring pays a small stipend, even a fraction of the actual cost, to show good faith and good will to freelancers.
If you're a company considering writers, please do not ask them to do a test article or sample for free. Why? Watch this video.
Samples of Freelance Writing: Asking for Free Samples Is Not Industry Standard
Writers, companies hiring for freelance work do need to see samples of your work. But they should not ask for free samples of freelance writing. I have had 'samples' published by such unscrupulous companies.
Instead, provide samples as follows:
- Your own website and blog - yes, it is okay for you to write your own blog and use that as a sample
- Published works - anything published with your byline is great! Do share it.
- Samples of client projects (with their permission)
Paid test projects, on the other hand, are fine. If a client asks for a sample of your freelance writing work and is willing to pay even a small amount, that is acceptable.
Here's a more in-depth article I wrote about "writing on spec" - a term which means writing on speculation, or with an eye towards future work. It never or almost never works out. Professional writers, do not write for free on speculation or in hope of getting an assignment.
Should Freelance Writers Complete Free Test Articles?
As a freelance writer, I'm often asked to complete a test assignment. Sometimes companies offer compensation, sometimes they don't. Here's my answer to such a request, and why.
Why Freelance Writers Should NEVER Write a Free Test Article
Last week, I submitted an application to a company seeking a content writer. A friend passed the ad on to me, and the company looked interesting and well-established. The ad didn't say how much each article assignment would eventually pay, but the professional tone of the advertisement was encouraging. So too was the fact that I had impressive publishing credentials in exactly the space the potential client worked in - and magazine clips to submit on the exact topics he wanted someone to write for. It seemed like a slam-dunk, a home run.
The potential client responded within 24 hours. "Congratulations! You've made the first cut. You're among 25 writers we're considering for this vacancy."
You've narrowed it down to...25? Are you kidding me? Already I had that prickling feeling on the back of my neck that warns me a potentially bad situation is looming. But the next paragraph clinched it for me.
"In order for us to select the best writer, we require you to complete the attached questionnaire and submit two sample articles. Each article will be keyword-rich and 1,000 words. Submit your articles within 24 hours to us at..."
How long does it take a professional writer to research keywords and topics, then write a really solid 1,000 word article? I would say at least one hour per article. So essentially, this company wanted two free hours of work from each of their 25 potential writers. Then, and only then, would one lucky writer be chosen to work with them. And by the way, they still didn't mention how much they planned to pay.
So I emailed them back and politely let them know that while I would be willing to complete a test, my rate for completing such a test is X, and I accepted PayPal and bank check.
They seemed absolutely flummoxed by my response. I received another email back, letting me know that it was standard practice within their company to ask applicants to complete tests. Writers, designers, computer programmers, whoever was going to work with them, they wanted a lengthy test.
Now while I can see such a test for a full-time position, for freelance work it is absurd. It is especially absurd when you consider that I had submitted published magazine articles on the EXACT topic requested in their test article.
I declined to write the test, and explained my reasons to them in this manner.
"Would you ask a lawyer to prepare a free legal brief for you so that you can assess his skills? Ask a physician to commit two hours at no charge to you so that you can assess his surgical skills? Ask a dentist to install a free filling and a crown so you can test his skills? No. So why are you asking writers to give you two free hours of their time?"
Their only response was to tell me that this was their standard method of assessing freelancers and so far, no one had complained but me. Well, I have news for them. The reason they haven't heard complaints yet is because the better writers packed up their keyboards and went elsewhere.
The sad fact is that many writers probably DID complete their test assignments. What guarantee do we have that the company won't use the two free articles produced as part of the test? None. Just their word that they have given the same writing prompts to all 25 writers and therefore couldn't use the resulting articles. After all, no one would want to publish, let alone read, 25 articles on the same topic. Right? Well, maybe...
Now I am not saying that this particular firm intended to get free content. It has been my experience, however, that companies who want lengthy free consultations or to "hear your thoughts" on their pressing problem before they hire you as a consultant are hoping to get free work out of you. Why companies think it is okay to do this with consultants and creative freelancers, such as designers, writers, photographers and others, is beyond me, but we (the creative types) do seem to get hit with this more frequently than say, other white-collar professions.
As a freelance writer, my experience is simply this: the best companies I work with are the ones who paid me a fair rate for a simple test assignment. Many paid me to participate in short online training courses to learn the ropes for their particular clients or content platforms. They paid me for my time.
If you are a freelance writer and a company asks you to complete a big free project, ask yourself (and yes, ask them too) why. Why do they want a test assignment? Offer clips of your work, links to it online, or a short paragraph if they truly want to assess your writing skills.
But don't give your time and talents away for free. You're worth more than that.
No, freelance writers should not complete test articles at no charge.
This article was written by Jeanne Grunert, president of Seven Oaks Consulting, and "The Marketing Writer". Jeanne is a 20+ year veteran of countless meetings which could have been handled by phone calls or emails. Her experience includes leading marketing department, writing books and magazine articles, and pushing cats off of her desk. Jeanne does not write free test assignments but she's happy to give you a satisfaction guarantee on your first project with her. If you're not happy with her writing, you're free to cancel and go elsewhere with no hard feelings and not a penny owed to her. For more information, visit www.marketing-writer.com, Jeanne's website.