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Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention has compiled a list of places where you can find nonprofit communications and marketing jobs. I suspect most of these are staff positions, but I bet some are open to freelancers. Here is Nancy’s list.
FreelanceSwitch, a great site for freelancers that I’ve just added to my blogroll, has a new hourly rate calculator.
If you still have your Schedule C handy or relatively fresh in your mind, filling out the business expenses section of the calculator will be easy. I guessed on most of the personal expenses and was fairly conservative on the number of hours I work and bill. It spit out an hourly rate that is a bit higher than I typically charge, but not by much.
If you are really new to freelancing, this is a great exercise and tool. If you’ve been around awhile, it’s a reality check to ensure your rates are what they should be.
I’ve written a post on how I stay productive as a professional communicator over at my other blog, Nonprofit Communications. You can click over for the full post, but here is the quick summary:
1. Invest in speed.
2. Prioritize often.
4. Delegate.
5. Hire professionals.
6. Do similar jobs at the same time.
7. Make a little time for yourself during the workday.
8. Turn everything off and shut the door.
9. Get organized, but don’t obsess about it.
10. Be realistic about long tasks take.
If you are like most writers I know, you are constantly coming up with ideas for articles, stories, client projects, blog posts, marketing for your business, and more. All the ideas I get would prevent me from getting any real work done if I entertained them all as I got them. Instead, I have to get them out of my head and into my system for tracking ideas so I can get back to the current to-do list.
I use a combination of paper and electrons to keep track of everything. It’s not the most elegant method, but after many years, I’ve learned that my system is the only one that really works for me.
I have a big notebook on my desk divided into the major categories that represent my various writing enterprises, a tiny notebook in my purse for when I’m on the move, and a pad of paper on the bedside table for those late night, middle of the night, and early morning brainstorms.
All the random ideas I get go into one of these three paper places. Every now and then I move ideas that still seem interesting or relevant from the little notebook and the bedside pad into the big notebook. Notes about clients go into that client’s project folder on my desk.
I look through the big notebook regularly and when I decide to act on an idea, I move it into the PDA. The PDA only contains items that I really consider to-do items for the coming month or so. When I’m working, I look at the PDA only and don’t get distracted by the hundreds of waiting ideas in the notebook.
This may seem like a terribly inefficient method, but it’s actually a great way to filter ideas and let the best rise from the scraps of paper and into the PDA. Looking through the notebook also lets me see themes in my thinking over time, which inspire new approaches to projects.
How do you keep track of all the ideas you get? How do you prevent all of your ideas from overwhelming you or distracting you from your paying work? Write a post on your blog and link back here, or leave a comment.
ProBlogger ran a “Top 5 List” group writing project and published a compilation of links to 893 entries. Wow. Here are the ones I thought were most relevant or interesting for freelance writers.
Top Five Signs You’ve Graduated to the Copywriting Big Leagues
Top Five Free Ways to Promote Your Writing Business
Top 5 Reasons Freelancing is a Bad Idea
Five Hard Truths about Freelance Writing
Five Things to Do When Your Paper Laughs at You
Toddler Holding on Tight? Five Tips for Working at Home
Using the Web to Find Writing Jobs - The First Five Steps
Top Five Reasons Why Information Products Is the Ultimate Business
Freelancers, Start Winning More Proposals Now
Top Five Reasons You Should Stop Calling Yourself a Writer, Right Now
When It’s Time to Stop Writing