The Power of A Testimonial (Part 4)

I'm now going to round up this article series with this last piece of advice:

You don't need to reveal your client's name nor the company he's representing after the testimonials, especially if you agreed to grant him his Right to Confidentiality.

There are a few things regarding business transactions that need to be kept confidential, and freelancing is not exempted from this. Whatever intentions your clients may have for wanting to keep things private, you should respect that as his preference.

I have mentioned in one of my earliest posts that you should provide your clients with the Right to Confidentiality, where you write down in a separate portion of your Freelancer's Contract that you will keep the details of your transactions under discretion.

While you will come across clients who will find it perfectly fine that you cite their names along with the work you've done for them for your portfolio, there will always be a few others who prefer not to have the details of their projects disclosed to a third party.

And the Right to Confidentiality is something that you, a freelancing professional, must not break no matter what the circumstances are. It's easy to prove your competence, much like acquiring and honing your skills. But gaining the trust of your clients and building a solid reputation will be much harder than you think.

So once you have collected a sizable number of testimonials (say, four to six, or even more), simply exclude all of your clients' names. Potential clients will never assume that you merely made up all those glowing testimonials proving your worth as a freelancing professional. 

The Power of A Testimonial (Part 3)

By now you may have realized how beneficial a glowing testimonial from a satisfied client can be. Here are the next few guidelines you would need to consider in order to achieve your goal of presenting yourself to potential clients:

Remember to proofread what your clients said for clarity and cohesiveness.

Usually, clients seek freelancers, especially writers, because they themselves aren't blessed with the ability to put words together to achieve their desired results, or they find it time-consuming to handle the operations of their business and still take care of marketing their products or services.

If you're not a writer or copy editor, get in touch with a fellow freelancer whose expertise includes proofreading, and ask him to streamline your clients' testimonials until they're lucid and concise.

In order to cut costs, you can negotiate with your fellow freelancer that you'll return the favor by offering one of your services that's not included among his set of skills, should the need come up in the future.

Be selective with the testimonials that you'll include in your marketing materials.

To illustrate, you should have a separate web page in your freelancer's website for at least three testimonials. Place them beside or underneath your portfolio, or the page where your contact information is provided.

If you have a couple of specialties, like corporate resumes, websites' landing pages, blogging, or shooting webinars, provide at least two testimonials for each specialty. 

The Power of A Testimonial (Part 2)

In the first part of this article series, I cited how a glowing testimonial from a satisfied client can boost your marketing strategy and get more potential clients to notice you.

In my 11-year stint as a freelancing professional, I have grown more and more convinced that a testimonial not only reduces a freelancer's marketing budget, it also works better in convincing potential clients to give you a try.

That's because testimonials, when written in a way that calls attention to you as a peak performer, only means that you've done the necessary work to build a solid reputation. 

Given the numerous benefits that a testimonial can give, it only makes sense to learn how to use it for maximum results.

The following is not an exhaustive list, but just a few general guidelines on soliciting testimonials:

Get in touch with three to five of your most recent clients and ask them to put in a good word for you.

You can do this by emailing or calling former clients or any repeat client of whose whereabouts you may be keeping tab. Since a testimonial would only need to highlight your competence and skills, it need not turn into a rambling of "how great you are," and surely the client need not rave over you.

Notice any recurring compliments or key phrases.

It's too generic when a client says that "Sally Kimbell is professional, resourceful, and easy to work with." If you possess a specific set of skills that you've utilized in a variety of projects, you want to make sure that these skills are highlighted in the best way possible.

Now, your "hard skills" are not more important than your "soft skills" (e.g. negotiating, being prompt when it comes to deadlines, etc.). Rather, your soft skills are what enable you to utilize your hard skills to the fullest, and this is what needs to be emphasized most to make a testimonial glowing.

Notice the impact when a testimonial is phrased this way:

"We were about to attempt an ambitious project that required a near overhaul of our company's website. We knew that in order to stand out, we needed a seasoned article writer who's also knowledgeable in SEO and is in tune with the interests and preferences of young adult, cosmopolitan women who frequent upscale places all over the metro. That's why, upon recommendation by one of her former clients, we decided that Sally Kimbell is the one most suited to do the job."

