August 16, 2013

Women as freelancer

Need of a women to work

Women from the ancient times did not think on the other side of home. They always concentrated on family and its betterments. With necessity came the intention to work. This kept growing as the society provided numerous benefits for the women kind.

As everyone agrees to the fact that women manage work effectively and has the patience and work towards the goal organizations focus more on hiring women employees.

To make them sustain, policies and benefits are put forth. One of its kinds is working as a Freelancer.

Women handle work and home

As freelancing women enjoy more rights compared to men. Men work as a freelancer generally to improve their skill and enjoy their passion. Whereas women has many reasons to work as a freelance contributor.

While she works from home she can take care of her family and as well work. She achieves this by splitting up her work based on the relaxed time she gets. As the work is not for a long term she doesn’t fall under any huge commitments and can plan to finish that particular job before she takes up the next assignment.

Women get together with other people quite fast and hence she can survive in the freelancing world with friends of her interest and keep developing talent. The trend of freelancing is spread and many individuals take this up because the stress levels depend on the amount of work we take and its purely based on our need.

Women are more attracted towards self employment than men. They have the freedom to work and manage. It usually diverts a women from the routine things she does everyday.

Doing a work of her interest makes her feel good and keeps her motivated the entire day.

Going by the reports published every year after the survey, we have a strong evidence that the growth of women freelancers is increasing.When a woman is married and if she could not meet the family requirements she gets an extra paid income out of freelancing.

Online career advantages for a woman freelancer:

Women are more successful in online career and have achieved. Some tips as below

  • Freelancing jobs help female employees manage their schedule appropriately. This gives them more fresh ideas and helps increase in quality of work and productivity
  • Women find herself independent and feels motivated as they handle the tasks by oneself. As online freelancing doesn’t affect their career growth and it’s not time bounded women are interested in taking these kind of flexible jobs
  • In a virtual world such as internet, women find themselves optimistic about their future success in technology and make them feel they are competitive enough to challenge racial discrimination that is a strong perception about women’s jobs in the job market.
  • With the increasing number of tools available online women are able to develop their skill and stay competitive. The chances of improving and learning are high. like stated, Women has amazing skill of doing multitasking; a research states that around 70% of women say online job has enabled them to easily manage their personal and professional lives. Jobs available on the internet have helped them balance their personal and professional roles simultaneously.
  • As every women has to satisfy the family commitment and has various responsibilities freelancing jobs helps them and provides an ease to work without a strong burden.

There’s a new growing field where women have taken a dominating position over their male counterparts: the freelance sector.At first instance, the benefits and the improvements may not seem to be convincing. But as time passes you will have a strong focus working when you can and not. Though some people have issues working from home there are many successful female freelancers who feel they face new challenging opportunities and have improved their skills. The level of personal improvement and career orientation has highly improved for the freelancing women.

Expectations for more contract work for women remain high. Most of the women are optimistic about the future success of women in technology. This is a good sign as the momentum is building for even more gains for women in the freelance sector.

Travel issues

With the challenging work environment and the clients being distributed across continents, women are unable to travel losing her commitments and responsibilities.Freelancing solves this.It helps women to get rid of the major problem travel. The work can be done sitting just at her home. She gets more time to concentrate and lesser running around time.

Quoting, Margaret Thatcher,

Freelancing is not a last resort for failures; it’s a career choice for many

Most of the people outside think that people who end up with failures take freelancing to succeed.

But its the other way around. People earn a lot of money and skill. Its the smartness and the level of passion you show towards a work you do.

Freelancing can be your career by choice and not by fate.Its you who are willing to take it up so anytime a women who work as a freelancer should have it in mind. This will boost the level of interest.You must have the attitude to project yourself as a successful women in freelancing.

Women are strongly determined and don’t easily give up. Freelancing women also has the satisfaction of the work performed. They need not worry about the project stress, reporting to managers or lay-off. The freedom to work resides on their hands and the will to succeed.

Some tips for Women to achieve more:
1. Take center stage

Project yourself as a leader. Sign up for meetings and take the chances to speak, host sessions or conduct workshops. Of course, you’re there to help others and teach them, but an advantage that you’re showing yourself and your company to a new audience. Every person in the crowd is a potential customer, and your inputs are recognised.

2. Form groups of people with similar interest as yours

Organise a lunch/ dinner outing. Create yourself a network through social groups, business associations. While conversing get the knowledge and resources from people who are willing to share. Make some simple notes and try implementing.

3.Never give up.

