Don’t Name the Puppy (and Other Rules for Freelancers)

Women who were single in the 90’s will remember a book called the Rules – this book had a simple premise: position yourself in such a way that he has to have you. Admittedly, I read this dating guide, in the vain hope that my boyfriend at the time would finally man up and make a commitment. Although the book turned me into a neurotic lunatic who would only answer the phone every third time He called, I did take away some valuable life lessons that I believe apply more to your career than to your love life.

Be a Creature Unlike Any Other

This is what is referred to as the Unique Value Proposition. Assess your personal brand: what services and experience do you bring to the table that no one else does? Discover this nugget of information and exploit it the way you would a great pair of legs or broad shoulders—showcase your greatest assets to your advantage.

Be Available, but Not Too Available

Accommodate your clients as best you can, but not at the sacrifice of time with your family or sleep. I was once at a point where I was working a 40 hour/week contract job, on top of juggling 3 additional freelance clients. Working until 4 am was a common occurrence and I was a sleep deprived wreck because I needed the money. It wasn’t pretty.

Only Love Those Who Love You Back

I once had a client with whom I had, essentially, an Ike-and-Tina relationship: the office environment was extremely unpleasant and stressful, the pace was frantic, and, despite my desperate bids for them to hire me, they didn’t, even though I was working 50 hour weeks for them on key projects for several months at a time. Yet, they continued to ask me to come back for repeat engagements, and I would happily go along with it. I have since learned to say no to clients who only emotionally and mentally drain me.

Never Say Never

Not every freelance opportunity will be a love match, and that’s okay. However, make sure to stay in contact with clients. They may refer you to a friend who has a similar need, which could lead to something big down the road. You just never know.

Insist on a Commitment

You love the job and your co-workers, and you’ve already mentally decorated your cube. Uh oh, you’ve named the puppy and fallen in love with something that doesn’t belong to you. Here’s the simple truth—until there’s a commitment (in other words, an actual written offer), the job isn’t actually yours.

What’s a freelancer to do? On the upside, you’re not required to work the crazy hours that your co-workers are obligated to keep. You are entitled to take a lunch hour (even if your co-workers are eating at their desks and muttering). Your only obligation is to do the job you were hired to do. But, the downside is that until you’re hired, you are, for all intents and purposes, a (gasp!) vendor—you provide services at a set rate for a set period of time and there is no further obligation to you. Sadly, no one will cry and light candles in your cube the day after your contract ends. They will move on, as must you.

During your freelance period, you must continue to network and apply for jobs, even if you’re sure that this job is The One. In a perfect world, employers would line up to wage a bidding war over us, but they can’t do that if they’ve never heard of you. Weirdly, jobs always seem to come to those who already have them, so work that mojo while you have it.

Close the Deal or Move On

If you want to get hired, you have to make it known. In this economy, employers love working with freelancers because we don’t get benefits or unemployment. They have no future obligation to us, and they’re okay with that.

But let’s say you’re not okay with that. You need to make it known that you want to be hired, but you can’t appear desperate.

In other words, keep it in your pants.

Die Fail Whale, Die!

If you spend any kind of twitter, then you know the Fail Whale: the eponymous whale that lets you know when twitter is having issues. This is especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of a conversation, promoting your latest project, or trying to track down an old friend. To vent your frustration, Andrew Conn has graced us with a Flash game that lets you take out your frustration.

Speaking of Twitter…

If you’re tired of having to do detective work every time you receive a follow request, then Twimailer is for you. Once you sign up, you will receive an email from Twimailer with a the potential follower’s user name, avatar, bio, and recent tweets, as well as links that will allow you to follow or block the user.

So What Should I Write About?
I think by now we’ve cleared the question of whether or not your company should blog, so next comes the Big Hairy Question of what you should write about. I’m asked this all the time by my clients, who are terrified of blogging because all they know are spreadsheets. Remember, blogging is about building relationships, so here’s a list to help you get started.