Here's another one:

"What made James Smith such a joy to work with is him being very systematic with the tasks we outsourced to him. All throughout the duration of his contract, he would make follow-up calls to our office to ensure that he was on the right track. Although it was apparent that he can work with minimum supervision, his desire to be accountable until the project was done was his most winning attitude."

See the difference? 

Come back next week for more on this article series.

The Power of A Testimonial (Part 1)

A testimonial -- brief yet concisely written -- can either make or break a freelancing professional. While it's good to cultivate your work ethics and perennially aim to exceed your clients' expectations, keep in mind that you should devote part of your routine to promoting yourself and your services.

And freelancing professionals know that advertising one's services can rack up considerable expenses, especially if one pays for web hosting, or needs to have a stack of business cards professionally printed.

Now, if you've had tenure in the workplace before deciding to turn freelance, surely you're aware that citing the names of former colleagues or supervisors, or anyone who can vouch for your competence at work, is one of the sure-fire ways to speed up a job search.

Likewise, asking a satisfied client to write a glowing testimonial for you can serve as proof that you're reliable and trustworthy. And a testimonial can be obtained at no cost at all. You can just ask a client to jot it down verbatim and then proofread it yourself.

Potential clients are more likely to notice a freelancer who's proven his skills and mettle, and once they log on to your website and read all those wonderful stuff you've done for your former clients, surely that would convince them that you're worth a try.

Since testimonials can make you more appealing to potential clients, it's worth taking some time to learn to utilize it to maximize its benefits. Tune in for my next several posts as I provide a few guidelines in using testimonials.

Ever Thought About Hiring Yourself as A Profile Writer? (Part 3)

To round up this three-part article series, I will cite the last two types of potential clients to whom you can offer the services of writing a profile. Here they are:

Freelance writers and bloggers

Having a writer's web site is crucial for anyone in this field who is serious about making a decent living, and people will never hesitate to pay for high quality web content, especially if it means generating more income by having more clients contact them through their sites.

Also, if the writer wants to submit book-length manuscripts to publishing companies and make it as an author, a web site can serve as a strong credential and proof that the writer knows the principles of marketing. If he has narrowed down his expertise to a few topics or a few genres and provided links to his clips or PDF versions of his articles, it would be a lot easier for an editor to assess his potential to get published.

As a general rule, a writer's web site should have an About page with a photo and a brief biography (no more than three paragraphs), a page for Clips, and a page where he can provide his Contact information.  

Here's one last group that doesn't necessarily belong to any category of professionals, but you can easily turn into quite a huge client base:

Men and women needing a personal ad for the purpose of meeting people online.

This includes singles who'd like to try online dating through reputable dating sites, dedicated hobbyists who want to meet like-minded people with similar interests, and book lovers who are fond of writing rave reviews (or rants) about their favorite literary works.

Be forewarned that a large group of singles have serious doubts about meeting someone online who could end up as a possible mate, and for a good reason. Nearly anyone can assume and operate on a false identity when meeting people online.

However, there are some dating sites who have made it clear that being honest about one's identity and upfront about one's intentions for relationships and marriage are what kept their businesses afloat in the online dating industry.

If a single person comes to you and asks for help in writing a personal ad, can you give him a balanced evaluation about the maturity of his character? And aside from spending several years in a career (proof that he's responsible enough to hold down a job), it's also important that he has several hobbies so he can easily be matched with someone with whom he's compatible.

Stay tuned, because for the rest of January until February, I will be focusing on making money from blogging.

Ever Thought About Hiring Yourself as A Profile Writer? (Part 2)

I started this week by introducing you to the possibilities of writing profiles for professionals who need a strong sense of Branding and Identity to advertise themselves and the kind of work they do.