At hard times, don’t lose interest.Keep yourself updated. Work on some innovative projects and keep applying.

Hope this article helped you rejuvenate.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, Freelancers Tips, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 30, 2013

How To Become An Expert Blogger

A writer’s block is something which every writer faces one time or the other. There will be times when you might not have anything to write about and just keep sitting on front of the computer or the notepad and nothing will come to your mind. You might start worrying whether you will always have something to write about or not. Don’t worry there are plenty of things and topics in the world to write about and a writer’s block is a very common thing. The simple answer to the question: will you always have enough to write about? Is yes, provided you know what you are writing about. We just don’t mean the topic, we mean an in depth knowledge and understanding of the subject you are writing about. Remember knowledge and understanding are two different things and both complement each other. The easiest way to make sure that a writer always has something to write about is to keep the three Rs in mind: Read, Research and Reflect. If you have mastered these three Rs then you will not have to ask the above question.

Read:

As we have said before in all of our previous posts ‘a well-read blogger is a well-read blogger’ this means that, a blogger whose blog is well read is a blogger whose blogs are widely read. Therefore, set some time aside to read. Read books, newspapers, other blogs, magazines and basically anything you can lay your hand on to increase your understanding of things. Don’t be afraid to have your own view points and make them known. Every reader appreciates a different point of view. Reading other blogs can be a great advantage for any writer. It will give you an insight of designs, layouts, content, keywords, advertisements, SEO, RSS feed, Permalink, ease of navigation etc. that will help you build your own blog. In our next post in this segment, we will discuss in great detail about the same.

Research:

In our part II of the expert blogger post, we talked in detail about the important and use of research for a blogger. Your research will include the reach of your blog, what other are reading and what you need to get started. Research does not happen in a day, it takes time and like reading, it is a continuous process. Needless to say, your research will be based on your readings. One important thing to keep in mind when reading and researching is to not to be bogged down by the amount of information that will be deflected to you.

Reflect:

Once you feel that you are done researching and you have read up as much as you can, it is then time to reflect on your finding. Take this time to think in depth about what exactly do you want and will you achieve this by writing on the topic or the niche that you have selected. I find that the best way to do this is by sitting alone in front of a laptop or with your notepad and carefully jotting down things that come to your mind. This way it will be easier to draw order to chaos. Write about at least 20 post topics in your niche to get you started. Most writers have told me that most difficult thing to do is to think of a topic. If you have a topic in front of you then things become easier. Remember it is what you read and research that reflects in your writing.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 27, 2013

How To Be A Freelance Teacher

Freelancing jobs are full of potential and opportunities Freelance teaching is not a new concept. It has been around for ages. However, the latest trends in globalisation have given Freelance teaching a new spin. Here is a short guide to help you start of as a freelance teacher.

The first step is to decide that kind of freelancing teaching job you are in­terested in:

A) Travelling freelance jobs: These kinds of jobs require you to travel to other states or countries to take up a teaching assignment there. These kinds of jobs are especially popular with teachers who have multilingual experience.

B) Online freelance teaching jobs: These jobs involve sitting at home and tutoring over the internet. These types of projects include tutoring of subjects such as History, Geography, English etc. assignments are handed over the internet itself.

C) Regular freelance teaching jobs: These are regular freelancing jobs that you can take up in the local areas like tutoring school students, teaching art etc. and do not require travelling or access to online services. You don’t need to travel for these jobs.

Once you have decided what kind of freelance job you want to do then it is time to think on the following points.

What different you can offer?

The biggest challenge that a freelancer faces is offering something different than what others are not. Think hard and fast about your special qualities as a teacher.

Be ready to network extensively

When you are new in the business you don’t have much contacts so be prepared to network eaten surely. Look up your old contacts, old students, and visit local online communities to build up the network. It will be hard work but it will be worth it.

Stay in touch with teaching even when not working

Teaching is a profession in which you need to be at the top of your game at all the times. Therefor it is important that you stay in touch with teaching at all the times. Volunteer at the schools / colleges or at the night classes. This will help you in understanding the minds of your students better and therefore you will be able to teach better.

Network with other freelance teachers

When you are starting as a freelance teacher then in order to get some hands on experience on what actually happens in the freelance teaching world, it would help you a lot to network with other freelance teachers. Remember never ask them to share their client details but ask them about how they started, what they charge and what are the points to look forward to. Teaching methods of every teacher is different and therefore you are bound to pick up some useful points every time you interact.