• Check your inbox. What are people talking about? Are there any questions you can answer?
• Comment on someone else’s blog. What blogs are you reading? Do you have an opinion about what they’re saying?
• Offer advice. Most of the time, people read blogs because they’re looking for ideas and advice to help solve their own problems. Are there any services that you can offer to help solve these problems?
• What have you been up to? Can you offer behind-the-scenes stories or insights?
• Comment on the state of the union. Are there any new developments in your field? Can you discuss real-world applications?
• Photos and videos are absolutely priceless. People love to see the proverbial “man behind the curtain” at work. Be transparent and let your clients in on what you really do.
• E-books are incredibly valuable when you offer something that your readers can’t get anywhere else, plus they are a natural blog entry.
• Share your presentations with your readers. Have someone video your latest presentation or upload your slides on slideshare and let your readers get a feel for what you presented.
• Be the News. A blog is a great place to announce the latest developments at your company – new hires, awards, new developments, technology updates, etc.
• Dialog is the New Black. Use your blog to generate debate and/or discussion with your readers. This will help spark future topics, as well as generate reader loyalty.

So Much for What we Leaned in College
Remember the basic advertising classes we took in college and they beat into our heads what differentiates a good spot from a bad one – clear call to action, make your product memorable, etc? The latest spot for Chi Chi’s Salsa breaks those rules, but still works because it’s clever, repetitive, and funny as hell. Plus, if you’re a dork like me, you’ll imitate the robot in the ad for days. Enjoy it here.

A Little Burst of Happiness

Now that the 4th of July holiday weekend is over, it’s time to get back to the business of life, in general. But, before we get back to work, I wanted to share the following with you – a commercial for the Columbus Zoo, which was recently named the best zoo in the country (after years of being #2) by USA Travel Guide. The choreography and the lyrics are an absolute riot and I can’t help but laugh every time I see the spot on TV. Enjoy!

A Lesson From “Slumdog Millionaire”

For those of you who are movie geeks, you’re probably still overjoyed that “Slumdog Millionaire” won Best Picture at last night’s Oscar’s. I know I am. One of the things that I love about this movie is that it is a story of hope, despite what appear to be insurmountable odds (no, I will not give away the plot, but click here for details, if you’d like to know more).

I think hope is one of the things that will sustain us in this uncertain economy – we have to keep hope alive if our businesses are to survive, let alone thrive. We are entering a new era and we need to be smart, but how?

Hope is hard to come by. There was a story on the news today about how the economy will continue to worsen this year, but eventually get better in 2010. Meanwhile, unemployment claims continue to grow as cutbacks deepen. The Academy Awards scaled back its hoopla last night and even Fashion Week took a hit and showed some rather depressing styles last week that suggested the end of parties and long periods of staying home and wallowing.

I’m sure that by now, you have heard some of the details of the economic stimulus package. From lowered payroll taxes that should result in increased retail, restaurant, and entertainment traffic to federal money that will allow college students to buy computers, the package promises steady and gradual growth in many sectors across the board.

How will this affect marketers? Is it time to pull out all the stops and pretend the recession never happened? Hardly. We’re poorer these days, but definitely smarter. Your customers want a personal relationship with your brand, rather than a series of messages that aren’t targeted specifically toward them.

This is the time to ask critical questions – what brand impressions do you want your customers to remember once they have disposable income again? Are your marketing efforts reactive or proactive? How will you grow your brand as the economy continues to evolve?

While I can’t say when the economy will improve, it will happen. The rest is up to you. It is written. In the meantime, here is some inspiration – a song of hope that also happened to win Best Song.

10 Commandments for Marketing in 2009

I’ve been in marketing and advertising for a while and I get a lot of emails, asking for my opinions on everything from branding to social media. To that end, here is my list of what I consider the essential principles of marketing in today’s world.