Here's the third group of people that could be a potential clientele for you:

Events planners, caterers, and hosts

These are the types who are extremely organized, meticulous, and have trained themselves to hone their interpersonal skills.

It's not a secret that there will always be people who will celebrate their birthdays, decide to tie the knot, celebrate a wedding anniversary or graduation from college. There are also a lot of corporate events that focus on team building activities to promote good will and camaraderie among employees and bosses.

However, in order for such events to be successfully implemented, one has to hire someone to oversee every detail. So you can just imagine the demand for professionals who can act as facilitators and entertainers, and imagine preparing for events that will last for only several hours.

With the the founding of Facebook and social media marketing, your best bet as a profile writer is to charge for creating an interactive and engaging Facebook Page for your clients.

Large corporations and organizations make up the bulk of events planners' clients. A host can either be male or female, or, in children's parties, he could be a clown or a magician.

For caterers whose aim is to keep their clients' budget in mind, they may offer several options with the appetizers, entree, desserts, and drinks while still keeping within a reasonable figure.

When thinking about crafting a profile, think about three things:

• Something simple and crisp yet easily recognizable
• Something extremely edgy and catchy
• If your client is particular about attracting a specific type of market (e.g. those who'd like a host for bridal and baby showers), effectively utilize the lingo or vernacular that is popular among that crowd. This would make it easier for potential clients to find the host's Facebook Page.

Ever Thought About Hiring Yourself as A Profile Writer?

If you're the type of writer who can come up with tight, gripping, catchy, or even provocative copy, and you can give a fairly balanced assessment, why not make money writing profiles for clients who are looking for cost-effective ways to advertise themselves?

In our celebrity and media-driven culture, advertising and marketing campaigns can cost hundreds of thousands of pesos. Most freelancers in creative fields turn to self-promotion to avoid putting a huge dent on their budget.

You may have noticed the great number of freelancers proliferating in the blogosphere, or those who made personalized Pages on the social networking site Facebook, hoping to get noticed by their target audience.

However, without a coherent profile, these creative freelancers will only achieve modest success at best. So I'll cite the five categories of professionals to whom you can pitch your skills and talents.

Up-and-coming artists, sculptors, craftsmen, and illustrators

It would be helpful if you're knowledgeable about the art scene that exists in your area. If you're conversant with styles, you can immediately tell how the artist seeks to differ among his peers, who has influenced him, what sort of upbringing he had, etc.

The concern of most aspiring artists is to get as much exposure as possible, through exhibits, or getting support by writing solicitation letters to interested sponsors.

Having a website is also crucial. You can ask for the amount you usually charge for a flat fee, and then ask for PhP2,500-PhP4,000 for three web pages consisting of an About page, another one to serve as a "teaser" to introduce online viewers to his work, and another page for the artist's contact information.

Here's something to think about, though: art is not exclusive to a certain age. There are people who, after raising kids and retiring from the corporate world, suddenly get the urge to pick up a paintbrush.

There are also people who once led active lives but, due to an unfortunate twist of events (e.g. a vehicular accident), have been rendered an invalid and turned to painting and drawing as an outlet.

It's not unusual to find groups of artists who are invalids or have a disability of some sort, but were able to achieve financial stability, and, to some extent, fame because of self-reliance and persistence.

So the possibilities are endless when it comes to having a potential market.

Here's the next category:

Aspiring models and actors

While still on the early stages of their career, models and actors who have yet to make it big are always seeking out ways to cut the costs of promoting themselves.

It's a huge advantage for an aspiring celebrity to have his own website, where he can showcase himself in his best light, uploading photos of him in the most flattering angles and outfits.

However, images only make up part of a model or actor's marketing success. This group could use a lot of help when it comes to branding and identity, since potential agents would like to read a concisely written biography that briefly summarizes past modeling or acting experience.

Models and actors are not limited to statuesque men and women with perfect vital statistics. There are those who want to make it on theater or gradually build their resumes by accepting bit parts or doing cameos.

You can charge the same amount for the content of three basic web pages. You can also team up with freelance photographers, stylists, and makeup artists.