Make sure all your documents are in order

Nobody wants a teacher who is not organized himself/herself. Keep all your documents in order, which should include your degrees and certificates all in order. If you are interested in traveling freelance jobs then make sure that your passport is updated and you have the necessary permissions.

This way you can present them promptly and the point will go in your favour.

Don’t be afraid to take up new challenges

Just as every teacher is different, every student also had different learning capability. As a freelance teacher, you usually don’t get the time to mould the student as you wish and therefore it is important that you mould yourself the way the student wants. Some students like to have lots of books to read and some understand better with the practical way. Take up new challenges with confidence in your teaching methods and you will defiantly succeed.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, Freelancers Tips, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 22, 2013

Reasons Why Freelancers Should Be Paid More Than Employees

In our last post about ‘How to know when you are being paid enough’ we talked about freelancers being paid more than ‘regular’ employees are. There has always been a debate on whether a freelancer should be paid higher than an employee should. Many a times you will have clients claiming that xyz is the amount they pay to their employees and as a freelancer you should large less than that because they are giving you a ‘chance’. But, that is not true as a freelancer you should be paid more. Here are some of the reasons why:

You are always available

A freelancer does not follow the regular office times of 9 to 5 but is available all the time. Therefore if there is some work that the client needs to get done urgently then they can easily approach a freelancer to deliver within the time restrictions. Therefore for a freelancer who is available for contacts at all times deserves to be paid more.

You are flexible

The biggest advantage that a company/client gets when employing a freelancer is flexibility. In a company to make a change in the work plan or requirements employees have to go through proper channels, proposals, presentations and justifications. When giving work to a freelancer the client gets the advantage of making changes on the fly without wasting any time. Greater flexibility means better payment.

You are the expert

No freelancer can succeed without having some sort of expertise in his or her chosen field. Therefore when a client hires you as a freelancer he or she expects the best. And as they say no price is too great for the best! When the client hires a company to work for them then they do not know who actually will be doing their work for them and it is difficult to get one to one interactions. But you as a freelancer are always available with your expertise.

You do not ask for extra benefit

As a freelancer you don’t have to ask for extra benefits such as insurance, travel allowance, paid leave etc. that means that you save the client a lot of money so why should you not get your piece of the profit. When you look at any company’s financial growth you will see that the companies earn much more than the employees. Therefore you as a freelancer should be paid more than the employees because you are not overcharging or asking for extras.

You are more efficient

As a freelancer you are not time bound by any rules you are your own boss and you don’t answer to anybody. Therefore you get to organize your work schedule. This means that you are more efficient than employees who have to follow a particular schedule for work. This does not mean that you don’t need a schedule but the plus side is that the amount of flexibility you have you can plan your work the way you want. This means that the client gets a more efficient work and efficiency pays, right?

You can negotiate the charges

As a freelancer you deserve to be paid more because you negotiate the charges. This point is purely in your favor. Have you even been to an interview and accepted the first salary offer that you got only to find out later that the work is much more than you expected. As a freelancer you can always scale the charges up and down by negotiating with the client. The client will have to clearly define the work expected out of you.

There are a lot of negotiations involved when talking about money with a client but if you know how much you should be paid the road becomes much more easier.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, Freelancers Tips, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 20, 2013

How To Know When You Are Being Paid Enough As A Freelancer

For a freelancer it is important to be paid well and paid regularly. I admit it is no easy feat but at times all you need is confidence in your abilities. There are mainly three ways a freelancer can be paid: hourly jobs, fixed price jobs and what I like to call give and take jobs.

We are all familiar with fixed price and hourly jobs but not many freelancers take advantage of give and take jobs. These are the kind of jobs in which you do something for a client and in return the client does something for you. For example you write for a photographer and in return he gives you some copyright free photographs or the web designer designs a website you. This type of exchange can be beneficial for both parties. However, the bottom line remains that a freelancer needs to be paid adequately. So how does a freelancer know that he/she is being paid enough and not running in losses? In this post, we will discuss some points, which will help you, figure out the answer to the question:

Do you have enough for overheads?

This is the simplest way to answer the question of adequate payments. When you are done with a job make a list of the number of hours you spent, number on internet hours (if your job requires the same), travel expenses and other expenses and compare it with the payment that you received. The payment is greater than expenses and you have enough left for any overheads then you know that you were paid enough.

Compare with a regular job pay

I know most people say that freelancers should be paid less than the regular employees should because they are just not ‘regular’. However, this is not true, you should be paid the same or even more than that. Therefore, you need to look at the big picture. Compare your earnings with somebody who is doing the same work in a ‘regular’ job. If you are earning at least 3% more than the average earnings then you are doing a good job.