1. Thou shalt embrace change.

Like it or not, the tried and true methods of marketing and advertising are gone, baby, gone. At one time, a client could walk into an agency with a wad of cash and the advertising wizards would revitalize his business with a clever TV commercial and possibly a billboard. These days, the successful marketer knows that s/he has to diversify her/his efforts with targeted messages across a variety of platforms that are geared toward the desired demographic – In other words, reaching the customer on his/her level and on his/her chosen turf. To embrace change, if nothing else, increases the likelihood of the marketer’s success by getting the company’s name “out there” and isn’t that really what marketing is all about?

2. Thou shalt utilize inbound marketing.

Thanks to my friends at Hubspot, we now have the term “inbound marketing,” which I love because it’s so descriptive of the average customer’s perception of marketing efforts. Traditional marketing (radio, television, newspaper, telemarketing, pop-up ads, etc.) are outbound in the sense that it is the company reaching out to the customer with no customer selectivity whatsoever. When you think about it, most people find traditional advertising methods about as annoying as receiving a telemarketing call during dinner, hence the advent of conveniences such as caller ID, TIVO, and pop-up blockers. However, successful inbound marketing draws the customer in and lets them actively seek your message. Which would you rather have? A hostile, passive customer? Or one who takes the time to seek you out because they want to hear what you have to say?

3. Thou shalt toot thine own horn. Loudly.

When you publish content, it is critical to get the word out there, otherwise, your blog is like the proverbial tree in the forest – if no one knows it’s out there, does it really matter how artfully crafted your message is? Make use of social media and drive customers to you.

4. Thou shalt embrace technology.

A simple company website is no longer enough – especially when you have blogs, video content, social media, and Google on your side. Your customer wants the full experience before they invest their time and money in whatever you have to offer, so give it to them with both barrels. Just don’t be so clever in your execution that the customer forgets why they went to your site in the first place.

5. Thou shalt get beyond the notion that social media is just for kids.

Ever been on Facebook or MySpace? According to social media researchers, 44% of moms are on Facebook and it’s not just to spy on their kids anymore. How well versed are you in twitter? Did you know that you can use twitter to monitor brand impressions and even gather valuable psychographic data on your target audience? When was the last time you put company videos on YouTube or powerpoint presentations on Slide Share? The point is that your competition is using these vehicles to form intimate bonds with your clients. Are you?

6. Thou shalt be a valuable participant in social media.

I love this analogy – someone once told me to think of participating in social media as you would attending a cocktail party. Mingle with the other users, contribute to the conversation, and form relationships with the other users. Don’t only use social media as a vehicle to plug your latest blog entry, promotion, etc. That’s the fastest way known to man to get blocked by other twitter users.

7. Thou shalt make thine self Google-able.

In case you didn’t know, Google is the most widely used search engine, so it only makes sense to make it your friend. Utilize search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) to slowly, but steadily, drive traffic to your site by carefully using select keywords and links.

8. Thou shalt know thine place.

One of the greatest and most dangerous things about online marketing is that you are in charge of your brand impression. In cyberspace, you can be whoever you want to be. However, some marketers are less than scrupulous with this power and we read about how they over-promise and under-deliver, thus driving away their clientele. Always remember to be as honest in your marketing efforts as you are in your day-to-day operations.

9. Thou shalt keep thine options open.

The world has changed and so have people – priorities and paradigms have shifted. How have you adapted? Have you shifted how you approach your relationships with clients to keep up with the changing times? In order to get the maximum return on your marketing dollars, it’s time to realize that what has always worked for you may not work now.

10. Thou shalt be true to thine brand.

President Obama said in his inaugural address that we need to remember what makes our country great in the first place. To that end, the same extends to marketing. Now that marketers have, literally, hundreds of options before them, it’s time to focus marketing efforts inward and remember what makes our brands great, thereby marketing in a way that makes sense to the brand. This is not a time for half-baked schemes and a willy-nilly approach to marketing. You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can market your company in a way that is authentic to your brand’s identity, mission, and audience. Remember, there’s a recession out there, so this is a time for introspection and deliberate action.