September 2011

Think like Michelangelo: A freelancer’s guide to choosing great clients.

Published on September 30, 2011 by Nick Usborne

Historically, artists have always needed to find a patron. Sometimes the church, sometimes a nobleman or a merchant.

Without the support of a patron, artists wouldn’t have had the resources to do great work. We all have to eat.

And those patrons often gave pretty clear instructions regarding the topic of the art. For example, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel wasn’t Michelangelo’s idea. The work was commissioned by Pope Julius II.

In fact, Michelangelo was reluctant to take on the project. He would rather have been sculpting.

But you know how it goes…what the client wants, the client gets. (Particularly when, in addition to being the Pope, you are also referred to as "Il papa terribile".)

The thing being, the artist’s life isn’t so very different from the freelancer’s life.

Published in Freelancing
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3 Ways to Make Your Web Content Headlines More Shareable.

Published on September 27, 2011 by Nick Usborne

Making headlines shareable through social media? What’s that about?

Well, if your content page headlines aren’t gaining significant traction through social media, you’re missing the boat.

Today, all your content headlines have to do double duty:

First, they have to work on the content page itself. The page headline has to compel attention, hook the reader, and drive readers into the body of the content.

Second…your headlines have to be shareable through social media.

Published in Social Media, Web Content, Writing for the Web
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The $10,000 coaching call. Or…Why I love coaching.

Published on September 15, 2011 by Nick Usborne

I don’t work as a coach full time, but do thoroughly enjoy the clients I work with.

Why? Because coaching is a creative process. It’s about creating something new, something exciting.

Earlier this week I was on the phone with a client and were we talking about how she might best position a new direction for her freelance business.

Previously, we had figured out the general direction that she felt worked best for her. Now we had to find a way to position her service in such a way that prospects would feel enthused by the idea of working with her.

This is easier said than done. The mechanics of what she offered were not new. Hundreds of other freelancers in her field offer pretty much the same features and benefits.

So we had to dig and to find a way that would separate her from her competition, and would also make her shine.

Published in Coaching, Freelancing
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Talking about the importance of quality web content with Ken McGaffin of Wordtracker. [VIDEO]

Published on September 8, 2011 by Nick Usborne

I have known Ken for a long time, but this is the first time we have got together to create a video interview.

As you can see, we touch on a few of the most important and pressing issues facing web content creators, and the connection between quality web content and

Published in Web Content, Writing for the Web
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