You feel comfortable in taking a holiday

Many freelancers whom I know are not very comfortable in taking even a day off let alone think of taking a holiday. They feel that if they take a holiday in between jobs then they might miss out on some exiting chances or they feel that taking a holiday will put a stop on their earnings. If you as a freelancer fall in either one of the categories then this means that you are not earning enough. You should be able to earn enough to take a break sometimes.

For those who are just starting as a freelancer the excuse that you don’t want to take a break in order to build up a portfolio or to beef up their earning but if you have been successfully freelancing for about a year you should have enough money saved up to not to worry about taking a break with your family or doing some important work.

It is important that you do not compare yourself to freelancers who are working in a different area then you are. They have a different expertise and therefore the payment is different. You can of course compare yourself to your peers to get a fair idea of how much you should charge for your work. As a freelancer, you are rarely going to get regular office bonuses so the knowledge that you are paid well can be a highly satisfying and motivating factor for you.

 

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, Freelancers Tips, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 18, 2013

How to prevent being cheated in freelancing jobs

Quite often, than not we hear about freelancers being duped out of their money or not being paid for the job that they did. It is not only a financial loss but also diminishes the moral of a freelancer. Freelancers especially newbie free levels often fall prey to the fact that have been duped It is easy to pre vent yourself from falling into such situations H you keep the follow­ing in mind:

There is no such thing as simple work and quick money:

Every now and then, you will see advertisements in the mail and newspapers proclaiming that where the job they are offering gives you a chance of earning quick money by waking on pastime basis or wake hg at your continence. This in the biggest trap to lure wannabe freelancers or cash strapped individuals. There is no such thing as part time jobs with lots of money. These are usually data entry jobs that will take up a lot of your time and pay only peanuts.

Avoid free samples:

I once applied for an article-writing job and the client asked for two free samples of the topics, which he gave. It was purely by chance that I learnt that he had asked for two samples each for eight different people. He hired none of us and got 16 articles for free You have to safeguard yourself against such scams the sure shot way to do this is to not agree to free samples of the client’s choice. You can give previous samples of your work. Ok it there is no way out of it than agree to do a small sample and not the full. The client will be able to figure out your work from the samples that you provide.

Safeguard yourself against no payment:

As a freelancer, you do not have a steady source of income. Therefore in the event of non-payment you can face a financial crunch. The best way to avoid this in to take part payment before starting the job and keep taking payments in parts throughout the job. If the client is not ready to give advance then make sure that you have the verified details of the client. This should include phone number (working and checked) email ids and physical address. In case of non-payment, you can then follow up for payment. There will be clients who will delay making payments by giving excuses. Therefore retain the rights of your, walk till you receive full payments

Accept payments through verified means only:

A way to safeguard yourself against bogus payments is to receive payments through a verified medium such as your bank account or on the credit card, which can be traced easily. Keep a record of the payment that you receive for future purposes.

Read the fine print

Many clients and freelancers prefer to sign a contract before taking a job. These contracts are usually legally binding. When you are signing a contract, make sure that you read the fine print about the payment methods and dates. Terms like ‘payment will be made when work is done’ can be misleading if the amount of work is not described beforehand. Therefore, make sure that you know the work and payment proportion.

There is not harm in asking for payments when the work is done because it is your right. Many freelancers face a problem of asking for payment when the client keeps increasing the work. For example, the client hired you for one assignment and then gave you another without paying of the first one. In such situations, it is always good to come out in clear with the client and discuss things rationally.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 16, 2013

Pages Your Website Must Have

An online and updated website is the need of the clay for any freelancer. It does not matter what type of freelancing jobs you do, a web page can help you land many jobs easily. Since most of the freelancing jobs happen online and most of the searches happen online, an attractive web site will definitely put you above the rest.

However, a cluttered and unorganised website will do you more harm than good. The website should be clean and carry information and not useless things. Therefore, what pages should a freelancer’s website have? Here is a list:

Home Page:

Think of the home page of your favourite shopping website and think what makes you buy products from them. This will give you an idea of how the home page of your website should look like. The home page should:

→ have clear and definite links to all other pages

→have your recent photo

→ have your work and self-intro

→ have a readable theme

Select a hosting service that is fast because you want the web page to load quickly and not keep people waiting

About page:

The About page of your website is your mirror. This page should contain all the professional information about you. You can also write about your achievements and thoughts. Do not forget to include you photograph on the page. Readers will feel more comfortable if they have a picture to associate with what you have written.

Do not hide your interest or opinions on the page. Your fresh outlook to things is what most clients are looking for from a freelancer.

Samples /work/Portfolio:

This is the most important part of the website. This page should have the samples of your work listed in a neat manner. List a sample of each one of type of work that you have done. If there are any links, they should be updated and working. Also, make sure that you get the proper permission from clients before posting samples.

Your services

It is always a good idea to let the prospective clients know about what service you offer. This will present you a focused person. Be very specific of the services that you offer. Do not be too general like writing or web designing. On this page, you should also mention what you charge for the services. It is not a bad idea to let the clients know whether they can afford you or not. This will also help prevent misunderstandings after the discussions. Saves time too!

Testimonials:

This is the page that will speak of your success. Don’t be afraid to ask your clients to write testimonials for you that you can post on the website. The testimonials will take your profile to another level. Also if possible, post the client information with the testimonials.

Contact Information:

This one is pretty obvious. On this page post your picture and contact details (all updated and latest). You can integrate a direct messaging option in the website to enable people to contact you directly

Interest:

If someone is going to hire you then feel she will want to know more about you, so why not tell them on the interest page. You can write down all your thoughts or the page, and other activities etc. Another good idea is to make the page interactive big polls, comments, etc. which will encourage the users to participate.

Always remember to keep the website neat and easy to navigate and read. Another important thing that I find helps a lot is to respond to comments and queries as soon as you get them.

 

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 13, 2013

Scope Creep And How To Deal With It

Scope creep is something that every freelancer has to deal with at some point of an assignment or assignments. A scope creep is the changes and growth that were not predefined at the start of the project. Not only can a scope creep cost you a lot of money and a lot of time. Many times, it happens that freelancers are not able to do justice to other assignments because of a scope creep.

A scope creep is also known as requirement creep and feature creep. There are a number of ways a scope creep can happen without you knowing about it or even aiding it unconsciously. For example if you are working on a website design and the client asks you to write a short home page intro and you do it thinking that it is a simple thing, then he asks you to fill in the contact details too and before you know it you are spending time gathering data then designing. This is called scope creep.

Scope creep is not very difficult to deal with; you just have to know when to draw a line between a little something and a lot of extra work. There are a number of ways to deal with scope creep. In this post, we will take a look at some of the ways:

Talk sooner than later

Most freelancers fall a victim of scope creep because they do not talk soon enough. When you let the scope of the project creep up to unmanageable proportions, only you are to be blamed for it. Talk to the client a soon as you feel that you are being asked to do more than that was discussed. Bailing out at a later stage will not get you a happy client.

Know beforehand how much time you are going to spend on the project

When you get a job, especially a fixed price job spend some time with the client tell him/her about how you plan to proceed with the job. Chart down how you are going to progress with the job and how much time you are going to spend on the job. This will give you a definite time frame of the job and you can leave a little time over I case of emergencies. This way you will know if you should start billing extra for any of the changes in the work.

Sometimes scope creep is good if you get to increase your experience base.

Do not be afraid to say no or present a new estimate

There is nothing wrong in saying no to the client if you have completed the job successfully and do not want to take on more of the same work. Be polite and firm and explain it to them. However if you have to do the additional work then do not be afraid to provide the client a new estimate. The client should know that increase work would add to the bottom line. There is nothing wrong in that and you must have confidence in your work. Also mentioning a price up front will ensure that there are no misunderstandings later on. The client will be more than happy to pay the price if asked upfront rather than haggling about it later.

One way to deal with scope creeps is to opt for hourly jobs. This way you will be paid for the work that you do and the client will also know exactly how much work you are doing. Payments also become easier to calculate. Scope creep affects every freelancing job and therefore keeping the above tips in mind will help you deal with it better.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, General Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment
July 1, 2013

Earning Most From Your Blogs Without Cluttering It With Advertisements

Blogs are one of the easiest ways to put your word across to a wider audience. So why should you not earn from the blogs? However, the most off putting mistake that a blogger can make is cluttering his or her blog with advertisements, which pop up annoyingly when the reader is reading a post.

Imagine you are reading something very interesting, then suddenly there is a weight loss advertisement on the screen, and you lose your interest in reading. There are many other ways by which you can use your blog to make some money and still keep it very neat and clean. In this post, we will take a look at some of those methods:

Keep your home page clean at all times. If you have to sell something then create subpages of thing, which might be related to your blog. For example instead of the home page of your blog the About us page of the blog can be a way to post the adverts or the links of the things which you want to sell.

Use the Email option to sell

Prospective buyers are less likely to click on the link on the blog then the link on the emails. If you want to market something then use the email address that you have to do so. You can post the link on your blog to attract more readers but they are hardly likely to be buyers. Instead, the people that you will contact through a dedicated email are more likely to respond if they are interest.

Webinars are the way to go

If you have some of your products to sell as a freelancer like free courses, products or other meetings then you can market them best if you use the webinars. Free webinars are a great way to attract other readers and get people interested in which you have to sell.

You have to make sure that your webinar is related to the product that you are selling and be selective to who you present. Wrong type of audience and do you more harm than good.

Become a partner with a static selling

This can be best expressed with the help of an example. Suppose you have a blog that talks about the review of various beauty products for both men and women. And you see that there is a static website that is selling some of those products, which you have reviewed. You can make such a site as a partner, which can be, used a landing page and you can use it to earn some money because of your recommendations.

Your clients can become your best customers

A freelancer’s reputation is based on the fact that he or she has clients coming back to him or her. Therefore many freelancers opt to take the route of getting involved or making products that target the specific audience. If the clients have liked your work then they have the potential to become your best customers also. Selling products that tell the audience that you are focused on your niche is the best way to gain more faith from the audience. You will not only gain from selling the products but you will also end up gaining more work as a result.

Keep in mind that your blog is supposed to tell the reader what you believe in and it is not supposed to be only a showcase of your yearn to earn money. Keep the focus on what you write or present on your blog. When the blog is good the money will automatically follow. Happy blogging!

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: Freelancer to Freelancer, General Tagged With: , , , , , , Leave a Comment
May 2, 2013

Deals, Discounts, And Free Samples: How Much Is Enough?

The expectation of getting ‘something extra’ with everything in our lives comes quite naturally to human beings. Researches, studies of years of advertising have proven this as a fact that the prospect of getting something ‘free’ with a product or getting a product at a discounted price is what that attracts the customers the most.

When working as a freelancer you will come across many instances when the client would have asked you for a discount or frees sample. You would have also heard of freelancers offering various deals to clients. For the clients to expect something ‘extra’ in return of the work is not entirely unjust.

In our last post on discounts, deals, and free samples, we had discussed about the pro and cons of each. In this post, we will throw some light on how much of ‘deals, discounts, and free samples’ are enough. There are no hard and fast rules about this but here are some things to keep in mind.

Pre-Planned Deals, Discounts, and Free Samples

As a freelancer it is not easy to get the pricing right. There are many factors, which come in the way of pricing. Since most freelancers offer deals in terms of pricing it is important that you get your timing right. It should not appear that you are giving a deal or discount out because you are desperate for work. Package the deal as if you are doing it for the clients.

For example, you can offer deals and discounts around the holiday seasons. There is one main advantage of it, during the holiday season, most freelancers go on leave, and if your deal is visible to the client, it increases your changes of hiring.

Set up a time limit

Set up a time limit of the period of discounts. For example, the deal is valid from xyz date to xyz date. This will make the clients take the advantage of the deal when you need them. Make sure that you make things clear to the client who is availing the discount.

Set up work limits

You can offer a free sample of a code but not the whole code, similarly  you can designed a website but if you give away the design as a free sample then the client would not need you. Asking for a small free sample by the client is ok but asking for more than that is not fair. Set work limits on your discounts. Let the client know exactly how much work you are going to do. For example if you are doing website designing then you can specify the two or three templates from which the client has to choose.

On spot deals, discounts, and Free samples

Many a times it will happen to you that the client might ask for any deals or discounts on your existing price. This is a very delicate situation for a freelancer because it means that you cannot refuse and you cannot wholly accept the fact that you have to work for less. In such conditions, you can try the following:

Limit the amount of work

If the client is asking for deals or discounts then you can limit the amount of work that you will do. For example if the job includes writing and posting on social media accounts and the client is asking for 10% discount then rather than giving up the whole job tell them you can write but not post. This way both will be happy.

Whatever might be the case, one thing you should not forget is to make sure that you have a written contract with the client about the work to safeguard your income. There is no limit to the amount of discount you can give, provided you get some benefits out of it in terms of money, more work, or references.

K Saravana Kumar

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

Filed Under: General Leave a Comment
«Previous Page
Next Page»